Think Local
By Chris Hoffman
(Sherburne, NY – Feb. 2013
) On Feb. 11, Move to Amend introduced in Congress a Constitutional amendment that would, if passed and ratified, ensure rights for people, not corporations. Known as the “We the People Amendment,” the legislation is sponsored by Rep. Rick Nolan (D-Minnesota) and Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Minnesota). The proposed 28th Amendment states as follows:
Section 1. Artificial Entities Such as Corporations Do Not Have Constitutional Rights. The rights protected by the Constitution of the United States are the rights of natural persons only. Artificial entities established by the laws of any State, the United States, or any foreign state shall have no rights under this Constitution and are subject to regulation by the People, through Federal, State, or local law. The privileges of artificial entities shall be determined by the People, through Federal, State, or local law, and shall not be construed to be inherent or inalienable.
Section 2. Money is Not Free Speech. Federal, State, and local government shall regulate, limit, or prohibit contributions and expenditures, including a candidate’s own contributions and expenditures, to ensure that all citizens, regardless of their economic status, have access to the political process, and that no person gains, as a result of their money, substantially more access or ability to influence in any way the election of any candidate for public office or any ballot measure. Federal, State, and local government shall require that any permissible contributions and expenditures be publicly disclosed. The judiciary shall not construe the spending of money to influence elections to be speech under the First Amendment.
The Move to Amend coalition, formed in 2009, with nearly 260,000 people and hundreds of organizations, has helped to pass nearly 500 resolutions in municipalities and local governments across the country calling on the state and federal governments to adopt this amendment.
Since March 4, 1789, the Constitution of the United States has been the supreme law of the United States. The Constitution can be changed only through the amendment process; 27 amendments have been added since its inception. Amendments are proposed by Congress directly or by calling a constitutional convention on demand of two thirds of the state legislatures. Amendments must then be ratified by three fourths of the states. Once ratified, the amendment is incorporated into the Constitution and becomes law immediately.
As Chris Hedges wrote for Truthdig a year ago, “Voting will not alter the corporate systems of power. Voting is an act of political theater, … as futile and sterile as … the elections [in] Syria, Iran, and Iraq. … We can vote for Romney or Obama, but Goldman Sachs and ExxonMobil and Bank of America and the defense contractors always win.
Our electoral system, already hostage to corporate money and corporate lobbyists, … died on Jan. 21, 2010, when the Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission granted to corporations the right to spend unlimited amounts on independent political campaigns. The ruling turned politicians into corporate employees. If any politician steps out of line, dares to defy corporate demands, this ruling hands to our corporate overlords the ability to pump massive amounts of anonymous money into campaigns to make sure the wayward are defeated and silenced. Politicians … hand corporations exemptions, subsidies, trillions in taxpayer money, no-bid contracts, and massive loans with virtually no interest, and they abolish any regulations that impede profits and protect the citizen.”
Consider this from the Transnational Institute’s report “State of Power 2013”: Oil and gas companies comprise 7 of the top 10 companies in the world. Big Finance owns the largest share of transnational companies, with less than 1 percent, mostly banks, controlling the shares of 40 percent of global businesses. Corporations are more powerful than nations: Comparing company revenues with national Gross Domestic Product, 40 of the top 100 economies are corporations. 60 of the top 200 corporations are in the U.S., followed by 26 in Japan, 16 in France, 15 in Germany, 12 in China, and 11 in the U.K.
Much work remains to bring the “We the People Amendment” to a vote in Washington. You can help by calling your Congressperson and representatives and telling them you support the amendment and you want them to support it as well. It is time to end corporate rule over our political system, our representatives, and our lives. It is We the People who have inalienable rights guaranteed by the Constitution, and not corporations that rob us blind, destroy our environment, and keep us in perpetual indebtedness in the name of profit.
Chris Hoffman lives in the village of Sherburne in her 150+ year-old house where she caters to the demands of her four cats, attempts to grow heirloom tomatoes and herbs and reads voraciously. She passionately pursues various avenues with like-minded friends to preserve and protect a sustainable rural lifestyle for everyone in Central New York.