In 1886, the United States Supreme Court gave corporations personhood and rights guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. This was due to the Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad decision. It was a huge step out of the Court's bounds, as the Constitution does not allow the Supreme court, or any other court, to alter the Constitution or laws made by Congress, signed by the president.
While the idea, which received a unanimous vote, was to provide an easy way to make corporations pay taxes, it has backfired on the American people.
In 2010, the Supreme Court stepped out of bounds again while ruling on the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision. They legalized unlimited funding by corporations to political campaigns. Money became speech. This delivered a massive blow to democracy in the United States.
A corporation is neither born nor naturalized. It is not a person. Article three of the Constitution tells us that the Supreme Justices "shall hold their Offices during good Behavior." What it does not make clear however is how to remove the Justices that overstepped their bounds.
Likewise, money is not speech, nor is it a way to speak louder. It is merely a way to quietly subdue the free speech of others.
We can see the effects today when looking at the amount of money candidates are given. As of early December 2011, President Obama has received $171,573 from Microsoft Corp, $113,800 from Comcast Corp, $107,501 from the University of California, $99,975 from Harvard University and $95,066 from Google Inc.
By comparison the top five contributors to Mitt Romney have been Goldman Sachs with $367,200, Credit Suisse Group giving $203,750, Morgan Stanley at $199,800, HIG Capital with a $186,500 donation and Barclays giving his campaign $157,750.
With this kind of cash, what chance does anyone else really have of winning? By early December, President Obama had raised $86,215,580, Romney was at $32,212,389 and they are just getting started. Rick Perry's $17,168,589 and Ron Paul's $12,623,422 just are not enough to play in this game.
What choice will America have for 2012? The race to the White House will be Obama verses Romney. The Plutocracy has spoken.
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