To the Editor:
In the early 1970s, as the deleterious effects of unbridled corporate power became more and more visible, a movement was initiated to invoke social responsibility by corporations via stockholder initiatives. While it had some impact on corporate policies, it was not effective enough to countermand the legal requirement that corporations were to maximize profits for their stockholders. This they do by often passing off what can be considered social costs (i.e. pollution and other collective adverse unintended consequences) to the general public.
More recently, corporate lawyers and lobbyists have used the courts to increase their profits. Using the concept known as “corporate personhood,” which reflects the idea that corporations should have all the same Constitutional rights as ordinary people, they and others with very deep pockets have succeeded in securing Supreme Court decisions which have opened the floodgates to massive political campaign fundraising and spending by these very same corporations, other artificial entities and individuals. Extremely large financial resources available to these entities for use in our election process will effect a change in our government from a Democracy to an Oligarchy if left unchecked.
To overcome this threat to our representative form of government, a bill called “We the People Act” (HD 1988) has been filed by Senator Jamie Eldridge and Representative Cory Atkins and 81 bi-partisan co-sponsors in the state House and Senate. This bill calls on Congress to propose an Amendment to the Constitution that would affirm that:
– The rights protected by the Constitution of the United States are the rights of natural persons, i.e. human individuals only; and
– Congress and the states shall place limits on political contributions and expenditures to ensure that all citizens have access to the political process, and the spending of money to influence elections is not protected free speech under the First Amendment.
If Congress does not propose this constitutional amendment within six months of the passage of this bill, the bill petitions Congress to set up an Amendments Convention. In either case, it will take 38 (or three-fourths) of the states to approve such an Amendment for it to become law.
An article expected to be included on the warrant for the Mattapoisett Annual Meeting will ask that the Town vote in support of this bill to bring democracy back to the people.
Jack W. Dean, Mattapoisett
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