Democracy at Work

Last week every town in Vermont held its annual Town Meeting. These meetings are usually pretty routine. A relatively small number of citizens attend, most officers run unopposed, there are few arguments that are cut short when speakers run out of time. But last Tuesday was a little different. Many towns decided to lend their voices to national issues. Two years ago, the Supreme Court came down on the side of corporate control of politics and the voted block attempts to limit corporate access to political advertising. Many Vermont towns voted to support a constitutional amendment to overturn that decision..

But the decision was nothing really new. It was rooted in the idea, upheld by courts for more than a century, that corporations are people. Isn't it wonderful what legislators and jurists can do? Scientists are stuck with the laws that Nature or Nature's God provided If politicians or their crony capitalist supporters don't like a law, well heck, they can just write a new one.

It's understandable why many Vermonters don't like that, but it's much more than a campaign finance issue. If corporate executives get out of line and take actions that hurt people, we punish the corporation and let the real perpetrators take their golden parachutes and move on. Self righteous prosecutors will shut the company down, wiping out innocent stockholders and putting employees on the street, while corrupt official take the money and run. What we really need is an amendment that makes corporations into what they are supposed to be-organizations that are intended to create value for their employees, their shareholders and the public.

Campaign finance is another matter entirely. As long as it is possible to run commercials on television that play on emotions, big money is going to win elections.

Vermont just had its Presidential Primary and the winner is Mitt Romney. Mitt is putting a lot of money in this campaign and a good deal of it is his. Not only that but the media has been telling voters for a long time that he was at the head of the pack. A lot of voters don't wan to waste time going to the polls unless their guy or gal can win.

That's why it's surprising that the number two spot in Vermont went to Ron Paul. He's the guy that rarely gets called upon on debates, is viewed by the gurus as unelectable. He's too old but is widely favored by younger voters. He's the only candidate, Democrat or Republican that is committed to bringing troops home and applying the money saved to the enormous problems facing our country.

If you drove around communities that surround LSC on election day, you would have seen Ron Paul signs all over. How many Romney signs did you see?