Are you ready to live in The United Corporations of America?  You can kiss The United States of America goodbye if we do not amend the Constitution to overturn the wildly dangerous and disgustingly political recent decision of the Supreme Court.

Yes, we believe in capitalism and entrepreneurship in this country, and it is important for people who take the risk of starting a business and who make better products to be rewarded for that risk-taking.  But let’s not forget that there are many millions of non-business owning people living in this country, and government is supposed to represent the people.  Corporations only represent their stockholders and their profits.  Profits that simply move a tiny portion of the population from very wealthy to extremely wealthy, while at the same time making the situation worse for millions who are already hurting, are not what makes capitalism a good thing.  That is why regulated capitalism is what America is about.

The danger of unfettered capitalism and unregulated businesses is a danger that has been shown time and time again – most recently with the wall-street meltdown caused by blatant Republican de-regulation.  Why is this lesson so hard to learn?  There are simple and logical reasons why capitalism needs to be regulated, not only for the good of the people, but for the good of capitalism itself.

There are two sides to the equation for successful capitalism and a successful economy.  They are our old friends, Supply and Demand.  Without Supply, Demand does not get met, and without Demand, Supply never gets bought.  The Supply side of the equation is made up of everything you normally think about when you think of capitalism – businesses, entrepreneurship, financial institutions, manufacturing, corporations, and so on.  When we speak of de-regulation, we are talking about the Supply side of the equation.

The reason this is necessary is because the entities who live on the Supply side (business owners, corporate executives, stock holders, and executives in financial and insurance companies) are, by necessity and definition, concerned with short-term profits & stock prices, short term policies & actions, and more importantly, the limited portion of the world and reality that immediately interfaces and impacts their own particular short-term goals.

It is no wonder then, that decisions made at this level end up being short-sighted and myopic, at least in relation to the country and the economy as a whole.  Left completely on their own, the people who make decisions on the Supply side of capitalism would (and almost have on several occasions) sacrifice the economy long-term in the name of short-term profits.  Actions in the name of individual goals would also have negative impacts on other businesses and the entire Supply side of the equation.

The recent recession/near-depression is an excellent example of this.  Short-term greed and risk-taking by one de-regulated major section of the economy nearly took the entire structure down.  This lesson should be learned and never forgotten.

The demand side of the capitalism equation consists of consumers – the people.  This is why the policies and philosophy of the conservative/Republican power structure, the greedy wealthy, and the capitalism proponents who rail against entitlement & social programs in the name of a free market, are self-defeating and illogical.  In a very real way, consumers ARE the economy in a free market.  The more consumers there are, and the more they have to spend, the more demand there is, and the more revenue and profits the Supply side gets.

Nothing is that simple, of course, but that is generally how it works.  The full size of demand does not only depend on how much money there is available to spend, but ALSO on HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE THAT MONEY!  Wealthy individuals and families are NOT going to buy thousands of toasters and deodorant sprays themselves, but a million people with a little money to spend will.

I am not, and have never been, in favor of simply redistributing money from the wealthy to the poor and the middle class, BUT I AM for ensuring the the opportunity which the wealthy have already taken advantage of is also available for others as well.  Those who say that the less fortunate in this country can only blame themselves, and will squander any opportunity they are provided, are speaking out of greed, stupidity, and selfishness (conscious or subconscious).

There are dead-beats and people like that, but the vast majority of people in this country are ready and willing to take advantage of opportunity, but too many are NOT able because it is not there for them.  I am also not talking about giving jobs to less-qualified individuals because they need it more.  The opportunity I am referring to is the opportunity to BECOME qualified.  Education, training, on-the-job training in lower-level positions, and many other things are necessary for success even when the individual has the willingness and motivation.

The next fallacy forced upon us by those who oppose the idea of social and entitlement programs is that the middle-class and the poor have the opportunity, but just do not want to work hard enough to take advantage of it.  This is total BS once again.  People in this country are NOT born onto equal playing fields.  When you are sick, hungry, living in a slum and high-crime area, having to take care of your family when you are 12 years old, having to avoid becoming a member of a gang, and having to avoid drugs, it becomes extremely difficult, or even impossible, to find the opportunities and take advantage of them, even if those opportunities were available.

This is why entitlement and social programs are necessary in these situations.  Why should society bother?  Because every poverty-stricken American who does manage to drag themselves out of their situation, who does manage to get educated, who does manage to be successful, and who does manage to obtain a measure of affluence, is another American who will spend money and will contribute to society as a whole.  It is selfish and short-sighted to believe that the next Einstein, Bill Gates, or Jeff Bezos is not this very moment living in the Ghetto and wasting his or her potential.

So, getting back to this insane Supreme Court decision which lets Corporations spend unlimited money on Political campaigns, this is putting all the power, all the decision-making, and America’s future into the hands of those who are short-sighted and myopic.  Those who have, time and time again, threatened America’s economy and way of life with their limited Supply side capitalism decisions are now unfettered to do as much damage as they are stupid enough to do.  If today’s laws and regulations are preventing that from happening, lack of a campaign funding spending limit ensures that they can buy as many congressional seats as they want and need in order to remove those regulations and change those laws in the future.

Welcome to the United Corporations of America!!