"It's Time to Stand Up to the Supreme Court" by John C. Bogle, Business Week 3/11/2010
Excerpt
In January the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that laws limiting corporate political contributions were a violation of constitutional free speech principles. "The First Amendment confirms the freedom to think for ourselves," wrote Justice Anthony M. Kennedy in his 5-4 majority opinion, which is sure to unleash a flood of corporate spending on ads for and against political candidates.
But public companies aren't people. As Justice John Paul Stevens, writing for the minority, observed, the court committed a grave error in treating corporate speech the same as that of human beings. The notion that the same freedoms should apply when a public company, often with tens of thousands of owners, speaks in matters beyond the scope of its business affairs offends common sense.
We can justifiably suppose that the individuals holding shares in these giant corporations hold a broad spectrum of opinions, and corporate political contributors can hardly honor them all. Past experience also suggests that corporate managers are likely to try to shape government policy in a way that serves their own interests over that of their shareholders. (For example, managers have opposed most attempts to limit executive compensation.)
Common sense and experience also suggest that, given the enormous revenues of today's giant corporations, these companies will make their political contributions generously. (Disclosure might help allay this generosity somewhat.) The tenet that "nothing seems expensive when you can pay for it with other people's money" comes to mind.
Bold emphasis mine.
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