Sub-Topics Lobbying Reform Also Try Business Business Ethics Democracy and Media Election Reform Lists Campaign Contributions and Voting Records (Ewall) Provides sources of information to check the relationship between voting records of legislators and corporate contributions. 7-02 Corporate Control of Mass Media (Corporations.org - Media Reform Information Center) Contends that six corporations control almost all of the mass media in the USA. 7-02 Corporate Values Versus Public Interest (Corporations.org) Provides articles on corporate power and how it affects citizens in the USA. 7-02 Corporate Welfare (Corporations.org) " 'The $150 billion for corporate subsidies and tax benefits eclipses the annual budget deficit of $130 billion. It's more than the $145 billion paid out annually for the core programs of the social welfare state: Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), student aid, housing, food and nutrition, and all direct public assistance (excluding Social Security and medical care).' " 7-02 Globalization Issues (Awesome Library) Provides sources that discuss the pros and cons of globalization and "Americanization." 8-02 News -03-21-03 Perle Resigns Because of Conflict-of-Interest Questions (Washington Post - Pincus and Lee) "Richard N. Perle, a key adviser to the Bush national security team who recently has been dogged by conflict-of-interest allegations, resigned yesterday as the unpaid chairman of an influential Pentagon advisory board but intends to stay on as a member." 3-03 Papers Corporate Charters - Limitations of the Past (Grossman and Adams) "Many colonial citizens argued that under the Constitution, no business could be granted special privileges. Others worded that once incorporators amassed wealth, they would use their corporate shields to control jobs and production, buy off the press and dominate elections and the courts." However, in 1886 the U.S. Supreme Court granted corporations the same rights and protections as individual persons. "Within just a few decades, appointed judges had redefined the 'common good' to mean the corporate use of humans and the Earth for maximum production and profit -- no matter what was manufactured, who was hurt or what was destroyed. Corporations had obtained control over resources, production, commerce, jobs, politicians, judges and the law. Workers, citizens, cities, towns, states and nature were left with fewer and fewer rights that corporations were forced to respect." "By rewriting the [state] laws governing corporations, we citizens can reassert the convictions of the people who struggled to resist corporate rule in the past." 7-02 Corporate Charters - Revoking Plutocracy (Grossman and Adams) Suggests eleven actions for ending the rule of corporations over democratic processes. 7-02 Democracy and Political Contributions of Corporations (PublicCampaign.org) Provides news and articles relating political influence to donations to political candidates. 2-03 Editorial: Freedom from Fear (Daw Aung San Suu Kyi) "It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it." 7-05 Enron - Confidentiality of Advisory Meetings and the Constitution (U.S. House of Representatives) Argues that the Government Accounting Office (GAO), an arm of Congress, has the authority to request records from the White House regarding policy task forces in which lobbyists were allowed to participate. Part of Congress's oversight responsibility includes preventing the executive branch of government from allowing lobbyists too much influence over government policies. Vice President Chaney counters that '...I'm a constitutional officer. And the authority of the GAO does not extend in that case to my office.' The letter from members of Congress does not agree. It states that "Under 31 U.S.C. sec.712, GAO is an extension of Congress and has authority to investigate 'all matters related to ...the use of public money.' " Congress is investigating whether the White House allowed Enron lobbyists to shape national energy policy. Uses PDF format. 2-02 Enron - Government Accounting Office Sues the White House (MSNBC - Curry) Describes the reason that the Government Accounting Office (GAO) is suing the White House for information related to the energy task force that Vice President Dick Cheney chairs. "The lawsuit will be the GAO’s first against part of the federal government to get documents it wants." The GAO operates on behalf of the U.S. Congress to ensure that the executive branch spends public funds properly. 2-02 Enron Energy Company Met With Cheney (Houston Chronicle - Ivanovich) Mentions meetings between Vice President Dick Cheney and Enron Executives that may have influenced the Bush administration's national energy strategy. The meeting on April 17 "was at a time when Cheney was busy crafting the administration's national energy strategy and California regulators were battling with Enron and other independent power producers over that state's electricity woes." 1-02 Essay - Political Contributions and Persons of Color (ColorofMoney.org) People of color are largely absent from what has become one of the most crucial elements of the election process, namely, campaign financing." 2-03 Financing Behind Corporate Water (TomPaine.com) Discusses global trend toward corporate ownership of water supplies. 7-02 Granting Corporations Personhood (Grossman and Adams) Discusses the U.S. Supreme Court decision of 1886, Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad, that first granted corporations the same rights as an individual citizen. The Supreme Court stated that: "The court does not wish to hear argument on the question whether the provision in the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which forbids a State to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws, applies to these corporations. We are all of opinion that it does." "Thus it was that a two-sentence assertion by a single judge elevated corporations to the status of persons under the law, prepared the way for the rise of global corporate rule, and thereby changed the course of history." 7-02 Half of Clinton Aides Now Lobbyists (ABC News) "A study being released Monday by the Center for Public Integrity, a nonpartisan watchdog group, ranked the top 100 officials serving when President Clinton left office two years ago and found 51 now lobby the government or work for companies that do." 3-03 Issue - Environment and Corporations (PublicCampaign.org) Provides statistics on the influence of corporations on the quality of the environment. 1-04 Meeting the Challenge of Governance and Corruption (CopenhagenConsensus.com) Provides a paper and two opponent views. "Researchers at the World Bank estimate that $1 trillion is spent on bribes annually, some 3% of global GDP. The impact on economic growth and world income could well be much higher than this. Corruption is one symptom of a failure to achieve an appropriate balance between private wealth and public power. Ultimately, there is a risk that government will be captured by powerful interests and rendered dysfunctional. Both private citizens and companies are then drawn into the cycle of bribery, forced to pay corrupt officials to obtain routine services and major contracts and concessions." "Global solutions to this challenge are difficult to find because corruption and poor governance have a variety of causes. Solutions are not easy to implement because they disadvantage powerful vested interests that can block reforms. Despite these caveats, carefully tailored policies – carried out with the personal commitment of those on the ground – can have large benefits and very low costs."" "In summary, promising policy options are:" "Option 1: Grassroots monitoring and service delivery, with technical assistance and information provision provided centrally by government or nongovernmental organisations." 10-05 Poll - Views on the Causes of Corporate Abuse (Washington Post - Morin and Deane) Summarizes results of a study on views of corporate abuse. 7-02 Portland Mayor - Jim Francesconi and Tom Potter (Willamette Weekly) Provides a contrast between Tom Potter, ex-police chief who caps donations at $25, and Jim Franesconi, who accepts large donations from developers and others who will be wanting favors from a new mayor. The other top contenders for mayor, including Jerry Adams, Phil Busse, and James Posey, have limited their contributions to $100 or less--thereby preventing a conflict of interest, impropriety, or even the appearance of conflict of interest. 3-04 President Bush's Speech Against Business Crime (CBS News - Bush) Provides the text of President Bush's speech, given July 8th, 2002. 7-02 SEC Chairman, Harvey Pitt, Resigns (CNN) "Embattled Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt, under fire for not taking a strong enough stand on cleaning up corporate accounting problems, has resigned." 10-02 Silent Takeover (Observer - Hertz) "This is the world of the Silent Takeover, a world in which governments can no longer be relied on to protect the people's interests. Blinded by the allure of the market, they now put corporate interests first." "Despite the roles corporations are beginning to play in the social sphere, despite the fact that they may be able to play some role in alleviating poverty and inequity and protecting the environment, social investment and social justice will never become their core activity. Their contribution to society's needs will always remain at the margins. Corporate social responsibility cannot be thought of as a reasonable proxy for state responsibility." 6-02 Silent Takeover - A Review (Amazon.com - Bollen) "Did you know that of the world's largest economies, 51 are now corporations and only 49 are nation-states? You do now." 6-02 Statistics - Political Contributions and Persons of Color (ColorofMoney.org) People of color are largely absent from what has become one of the most crucial elements of the election process, namely, campaign financing." 2-03 Wall Street Reform and Eliot Spitzer (PBS - NOW with Bill Moyers) "In the role as guardians of the public interest, several attorney generals are responsible for the massive tobacco awards now propping up state coffers. And, just last year, New York's Attorney General Eliot Spitzer filed, and won, a landmark suit against several large Wall Street firms accused of corporate malfeasance." 12-03 Wealth and Democracy (Los Angeles Times - Kennedy) Reviews the book, Wealth and Democracy, by Kevin Phillips. Discusses the gap between the wealthy and rest of us and the consequences on democracy. Phillips summarizes the position of Republican president Theodore Roosevelt, with "...too much wealth in the hands of a small minority is not only offensive to the American sense of fairness, it is dangerous to the republic itself. Excess money, in this view, purchases special privileges, corrupts low-paid officials and distorts the electoral will. In a narrower sense, it is also dangerous to the Republican Party, which brings us back to where Phillips started off his long career." 7-02 What Corporate Money Buys in Government (PBS NOW - Moyers) "On March 2002 the U.S. Senate passed the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, commonly known as the McCain-Feingold Bill. It's the biggest reform of the nation's campaign finance system since the days of Watergate. Its highlight: a total ban on the large, unregulated donations to the national Republican and Democratic parties known as soft money." Some have sued to stop this legislation and this has, in turn, revealed immense corporate power in government, purchased by corporations. "Internal documents from the Republican and Democratic parties — including personal letters and emails which show party officials routinely discussing policy issues and offering access to elected officials in obtaining large contributions. About 100 pages of those documents have been released so far. Many more remain secret because of the objections of some of those named in the case. But even the few that are available have been enough to cause a stir." 2-02 Purchase Resources Wealth and Democracy (Amazon.com - Phillips) Provides a controversial book which warns against too much concentration of wealth in a few, resulting in corruption of the democratic process. According to reviewer, McNamee, "Most American conservatives take it as an article of faith that the less governmental involvement in affairs of the market and pocketbook the better. The rich do not, whatever they might say--for much of their wealth comes from the 'power and preferment of government.' So writes Kevin Phillips, the accomplished historian and one-time Washington insider, in this extraordinary survey of plutocracy, excess, and reform." 7-02

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