Josh Anderson: Corporations are not People! Money is not Speech!

Government in the United States is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the corporations, and it’s time to take steps against the oligarchy, Josh Anderson says.

Ever since the US Supreme Court legalized bribery in 2010’s Citizens United case, we have the best government money can buy.

The court declared corporations can spend as much money on politicians as they like, as long as it’s in the guise of campaign contributions. Buying elections is just a function of corporations’ free speech rights under the First Amendment to the Constitution.

“While there are many reforms needed to re-empower ordinary people to take control of their democracy,” Anderson said, “removing the ability of corporations to buy elections is a good start.”

Greens across the country have been involved for years with “Move to Amend” groups seeking to establish that only human beings have constitutional rights. The movement’s success in giving people a voice is demonstrated by the number of localities passing resolutions “to firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.”

“Milwaukeeans are prevented by the state legislature from weighing in on Citizens United in a referendum,” Anderson says. “If such a referendum were presented before voters, they would say ‘Yes’ by a wide majority.”

Anderson also supports more comprehensive electoral reforms, like ranked choice voting (RCV) and proportional representation (PR) in legislative bodies like the Common Council. “Ordinary people should have more power in our democracy. RCV and PR gives them the power to express themselves.”

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.