Money Talks

Quick quiz:  what does the first amendment guarantee you?  If you're not familiar:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Sounds good, right?  You get to worship who you want, when and where you want.  You get to say what you want, when and where you want.  You get to meet with whoever you want, when and where you want.  And the Feds can't do squat about it.  Sounds like you're not limited by much, no?

Well unfortunately, the government has decided that it's not just you that should be able to do what you want.  Large corporations also have their so-called "first amendment rights," which means these big wig profit-mongerers have significant influence over the politics that govern this country.  This issue came to the forefront of the political arena last week when our Supreme Court ruled in favor of corporations--their ruling decreed "that the government may not ban political spending by corporation in candidate elections".   Now, a business can flood a candidate with money, effectively influencing the platform that candidate will support while campaigning and if elected.  A corporation is likely to have very different priorities than the average, run-of-the-mill citizen.  Despite the fact that a corporation is made up of individuals, is it appropriate that this mix of individuals have the (monetary) resources to influence politics much more effectively than the average individual?  Shouldn't we all be able to participate in democracy equally?  Yet again, we see money is what really influences what we talk about and what we choose to prioritize.  Are we "selling votes?"

This brings up another controversial issue, too, and that's the power of the judicial branch.  Do they have too much sway?

What do you think:  should corporations have the same right to political speech as you and I?

Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/us/politics/22scotus.html?scp=1&sq=court%20ruling&st=Search