The time when you should have been worried about personhood and legislation has passed. It was when they messed with Citizens United, and gave humongous power over the political process to semi-anonymous legal fictions.
Now is the time to fix that.
> I also don't think that "get money out of politics" is a pragmatic approach to amending the constitution.
But that's the current root of all evil. Unless you pull that out of the ground, bad stuff will keep sprouting up.
Some of us benefit greatly from our semi-anonymous legal fictions. Keeping one's assets and liabilities at arm's length (or two) is a handy way to keep my 1099 and 1040's nice and simple. And I really enjoy getting quarterly tax refunds. That my legal fictions now have political power is just another added bonus for me.
So, don't fret about where the river is going. Jump on in and take a ride. The water's nice and warm.
Anyone know of a study or methodical analysis anywhere (on the web or in a publication) assessing the character and extent of the influence of this "money in politics"?
I would love to see it.
It seems to me that massive campaign donations from corporations are only effective when a large fraction of the voters is voting in an ill-informed, rather mindless fashion. And as long as voters behave thus, it's not clear (to me) that it would take much money at all to undermine the effectiveness of a democracy.
That language is only proposed and carries no legal weight or significance. The call for a constitutional convention has to have a singular focus it's just based around money in politics. E.g., http://www.leg.state.vt.us/docs/2014/Resolutions/JRS027/ACTR...
The wording of the amendment would be decided and voted upon at the convention (75% of states required).
I was half joking, but I also don't think that "get money out of politics" is a pragmatic approach to amending the constitution.
Maybe something like "get governance back into politics" could take the form of a constitutional amendment requiring that every citizen vote (along with mandated funding to make that convenient for every citizen).
