Corporate Money Will Reshape Politics

[Happy Monkey]

1886

[sugarpop]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

1886

I'm so glad someone else knew corporations were defined as people a very long time ago. Still, the SC had ruled over and over to keep them in check in certain ways... until NOW. This is a DISASTER. Just wait and see. *heavy sigh*

[xoxoxoBruce]

[ZenGum]

Originally Posted by Pie

WTF was Kennedy thinking???

"Was that a gunshot?"

Originally Posted by squirell nutkin

WILL reshape politics? What, did you write this thread 200 years ago and just now got around to hitting "Post Quick Reply"?

What he said!

Originally Posted by glatt

Does this new ruling mean that multinational corporations can now pump money into the US elections by using their US branch? Are we going to have Chinese corporations donating money to US candidates by using dummy US subsidiaries?

Well, maybe they're just trying to even out the balance of trade figures. Gotta get some kind of money coming in.

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

Any limits to donating directly to candidates (I don't know specifics on this, it may not even be legal at all) would be per-corporation.

But there will be no limit to the corporation making its own ad campaign, completely separately (wink wink nudge nudge) from the candidate's campaign.

Stand by for third party attack ads. "Candidate Smith denied any knowledge of the ads which portrayed Jones as a lying cheating pedophile communist atheist...."


Planetologists talk of "crater saturation". The moon, for example, is so pitted with craters that any more impacts don't make a noticable scar; it is crater saturated. The only positive thought I have is that maybe Washington is already slush-money saturated. While not good, this might not make much difference.

Good luck guys.

[richlevy]

My only question is if you buy a politician and use a credit card, is it %1 OR %5 cash back?

Another 5-4 decision in favor of corporate 'rights'. GWB's appointments will be the gift that keeps on giving for the next 20-30 years.

Corporation are 'fictitious persons'. They can't be put in jail. They don't need or use public services unless they are programmed to 'care' or in those rare instances when they actually engage in long term thinking. So they don't go to PTA meetings or volunteer for the fire department.

The only way corporations can be punished is by government regulators or by courts awarding punitive damages. Depending on the administration, government oversight can be spotty and with the move towards tort reform, any caps in place might weaken the last inhibitor of corporate misbehavior.

We may be seeing memos like the infamous Ford Pinto memo.

Expected Costs of producing the Pinto with fuel tank modifications:

• Expected unit sales: 11 million vehicles (includes utility vehicles built on same chassis)
• Modification costs per unit: $11.00
• Total Cost: $121 million
  [= 11,000,000 vehicles x $11.00 per unit]

Expected Costs of producing the Pinto without fuel tank modifications:

• Expected accident results (assuming 2100 accidents):
  180 burn deaths
  180 serious burn injuries
  2100 burned out vehicles
• Unit costs of accident results (assuming out of court settlements):
  $200,000 per burn death*
  $67,000 per serious injury
  $700 per burned out vehicle
• Total Costs: $49.53 million
  [= (180 deaths x $200k) + (180 injuries x $67k) + (2100 vehicles x $700 per vehicle)]

It ended up costing Ford a lot more than that in reputation alone.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by richlevy

Corporation are 'fictitious persons'.

That is the bottom line. Freedom of Speech is an individual right designed for human beings. We must find a way to eliminate organizations from the equation. No PACS, Corporations, or Unions just individual contributions with full disclosure.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Right, union leadership doesn't speak for all the members. Corporate heads don't speak for all the stockholders. But by controlling the money & microphone, they would have the combined power.

[Elspode]

I think it's awesome how an issue that is about money can be spun as an issue of Free Speech.

Nothing matters in the world except money. I repeat, *nothing* matters in the world except money. Not human life, not national boundaries, not spiritual beliefs, morality...nothing.

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Right, union leadership doesn't speak for all the members. Corporate heads don't speak for all the stockholders. But by controlling the money & microphone, they would have the combined power.

The funny thing is, I believe that there was a law passed (by Republican Congress) that restricted a Union's right to use members money for political ads without their express permission.

I think that something similar is being proposed for corporations, but I think with what's in place right now, the unions are more constrained than corporations.

This is just a guess. I'm too tired to fact check right now.

BTW, what's really annoying is how states race to the bottom in providing 'corporate friendly' laws and use the commerce clause to force someone in Idaho who gets screwed to sue the company in Delaware. The reason that there is no limit on credit card interest rates is due to a combination of the Supreme Court and the state of South Dakota.