Kevin Zieber's column about the recent Supreme Court ruling that overturned the prohibition on corporations and labor unions to spend money on political speech before elections had justifiable concern, albeit misguided. Justice Anthony Kennedy, who wrote the main opinion for the ruling, said when Government seeks to use its full power
including the criminal law to command where a person may get his or her information or what distrusted source he or she may not hear it uses censorship to control thought. This is unlawful. ... The First Amendment confirms the freedom to think for ourselves.
Censorship, whether used on individuals or corporations, harms a free society. If we are concerned about the influence corporations have on the government and our lives, we will take John Stossel's advice in a recent column at reason.com: get the government out of our lives and economic affairs. If government has no favors to sell
no one will spend money trying to win them.
The problem does not lie in restoring free speech (by the way, media corporations were exempt from the prohibition); the problem lies with a government that thinks it can intervene in the economy with no ill effects. If the government were to cease corporate welfare and regulations that discourage businesses from entering the market while still protecting well-connected corporations, we would be better off.
Anthony Hennen is a sophomore studying journalism.
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Opinion
Letter to the Editor
