We the People

We the people believe in the dream of contribution.  We believe in the ideals that began with our forefathers, that we learned from our mothers and fathers, and that we are convinced of by society daily.  We want to believe that hard work, perseverance, and the entrepreneurial spirit lead to a better life for ourselves and our children.

We are heartened by stories of people who, through honest hard work and innovation, have improved their lot in life.  We, as much as everyone else, love the story of the creator, the inventor, the thinker, the idealist who improved the lives of others through bringing a superior product or service to market.  This is the American Dream.

This is why we are ashamed, saddened, and disheartened by the perversion of these ideals in America today.  The assumption that the wealthiest in America  are that way because of their inordinate hard work is both untenable and insulting.  In America today, dynastic wealth accounts for an enormous percent of total worth in the top 1% of America.   The idea that Paris Hilton is somehow “deserving” of wealth because her grandfather decided to open a chain of hotels is reprehensible, and directly counter to the idea that wealth should be accumulated by those who contribute.  On the contrary, the actions of large corporations, through consolidation and extreme dominance in existing markets, have frequently served to increase barriers of entry into business by those small innovators who would provide quality product and service.

Our country was supposed to be founded on the ideals of individual liberty.  These ideals were codified at a time when wealth was concentrated into the hands of a few landowners under a feudal society. Therefore, everyone else was consigned to work for the landowners.  And now, corporate America has become the new aristocracy.  CEOs have become the new “landlords”. And while we work for them, they heap rewards into their pockets, destroy the environment, enjoy the best health care while 59 million Americans go without, and further increase the gap between the “haves” and the “have nots”.

We are also appalled at the damage to the environment inflicted by corporate America.  America currently has approximately 4.5  percent of the population of the world.  We currently produce approximately 20 percent of the world’s yearly carbon dioxide.  And while clean, sustainable energy is a clear necessity for the future, corporate America behaves like a short sighted fool, more concerned about their quarterly stock price than the inevitable consequences of their actions to the environment.

We are disgusted at the Supreme Court Decision (Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission) affirming that a corporation is counted as a person.  Corporations are not persons.  Persons do not survive into perpetuity, while corporations do.  Persons do not have the vast power of a corporation.  Persons cannot influence multinational systems by existing in multiple countries simultaneously, while corporations can.  And finally, a person which acted like a corporation – without regard for long term environmental implications, destroying competitors while homogenizing whole cultures, would surely be regarded as in violation of reasonable morality as well as the laws created by our governments.

Characterizing us as “lazy” is wrong.  Characterizing us as “disengaged” is a misnomer.  We are directly engaged in an attempt to influence the future of our country, which we love.  We are not here because we dislike America, or innovation, or entrepreneurialism.  We are not opposed to small business; in fact, we support it.  We are here because we dislike that so much of the wealth of our country is concentrated into the hands of so few.  A few who frequently obtained their wealth through their inheritance, who innovate little, and whose definition of “contribution” is cornering supply chains to create an oligopoly, rather than a free market.  While under enormous economic pressure, the 99% have suffered job loss, medical care loss, and home loss while the other 1% are richer than ever.  This will no longer be tolerated.

Therefore, We the People demand:

Corporations are not persons

Healthcare Accessibility

Environmental Sustainability

Capital Gains Tax

Keep Inheritance Amounts Fair

Bradley S. Hughes, PhD

San Diego, CA

10/26/2011

Bradhughes314@gmail.com