The root of all that is wrong with our political system is related to

[Amy6627]

Person-hood. I am forming a Reclaim Democracy chapter in San Diego. I wish everyone would get on this bandwagon. It really is a non-partisan issue that both Repukes and Dems should unite and fight against. Why should corporations be allowed to contribute to political campaigns, they can't vote? The Supreme Court decided in 1886 that because the 14th amendment made people out of property (slaves were considered property) that means Corporations were now persons. So if they are persons, they have the protection of the 1st amendment of free speech. Since they don't have a mouth, then money is their speech. Check out these two websites:

http://www.thomhartmann.com/unequalprotection.shtml

http://reclaimdemocracy.org/personhood/

[Tux]

1. I agree

But treating corporations as a person was used to protect stockholders and CEOs from being personally involved in lawsuits. I think the best alternative is to treat a Corporation not as a person, but an agent between ONLY the stockholders and the customers.

[Amy6627]

2. Everyone should read "Unequal Protection", by Thom Hartmann.

It is quite an eye opener!

[chlamor]

3. The root of all that is wrong

with our 'economic' system. Politics in many ways can be a distraction to what really runs the show-Economics.

Your cause is our cause and it is a good one. Corporate capitalism is essentially the privatization of benefits and socialization of burdens.

[Amy6627]

5. I love that illistration! Where did it come from? n/t

[PATRICK]

7. The adjustments are worth noting

The "eaters" have taken the top heavy tier which is destabilizing and damaged by blind self-interest. The armies are weakened and replaced by media controls which is absent(attesting to the power of distraction and the small pretense of critical poses). The establishment Churches are replaced by fringe chaos that lures some of the people on the bottom to make trips up the pyramid as an obscene gesture to democracy. Further destabilizing.

The more I think about the variations the more convincing that the current situation is crazily unsustainable, But collapse isn't comforting either when you consider who still is on the bottom.

[Warpy]

4. It's a type of personhood vulnerable to the death penalty

Corporations like Enron (which is still in existence) need to have their charters revoked when they're found to be as egregious in their mistreatment of stockholders and of the country as a whole. Make their major stockholders bear the brunt of the liability when the corporation is dissolved; small stockholders like employees would be assessed only small penalties and that would be weighed against their losses as a percentage of their portfolio. Hold their executives IN PRISON as flight risks while they're awaiting trial, and include the board of directors in that. Freeze all executive and board member assets.

Bet a lot of corporations would clean up fast. Bet a lot of rich stockholders would start paying attention to what those companies were doing and not just to their paper profits from them.

[Amy6627]

6. Right on!!! n/t