L.A. City Council votes unanimously—Corporations are not people & money is not speech

We talked about this vote a few days ago, in a post that also discussed the concept of "corporate personhood" more generally.

The votes are now in, and the city of Los Angeles, in a non-binding resolution, has weighed in (my emphasis):

In a discussion about money in politics, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously agreed Tuesday that corporations are not people and not entitled to the same constitutional protections.

If supported by the mayor, the city would be on record in support of federal legislation that would ensure corporations are not entitled to the same rights as people, especially when it comes to spending money to influence elections. It also proposed language for a constitutional amendment declaring that money is not a form of speech and affirming the right of the federal government to regulate corporations. ...

"Corporations have taken over our society. They are deciding what we eat, how people educate their children and whether or not we have health care," said Sylvia Moore, with the group Move to Amend, which has the broad mission of opposing laws they say prevent the American people from governing themselves. ... The resolution cites Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black's 1938 opinion on the subject: "I do not believe the word "person' in the Fourteenth Amendment includes corporations."

Non-binding, yes, but not without force. As I wrote earlier, "In a popular revolt, grassroots movements count." So does publicity.

This is a growing movement, build around one of the great tasks of this coming century. There aren't that many outcomes if it isn't done reasonably peacefully (see here for the three possibilities I can envision).

Move to Amend is a group that supports a constitutional amendment to overturn corporate personhood. Wish them well, and support them if you can.

GP