Challenging Corporate Power: California Community Says Companies Are Not People; Bans Campaign Donations

Sadly this will not stand in the world of a Supreme Court which has Alito , Roberts , Scalia and his dobbleganger Thomas .

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

if corporations are people then are people corporations? i want my tax breaks. i want someone to give me tax breaks to move into their community. i want my polluting overlooked. hell, i want to move my 'headquarters' offshore and pay no taxes at all. demmit! i want it now!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Society is an agreement between individuals who choose to give up natural freedom for the security of group protection. Corporations cannot be part of the social contract, since they are not individuals, they don't have natural freedom to give up in exchange for societal protections, and thus, cannot be 'persons'. When society fails the social contract, it is up to the individual to break the lease. As long as individuals continue to work for corporations, buy from corporations, and allow corporations to own our representatives, then we are also failing in our responsibilities to enforce the contract. Our forefathers risked life and fortunes to ensure that the bullies didn't take over. That is what the constitution is supposed to be: protection of individuals from bullying groups, whether those groups are governments, corporations, or mobs of idiot voters.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

"A corporation is not a person for purposes of the First Amendment."

Until the US Constitution is amended, the corruption of big business that has permeated our media, our politicians, and our schools is only going to get worse.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Humbolt County's action focuses on the main legal basis for corporate cronyism and the eroding of self-government by the people... a small action overlooked by most of the press except Alternet... but with a very very major potential significance. Doesn't matter if the Supreme Court overturns it... what matters is that people start thinking about what it means to live under the politics Of the Corporations, By the Corporations and For the Corporations. And the power of even the smallest group voting again to say "Don't Tread On Us!"

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

I'd like to do the same thing here in New Hampshire. How do I get started?

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

A late-19th-Century SCOTUS decision opened the door to the corporate corruption of politics by declaring corporations to be artificial persons. The decision was intended to create a legal convenience so that a corporation could be legally dealt with as a single responsible entity, e.g., so it could be sued by name, and other niceties.

However, the concept was taken too far. For some unfathomable reason, the SCOTUS decision was extrapolated upon in such a way that rights were conferred upon this new artificial person. Not only legal rights but also Constitutional rights and even natural rights. What kind of sense does that make?

The corporation derives its existence from the state. It exists only by virtue of government franchise. It is a privileged entity not only by virtue of its existence, but also in that it's directors, officers and managers enjoy immunity from criminal and civil liability for bad decisions made in "good faith" even if those decisions cost people life, limb or property, or result in loss of share value.

Not only that, but the corporation's reason for being is to enrich the shareholder. There is no requirement to be a good neighbor, to play fair, to respect the environment, and a host of other social responsibilities normally expected of natural persons. That all amonts to a great deal of privilege.

That entity which exists by statute, not birth, and which is by definition a privileged entity, is rightly the subject of regulation and the object of taxation. SCOTUS: The power to tax is indistinguishable from the power to regulate.

Thus it is the responsibility of government, which enfranchised the corporation in the first place, to regulate and tax the corporation. The notion that the corporation should enjoy natural rights the same as a natural person is ludicrous. Stautory rights should obtain, such as the right to due process of law. But natural rights and Constitutional rights, such as the right to freedom of speech, do not belong to the corporation. It could be and probably should be a crime for a corporation to lie, for example, to say it does not make use of sweat shop labor if in fact it does.

This travesty and legal nightmare of corporate personhood -- or at least the notion that the corporation has natural or Constitutional rights -- must be abolished for the good of every natural person. Unless we do abolish it, we will never have government of by and for the people because corporations will always have more money and thus more power to influence legislation.

Consider the lobbying of Congress as a prime example of why this needs to be fixed. Corporations claim the right to lobby because the Constitution guarantees the right of the people to petition the government for redress of grievances. As we all know, the squeakiest wheel gets the most grease. Because of all their money, corporations can squeak louder than any natural person. Who is Congress going to listen to? We who have nothing to offer the members, or corporations who pour millions into campaign coffers. No contest.

In order to take our government back from the hijackers, either Congress or SCOTUS must clarify the nature of the corporation's status as an artificial person which does not possess natural or Constitutional rights.

If we fail to do this, fascism will be the American way. Fascism is the marriage of government and corporations. We're well on our way down that road. Who will put a stop to it?

Perhaps the mistaken notion can be challenged on the logical basis that a thing that was created by natural persons (the government) to have limited delegated powers, cannot then create something equal to that which created itself.

An apt allegory would be humans creating an android with godly powers the humans themselves do not possess.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Will Pitt did an excellent essay on this topic, June 30, 2005:

'We are not all created equal, in fact. This inequality is not based on race, or sex, or religion, but upon the slow development of a body of laws that have created and empowered a breed of super-citizens which rule over every aspect of our lives, almost completely beyond the reach of justice. These super-citizens exist today under the familiar name "corporation." '

Read the original at:
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/063005X.shtml

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Wow! Citizens getting organized and taking action! That's a great idea! And it may be the only functional alternative in a country where our elected officials seem disinclined to take any action to curtail the steady flow of graft from those very corporations.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Good luck with that! You probably won't get very far before you're singled out by the Establishment and severely punished for your impudence. The very notion of Corporations being legally classed as a 'person' is an insult to the population, and has been the blunt weapon with which you have all been subdued.

A greedy, soul-less corporation cannot have the same rights as a human being. The very idea is obscene. Corporations exist solely to relentlessly make profit for the already obscenely wealthy at any cost, and as such is more psychopathic parasite than person.

Bring these Corporations to heel and you'll get your Constitutional Republic back, and who knows... maybe even a little International respect too...

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Just the courage and education that go into an entire county making the commitment to de-personalize corporations is so good to see. And appreciate.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Grassroots movements and activists have long recognized the power of corporations.

In 1989, for example, Presbyterian Minister and environmental activist Richard Cartwright Austin discussed proposals to amend the Constitution:

"It is time to affirm that all creatures within the boundaries of our nation deserve constitutional recognition, and that rights extend beyond the human community to embrace all of natural life.

"This is the most radical of the proposals because it would give species, natural systems, and natural features constitutional standing and rights of their own--independent of their contributions or lack of contribution, to human welfare.

''To secure their rights within our legal system they would, of course, require human agents willing to argue their case, just as agents now represent the perceived interests of infants, the comatose, and others who cannot speak on their own behalf.

''Corporations, which are legal constructions and not natural beings, have standing in court to protect their interests now. This amendment would grant similar privileges to spotted owls threatened by timbering in the Pacific northwest to marine life in Chesapeake Bay suffering urban and agricultural pollution, and to the beauties of the Yosemite Valley hidden behind too many buildings and vehicles.

"A constitutional amendment to recognize the rights of a vast new constituency--all God's creatures--will not succeed without broad popular support. Animals ask us for considerate treatment and the earth cries for loving care."

Austin's words reflect the rising tide of environmental concern in America and the emergence of an animal liberation theology.

Similarly, a pro-life liberal pamphlet distributed by Milwaukee SOUL (Save Our Unwanted Lives), points out that under current U.S. law, *corporations* are considered legal persons while humans in prenatal development are denied this moral status.

Corporations, of course, look out for their own self-interests; not the interests of excluded classes of beings. Again, grassroots movements and activists have long recognized the power of corporations.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Let's remember, though, that we empower the corrupt system by investing in stocks, IRAs, etc. for our retirements. As we work to strip the corporations of this "individual" status, we must design a system of rating stocks on their social justice and environmental ethic instead of merely on pure profit. OR we could collectively cash out our investments and cripple the corporations and the markets. Either way, we must look in the mirror and address this aspect of the problem.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Corporations are jointly owned PROPERTY. They exist by virtue of consent of the people. A corporate charter is granted or denied by a legal representative of the PEOPLE. Their existence depends upon the PUBLIC SERVICE outlined in their charter. The earliest corporations in the United States were universities whose public service should hardly need to be explained. Suffice to say that democracy is sustained through the wise decision making of a well informed, educated populace.

A corporation (in which shares can be owned) is PROPERTY. It is my understanding that the U.S. Constitution guarantees rights to PEOPLE - CITIZENS of these United States. A corporate charter is not a RIGHT. It is a PRIVILEGE.

It is illegal to own a person in the United States, and in most of the rest of the world. In the United States it is a foreign idea to most people that property can have rights.

I recall reading a news article about an incident in which a dog escaped his fence and killed a child. The husband was grieved, and sought the mercy of the court, while the wife was angry that she should be held legally responsible for the life of the child, contending that if a gun is stolen and used in a crime, that the gun-owner is not held legally responsible.

The judge charged the woman with man-slaughter, claiming that a PERSON is RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR PROPERTY and that NO GUN EVER JUMPED A FENCE AND COMMITTED HOMICIDE.

The law is clear. PEOPLE are responsible for their PROPERTY. Currently, corporate law allows the owners of property (shareholders) to escape liability for the actions of the property they own. Shareholders are not held to the same standards, and are allowed to be irresponsible.

Since 1870 the law has been re-interpreted, giving corporations the rights of people under the Constitution. Nobody can seriously debate whether corporations now enjoy more rights than an individual under our laws.

Communism was understood as the illusion that 'those that operate the store OWN the store' while Capitalism was the opposite illusion that 'those that own the store operate the store'. It makes no difference whether State controls Industry (Communism) or if Industry controls the State (Fascism - defined by Mussolini). It is six in one hand, half dozen in the other. It is a LIE.

Wake up and take back what fascists have always taken.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Reposting this here:

I believe there is a method to the madness of apathy that consumes the majority of People...

Academic research has documented how corporate influences are associated with many adverse adult and child psychological, physiological, behavioral, social and health outcomes.

In the US in 2005, spending on advertising reached $144.32 billion! The average adult sees 21,000 television commercials a year. Most advertisements are paid for by the largest corporations in the world and they are not paying all that money for something that they don't get results from...

Our founding fathers of this Untied States envisioned a Republic in which the People came first, followed by a system of federal, state, and local governments serving the best interests of the people, followed by private individual businesses, and then followed by corporations - which were strictly regulated under a state charter system. Today this has been turned on its head!

Contemplate the following quotations:

"As a result of the war, corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed."

"The belief is common in America that the day is at hand when corporations... after having created a system of quiet but irresistible corruption - will ultimately succeed in directing government itself. Under the American form of society, there is no authority capable of effective resistance..."

The first quote was written by President Abraham Lincoln in 1864 and the second was written by Henry Adams in 1870! President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned us in 1960 about the influence of the military-industrial complex; "The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted..."

The only hope I see in all of this is the youth in this world who have yet to "learn" about all the things that they can't change for the better....

We need "Clean Elections" which is a system of government financing of political campaigns where the role of corporate influence is greatly reduced or eliminated. This actually has a proven record in the States of Maine and Arizona:

"What we're seeing in Arizona is the decline of the big money candidate. In 1998, overwhelming majority of the races, in fact 80 percent of the races, were won by the big money candidate. The candidate with the big bucks won their race. In our primary in 2002 we found that that was the case in only three percent of the races." - Cecilia Martinez, The Clean Elections Institute.

If you don't like the current state of apathy, the "regulations" and how they're "enforced", or the taking of the public rights by corporations without a soul or any conscience to social responsibility or our environment, then I would encourage you to involve and educate young persons and take back our democracy from those it wasn't intended for by working for Clean Elections.

SEE ALSO:

PR Watch ( http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues ) PR Watch exposes the "invisible men" who control our political debates and public opinion, twisting reality and protecting the powerful from scrutiny...

'Gangs of America, The Rise of Corporate Power and the Disabling of Democracy' by Ted Nace ( http://www.gangsofamerica.com/ )

'NOW - The Clean Election Movement' ( http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/cleanelections.html )

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

...See Thom Hartmann's excellent book, "Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Theft of Human Rights". Thom does a great job of explaining how a former railroad President. working as clerk of the Supreme Court gave corporations the rights of "Persons" by saying so in the header to the decision, which in fact, did not give corporations person-hood.

I think the effort in Humbolt County probably comes directly from Thom's book and his blueprint for local communities to pass these resolutions. Nice to see his efforts bearing fruit.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

The case that gave Corporations "Personhood" was right here in the bucolic Hudson Valley it was Central Hudson Electric and Gas Company, which was privately owned at the time and had committed multiple violations of the public service utility laws which the Judges were all to corrupt to enforce or recognize in courts ..

This awarding corporations "Personhood" was an important step towards the corporate fascism we now have in reality as our system of governance..

This is no longer in reality a government for the people of the people and by the people..

Rather For the corporation, of the corporation and by the corporation..

Anything that helps turn this around to what our Founding Father's envisioned and intended is a blessing..

Sadly after Bush enacts NSPD-51, we will be a full fascist corporate Dictatorship and that's not far off thanks to the Worst Congress in American history and Nancy Pelosi..!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

I'm seeing a lot of suggestions of what needs to be done to take back our nation from the corporations...What I would like to know is, what can I do as an individual to get the ball rolling in my community? Where do I begin?

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

I wish them well, except that the SCOTUS allowed corporations "personhood" many years ago. We need a constitutional amendment to overturn it. Perhaps, it begins here. It must!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

This is where I'm from! Man... I love where I'm from. Finally a community actually acting like one, and I'm proud to be a part of it.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Hi folks,

Thanks for your comments. I can't respond to everything said here, but I did want to respond to the question about where to get support and resources to run a similar campaign in your community.

Unfortunately somehow in the Yes article about resources to challenge corporate power, Democracy Unlimited was left off. So for anyone interested in our help to run a campaign like Measure T, please contact us. We have been to a number of communites already - we offer workshops and facilitating strategy sessions, and we're happy to do what we can to help build the movement:
www.duhc.org
info@DUHC.org
(707) 269-0984

And we archived the entire Measure T website so you can see everything that we did during the campaign: www.votelocalcontrol.org

And yes, we know of Thom Hartmann's book (he's a friend) but Measure T wasn't inspired by it. Our work is part of a network that has been active around the US for about 12-15 years now. But so good that the word is spreading and that more and more people understand that corporate "rights" are a major barrier to democracy.

Thanks again for reading the article and for your support!
Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap
Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Finally, an incipient and direct challenge to Corporatism (aka fascism). Although it's most likely true, as a pessimistic view would have it, that this will be forcefully challenged and won in the Supreme or lower courts, it's still eminently a positive move in the direction of re-taking responsibility for our own country. It's great news to hear about and to write about. Kudos to Humboldt! As the commercial says" Head On, Apply Directly to (their Fictional) Forehead! Available in communities all over this land!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

All power to the American people and NOT the companies.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]