Adam Chandler also did a study of the court, and he found that pro-business and anti-regulatory groups submitted more than 75% of the amicus briefs for the Court. They found that the leading "petition-pusher" was the Chamber with 54, over the three years studied. Further, the Chamber led the pack:
It was "the country's pre-eminent petition pusher," with 54 filings in the period. It also had an enviable success rate: the court grants one out of every hundred petitions; for ones supported by the chamber, it granted 32 percent."
In terms of the pro-business leanings of the court, Chandler notes:
"Overall, the ideological cast of the new entrants is more conservative, anti-regulatory, and pro-business than that of those they replaced. To varying degrees, all seven of the new entrants have conservative profiles, whereas several of those left off the list this year, like the Society of Professional Journalists and the National League of Cities, have no obvious ideological bent. Five years ago, I wrote that "the list of top amici is dominated by pro-business and anti-regulatory groups--such groups hold over half the slots in the top sixteen." Now they hold over three-quarters."
Beyond Corporate "Personhood"
There is a frightening reality behind the push for "corporate personhood," and the efforts to block efforts to make corporations accountable. That reality is that while "corporations" on paper and in operation are not people, the benefits that accrue to corporations do accrue to people. The primary benefactors are the real owners, and the major stockholders. Their earnings are protected within the fictive walls of the corporation. Tax breaks given to corporations benefit "investors" in them and the owners of them. Just as the benefits and protections (few though they may be) of small businesses accrue to the owner(s), so too the corporation. Hence, when tax rates are cut for corporations, they are cut for the owners of them. When that is also backed by tax cuts and loop holes for wealthy individuals, then the super rich get a doubled benefit.
People in the United States have drummed into them "What's good for business is good for us." Frankly, that is a huge lie. When corporations hide defects that end up maiming and killing people, or pollute the environment and cause cancers and birth defects, or exploit their workers, or make platinum deals of no taxes, and development with cities and states, the costs go to the community, the workers, and the nation. The benefits of such practices, however, accrue to the owners of the corporation.
When the legislatures and Supreme Court rule in favor of corporations and deregulation; when they decide to protect corporations from citizens, workers, and consumers, once again it is the owners of the corporations who benefit and the rest of us who pay the costs.
When (republican and libertarian) legislators argue against the minimum wage and the "living wage," they are protecting the interests of "business" and not workers and communities. Because the minimum wage has not kept up with the cost of living, and wages across the board have largely been stagnant, more and more workers qualify for Medicaid while the employers have cut health insurance. Workers qualify for food stamps and even welfare, while their pay, hours, and benefits have been eroded. In other words, corporations have shifted part of the cost of labor to the "government" (read the non-owners). One might ask, if the bottom of the wages are removed entirely (as republicans and libertarians desire) who gains? It certainly is not "us" or the "consumer," for it is our wages and our benefits on the line and it is us paying through our taxes, to keep workers afloat while corporations bring in higher (protected) profits for the owners.
What Is Happening Here? The Creation of Super Citizens.
What we see happening is certainly the construction of a plutocracy to replace what we thought was a democracy. The super rich are not just people with wealth who can influence politics, shape opinion, and control virtually every aspect of our lives. They are not just "rich." When the issues of money, the manipulation of legislation and voting, and the protection of corporations are combined, you have in front of you "Super Citizens." The benefit of "corporate personhood" is the armor surrounding super citizens who are largely invulnerable to both individuals and institutions.
What we see is not just a "business friendly" environment, that will somehow benefit us, for it will not. For every right and protection granted the corporation and those with extreme wealth, much is taken from the rest of us. Somehow this reality must be presented to the public. Otherwise, the general apathy of the citizenry will eventually lead to at best indentured servitude. We are already skating perilously close to that abyss.
Recommended Articles:
Adam Liptak. "Corporations Find a Friend in the Supreme Court." NY Times, May 4, 2013.
Adam Liptak. "Justices Offer Receptive Ear to Business Interests." NY Times. Dec. 19, 2010.
EcoWatch. Supreme Court Denies Family Farmers the Right to Self-Defense From Monsanto Lawsuits . Jan 13, 2014.
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