Corporations are people?

Once upon a time in America corporations did not enjoy the
privileges they do today. The Founding Fathers would have been
appalled at the idea that “corporations are people.” The modern
business corporation is an artificial creation which shields its
owners and managers from accountability and public scrutiny.
The American Revolution was as much a revolt against British
corporations as it was against the English parliament and king. The
Boston Tea Party was, in fact, a protest against the monopoly on
tea sales by the royally chartered British East India Company. It
is ironic that today’s “tea party” movement is primarily funded and
directed by corporate interests.
The newly formed United States of America was rightfully
mistrustful of corporate power; the states were very careful in how
they granted charters. Most of the early corporations were for the
express purpose of establishing towns and colleges, or for building
roads, bridges and harbors – endeavors that were prohibitive for
individuals. Business corporations were the exception. In fact,
nowhere does the U.S. Constitution mention the rights of
corporations.
For the first 100 years of our nation’s history corporations
were chartered by individual states for a specific purpose and for
a specified and limited time. When they had achieved their purpose
– or failed to – they were dissolved. They were prohibited from
participating in politics and from owning stock in other
corporations. In most cases their charters did not shield owners
from responsibility for harm done by the corporation.
In the early 19th century bank charters were limited to 3 to 10
years and they were prohibited from engaging in trade. Corporations
that abused their charters were dissolved and their owners held
liable for any debts or damages. Most states had statutes
specifying that corporations existed only to serve the public
good.
Over time, however, corporate interests were able to convince
courts to grant them increasingly greater powers and privileges. In
a landmark case in 1886 (Santa Clara County vs. Southern Pacific
Railroad), the U.S. Supreme Court declared that a corporation was a
“natural person” entitled to all the rights of a real human being.
Unsurprisingly, the clerk of the court who wrote the summary was a
former railroad company president.
This decision opened the floodgates for what has amounted to a
hostile takeover of America’s political system. The 14th amendment,
which was intended to redress some of the evils of slavery by
recognizing the humanity and citizenship of African Americans, has
since been used as the pretext for extending corporate pregogatives
and privileges.
However, Mitt Romney’s protestations notwithstanding, the
distinctions between corporations and human beings are obvious and
significant. Corporations enjoy the power of succession, which
means that they can continue to live and accrue capital beyond the
possibilities of mortal humans. They are bound by no moral
strictures or conscience; in fact, they are usually bound by their
charters to place profits ahead of moral and ethical
considerations.
Because corporations tend to accrue capital and influence, it is
no surprise that this capital and influence are used to affect
public policy in ways that grant greater influence and profit.
Lucrative defense contracts, farm subsidies and tax breaks for oil
companies are examples of how corporations use this power. The
greatest return on investment is from lobbying. A $10,000
investment in a political action committee can yield a $10,000,000
government contract.
Regulatory agencies established to safeguard the public welfare
are eventually captured by the very industries they regulate.
Two years ago, in the Citizens United case, the Supreme Court
struck another body blow against democracy by equating money with
speech, allowing corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money
to influence elections. It is indisputable that money determines
the outcome of elections.
Why aren’t we more outraged? Why do we accept this assault on
democracy? Isn’t it time we real and human citizens of the United
States reclaimed our country? Can we at least level the playing
field so our voices can be heard as loudly and clearly as Goldman
Sachs or Exxon?
Larry Robinson is a Sebastopol resident and served on the
Sebastopol City Council for 12 years.