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Friday, January 22, 2010

Paulette Garin On Ruling: Money Is Not Speech

Written By Paulette Garin

The Supreme Court’s decision to recognize a corporation’s free speech rights under the 1st Amendment is yet another step in our decline of becoming a corporatist propaganda state.
Paulette Garin
Did our founding fathers intend for a corporation to be given the same rights as a human being? Corporations have too much influence in our electoral process and over our elected officials with their well-funded political action committees and expensive lobbyists.

The Court’s decision applies to unions too, but the amount of dollars and influence the declining ranks of organized labor will be able to exert pales in comparison to the corporations.

Money is not speech. Any hope for a level playing field disappears with this ruling. Our elected officials will be even more influenced by corporate dollars and less beholding to the electorate. This Supreme Court opinion all but drowns out the grassroots.

Advertising for political campaigns and issues will be paid for by shareholder funds. Will they be willing to forego profits for political action? No, which means we as consumers will bear the cost by being charged more for products we buy.

In stark contrast, public financing of campaigns with tax payer dollars would provide a level playing field and allow the voices of human beings to be heard rather than corporations. Think about it, the average American (you and me) are going to bear the cost of campaign finance no matter what. Public financing of campaigns will protect our interests far more than those of any corporation.

Paulette Garin
2008 Democratic Candidate for Congress (WI-01)
Wisconsin State Coordinator - Progressive Democrats of America (PDA)

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