The Brazilian Supreme Court has BANNED corporate “donations”(bribes) to politicians… there’s a lesson here for Americans about the impact of corporate bribery, but I’m afraid that ISIS OMGLOLWTFBBQ is drowning it out.
The Supreme Court’s decision comes at a… precarious time for President Dilma Rousseff who is facing corruption allegations with some citizens even calling for her impeachment.
It seems that some 76% of the riches that had been sent her way were from corporate backers.
The US Supreme Court, on the other hand, has decided that corporate bribery is the way to go and is proceeding at breakneck speed in the opposite direction; the Supreme Court ruled in 2008 to allow, for all intents and purposes, limmitless amounts of bribery for political campaigns.
Though TECHNICALLY limited, corporations have this thing called “501 (c) 4 organizations” or the infamous “Super PAC”… guaranteeing that their little puppet can get all the nutritious bribery that a growing politician needs. Add in a lil’ shade and loads of cow manure (more crudely, bull sh**), and they’re all set!
The aptly named Sunlight Foundation hopes to make the lil’ cretins wilt, writing:
Traditional political action committees are bound by a $5,000 annual limit on the size of contributions they can accept from individuals and are prohibited from accepting contributions from corporations and labor unions.
A super PAC is freed from these restrictions under two conditions: The PAC must neither 1) give money directly to a candidate or other political committees that give directly to candidates, nor 2) coordinate how it spends its money with a federal candidate. As long as those two conditions are met, a super PAC may accept donations directly from corporate or union treasuries and in amounts that are limited only by the size of donors’ bank accounts.
Brazillian Supreme Court Justice Rosa Weber had this to say about dirty money in politics:
“The influence of economic power has ended up transforming the electoral process into a rigged political game, a despicable pantomime which makes the voter a puppet, simultaneously undermining citizenship, democracy and popular sovereignty.”
And while Brazil’s corporations will eventually find a shadier way of bribing politicians… it’s NOT our job to make their life any easier.
Super PACs, while legally prevented from coordinating with the official campaign, work in parallel with the campaign… with a wink and a nod rather than a handshake and a signed contract.
These Super PACs have already collected a cool 300 million bucks for next year’s presidential campaign. Seriously, if someone gave ME a few million big ones I’d be hella’ grateful. Imagine what 300 million would do for the already-sociopathic politicians out there… by the way,
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Sources: The Free Thought Project
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