My Presentation before the Mt. Shasta City Council on Monday, October 8, 2012 supporting "the Move to Amend"

I’m Dr. Stephen Concklin.  I live at 308 NC Street here in Mt. Shasta.  I’m a retired educator.  I am also a member of the Siskiyou Progressive Alliance.

I support the Move to Amend: The National Campaign to End Corporate Personhood and Demand Real Democracy!  And I am urging that you, the city council, adopt our resolution supporting the “Move to Amend.”

In dissenting with the Citizens United decision of the Supreme Court, Justice Stevens wrote, ". . . corporations have no consciences, no beliefs, no feelings, no thoughts, no desires. Corporations help structure and facilitate the activities of human beings, to be sure, and their 'personhood' often serves as a useful legal fiction. But they are not themselves members of “We the People” by whom and for whom our Constitution was established."  I might add, as well, that they have no national loyalties.  There are no corporate borders.  It was recently reported that   corporation based in a foreign nations has contributed to at least one presidential candidate in our upcoming national election.

What could be just one of the consequences of the status quo for us here in Mt. Shasta?

The Daily Beast and Newsweek Magazine only today published an article entitled, The New Oil: Should private companies control our most precious natural resource?  We are talking about water.  At one time it was unthinkable that water would fall from the public domain.  Now, as privatization continues to eat up the commons, the threat to our water supply has become more than something to consider.  We already have a privately owned water bottling plant on our city outskirts.  The question I have is this.  How long will it be before our city water resource is commandeered by corporate interests?  Since Citizens United, corporations are able to use their unlimited monetized free speech to out speak the voices of any city, state or Federal agency.  Imagine the law suits which we, as citizens of Mt. Shasta, could find ourselves facing.  Finally, it must be pointed out that corporations have unlimited access to media.  We would just have ourselves.

I am urging you to support our Move to Amend resolution.

Thank you.

Vote “No” on Proposition 32

Proposition 32, also known as the “Paycheck Protection” initiative, is nothing more than a Trojan Horse.  It’s not what it seems.  It is meant to deceive.  It is written to give the impression that it will take the influence of money out of politics.  That’s not true.  It will, however, do what its promoters intended: it will weaken unions on the one hand and still allow corporations to pour vast sums into issues that will benefit them.  

If you are a union member, regardless of whether you work for a government agency or for private enterprise, this initiative takes away from you and your fellow union members the right to have a voice in the way your union gathers funds for causes vital to you.   Californians, by approving this initiative, will make that choice about your paycheck for you.  That’s not freedom.

Proposition 32 will also prevent corporations from collecting payroll deductions from their employee’s paychecks.  This won’t affect corporations.  More than 99% of corporations use their substantial corporate profits for political purposes … purposes that will insure even more substantial profits in the future.  They don’t need to use employee payroll deductions.  And they don’t need to ask their stock holders for permission either.  So Proposition 32 is nothing more than another attack on union members, workers and the middle class.  It was basically written by powerful corporations.

The model for Proposition 32 was developed by an organization known as ALEC, The American Legislative Exchange Council, according to documents obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy.   ALEC is organized by corporations who then meet together privately with our state legislators and write legislation. The public is never invited.  In this case Proposition 32 was written by and for corporate interests and presented directly to the voters through the initiative process.  So don’t be fooled by this well-funded initiative.  Vote “Yes” for freedom by voting “No” on deceptive Proposition 32.