Saving American Democracy

I'm not sure if you are aware of this, but evidently corporations are people too.

That's what the Supreme Court ruled recently, which means that they get a slew of ugly powers that "real" people cannot contend with.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is trying to introduce a Constitutional Amendment to fix things.  His Saving American Democracy Amendment is amazingly short and straight-forward.

I really think this is important legislation and if you think about the implications I think you will too.

The meat of the amendment is this:

• Corporations are not persons with constitutional rights equal to real people.
• Corporations are subject to regulation by the people.
• Corporations may not make campaign contributions or expenditures.
• Congress and states have the power to regulate campaign finances.

He has some great quotes from quite a few influential people, including President Obama, but I really liked the one from the founders of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream:

"I'm Ben, I'm a person. I'm Jerry, I'm a person. Ben & Jerry's ice cream? Not a person." 

If you get the opportunity, please read the Amendment (it's not much longer than this blog post) and sign the petition.