1. MOVE TO AMEND WE THE PEOPLE, NOT WE THE CORPORATIONS Move to Amend Fresno, CA – created by Robert Pethoud, pethoud@comcast.netpethoud@comcast.net

2. Overview of the Presentation The Problem We Face How It Came About What We Can Do About It How You Can Get Involved

3. The Problem: Government serves large corporations, wealthy individuals, and moneyed special interests very well. Our government is not very responsive to the wishes of the majority of its citizens. For example, most Americans want: Background checks for firearm purchases Immigration reform To allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices To end gerrymandering Medicare buy-in for everyone To end tax loopholes for corporations that ship jobs overseas

4. Corporations Influence the Laws 1 Nexium Lipitor Cymbalta United States U. K. Spain France U.S. Dollars Source: www. washingtonpost.com

5. Corporations Influence the Laws 2 MRI Appendectomy C-Section United States Spain Australia Netherlands U.S. Dollars Source: www.ifhp.com

6. Corporations Influence the Laws 3 Federal income tax rates for the 20 largest oil and gas companies American Petroleum Institute claim44.3% Standard corporate income tax rate35% Financial statements of the 20 companies24% After deferred taxes removed11.7% Source: www.usnews.com

7. The problem stems from two flawed principles: Corporations are persons and have the same rights as citizens Spending money is equivalent to exercising free speech

8. If corporations are persons, can you name any which... Have contracted influenza or diabetes? Have gone to prison for wrongdoing? Have been enslaved, beaten, or raped? Love, laugh, fear, or grieve? Have a conscience?

9. Can you name any human beings who... Have lived for 650 years, like Sweden’s oldest corporation? Reside simultaneously in 15 countries under 55 names, like Walmart? Brought on a power crisis in several western states, like Enron? Remove tops of mountains and dump them in surrounding valleys, like Massey Energy? Collect money for promoting the spread of cancer, like Lorillard?

10. How did this happen?

11. Associations of human beings to form churches, schools, guilds, unions, clubs, and corporations have been around for a long time. To enable shifting groups of people to hold property and to sue and be sued in court, these associations came to be called “artificial persons.” Before about 1900, no one confused these legal fictions with actual human beings, who were referred to as “natural persons.” In the beginning...

12. Also before 1900, states in which corporations were chartered set strict limits on them: Chartered for a limited time, not “in perpetuity” Required to have a clear, specific purpose in the public interest Could only engage in activities which furthered this purpose Owners and managers were held personally criminally liable Prohibited from making political contributions and from lobbying Prohibited from purchasing or owning stock in other corporations Could be dissolved if they violated rules or caused public harm

13. Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868 Section 1 All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without the due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

14. Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868 Section 1 All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without the due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

15. No state shall... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. natural No state shall... deny to any Ʌ person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

16. Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad, 1886 “The defendant Corporations are persons within the intent of the clause in section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which forbids a State to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” --Headnote, written by court reporter J. C. Bancroft Davis

17. In 1915, Delaware allowed corporations to Have interlocking boards of directors Live forever Define themselves for “any legal purpose” Own stock in other corporations By 1970, most states had followed suit. State Laws Evolve

18. SCOTUS decisions on corporate personhood: 1976Buckley v. Valeo Spending money equals constitutionally protected free speech 1978First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti Can make contributions to influence the political process 2010Citizens United v. FEC (Federal Elections Commission) Overturns most provisions of McCain-Feingold legislation 2014McCutcheon v. FEC Aggregate contribution limits violate the First Amendment

19. What can we do now?

20. We the People Amendment Section 1. [Artificial entities are not persons and can be regulated] The rights protected by the Constitution of the United States are the rights of natural persons only. Artificial entities established by the laws of any State, the United States, or any foreign state shall have no rights under this Constitution and are subject to regulation by the People, through Federal, State, or local law. The privileges of artificial entities shall be determined by the People, through Federal, State, or local law, and shall not be construed to be inherent or inalienable.

21. We the People Amendment Section 2. [Money is not speech and can be regulated] Federal, State, and local government shall regulate, limit, or prohibit contributions and expenditures, including a candidate’s own contributions and expenditures, to ensure that all citizens, regardless of their economic status, have access to the political process, and that no person gains, as a result of their money, substantially more access or ability to influence in any way the election of any candidate for public office or any ballot measure. Federal, State, and local government shall require that any permissible contributions and expenditures be publicly disclosed. The judiciary shall not construe the spending of money to influence elections to be speech under the 1 st Amendment.

22. Amending the Constitution Proposed by 2/3 of both houses of Congress Ratified by 3/4 of state legislatures (38 states) Proposed by 2/3 of state legislatures Ratified by 3/4 of state conventions (38 states)

23. MOVE TO AMEND Move to Amend is a national, non-partisan coalition of individuals and organizations who share common values and are working together to demand government which is accountable to the people, not just the moneyed interests. Move to Amend calls for an amendment which clearly establishes that (1) inalienable rights belong only to human beings and (2) money is not a form of protected free speech and can be regulated in political campaigns. Move to Amend currently (2015) has about 400,000 supporters, including 1000 organizations and 600 city and county governments. These numbers grow daily.

24. Getting Involved: Visit movetoamend.org Sign the petition Participate in local events Join Move to Amend, Fresno Affiliate Use your unique skills to advance the cause

25. Why Unions Should Support MTA Unions can’t compete with corporate treasuries Unions don’t benefit from corporate personhood the way corporations do Corporations have used the courts against workers If corporations can’t claim constitutional rights, then they can be held accountable for the harm they do If corporate personhood is abolished, unions will be in a better position to protect their members