by Jeffrey Kaplan & Jeff Milchen

Tom Paine

07/03/04

[F]ew Americans today doubt that corporations wield immense power over our laws, governments, and almost every realm of civic society. ... Today's challenge for those who seek to revitalize democracy and free our country from control by corporate interests is to show others a clear vision of an America where corporations serve a narrow role -- doing business and nothing more. The trend, of course, is in the opposite direction. There have been 150 years of legal decisions favoring big business, granting corporations legal rights that our founders intended solely for individual human beings. And while human liberty is on the defensive against authoritarianism, corporations are seizing power as aggressively as ever...

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/a_citizens_independence_movement.php


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp