To the Editor;
January 21, 2022 marks 12 years since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. FEC decision gave constitutional rights to artificial entities, such as corporations.
Citizens United, the PAC, was founded in 1988 by Floyd Brown, a longtime Washington political consultant, with major funding from longtime industrialists the Koch brothers. The group promoted corporate interests, socially conservative causes and candidates who supported their main goals of limited government and freedom of enterprise. In 2009, it sued the Federal Election Commission (FEC) which resulted in eliminating some restrictions on how corporations can spend money in elections. The 2010 5 to 4 decision was based on two absurd notions:
– Artificial incorporated entities are entitled to the same Constitutional rights as real people, and
– Political spending is equivalent to free speech.
With our elections now awash in money, Congress passes laws that favor wealthy campaign contributors. And with their newfound Constitutional rights, large corporations use the courts to nullify democratically-enacted laws they find inconvenient.
Only a Constitutional amendment can overturn flawed Supreme Court decisions which, in this case, prevents political equality for real people, rich and poor alike. Fortunately, such an amendment proposal has already been introduced in Congress: the “We the People Amendment.” (HJR.48.) Please encourage your elected Representative in Congress to continue supporting HJR.48 and your Senator to cosponsor HJR.48 once it gets to the Senate.
Jack W. Dean, Mattapoisett
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