Abe and Joe examine the full effects of last week's disastrous Supreme Court ruling on corporate political spending.
If you think that corporate America has done a good job so far of hijacking the levers of political power, wait till we see the full effects of last week's disastrous Supreme Court ruling. The Court has effectively removed any and all barriers to corporate political spending.
Until now, corporations were limited to spending the money they were able to raise from management and employees -- money that was freely handed over for the purpose of political spending. After last week's decision, however, they will be able to tap their profits for political ends as well -- money that technically belongs to shareholders.
Corporate entities like Nike and Exxon and Halliburton will be able to influence any election in any jurisdiction at any level, as much as they want. In the Bizarro world where money is equivalent to speech, some voices just got a whole lot louder.
- KBOO