The Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision along party lines yesterday opened wide the doors for corporate and union funding of elections. They distorted relatively simple matters concerning aspects of the McCain – Feingold legislation limiting political contributions by corporations and unions prior to a national election and used the case as an excuse to greatly enlarge the influence of big business (and to a lesser extent labor) over government policies and practices.
Corporations were created to protect investors from financial liabilities beyond the amount of their investments. They were bestowed the same rights as individuals for business purposes. Unions were created to permit workers to negotiate as a group.
In neither case, especially the former, was there any intent that the entities should have the same rights and privileges as citizens when it came to the election process.
The Court’s ruling yesterday is another stab wound in the American ideal of equal opportunity and democracy, as more power (and inevitably wealth) is transferred to the rich—who make up the active stockholders—to permit them to influence government policy. (Worse yet, corporate and union management is often more interested in feathering its own nests than what is good for the stockholders.)
Already the growth of wealth of our nation for the past two decades has gone exclusively to the three percent of the economic most privileged while the broad middle class has failed to improve its conditions.
The ruling is still another indication that our nation has lost its way and is rapidly sinking into second class, mediocre status.
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Post script: Should we be surprised? We can see the same forces at work locally, as big business in the form of its Alliance forces a streetcar system on a community despite public abhorrence of the absurd idea. The same thing occurred with the convention center project.
Wake up Lancaster and wake up America!
This morning, five Supreme Court Justices stabbed at the heart of democracy, our electoral system.
They overturned over 100 years of statute and precedent, and declared that corporations can spend all the money that they want to buy elections. In fact, these five men in robes declared, they have a constitutional right to do so.
Now, we have to fight.
I think that John Paul Stevens is technically a Republican. He was appointed by Ford. Even though he tends to vote with the liberal wing..