At this time of year, corporations have their stockholders’ meetings. As treasurer of an organization with stock in its endowment, I’ve seen what several corporations put before their stockholders this year. Now that Bush’s Supreme Court aggressively changed the law of the land so that big corporations may spend as much as they wish to sway the country’s elections in their favor, they are doing exactly that.

For example, British Petroleum, which brought us the Gulf oil rig explosion (and which now calls itself BP, probably hoping people will forget that it’s not an American corporation), budgets 100,000 pounds per year for American elections. AT&T’s stockholder report budgets money for “law reform” — changing laws for its profit (such as getting rid of environmental laws, or gaining tax breaks for sending American jobs overseas).

GE reported $14.2 billion in profits in 2010, but paid no taxes because it kept its profits offshore; GE then used tax breaks in the U.S. to get a $3.2 billion refund — from American taxpayers.

Corporations are spending big to swing elections. How? By backing conservative candidates, who are then beholden to their backers, and by using “think tanks” and one-sided TV “news” and talk radio to sway the public’s thinking. Obama is Muslim, they say; also socialist, un-American, fascist, etc. Unions are evil, they say. Why? Because the members might vote Democratic.

People must remember that it’s their government. Government is people working together to look after each other. It is the American way.

Judy Green, North Waterford