I’m a person.
Chances are if you’re reading this you’re a person too.
…
Exxon? Not a person.
But one year ago today, five members of the U.S. Supreme Court got this simple truth all wrong.
In the case Citizens United v. FEC they ruled that the limited existing restrictions on corporate spending on U.S. elections were unconstitutional because corporations are entitled to the same first amendment speech protections that individual citizens–people–enjoy in our democracy.
And boy did corporations put this ruling to good use:
According to a new report by our friends at Public Citizen, spending by outside groups during the 2010 midterm elections in the United States jumped to $294.2 million, up from just $68.9 million in the 2006 cycle. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce alone spent $31.2 million to influence election outcomes.
That means that unless we act, our concerns–from good jobs to clean air to safe products–will take even more of a backseat to the concerns of Wal-Mart, Exxon, and Dow than they do now.
Date:
Friday, March 4, 2011 at 6:30pm
Location:
Northwoods Unitarian Universalist Church
1370 N. Millbend Drive
The Woodlands, TX 77380
No admission charge, but donations are accepted.