Corporations are not people

Last year the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that business corporations have the same free speech rights as a human being.  This decision is a dramatic change in the financing of campaigns.  There has been rising concern over the past decade about the influence of corporations and their political contributions.  The McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law was an attempt to control the influence of money in election campaigns.  I don't think that corporations should have the same right as a human being because they have a unfair advantage over our democratic government, compared to a regular human being.

People who are supporters of the decision like Mitt Romney say " Corporations are people, my friend... of course they are. Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to the people. Where do you think it goes? Whose pockets? Whose pockets? People's pockets. Human beings my friend".  Ken Klukowski wrote an opinion article on Foxnews.com saying that "The Supreme Court's action in striking down the worst censorship provision of McCain-Feingold restores vital free speech protection in America... The First Amendment does not allow the government to silence its critics, and Thursday’s decision would make our Founding Fathers applaud -- they built this country out of a revolution founded upon a critique of oppressive government. But fast forward to 2010, this week, instead of applauding the Supreme Court’s ruling, America’s current president is responding by issuing an ominous threat against our highest court".  It seems to me that both conservatives are missing a vital point, that this Supreme Court decision allows corporations to put unlimited amounts of money into political campaigns.

President Obama said at his State of the Union Address in 2010, that "I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests, and worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by the American people, and that’s why I’m urging Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to right this wrong.”  I think that Obama's right on this issue.  I feel that this decision makes it harder for ordinary people's voices to be heard in today's politics.  In a Washington Post nationwide poll, 80% of Americans reject the Court's conclusion.  There seems to be a growing concern across the country about the role of money in political campaigns.  I can't help but feel that the Occupiers are an expression of people's frustration with a political system that is controlled by money.

Facts
1. Foxnews.com article "Founding Fathers Smiling After Supreme Court Campaign Finance Ruling"
2. State of  The Union Address 2010
3.  Washington Post Poll