Five long years after the fact, we're finally beginning to see the start (albeit anemic, but a start nevertheless) of legal proceedings being levied against a paltry few of the avaricious thieves who used America's wealth as their personal bank to game it for the purpose of engorging their already corpulent wealth - which subsequently cost every man, woman and child in this country almost $70,000 EACH to cover their losses.
That the Republican Party has the unmitigated audacity to commit their every waking moment to the demise of health care reform with claims that it is "too expensive" while saying absolutely nothing whatsoever about the $22 trillion that their Wall Street benefactors required to bail them out has been for me the most significant indictment of the conservative philosophy. After thirteen years of cramming unregulated free market supply-side voodoo down the throats of the Middle Class, I have yet to see any proposed legislation with teeth sharp enough to deter these predatory wolves. And yes, some groups are out there floating some vague, watered-down proposals that any junior neocon staffer could shoot holes through without breaking a sweat. It's almost as if they're afraid of hurting someone's feelings if they get specific in the attempt to stop the wholesale rape of the Middle Class in its tracks.
So, after re-reading some old documents (Bush referred to one of them once as "...that damned piece of paper.") and recalling the suffering my family has undergone while people like Mitt Romney were selling out the American Dream to their communist business pals in China, the following is approximately what I'd like to see codified into law as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. So be kind - I'm just another working slob with a bit of education that has had more than enough hucksterism to last a few lifetimes.
(It might be added here that I clearly understand this has about as much of a chance for adaptation as my hitting Powerball (probably even less), but at least the exercise is cathartic. Thank you for indulging my need to vent)
Proposed Amendment Twenty Eight
Limitations to Corporate Influence on Public Policy
Section One
Clear Distinctions between Sentient Persons and Corporate Entities Established
Publicly or privately incorporated entities so organized for the purpose of operating a
commercial enterprise, either for profit or not for profit, exist as legal entities created by charter as a privilege granted to afford certain legal protections while in the pursuit of revenue in exchange for regulatory compliance and adherence to tax codes; they are therefore inanimate, non-sentient entities defined by those regulations and codes; as such they are therefore denied any form of legislative assignment of personhood for the purpose of obtaining rights and privileges equal to those ascribed to Sentient Persons.
Section Two
Corporate Entitlement to Free Speech through Financial and Tangible Contributions Denied; Corporate Lobby Activity Prohibited.
Publicly or privately incorporated entities so organized for the purpose of operating a commercial enterprise, either for profit or not for profit, are inanimate, non-sentient entities created by charter that are incapable of independent sentient thought exclusive of those to whom incorporation is granted; accordingly said entities are hereby denied free speech in the form of financial or any other tangible contributions to any political entity, political representative or hired individual, either specifically designated or peripherally suggested to influence either the enactment or redaction of public policies and regulations.
Section Three
Limitations on Coercion and Retribution
Publicly or privately incorporated entities so organized for the purpose of operating a commercial enterprise, either for profit or not for profit, shall not discriminate, withhold promotion or compensation, penalize under the guise of performance management or use any other form of direct or indirect coercion or staffing policy to influence the political opinions, political participations, or personal political contributions of employees, contractors or any other Sentient Persons so engaged in support of the operation of said corporate entity.
Section Four
Restrictions on Legislative Workarounds
No legislation shall be enacted which in any way attempts to either co-mingle or eliminate distinctions between corporate entities and the entity of a Sentient Person. No amendment or clause may be interjected to force corporate personhood into any rule of law- either currently enacted or considered for future enactment - that regulates the behavior of Sentient Persons and corporate entities, establishing penalties for the violation of laws respective to each or yielding advantages to one over the other.
Section Five
Authorization of Enforcement and Scope
The Congress shall have power to enforce this Amendment by appropriate legislation but is prohibited from rescinding, editing or amending it. The Supreme Court is prohibited from ruling on any attempt to redefine, alter or repurpose this Amendment.