Federal

Human Rights:

· Food

· Shelter

· Health

· Education

· Work

· Living Wage

· Speech

· Assembly

· Equality of Opportunity

· Equality before the Law

· Voting and influence on representatives

· Autonomy

· Privacy

· Enjoyment of Each

Possible Policies to Convey Rights:

1. Federal job guarantee

2. Medicare for All

3. Free public college & critical graduate school education

4. Enforcement of antitrust laws

5. Penalties for corporate malfeasance more in line with penalties for other crimes

6. Increase support for state governments

7. Federal rather than state charters for corporations

8. Outlaw revolving door employment

9. Star or rank choice voting

10. Outlaw gerrymandering

11. Eliminate electoral college

12. Consider national referenda

13. Update fourth amendment “search & seizure rights” to address internet, robots, drones, facial recognition software, etc.

14. Reduce and redirect corporate welfare

15. Outlaw Political Action Committees (PACs)

16. New Department of Corporate Regulation (Put together FDA, EPA, Agriculture, etc. in one regulatory agency)

17. New Department of Equal Opportunity

18. Increase taxes on incomes over $1 million

19. Increase inheritance taxes on estates over $5 million

20. Make offshore tax shelters illegal and prioritize audit of and enforcement for high income organizations and individuals

21. Place limits on campaign financing

22. Limit campaign financing by corporations to the same as individuals and no more (outsized corporate financing is not speech but bribery)

23. Limit Supreme court appointments to those over fifty five or allow only one twelve year term or have them appointed by a lottery-chosen Citizens’ Council

What Corporations Are

1. An alternative to partnership without individual risk

2. Organization granted charters by states (not federal government)

3. Once regulated by the terms of the charter

4. Once had responsibilities to workers, consumers, and society

What Went Wrong

1. Competition by states for business did away with regulation by charter

2. Tradition of responsibility reduced to stock price, investor, profit, and sometimes price for consumer

3. Regulatory agencies corrupted by lobbying, gifts, campaign funding, etc.

4. Supreme Court decision that corporations, like people, have freedom of speech (and advertising is speech)

5. Compulsory arbitration

6. Corporate welfare

7. Tax cuts

8. Tax loopholes

9. Citizens United

10. Repeal of Glass Steagall

11. Private equity and hedge funds

12. Deliberate coordinated capture of politicians in all three branches of government

13. Focus on stock price and profit increased dividends, stock buybacks, and lobbying expenditures at the expense of R&D and salaries for workers

14. Successful attack on unions

Impact

A. Damage to Professions

a. Medicine

b. Agriculture

c. Writing

d. Performance Arts

e. Education

f. Law

g. Consulting

h. Banking

i. Manufacturing

j. Politics

k. Media

B. Diminishment of Rights

a. Decreased voting rights

b. Diminished rights before the law

c. Diminished privacy

d. Diminished housing, food, education, health, and economic security

e. Diminished life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness

C. Diminishment of quality of life

a. Inflation and increased prices

b. Insecurity

c. Inequality

It is our responsibility to characterize and respond to corporate mythmaking and the organized use of collective corporate economic power to build political power; to show how this power this has been used to undermine democracy and corrupt our politicians; and to make it clear only a third party, not beholden to corporations or the rich can help restore democracy. A vote for candidates of the two major parties is a vote for increasing inequality (though both deny this, inequality has increased for the past 50 years under each administration, Democratic and Republican) and a vote to increase corporate power.