Defending democracy. Why does Congress repeatedly ignore the wishes of a large majority of American people and instead of passing better gun regulation, taking action on climate change, restoring fair taxation, and more, defeat those initiatives?
Here’s why: Large corporations, particularly transnational corporations, have taken control of our government. The governments that we, the People, created to establish justice and promote our nation’s general welfare are being used to enrich and protect corporations, even when the costs of doing so hurt America’s start-up businesses, citizens, and taxpayers. It’s not only the legislatures: Corporations exert more influence than we do on executive-branch regulatory agencies and enforcement agencies, and they exert more influence than we do on the judicial branch.
How did this come about? A series of court decisions, beginning in the 19th century and culminating in 2010’s Citizens United case, have endowed corporations with human rights. Not just reasonable privileges suited to their intended economic functions, but rights that can be enforced against legislation intended to promote the public welfare, regulatory action intended to protect the planet, and judicial action intended to uphold the law.
Extension of human rights to corporations (all our rights, not just free speech) has never been debated or enacted by any legislature—this gross unbalancing has been accomplished entirely by corporate plaintiffs and the courts.
We, the People, cannot expect to win any lasting victories for anything we care about – education, environment, public safety, whatever—until we wrest control of our government back from the moneyed interests and transnational corporations.
On Sunday evening, April 7, representatives from Wisconsin’s Move to Amend chapter will speak and answer questions at the regular Sunday meeting of Waunakee’s Grass Roots Organization of Waunakee. They will be able to explain how the granting of human rights to corporations affects almost every function for which we created government; how we the People can take our government back; and how individuals and groups in Wisconsin can help to make it happen.
An educated citizenry is the indispensable first step to reclaiming democracy.
Please join us at GROW’s regular Sunday meeting,
6 PM Sunday, April 7
Waunakee’s EMS community meeting room,
201 North Klein Drive, Waunakee
(One block east of the Piggly Wiggly; one block north of the Post Office.)
