Presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s recent assertion that “corporations are people” helped renew discussion about the role of corporations in public life, and their ability to influence elections.
The topic will be addressed in the panel discussion “Corporations are Not People: People’s Rights, Corporate Money, and What Comes Next,” to be held at 6 p.m., Monday, Jan. 30, in Tilton Hall.
The discussion will be led by Congressman James McGovern (D-Worcester), who has sponsored the People’s Rights Amendment, a constitutional amendment that would overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. FEC that grants personhood to corporations. The decision has led to unencumbered corporation spending in the current presidential election cycle.
♦ “Corporations are Not People: People’s Rights, Corporate Money, and What Comes Next,” will begin at 6 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 30, in Tilton Hall ♦
“Corporations are not people,” McGovern contends. “They are artificial entities that we the people create under state laws. They do not breathe. They do not have children. They do not go to war. Yet they now have far more say than ‘we the people.’ I’m honored to be on this distinguished panel, and I look forward to
discussing the ongoing journey to end corporate personhood.”
Joining McGovern will be Jeff Clements, co-founder of Free Speech for People and author of “Corporations Are Not People”; John Bonifaz, co-founder of Free Speech for People and a longtime national voting rights leader; and Massachusetts state Sen. Jamie Eldridge, a legislative leader for Massachusetts voting rights.