Get. Money. Out.
By Thom Hartmann A...
Last week, the United States Senate actually considered a constitutional amendment on campaign finance. Last Monday, the Senate advanced Tom Udall's proposed amendment, which would allow Congress to regulate money in politics. Seventy-nine senators voted to allow debate on the measure.
Of course, Republicans voted against the final measure on Thursday, because would never allow anything to stand in the way of their corporate donations. However, the very fact that they allowed debate on this amendment shows that even Republicans know how much the American people support regulations on campaign spending.
Money in politics has been a long-standing problem in our nation, and the Citizens United decision gave rise to unprecedented corporate power over our lawmakers. Millions of Americans recognize the problem and want Congress to act, but many of our lawmakers refuse to give up these giant piles of cash.
Thankfully, we're not alone in this fight, and some lawmakers are listening. When asked about the Udall amendment, Senator Al Franken said, “Citizens United gives corporate special interests the ability to spend unlimited amounts of money in our elections. It's wrong, and I've been fighting it since the day the Supreme Court announced its egregious decision.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said, “This constitutional amendment is what we need to bring sanity back to elections and restore Americans' confidence in our democracy.” This is the biggest issue of our time. The corporate cash in our elections influences everything from our climate policy to labor regulations.
It's time to take back our democracy by saying once and for all that money is not speech and corporations are not people. Go to MoveToAmend.org to find out how you can help.
Comments
#2
It is wisely written: "Money is the root of all evil". For proof of this, one need look no further than Congress.
#3
This might be overly cynical but they have a saying for that - Wish in one hand and do something in the other. It escapes me.
#4
I dunno.
#5
This "legalized corruption" is only legal because the corrupt politicians make the laws. We might be waiting forever if we're waiting for them to change it.
#6
If corporations have the same rights as individuals, then why do they receive tax relief for IRS tax debts that sole proprietors and general partners do not? Sole proprietors and general partners are responsible for all employee taxes, AS INDIVIDUALS. Corporations that shut down are not responsible for employee taxes, and the trust fund recovery penalty may be assessed only for the trust fund portion of the taxes on individual officers, or other responsible parties (often these responsible parties get by without this assessment due to the complex and time-consuming process of assessing this penalty by the IRS). THEN, IT IS EASY FOR THE SAME OFFICERS TO START NEW CORPORATIONS, AND NEVER PAY THEIR EMPLOYEE TAX DEBTS (If one attempts to equate a corporation going out of business with the death of an individual, consider the fallacy of this, in that an individual who dies cannot start another business).
The Trust Fund Recovery Penalty is the portion of employee taxes the business pays over to the IRS (federal withholding, 1/2 of the social security & medicare taxes). Individual owners of sole props and general partnerships are responsible for all employee taxes as individuals, with liens on them individually against their assets, but not the officers of corporations. If corps have the rights of individuals, then officers of corps should be held responsible for all employee taxes immediately when not paid. There should be no reason for a Trust Fund Recovery Penalty.
Here is a good question for your representatives. If corporations have the same rights as individuals, then why does the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty exist? How can the IRS make corporations responsible for employee taxes in the same way as individuals are? They can't, because corporations are not individuals.
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