Checks and Balances

Lets face some facts: the United States is still the greatest country in the world- right now- but it is not without some serious flaws, chief of which is the amount of control corporations have over how our government functions.

I had a realization today while discussing politics with my sister. I was telling her how I thought that increasing corporate control over the political process would inevitably lead to a revolution when I realized that we don't actually have three pillars of government. We have four. That's right; forget Judicial, Legislative and Executive because it's actually Judicial, Legislative, Executive and Corporate.

Corporations are now legally considered people in matters of political funding and lobbying, a huge step backward in the battle against corporate influence. But even before that, corporations and their representatives in Washington were extremely powerful, influencing congress with piles of money to pass legislation that ensured their stockholders massive profits while choking taxpaying Americans in more ways than one can count. This influence over what actually happens in government is why they are the fourth branch, and I am ok with that.

I think corporate America should have a set out and legally defined voice in government since capitalism is so important to how we function. However, with becoming a branch of government comes that other thing that all branches have to deal with: checks and balances. If corporations want to influence the government, we should be able to check them and make sure they dont get any more powerful than the other branches. Hey P&G, Wal*Mart and Comcast, you want a voice? If you do, get ready to sacrifice for it just like everybody else.