At 14:43 14/11/2012, Darryl wrote:
We will have to see how this plays out. It may
be the beginning of the fight to remove
corporations from the position of suing
countries for restricting profits from polluting
or damaging the environment (or running away
from their responsibilities to those who gain
them their profits). Note: China will be jumping
on Canadians very soon regarding the stall of
the Oil delivery to the west coast if these
corporations are allowed to continue in their present way.
(KH) This won't play out. It will be invalidated
by the courts at some level. All joint stock
businesses have to be considered as individual
persons in order for their joint owners to be
accountable in law or to be able to take action
themselves on behalf of their business.
Otherwise, in the case of bankruptcy, each and
all of the shareholders of a business could be
sued under common law right up to the limit of
their personal assets -- as partners of a
business. The first joint stock business was the
Bank of England. Without this huge change in
common law and the wider dissemination of limited
liability then the industrial revolution would
never have got off the ground in the 17th
century. Any premature attempts at wider
industrialization would have simply spluttered
and died out -- as indeed happened a few times in
England before the what might be called the 'real' one took off.
Keith
Darryl
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 'Corporations Are Not People' in Montana, Colorado
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2012 22:44:23 -0500
From: Portside Moderator
<mailto:[email protected]><[email protected]>
Reply-To: <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]
To: <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]
'Corporations Are Not People' in Montana, Colorado
Common Dreams staff
November 7, 2012
<http://www.CommonDreams.org>www.CommonDreams.org
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/11/07-0
In a landslide victory Tuesday night, Montana voters approved
an initiative stating "that corporations are not entitled to
constitutional rights because they are not human beings" --
corporations are not people.
The initiative directly challenges the now infamous Citizens
United decision, which allows corporations to contribute
unlimited amounts of money for campaign groups know as super
PACS and 'shadow money' organizations.
Initiative 166 will win roughly 75 percent to 25 percent,
according to the likely, but not yet final, results,
Montana's Billings Gazette reports.
The initiative states:
"Ballot initiative I-166 establishes a state policy that
corporations are not entitled to constitutional rights
because they are not human beings, and charges Montana
elected and appointed officials, state and federal, to
implement that policy. With this policy, the people of
Montana establish that there should be a level playing field
in campaign spending, in part by prohibiting corporate
campaign contributions and expenditures and by limiting
political spending in elections..."
The measure, proposed by the group Stand with Montanans, will
determine state policy on prohibiting corporate contributions
and expenditures in state and national elections, and will
charge state lawmakers with furthering the state's policy on
the matter, asking congressional delegates to support efforts
to overrule the Citizens United decision by amending the U.S.
Constitution.
Similarly, Colorado Amendment 65 looks like a victory. 65
instructs Coloradoâs congressional delegation to propose and
support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that allows
congress to overturn Citizens United.
Results from the CO Secretary of State show a YES for
Amendment 65 with a margin of 73% with 23 of 64 counties
reporting.
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