Corporations are NOT persons-- DUH!

[Amy6627]

We must all work towards abolishing corporate personhood!

An excerpt from Reclaim Democracy:
http://reclaimdemocracy.org/personhood/index.html

Our Bill of Rights was the result of tremendous efforts to institutionalize and protect the rights of human beings. It strengthened the premise of our Constitution: that the people are the root of all power and authority for government. This vision has made our Constitution and government a model emulated in many nations. But corporate lawyers (acting as both attorneys and judges) subverted our Bill of Rights in the late 1800's by establishing the doctrine of "corporate personhood" -- the claim that corporations were intended to fully enjoy the legal status and protections created for human beings.

We believe that corporations are not persons and possess only the privileges we willfully grant them. Granting corporations the status of legal "persons" effectively rewrites the Constitution to serve corporate interests as though they were human interests. Ultimately, the doctrine of granting constitutional rights to corporations gives a thing illegitimate privilege and power that undermines our freedom and authority as citizens. While corporations are setting the agenda on issues in our Congress and courts, We the People are not; for we can never speak as loudly with our own voices as corporations can with the unlimited amplification of money.

An excerpt From Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom:
http://www.wilpf.org/campaigns/ccp/corp/ACP/What_Could_Change.pdf

When corporate personhood is abolished, here are some actions We the People can take that are currently “beyond our authority”:

1. Prohibit all political activity by corporations — stop all corporate political donations and all corporate lobbying. These activities are currently legal because “corporate persons” are protected under the First Amendment.

2. Prevent corporate mergers and prohibit corporations from owning stock in other corporations. Regulation of these activities was overturned because “corporate persons” are protected under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

3. Inspect for environmental or health violations without a warrant or prior notice. The Fourth Amendment protects “corporate persons” from search without a warrant, protecting corporate polluters from concerned citizens and regulatory agencies.

4. Revoke corporate charters by popular referendum. This is now illegal because “corporate persons” are entitled to equal protection and due process under the Fourteenth Amendment.

5. Prohibit the erection of cell phone towers and chain stores from doing business in your town, county, and state. Civil rights legislation and the Fourteenth Amendment are used to ensure that “corporate persons” have an equal opportunity to be part of our communities.

6. Stop advertising for tobacco, guns, and other dangerous products. “Corporate persons” are entitled to free speech under the First Amendment, with “commercial speech” increasingly protected by the federal courts.

7. Levy differential taxes for corporations and restrict their size. The Fourteenth Amendment protects “corporate persons” from unfair discrimination (although they don’t complain when they get big tax breaks).

8. Require labelling of genetically modified foods. This is currently prevented because the First Amendment protects the right of “corporate persons” NOT to speak. If corporate personhood were abolished, none of these things would change automatically. New laws could be written and old laws could be challenged in court to eliminate the kinds of protections that have enabled “corporate persons” to amass so much wealth and power.

Remember: judge-made law is not democracy! We the People have the power to change this.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. It will not happen with the current balance of power in Congress.

It will take major campaign reform because it is the corporations that are funding most of the people who are currently in government. That covers both Democrats and Repukes.
Based on the current judicial climate it won't happen that way either.

[HereSince1628]

4. Correct, nothing to add but agreement.

[BrklynLiberal]

11. Well, I sure as hell agree and intend to do whatever I can to make

it an eventual reality.

[ClassWarrior]

2. 26 words...

Corporations have all the RIGHTS of people, but none of the RESPONSIBILITY. Here's an article about how adding 26 words to the articles of incorporation can make a profound difference:

How Corporate Law Inhibits Social Responsibility
by Robert Hinkley (originally published at www.commondreams.org )

<snip>

In Maine, where I live, this duty of directors is in Section 716 of the business corporation act, which reads:

...the directors and officers of a corporation shall exercise their powers and discharge their duties with a view to the interests of the corporation and of the shareholders...

Although the wording of this provision differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, its legal effect does not. This provision is the motive behind all corporate actions everywhere in the world. Distilled to its essence, it says that the people who run corporations have a legal duty to shareholders, and that duty is to make money. Failing this duty can leave directors and officers open to being sued by shareholders.

<snip>

The specific change I suggest is simple: add 26 words to corporate law and thus create what I call the "Code for Corporate Citizenship." In Maine, this would mean amending section 716 to add the following clause. Directors and officers would still have a duty to make money for shareholders,

...but not at the expense of the environment, human rights, the public safety, the communities in which the corporation operates or the dignity of its employees.

This simple amendment would effect a dramatic change in the underlying mechanism that drives corporate malfeasance.

<snip>

-----

I don't have the link to this article anymore. It's a year or two old. But if anyone wants to read the full thing, PM me and I'll post it to you.

NGU.

[Occulus]

3. I'm feeling lucky. -Google

http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0119-04.htm

edited to add: Thank God... people are starting to get it. This is one huge, serious issue.

[ClassWarrior]

6. Nice job. The original link expired long ago and I never thought...

...to Google it. Thanks!

NGU.

[Guaranteed]

5. I think when a corporation goes under, we should show it respect

by having a memorial service and funeral.

"It was such a good corporation. It loved to laugh...."

[Me.]

7. Good Post

and welcome to DU. I think, it's important to remember, when taking on corporations that (obviously) they won't be neutered without a fight. The basic nature of corporate thinking these days, is that the entity must survive no matter what it takes, or the corporation must do. In my mind, the behemoths can literally be likened to taking the life path of a parasite.

[housewolf]

8. Thom Hartmann writes and speaks on this regularly

He's writtine a book on it, I can't remember the title but go to thomhartmann.com and check out his writings. He's a brilliant progressive writer and daily radio talk show host.

[Amy6627]

9. I went to a Thom Hartmann seminar this past weekend, here

in San Diego. It was SO inspiring! Some other attendees and I are forming an action group here in San Diego. Thom Hartmann is fabulous! He explained how corporate person-hood was actually a "mistake" that was done by a court clerk in the Supreme Court, who BTW was in the pocket of the corporate rail roads.

Amy

[housewolf]

10. Okay, now I'm jealous....

I would have LOVED to have gone to the seminar!

Except that I'm in Arizona and couldn't have made the trip anyway...

Thanks for writing a bit about it. I've been a Thom Hartmann fan for a couple of years now, don't get to listen to his show everyday but he's so smart, caring and articulate... I have a real appreciation of him and his work.

[cestpaspossible]

12. It will be a multigenerational struggle

but ending corporate personhood is the key to everything.