Thursday 15 March 2012

15/3 Beheading the monster, how to achieve a just balance, if we can.

How should democracy tackle the spector of the corporation becoming the controlling entity of the society that it is charged with protecting while corporate interests seek to influence government to the detriment of society as a whole?
A small town instituted a city ordnance restricting the number of big fast food chain restaurants to 9. Here Local government at the behest of it people set a limit on corporate activity, mindful of cost to health of it citizenry.

Chittenden, Vermont, 53 communities voted to over turn Citizens United asking for a constitutional amendment. The amendment would see the end to vast sums of political contributions going to electoral campaigns. If all voters contributed $300 to a political campaign one corporation could out spend at all those voters. 

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/310793/20120307/vermont-resolution-ban-corporate-personhood-overturning-citizens.htm

Recently the protect put in place to protect investors are set to be repealed. This likely a move engineered by corporate lobbyng.. The pressure on protections that are there to maintain order.
For an example of the value of corporates lobbying government, look at this.
American Jobs Creation Act Drop tax rate from 35% to 5% (Source: TheYoungTurks)

Some how the acceptance of the lobbying seen in Washington is much like leaving house keys under the door mat in the most lawless part of town. Somehow this does not lend itself to being a sensible arrangement.

The Occupy movement, maligned by the press and conservatives,  are keenly aware of this issue. The people in the movement want to work and they want value for their work. Many are well qualified for and/or experienced at working they would like work some more. Even the buy who applied for over 900 jobs. Any anybody who says he's lazy is not observing the facts.

It seems many Americans see the corporate as some sort god like entity that will trade citizens' productivity for the promise of wealth. But all they get is the promise, an old euphemism for fraud would describe the victim as being sold a bill of goods, meaning the victim had paid for the paperwork for goods they expected to receive, rather than the expected goods themselves.
Somehow the American people getting the bills, and little of good.

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