A trio of decisions this summer from the Supreme Court makes it crystal clear: the judicial system offers nothing to workers or consumers and exists to only protect corporations.
Slate tracks the cases in this article, noting:
"Slowly but surely, the Supreme Court is giving corporate America a handbook on how to engage in misconduct. ... When you obliterate the very possibility of civil litigation, you are, by definition, helping big business screw over the little guy. But when you teach big business precisely how to screw over the little guy, and how to do it faster, cheaper, and without detection … well, that's not even an illusion of justice anymore. It's enabling."
The Court backed the rights of a company - any company - to bypass all due process in favor of arbitration (usually held in secret, in a forum where a company's arbitrator has total control). A worker or consumer must sign agreements offered by a company which holds that a worker or consumer has no legal rights to challenge a company. Ever.
The Court backed the bizarre claim that a company can set up a subsidiary PR firm yet never, ever can the parent company be held accountable for any false or illegal claim their PR firms make.
The Court also ruled that if a corporation insures that if decisions to discriminate are spread widely enough, employees have no rights to file class action suits.
In other words, shut up and be happy for whatever a corporation offers you. Their rights trump yours.
Meanwhile, a growing legal challenge is being made to totally reverse the "corporate personhood" status.
What would it take to get this on the 2012 ballot as a referendum....or, would that be the way to proceed? I am betting that this would stir up enough regular folks, even some of the misguided onees who are tools of the rad Republicans, to bring out voters who would tilt toward not voting for Republicans.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking about going to the state and incorporating my person, if they will let me. I mean, just me personally. Their paperwork for incorporation calls for much more than that, nature of biz, name and purpose of biz, etc. I have incorporated an LLC before.
Shoot, if I can incorporate myself, I can break the law without fear of criminal prosecution. I can kill somebody with my car or with a new product I am testing, and, since victims' rights are now limited, not be assessed punitive damages above $750,000. As a natural person, I could be assessed millions---it is unlimited. But, since I am a corporation, I can say, get your money from the corporation, which will have no assets, anyway. Any of my assets or possessions I will hold in my name personally, not me, Inc.
Sound like a cool plan? I will try to get a TV station or at least someone with a video camera to follow my progress, or lack thereof, dealing with the state employees.
Is that not fair? If a corporation can be a person, should a person not be able to be a corporation?