Letter to the Editor on Ballot Question 4, Mass. House 11th District
Voters in Steve Walsh’s district are fortunate to have a question on the ballot about a Constitutional Amendment to address “corporate personhood” and the rapidly increasing role of big money in our local and national politics.
In order to counter this trend that continually dilutes the power of our democracy, it is critical that the PEOPLE vote in favor of this question to let our politicians know how we feel about money in politics and its impact on our democracy.
The text of the question, which is one of 4 on the ballot, is:
Shall the state representative from this district be instructed to vote in favor of a resolution calling upon Congress to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution affirming that (1) corporations are not entitled to the constitutional rights of human beings, and (2) both Congress and the States may place limits on political contributions and political spending?
This campaign is part of a burgeoning grassroots democracy movement aimed at countering a number of Supreme Court decisions, the last being the Citizens United decision in 2010. The ballot question on our ballot will also be on the ballots of 30% of our State’s voters in November, and similar efforts are going on in a number of other states. We aim to build a powerful majority that understands what ails us and agrees on the cure: a constitutional amendment that at long last affirms this simple statement: In a democracy the people rule.
Corporations play a significant role in our country. However, corporations are not persons, they are property, for they can be bought and sold; and are not entitled to human rights at all. They are granted privileges by state governments to conduct business, but that is all. Those privileges can be revoked by the states if they run counter to the public interest; but human rights cannot be revoked, they are inalienable.
So to everyone who hasn’t heard what the people are saying, let the word go out that we will not rest until we are heard, until our Legislature & Congress act to right what’s wrong in our republic, until money in our politics is regulated by the people, and until claims that anything but natural persons have the right of free speech are silenced in this land.
Kathy Lique
North Shore Move to Amend
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