Every reform effort or legislation can be questioned by raising the specter of “unintended consequences.”  So, too, House Joint Resolution 48. But it only eliminates corporate constitutional rights (CCRs) that We The People never granted to corporations.  Below are some of the alleged unintended consequences of the We The People Amendment and Move to Amend’s responses.

1. "Eliminating CCRs would cause huge financial disruption of the American economy."

Corporations did not have or need CCRs to become the most powerful and dominant economic institutions in the 1800’s. Their size and influence have only grown since then. If eliminating CCRs caused any economic angst, Congress and/or the States can enact appropriate legislation to address specific problems. Financial disruption does not appear to be an issue.

2. "Eliminating CCRs would subject corporations to government overreach."

Per state statute, corporations already have the right to sue in a court of law to protect their interests. Existing federal and state statutes already protect corporations from unlawful searches and seizures, e.g., California Penal Code, Title 12, Chapter 3 (search warrants); United States Code, Title 18, Chapters 109, 205 (searches and seizures). Under HJR 48 corporate shareholders, officers, and employees, as well as association members, all retain their rights as individuals, so no legitimate rights will be lost.

3. "Eliminating CCRs would result in corporations being forced to disclose proprietary Information."

Trade secrets are protected by both federal and state laws. The federal Defend Trade Secrets Act and Uniform Trade Secrets Act, which most states have passed. The former provides protections of financial, business, scientific, technical, economic, and engineering related trade secrets if the owner has taken basic measures to keep such information secret.

4. "Eliminating CCRs would jeopardize non-profit corporations and associations." 

Each of the rights the Supreme Court has created for corporations (Equal Protection & Due Process [14th Amend.], No surprise inspections/searches [4th Amend.], Due Process and compensation for government takings [5th Amend.] Political and commercial speech & “right not to speak [1st Amend.], Jury trial in criminal case [6th Amend.], Freedom from double jeopardy [5th Amend.], and Jury trial in civil case [7th Amend.] could be conferred statutorily on for-profit or non-profit corporations by Congress or the States.

5. "Eliminating CCRs would make non-profits such as Planned Parenthood subject to unreasonable searches and seizures."

Even absent statutory protections the U.S. Supreme Court has already recognized the right of corporations to represent their members' constitutional rights under appropriate circumstances. In NAACP v. Alabama, 357 U.S. 449 (1958) the Alabama attorney general obtained an injunction against the Alabama branch of the NAACP for violating that state's incorporation laws and sought information including the names and addresses of its members. The NAACP complied with the AG's demands except for providing the membership information. This occurred at the height of the Civil Rights movement.

The Supreme Court found the NAACP as a non-profit corporation did not itself have the right to object to the AG's demand, but it had the right to assert its members' rights where they could not assert their rights themselves without giving up those same rights (i.e., identify themselves). See pp. 458-459. So even under this worst case scenario a non-profit would not need CCRs, but could assert its members' rights to protect them and their rights.

See Why Non-Profit Corporations Do Not Have, Deserve or Need Constitutional Rights for more information.

Contrast the preceding hypothetical and unfounded consequences with just a few of the known and highly detrimental consequences of CCRs:

• Corporate political spending is 1st Amendment "political speech." 
  The result: The 2008 Great Recession nearly brought down the U.S. economy, caused in part by corporate political campaign contributions. Shielded as First Amendment-protected “free speech,” that corporate lobbying resulted in repeal of many market protections such as the Glass-Steagall Act. Corporate profits greatly increased but many people lost their homes and retirement savings. Buckley v. Valeo (1976).

• Corporations have a 1st Amendment right not to speak. 
  The result: A federal Court prevented the National Labor Relations Board from ordering businesses to post a rule at the workplace, thus making it more difficult to inform workers of their rights while employers can post anything as long as it does not contain a threat or promise of benefit. National Assoc’n of Manufacturers v. NLRB (2013).

• Corporations have 4th Amendment protections. 
  The result: Governmental attempts to protect the public from a plethora of dangers stemming from private commercial activities (e.g., food contamination, drug impurities, automobile and airplane defects, dangerous conditions, worker safety violations, and environmental hazards) are thwarted by eliminating surprise inspections. Marshall v. Barlow’s, Inc. (1978).
  
  
• Corporations have 5th Amendment protections. 
  The result: Certain regulations enacted by a State against corporations are “regulatory takings” and illegal without just compensation -- not instances of legitimate examples of using its police power to protect public health, safety and welfare. Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon (1922).

Corporations have a legal mandate to maximize profit for shareholders. It is our elected official’s responsibility to protect the economy, the environment and the public. Public welfare requires us to reign in unchecked corporations that have hijacked the Constitution and our legal system which has made it impossible to hold them legally responsible without an amendment to the Constitution to make clear that their proper place is accountable to the government and the people.

Move to Amend believes the real danger that desperately requires redress are the actual, known consequences of CCRs wrought by large and wealthy corporations. In fact, we have a bigger problem if we do not act to curtail corporate power.

As Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis wrote: “We must make our choice.  We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of the few, but we can’t have both.”

➤➤ PDF: Myths of Harmful “Unintended Consequences” of Abolishing Corporate Personhood

Connecting the Indivisible and Move to Amend Movements

“It’s time to move past ideology to reality. Government is our tool, that when wielded properly can help the American people grow our economy and strengthen our nation. We cannot simply dismiss the use of government to help solve problems. Government is US – not something being done to US.”

Source: Indivisible, https://www.indivisible.us

The Indivisible grassroots movement of resistance to the Trump administration and many Republican policies has attracted legions of people, many previously uninvolved, dedicated to the principle that government belongs to We the People, not the super wealthy or corporate interests. Phone calls, letters and direct actions at Town Hall meetings, Congressional offices and public pressure in other public spaces have contributed to specific victories against Presidential decrees, cabinet nominees and proposed Congressional legislation. 

The Move to Amend grassroots movement is a non-partisan, broad coalition of organizations and individuals, who share common values, working together to end all corporate constitutional rights (“corporate personhood”) and demand real democracy. Launched following the Supreme Court Citizens United 2010 decision, Move to Amend is working to enact the We the People Amendment (https://movetoamend.org/wethepeopleamendment), a constitutional amendment to unequivocally state that inalienable rights belong to human beings only, and that money is not a form of protected free speech under the First Amendment and shall be regulated in political campaigns. Both are essential elements to counter the hijacking of our government by corporate entities and the super wealthy.

Why Indivisible and Move to Amend should collaborate with one another to promote real democracy?

√ Reacting and responding to individual destructive actions by the President and Congress is essential to prevent immediate harms. Resistance alone, however, is following someone else’s agenda. Reaction must be complemented by proaction – educating, advocating and organizing for what we want. Short-term electoral and policy changes must be complemented by fundamental structural constitutional change that alters the basic rules of society to become more democratic, just and sustainable – which transcends political parties and ideologies.  It’s important to put out fires, but we’ll forever be firefighting unless we stop the arsonists who start them.

√ Move to Amend groups can provide assistance and supporters for Indivisible-sponsored actions that relate to corporate rule, money in elections, and democracy. They can help research and frame issues of interest to Indivisible groups, including why there’s a growing disconnect between public needs and existing public policies, and how fundamental changes are so difficult without constitutional changes.

√ Move to Amend can offer material and volunteers to Indivisible groups to arm you with a deep understanding of how our government isn’t broken, but instead "fixed", or rigged, to benefit the few over the many. This is due to profoundly undemocratic provisions of the US Constitution, as well as numerous Supreme Court decisions that granted corporate entities with constitutional rights ... In addition, the US Supreme Court declared money is constitutionally-protected political “free speech” under the 1st Amendment, meaning those with the most money to spend (or invest) in elections have the most speech – drowning out the political voices of the 99%.. The High Court made numerous decisions over the last century that applied various sections of the Bill of Rights and other articles of the US Constitution to corporate entities, provisions that were originally and solely {intended or meant}  for human beings. These never-intended corporate “rights” prevent us from fundamentally governing ourselves. Examples of these “rights” and their negative impacts include:

• 1^st Amendment Free Speech rights -- Perverted by corporations to donate/invest in elections  (right to speak), to thwart unionization and free association of workers with public ad campaigns, to prevent disclosure of harmful product ingredients, like genetically modified organisms, that communities have voted to disclose (rights not to speak), and to exempt the corporation from regulations, such as contraceptive coverage, that its owners object to on religious grounds (right to religious belief of the corporation)  
   
• 4^th Amendment Search and Seizure rights-- Perverted by corporations to avoid environmental, and worker health and safety inspections of corporate property. It’s also been used to prevent the disclosure of information -- most recently by Exxon-Mobil corporation of documents from past decades revealing its statements and scientific findings about climate change.
   
• 5^th Amendment Takings, Double Jeopardy and Due Process corporate rights -- Perverted by corporations to oppose environmental regulations protecting people and communities as “takings” -- meaning regulations that impact a corporation’s ability to make a profit can sue for future profits lost, creating a chilling effect for communities who would be responsible to pay corporations for lost profits. Corporations cannot be retried after a judgment of acquittal in court. The granting of property to a corporation by a public official cannot be unilaterally revoked by a subsequent public official or Act of Congress. 
   
• 14th Amendment Due Process and Equal Protection corporate rights -- Originally intended to end discrimination of freed male slaves, this Amendment was perverted by corporations to claim any law that corporations had no authentic role in shaping (due process violation) or singles out a class of corporations (e.g. multinational vs local) or a specific corporation is unconstitutional “discrimination” (equal protection violation). Corporations have used these rights to build chain stores and erect cell towers against the will of communities; oppose progressive taxation and other public policies favoring local businesses over multinational corporations; and resist democratic efforts to prevent corporate mergers and revoke corporate charters through citizen initiatives.    
   
• Commerce Clause-related rights (Article 1, Section 8) - Perverted by corporations to claim that scores of laws at the local and state level protecting the "health, safety, and welfare" of people in communities involving actions that cross state lines are unconstitutional. It has been used, for example,  to ship toxic waste from one state to another over community objections claiming the waste isn't actually "waste" but "commerce."  
   
• Contracts Clauses-related rights (Article 1, Section 10) -- Perverted by corporations to claim that a corporate charter isn’t a state-issued license permitting the state to define permissible corporate actions (as was originally the case), but rather a “party to a private contract” and, thus, shielded from many forms of control by We the People, who define their purpose and boundaries. 

  More info at https://movetoamend.org/why-abolish-all-corporate-constitutional-rights

√ Indivisible groups can be a powerful force joining with Move to Amend as we lobby for passage of the We the People Amendment (House Joint Resolution 54), which has over 72 cosponsors in the US House of Representatives. The goal in 2024 is introduction of the Amendment in the US Senate and to secure more House co-sponsors. Indivisible members can be valuable voices in meeting with federal elected officials or their staff by sharing their specific issue concerns and the difficulty in their advancement due to the political power of corporate entities and the super wealthy. Enormous public support and pressure must be amassed to overcome the inherent fixed/rigged political system.

If you’d like to learn more, please contact Move to Amend at (916) 318-8040 or email [email protected]. We can connect you with Move to Amend folks in your area, send a speaker to one of your meetings (depending on where you are located) and more! Your group can also use our Challenging Corporate Power Study Guide (designed specifically for Indivisible groups) to hold self-study sessions learning about how corporate power undermines our democracy at every turn and what you can do about it.

Connecting the Indivisible and Move to Amend Movements

Indivisible Outreach Plan for Affiliates

Challenging Corporate Power Study Guide for Indivisible Groups

• When corporations have constitutional rights, peoples' rights become meaningless. How can one human being’s power to speak compare to a massive corporation’s ability to speak?
   
• A corporation has millions of dollars, exists in many places at once; can live forever; and employs thousands to do its work around the clock. It controls politicians, the media, and the economy. A human being has little expendable income, lives in one place, dies, and must use her small amount of free time to work for causes she believes in.
   
• A human being needs clean air, clean water, food, and love to survive. A corporation does not.
   
• A corporation has no mind, no conscience, and no motive but to amass money. A human being thinks, tries to make ethical decisions, and is motivated by obligations to family and community. How could we say that these two dramatically different kinds of “persons” have an equal voice in a democracy?
   
• The Supreme Court has ruled that money equals speech. The corollary is this: people who have money can speak, and people who don’t, can’t. This is a plutocracy, not a democracy.
   
• To put this power imbalance in perspective, consider this: It took over 1 million individual donors to raise about $750 million for Obama's presidential campaign in 2008. $750 million is approximately five percent of ExxonMobil's third quarter profits in 2008, five percent of Bank of America's profits in 2007; 37.5 percent of Goldman Sachs's first quarter profits in 2009; 18 percent of JP Morgan Chase's third quarter profits in 2009; 25 percent of Ford's profits in 2009 five percent of Philip Morris's profits in 2008.
   
• Human rights are for humans. A corporation is not a human being.
   
• The word corporation does not occur in the Constitution. Corporations had to use unelected, unaccountable judges to give them rights.
   
• Corporations exist to serve the public welfare, not for the public to serve them. The Supreme Court has created a Frankenstein scenario in which the people’s creations now control the people.
   
• A person is a private entity with rights and sovereignty. A corporation is a public entity with obligations and responsibilities.
   
• The American Revolution was explicitly anti-corporate, and the revolutionaries made sure that corporations were tightly controlled.
   
• For the first seventy-five years after the Revolution, corporations could only exist if they served the public good.
   
• They were severely restricted in their activities: they had to be chartered by a vote of the state legislature, they could only exist for a certain number of years, they couldn’t own other corporations, they could be dissolved once they had earned a certain profit margin, they couldn’t donate to political or charitable causes, they had to operate in the state they were chartered in, their stockholders were local, they could only do the certain task they were chartered for, and they couldn’t own land that was necessary for carrying out business.
   
• Judge-made law is not democracy. We didn’t elect the Supreme Court justices, but they get to decide who does and doesn’t count in our democracy. Congress and the People should decide those issues.
   
• The sole purpose of a corporation is to amass profit and consolidate wealth. They are legally required and structurally designed to make money at any cost. This makes them dangerous to people and democracy.
   
• The structure of a corporation separates humans from their actions. They destroy responsibility and hijack decision-making. They make humans do things collectively that they would never do as individuals: poison water, deny healthcare, and destroy the planet.
   
• Every cause we care about and fight for is affected by corporate power.