# Should Corporate and Union Political Contributions Be Banned ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 31, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-corporate-and-union-political-contributions-be-banned/576598 "2011-03-31T02:54:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-corporate-and-union-political-contributions-be-banned/576598/61 "2011-04-06T03:20:49Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Dude, thanks to Citizens United, corporations OWN the US government’s top officials. We got bigger fish to fry. We’ll sort out the censorship issues later. We gotta get the government back in the people’s hands. What’s the point of free speech when the only speech that matters is that of corporate honchos? We can natter on this message board all we like, for example, and until the corporations are pried loose from Congress and the Presidency, it makes not a damn bit of difference what we say. Ok, please explain to me why the government should have the right to ban books and movies critical of political candidates. Also please explain why the Sierra Club should be fined for passing flyers criticizing political candidates. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-corporate-and-union-political-contributions-be-banned/576598/62 "2011-04-06T03:22:16Z")
> [@humanafterall](#): > > Damn right! I’m a little tired of the “People with the most money get to make all the rules” routine. Did you know that Harry S. Truman was the last President actually elected by the American People? Since then, elections have been held, but each one was specifically engineered to put people that CEO’s could trust to fill their coffers with more of our money than they deserve. Hilarious. I made specific reference to “Citizens United.” Maybe YOU didn’t notice that even after the Republicans were swept out of office following the Bush debacle, that NO ONE got prosecuted for the widespread financial criminality that precipitated the Great Recession … but I did. It’s like it doesn’t matter who’s in office any more … Democrats or Republicans, big deal … the bad guys can steal at will. What standard would YOU suggest for evidence of a thoroughly bought government? Take your time. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-corporate-and-union-political-contributions-be-banned/576598/63 "2011-04-06T03:24:36Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > Ok, please explain to me why the government should have the right to ban books and movies critical of political candidates. > > Also please explain why the Sierra Club should be fined for passing flyers criticizing political candidates. Because those acts are MEANINGLESS if our government is entirely bought. It’s rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic … very nicety-nice, and definitely something to be attended to, but let’s get our elections to the point where they mean something … then we can talk. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-corporate-and-union-political-contributions-be-banned/576598/64 "2011-04-06T03:27:39Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Because those acts are MEANINGLESS if our government is entirely bought. It’s rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic … very nicety-nice, and definitely something to be attended to, but let’s get our elections to the point where they mean something … then we can talk. You didn’t answer my question so I’ll ask it again. Why should the government be allowed to ban books and movies critical of political candidates? Why, for example, do you think Fahrenheit 911 should have banned? ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-corporate-and-union-political-contributions-be-banned/576598/65 "2011-04-06T06:41:15Z")
To the OP’s question, YES! As long as you can have transparency on every dollar that a candidate raises, keeping corporation money and union money should not be permitted. Especially union money, where union leadership decides where the money from the entire union goes. If each union member wants to donate to their candidate of choice, then I have no problem with that. Businesses should be allowed to donate, but only minimal amounts, with all donations being tracked, and none of it going to the general GOP or DEM election fund. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-corporate-and-union-political-contributions-be-banned/576598/66 "2011-04-06T06:46:47Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > Businesses should be allowed to donate, but only minimal amounts, with all donations being tracked, and none of it going to the general GOP or DEM election fund. Define “businesses”. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-corporate-and-union-political-contributions-be-banned/576598/67 "2011-04-06T06:50:09Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Hilarious. I made specific reference to “Citizens United.” Maybe YOU didn’t notice that even after the Republicans were swept out of office following the Bush debacle, that NO ONE got prosecuted for the widespread financial criminality that precipitated the Great Recession … but I did. It’s like it doesn’t matter who’s in office any more … Democrats or Republicans, big deal … the bad guys can steal at will. What standard would YOU suggest for evidence of a thoroughly bought government? Take your time. I only skimmed the thread before replying to the op, but I just wanted to add that I agree with statement. Unless of course, I’m being whooshed. Because what he says is exactly right. Democrat or Republican, it doesn’t matter. The whole goal is to make it look like you have a choice, when the reality is that neither one of these group will do anything to harm their own huge piece of the american wealth pie. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-corporate-and-union-political-contributions-be-banned/576598/68 "2011-04-06T08:45:47Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > Especially union money, where union leadership decides where the money from the entire union goes. What union money are you talking about? Under federal law, it is illegal to use union dues for political donations; all union contributions to political campaigns come from voluntary donations by the members to the union’s PAC, not from union dues. Did you not know this? ---
**Author:** ![humanafterall](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/humanafterall/32/19654_2.png) [@humanafterall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/humanafterall)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-corporate-and-union-political-contributions-be-banned/576598/69 "2011-04-06T11:37:17Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > What standard would YOU suggest for evidence of a thoroughly bought government? Take your time. I’m really not the best one to answer this, as lobbyists are evidence enough to me. I think there’s too many lobbyists on the Hill anyway, I believe there a 2:1 ratio of lobbyists to Congresspeople. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-corporate-and-union-political-contributions-be-banned/576598.md?page=3)