"Billionaire-funded super PACs—AIPAC, AI, crypto, and others—are spending hundreds of millions to defeat any candidate who crosses them. They should be banned from Democratic primaries. Period."
lobbying should be 100% illegal. corporate donations should be 100% illegal. and donations from foreign nations should be considered as treason and bring the death penalty…
Although the bar is so low, that said rules would basically execute every politician in America.
There’s value to be had in industry experts advising governments. Think about your old ass representative regulating the internet without any advice from people who have actually used the internet. The problem is not that the government converses with industry, it’s that lobbyists bribe politicians under false pretenses. Outlaw the exchange of money, not ideas.
I work in education with the lowest kids, most functioning below 12 months. We had a representative visit one of my schools one day. He had no idea that these kids exist and come to school. These are the people making laws regarding state testing and school funding. Politicians desperately need to be educated!
Corporations should be able to voice their opinions, support (in the sense of “I think this new regulation is a good/bad idea because […]”, not in the sense of $$$$), and such about legislation.
Corporations should not be allowed to influence those legislations beyond the aforementioned, by providing $$$/favours/kickbacks to politicians.
Just like people, companies can have opinions, but that’s it. No further influence.
Where did I say I treat them like people? I very specifically differentiated them, drawing the only parallel between the two groups, namely that they can have opinions…
Companies are led by people, and those people can have opinions. After that, fuck right the hell off. You’re delusional if you think company should be able to have opinions.
Who runs the institutions, banks, and funds? Yes, they are stupid and short-sighted and greedy but ultimately that does not mean they get to hide behind a company. You talk about them having a pretty singular interest and then say it’s all averaged out, but the average between a pool of nearly the exact same opinions isn’t particularly important or nuanced.
Companies do not get opinions. If the people who run them want to share their voice they can vote like everyone else, and if they don’t like democracy they can drown themselves in their pools.
those institutions are human, and have no human interests. they are a super organism. an emergent behavior of our capitalist society. they are literally burning the planet and killing us in the millions.
they get an opinion about things the same way a cancer gets an opinion about treatment.
The difference is, individuals can have vastly different opinions on a topic than a grouping they’re in (even if that grouping happens to be a company).
Companies are essentially that, a formal representation of the interests of a specific group. That does not make their opinion any more important than a singular person’s, but the opinion itself should be recognised. Nothing beyond that, just recognised, it doesn’t even have to be considered.
And this is literally what I’m saying, let the shareholders loudmouth all they want, limit their ability to influence others to this only - speech. Not money, not favours, not tit for tat, not kickbacks, not bribes, speech. Let them huff hot air all they want, let them exhaust themselves, and see the world go on without giving a fuck about it. Kinda like street preachers. They’re annoying but essentially harmless. Limit companies to this level instead of allowing them to ruin our planet.
And as to why let them keep this one thing: it’s not because I want to hear their crap. Or that I want to give them human rights. Far from it. I just want to enjoy seeing said shareholders exhaust themselves with the sole method they have to “influence” things. I want to see them spend countless hours, countless cups of coffee, countless tears and sweat drops, on achieving nothing. Like those prank videos where they put shampoo onto people’s head as they shower, an endless frustration of trying to rinse it out and it still being fucking foamy. I want to see that but on a corporate level. Because as long as they’re busy trying to get more weight behind their voices, they can’t go on and scheme against the world that much.
lobbying should be 100% illegal. corporate donations should be 100% illegal. and donations from foreign nations should be considered as treason and bring the death penalty…
Although the bar is so low, that said rules would basically execute every politician in America.
Absolutely. Lobbyists are criminals.
There’s value to be had in industry experts advising governments. Think about your old ass representative regulating the internet without any advice from people who have actually used the internet. The problem is not that the government converses with industry, it’s that lobbyists bribe politicians under false pretenses. Outlaw the exchange of money, not ideas.
I work in education with the lowest kids, most functioning below 12 months. We had a representative visit one of my schools one day. He had no idea that these kids exist and come to school. These are the people making laws regarding state testing and school funding. Politicians desperately need to be educated!
Corporations should be able to voice their opinions, support (in the sense of “I think this new regulation is a good/bad idea because […]”, not in the sense of $$$$), and such about legislation.
Corporations should not be allowed to influence those legislations beyond the aforementioned, by providing $$$/favours/kickbacks to politicians.
Just like people, companies can have opinions, but that’s it. No further influence.
Corps aren’t people.
What the fuck is it with people treating companies like people? Companies are not people.
Where did I say I treat them like people? I very specifically differentiated them, drawing the only parallel between the two groups, namely that they can have opinions…
Corps shouldn’t have opinions. They should do their work and keep their mouths shut.
Companies are led by people, and those people can have opinions. After that, fuck right the hell off. You’re delusional if you think company should be able to have opinions.
I’ll disagree, companies are led by shareholder interest, not people. the CEO? replaceable the moment shareholders want, he isn’t the leader.
Shareholders are people, you dolt.
they aren’t, they just want number go up, no interest whatsoever about the company. and all their individual opinions are averaged out.
and most of them aren’t even people, but institutions, banks, funds…
Who runs the institutions, banks, and funds? Yes, they are stupid and short-sighted and greedy but ultimately that does not mean they get to hide behind a company. You talk about them having a pretty singular interest and then say it’s all averaged out, but the average between a pool of nearly the exact same opinions isn’t particularly important or nuanced.
Companies do not get opinions. If the people who run them want to share their voice they can vote like everyone else, and if they don’t like democracy they can drown themselves in their pools.
those institutions are human, and have no human interests. they are a super organism. an emergent behavior of our capitalist society. they are literally burning the planet and killing us in the millions.
they get an opinion about things the same way a cancer gets an opinion about treatment.
They don’t, the company hires lobbyists. AKA people. To argue for them.
If you take that away, you take away the constitutional right of all citizens to petition their government.
What we need is regulation
Corps aren’t people. We can take away their toys while still keeping ours.
The difference is, individuals can have vastly different opinions on a topic than a grouping they’re in (even if that grouping happens to be a company).
Companies are essentially that, a formal representation of the interests of a specific group. That does not make their opinion any more important than a singular person’s, but the opinion itself should be recognised. Nothing beyond that, just recognised, it doesn’t even have to be considered.
And this is literally what I’m saying, let the shareholders loudmouth all they want, limit their ability to influence others to this only - speech. Not money, not favours, not tit for tat, not kickbacks, not bribes, speech. Let them huff hot air all they want, let them exhaust themselves, and see the world go on without giving a fuck about it. Kinda like street preachers. They’re annoying but essentially harmless. Limit companies to this level instead of allowing them to ruin our planet.
And as to why let them keep this one thing: it’s not because I want to hear their crap. Or that I want to give them human rights. Far from it. I just want to enjoy seeing said shareholders exhaust themselves with the sole method they have to “influence” things. I want to see them spend countless hours, countless cups of coffee, countless tears and sweat drops, on achieving nothing. Like those prank videos where they put shampoo onto people’s head as they shower, an endless frustration of trying to rinse it out and it still being fucking foamy. I want to see that but on a corporate level. Because as long as they’re busy trying to get more weight behind their voices, they can’t go on and scheme against the world that much.
and said statements should be a fart in the wind. better yet, shouldn’t exist