We talked this morning in class about campaign financing and the supreme court decision to treat corporations like citizens. From an economics perspective, what is this going to mean?
Supreme Court: Corporations, unions free to fund campaigns
BY DAWSON BELL
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
The political world was in an uproar Thursday over a U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down a long-standing prohibition on campaign advocacy by corporations and unions -- a decision hailed as a victory for free speech and assailed as an open invitation to corruption.
President Barack Obama said that the court's 5-4 ruling gives "a green light to a new stampede of special interest money in our politics."
For voters, the ruling could dramatically increase the volume of hard-edged campaign advertisements by opening the door to corporations, unions and trade groups to directly pay for those ads.
"I'd be surprised if there is any corporate money in Michigan that doesn't know how to get in the game right now," said Rich Robinson, director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network.
Still, others said it was unclear how the court's decision would change actual campaign practices.
The ruling overturned federal restrictions that had blocked distribution of an anti-Hillary Clinton documentary during her 2008 presidential campaign.
It also reversed a 20-year-old precedent that barred the Michigan Chamber of Commerce from buying a newspaper ad in a state legislative race.
The court upheld bans on direct corporate contributions to candidates and maintained reporting requirements that will apply to unions or corporations that choose to spend independently in support of or opposition to a candidate.
What occurs to me is that it's this sort of relegation of judgement into the hands of non-transparent corporations that caused the housing crisis. We just went through this situation where we counted on Americans who are being intentionally deceived to be able to unearth the truth for themselves. What sort of future meltdowns might arrive because of this?
I think I shed a tear when I heard about this decision. This isn't about free speech. This is about leaving the door open for anyone with the cash to pretty much be assured of legal policy in their favor. A
ReplyDeleteI think that this is ultimately going to further compromise government's ability to effectively regulate business. Allowing corporations to actively advocate political campaigns will leave political candidates who support corporations more likely to be elected, and will ultimately leave us with politicians inclined to support the interests of the businesses who helped them win over the interests of society as a whole.
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