this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2026
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was talking politics with someone and the were talking about how their progressive candidate doesn't take corporate money.
how the fuck is that something that needs to be brought up!!! how is bringing the expected norm?
It’s because “Corporations are people” and “Money is speech” are foundational parts of the SCOTUS SuperConstitution.
now that they are legally people, can they be tried in court like people and send all their executives to jail when the company breaks the law?
All people are equal, but some people (in this case, the corporate entries that are objectively not people) are more equal than others
This isn't some uniquely American thing.
Corporate lobbying is a thing across the world at various levels. Business leaders are friends with political leaders in just about any country you look at and that close relationship gives much more wiggle room for oversight. Meals and deals are integral to the process and that's where corporate money can be spent without explicitly going to the politician. Gifts and services are a nightmare for democracy.
it isn't a unique American problem, but the way the US legalized and formalized the bribing process is something so dystopian it would only fit in a comedy. lobbying is an industry in itself.
US politics is different than what you have.
I'm in the US. it's just insane how the bar is that low.
that's like putting in my CV that I proudly did not have sex with the office coffeemaker.
You can run for office without doing it - many have, and do! They just don’t win that office. Except once in awhile like . . when, uh . . the . . well, I’m sure there’s an example out there somewhere.