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Last week was the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision enshrining the idea that money in politics is not corruption, but constitutionally protected speech. States and cities across the US are battling the rotten legacy of that decision.

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[-] danc4498@lemmy.world 18 points 1 week ago

This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.

[-] SippyCup@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago

Fun fact, that quote is two years younger than this decision.

[-] danc4498@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

His words are timeless.

[-] AuroraZzz@lemmy.world 15 points 1 week ago

If corporations are people, they should be arrested whenever they kill other people

[-] monkeyslikebananas2@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

And executed

[-] desmosthenes@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week ago

one of the worst decisions ever made. corporations aren’t human.ms with inalienable rights

[-] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 1 week ago

Human.ms sounds like a bare bones early attempt at AI from Microsoft 🤔

[-] desmosthenes@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

lolololol my fat thumbs

[-] lemmylump@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week ago

This and Citizens United gave the rich and Russia all they needed to destroy democracy.

Fuck now we got trump crypto openly taking money as corrupt as possible from countries all over the world, especially Saudi Arabi.

[-] bearboiblake@pawb.social 2 points 1 week ago

Come on, this is all homegrown fascism. Sure, it benefits Russia, because the US being alienated from her allies is obviously beneficial to Russia, but Trump is corrupted mainly by American fascist interests, in my opinion.

[-] blazeknave@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago
[-] bearboiblake@pawb.social 0 points 1 week ago

It's easier and more comforting to imagine that there is some villainous foreigner responsible for all of the evil you see in the world, but actually, America is the home of evil. The truth can be painful, but it will also set you free.

If you can recognize that the global ruling elite don't care about countries except to use them against eachother, you begin to see that Russia and China are just convenient scapegoats for capitalists in America. In Russia, they blame America and China. In China, they blame Russia and America.

The truth is, they are all playing the exact same game. We're the pawns in that game.

[-] vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 week ago

While a lot of the fuel was present the Ruskies most certainly added to it and helped ignite the current fire. Otherwise it'd probably still look like the 1990s militia movement.

[-] bearboiblake@pawb.social 3 points 1 week ago

There's no denying that Russia has done a lot to foment far-right sentiment, but the idea that the US couldn't or wouldn't destroy democracy without Russian interference is ridiculous

[-] Doomsider@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

The idea that the US ever had a real democracy in the first place is pretty suspect. The way the Senate was designed to prevent the people from coming for the rights or property of the wealthy is very telling. They basically knew it was a lie from the start and designed fail-safes to prevent their cronies from losing power.

[-] bearboiblake@pawb.social 3 points 1 week ago

100%. The American Revolution was a war waged by the rich against the mega rich, and they got poor people to die for it.

[-] vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 week ago

Nor am I saying that it wouldn't happen, but I'd argue the case that they are instrumental in its acceleration and current form. Don't get me wrong it is almost inevitable that US democracy will end be it with the dissolving of the Union or dictatorship probably followed by the former, but it happening as it has almost requires Russia and honestly 9/11 Bush did a fucken number on the system.

[-] bearboiblake@pawb.social 2 points 1 week ago

Russia didn't stir up anything that wasn't already there, but they definitely stirred. The post 9/11 rush into authoritarianisn is far, far more instrumental, and 9/11 was a very predictable outcome of post-WW2 US foreign policy

[-] DarkFuture@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago

And women used to have federally protected rights over their own bodies.

Things can change.

Expand the SC and revert this dipshit decision.

[-] Doomsider@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Women will always be second class citizens until the equal rights amendment is passed.

[-] Meron35@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

US laws: money is speech

People: OK, we'll just choose to not spend money with those we dislike

US laws: that's illegal

(Anti BDS laws)

[-] Gates9@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 week ago

The Supreme Court is illegitimate

[-] SabinStargem@lemmy.today 3 points 1 week ago

Personally, I think that if UBI and wealth caps are implemented, that people should be able to use money to support political speech...up to a limit. Say, a $1,000 limit per individual, each year. Corporations can't use money for speech, just citizens. Anyone caught selling their speech for favors, lose their citizenship.

By setting a visible and clear amount of 'maxing' a person can do, it sets a goal. A fair number of people would work towards filling that political bucket of money, since they know the goal is achievable, and that their speech actually matters. A billionaire can't put their finger on the scales, if their billions didn't exist in the first place. This is helpful for preventing a feeling of not mattering within the ordinary person.

When it comes down to it, many of society's ills come from the wealthy. Not just because of the influence they exert, but also because they demoralize people who otherwise would participate in democracy.

[-] FlyingCircus@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

How are you going to prevent billionaires from giving money under the table? Seems simpler to me to just not have billionaires.

[-] SabinStargem@lemmy.today 3 points 1 week ago

Well, I DID mention wealth caps. Part of this is to limit how much income an individual can earn each year - anything beyond the cap should be fully taxed. Also, an maximum amount of money that a person can have in total savings and assets.

[-] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Even though I think it's a huge problem to consider pacs or donations speech, there are some legitimately thorny issues here. How do we define speech in a way that allows us to clamp down corruption but does not interfere with the free press? And if we do find a ruling or law that walks this line, do the rich simply find another avenue to exert influence?

Not that these fights don't matter--shifting the balance of power towards the people and away from the rich is a good thing. But I have come to believe that extreme wealth is simply incompatible with democracy. When you have enough time and money you can always find a way to subvert the rule of law, and it's usually in your interests to do so. But of course this leaves us with the question of how to destroy the political power of the wealthy in a political system that is now heavily rigged against us. I know what some people will say but I still haven't seen a really good answer to this question.

Maybe syndicalism, but labor tactics have been heavily restricted by federal and some state laws. So this would require more willingness on the part of unions to break the law, and a much clearer and more radical vision for our political system. Right now I don't see this has much popular support. And the time to build this support is limited as fascism tightens its hold and automation and AI threaten to undermine the bargaining power workers hold today.

[-] bearboiblake@pawb.social 1 points 1 week ago
[-] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 0 points 1 week ago

Ok how though lol. It's not anywhere near as simple as pressing a switch. If it was we wouldn't be subject to it.

[-] bearboiblake@pawb.social 1 points 1 week ago

Through revolution, obviously it takes effort, but it's the only solution which will actually work, and would solve most problems we have. Capitalism is an extremely outdated and unnecessary technology which should have been left behind over a century ago.

[-] DokPsy@lemmy.world 0 points 1 week ago

Easy step we can do. No contributions to individuals running for an office. Any money goes to a common fund that is distributed amongst the candidates. Equally. With a maximum amount per person correlated to the number of parties involved in the election.

Example: mayoral race with 2 parties and a fund of $500,000. Each person receives 250,000 for their campaign.

Same race but with $1,000,000 in the fund? That's right. Each member gets 300,000 to use.

3 parties involved with that 1M fund? 333,000 per person but goes to 500,000 when the funds available allow for it

Catch: all donations go to this fund and all money used from this fund must be accounted for. Anyone found to be using their own money or any donations that did not come from the fund constitutes an automatic forfeiture of their campaign and any unspent money of their allotted amount gets returned to the funds.

Said returned funds do not get distributed to the other campaigns.

Any unused money of the fund at the end of the election is used by civil services budgets.

[-] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 0 points 1 week ago

So equal funds for all parties, even those with minimal support? Interesting idea, I'd like to see how it works in practice.

However, this won't solve the PAC issue.

[-] n4ch1sm0@piefed.social 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

And then BOOM!
Four to five years later America was introduced to something known as The Great Depression

Edit: Just a bumbling idiot here, don't mind me lmao

[-] AugustWest@lemmy.world 0 points 1 week ago

Did you mean 46 years earlier instead of 4 to 5 years later?

[-] n4ch1sm0@piefed.social 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I need to get more sleep; my brain is not mathing and I'm getting my facts crossed.

[-] AugustWest@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

There are few things we can do to immediately improve our health in the short term, and add years to our life in the long term, as getting a better nights sleep.

[-] n4ch1sm0@piefed.social 1 points 1 week ago

More difficult for me these days unfortunately, just like anyone else. But yes absolutely, phenomenal advice for anyone and everyone 🙏

[-] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 0 points 1 week ago

We need a wealth cap

Nobody should be able to have a networth over 1 million dollars. NOBODY.

You go over the 1 million? All over 1M goes 100% to taxes. All income goes to taxes until your below again.

It's a simple rule that will change the world for the better.

[-] Flauschige_Lemmata@lemmy.world 0 points 1 week ago

1 million is ridiculously little. That would completely prohibit homeownership. And pension savings.

[-] Mohamed@lemmy.ca 0 points 1 week ago

But, houses would probably become a lot cheaper if 1 million was the limit.

[-] Flauschige_Lemmata@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

Probably. But they still wouldn't be any more accessible to the average person

this post was submitted on 04 Feb 2026
84 points (100.0% liked)

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