Supreme Court decision facilitates government corruption
Edmund Lazzari
Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: Opinion
On Jan. 21, the Supreme Court decided to overturn state and federal laws limiting the contributions of corporations and unions to political campaigns. As a result, the coming election year will see more special interest money thrown at politicians than ever before. More than ever, corporations and unions will decide the fate of American politics. The Common citizens, deprived of their voices, will be left to deal with the result.
There are several things wrong with this court decision. The foremost is a doctrine called corporate personhood. It gives corporations and unions every right that a citizen has in the public square.
These powerful voices (with powerful wallets) take precedence over the citizen and give a few powerful people the ability to manipulate those supposed to be representing the people. Corporate personhood simply gives corporation and union leaders many times the already considerable influence they have as rich and powerful citizens. This violates, at least in spirit, the "one man, one vote" doctrine which is the cornerstone of our democracy.
Federal rulings should not wantonly dismiss the common sense laws of states. This ruling is "a threat to similar limits that had been imposed in about half of the country's 50 states," according to a Jan. 21 Reuters article. States designed these laws to allow people to access their representatives and to be a bit freer from special interest groups. By preventing corporate and union factions from gaining power and influence, these states have made it easier to find out what people really think instead of submitting to the select few who have the level of influence to be heard.
Judges should also consider other circumstances regarding individual rights when dealing with this issue. Laws in some states, like New York, require some people, like teachers, to be part of a union. The union dues are automatically deducted from teachers' paychecks and can be used by the union to support candidates whom some teachers may have no interest in supporting. If any part of this ruling is to be revised for the better, it should at least allow states that mandate unions to limit those unions' political activities. Individual property rights guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment must be taken into account when allowing groups free reign with money that does not belong to them.
As James Madison said in Federalist Paper #10, factions are the enemies of democracy. This Supreme Court decision has made factions stronger than ever. By disregarding the intent of our Founding Fathers, this Court has followed in the trend of the twentieth century and made it harder for Jefferson's "educated citizenry" to have a meaningful impact on the political process.
The only hope left for the citizens is to do what they have always done: vote for candidates who represent their ideas and persuade others to do so. More than ever, there is a need to become involved in the political process and to stop factions from tearing our nation apart. If we act now, we can still show our representatives that big government and big business don't solve problems, people do. Then we can be what this country was meant to be: the bastion of democracy in an ever-changing world.
e-mail: lazzarem09@sbu.edu
There are several things wrong with this court decision. The foremost is a doctrine called corporate personhood. It gives corporations and unions every right that a citizen has in the public square.
These powerful voices (with powerful wallets) take precedence over the citizen and give a few powerful people the ability to manipulate those supposed to be representing the people. Corporate personhood simply gives corporation and union leaders many times the already considerable influence they have as rich and powerful citizens. This violates, at least in spirit, the "one man, one vote" doctrine which is the cornerstone of our democracy.
Federal rulings should not wantonly dismiss the common sense laws of states. This ruling is "a threat to similar limits that had been imposed in about half of the country's 50 states," according to a Jan. 21 Reuters article. States designed these laws to allow people to access their representatives and to be a bit freer from special interest groups. By preventing corporate and union factions from gaining power and influence, these states have made it easier to find out what people really think instead of submitting to the select few who have the level of influence to be heard.
Judges should also consider other circumstances regarding individual rights when dealing with this issue. Laws in some states, like New York, require some people, like teachers, to be part of a union. The union dues are automatically deducted from teachers' paychecks and can be used by the union to support candidates whom some teachers may have no interest in supporting. If any part of this ruling is to be revised for the better, it should at least allow states that mandate unions to limit those unions' political activities. Individual property rights guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment must be taken into account when allowing groups free reign with money that does not belong to them.
As James Madison said in Federalist Paper #10, factions are the enemies of democracy. This Supreme Court decision has made factions stronger than ever. By disregarding the intent of our Founding Fathers, this Court has followed in the trend of the twentieth century and made it harder for Jefferson's "educated citizenry" to have a meaningful impact on the political process.
The only hope left for the citizens is to do what they have always done: vote for candidates who represent their ideas and persuade others to do so. More than ever, there is a need to become involved in the political process and to stop factions from tearing our nation apart. If we act now, we can still show our representatives that big government and big business don't solve problems, people do. Then we can be what this country was meant to be: the bastion of democracy in an ever-changing world.
e-mail: lazzarem09@sbu.edu
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