American Democracy is built on the promise that governing power is vested in the people—that no matter your socio-economic status, race, gender, or otherwise, every individual has an equal say in how our government operates. No one is above the rule of law, and no matter how much money you throw at it, the system always bends to the will of the many. At least, that is how it is supposed to operate according to the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) and Bipartisan Campaign Act, which bars direct donations by corporations toward political campaigns. But, while countless boundaries have been put between Washington D.C. and corporate bank accounts, just as many concessions have been made for these “too big to fail corporations.” They’ve entrenched themselves in each branch of government, buying out every elected official regardless of party affiliation, and as a result, we now live in a plutocracy: rule by the wealthy.
The aforementioned FECA, passed in 1971, was one of the biggest hurdles Congress had placed regarding corporations financing political candidates. It was the first to lay out comprehensive rules for campaign contributions. It was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2002 which ruled that certain parts of the act were unconstitutional, however, the Bipartisan Campaign Act immediately took its place, effectively reinstituting all the regulations laid out by the original act. It seemed as if the government was headed in the right direction—legislators knew that if any allowance was given to corporate financiers, companies would be able to exploit that concession and translate their economic power to political power. If that were to happen, corporations would have the power to operate however they want, even if at the expense of the general population, and use the resources of the US government however they please. It would be a dystopian nightmare, and since 2010, it’s been the reality for the United States of America.
In the landmark Supreme Court case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the court ruled that the freedom of speech outlined in the First Amendment extends to corporations, and “speech” includes expenditures for political campaigns. Essentially—given that statistically, the candidate that spends the most money wins whatever election they are in—the winner of elections from the House of Representatives to even the Presidency is decided by who has more corporate backers. They hand these “donations” out through mediums called political action committees or “PACs.” These were the legal way in which companies could make contributions to campaigns, but after the Citizens United Decision, “Super PACs” started to crop up. These new organizations were freed by the contribution limits previously enforced on PACs, and because of them, the past 15 years have consisted of wealthy corporate backers bankrolling their preferred candidates.
These massive conglomerates aren’t just giving away their capital simply because they like certain candidates either. Brothers Charles Koch and David Koch, executives of the energy company Koch Industries, created various PACs like “Americans for Prosperity” which dumped hundreds of millions of dollars into candidates, usually Republican, who oppose climate change regulations. The result: over 100 environmental rules enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were rolled back under Donald Trump’s administration, and at the same time, any piece of legislation targeting non-renewable energy companies was immediately shot down.
This isn’t just happening on one side of the aisle either. Future Forward, a PAC heavily funded by tech billionaire Dustin Moskovitz, spent over $100 million to support Joe Biden’s presidential campaign in 2020. This influx of capital translated into a flood of digital and television advertisements that bolstered Biden’s messaging. In return, Moskovitz and his peers in the tech industry benefited from policies like the slowing of antitrust enforcement against their companies, which included the delayed approval of antitrust suits against companies like Meta and Google.
Corporations are not people, and spending hundreds of millions of dollars is not free speech. With this invasion of the government, democracy is an illusion. It’s become a “choice” between two candidates who are both backed by mega corporations that have secured favors for them in return. Any candidates who truly want to pursue antitrust or other effective regulatory actions are drowned out by million dollar smear campaigns and TV ads, preventing them from achieving any federal government office. Our government has now been swallowed whole by corporations who, with their billions, buy influence and crush any real choice for the American people. Any semblances of liberty or equality present in the founding documents have been written off along with corporate taxes. The system no longer answers to voters—it answers to the highest bidder.
