Don’t blame CVS; “Black Money” Must Be Tackled – Lowell Sun

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Don’t blame CVS

It is unfortunate that CVS has left its Merrimack Street store. However, much of the blame lies with Charles River Realty, the owner of the Hildreth Building.

The Marcotte law firm had been in the building since the 1950s, when my grandfather (Mr. Marcotte) started practicing law. We had been there for so long that everyone thought we owned the building. Last year we were forced to leave because of the conditions. There were cockroaches and other rodents, the homeless lived in vacant offices, and bodily fluids were regularly left in the elevator and lobby.

The straw that broke the camel’s back was the lack of heat in winter. About 10 days a year we had to rely on heaters and winter jackets to work in our office. My grandfather used to tell stories about the grandeur of the building when there was a dedicated elevator operator and a salesperson in the lobby. With those days gone, that was enough for us and for CVS.

We must tackle the “black money”

Charlie Cooper is partly right that the For the People Act (HR1 / S.1.) Repairs the root causes of the damage done to our democratic republic by proposing many important democratic reforms such as those dealing with gerrymandering and suppression of voters, but not for the reasons you think of July 9).

But that will not fix black money. Specifically, it would require disclosure of campaign contributions of Hidden Money by anonymous donors. But that wouldn’t stop the flow of such money.

As a country, we must deal with the vast increase in electoral contributions allowed in 2010 by the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC. This decision was based on two flawed doctrines: that corporations have constitutional rights as if they were real people, and that political spending is a way for corporations to exercise their First Amendment rights.

Although HR1 / S.1 states that the Constitution must be amended, it is not a formal amendment proposal. To be effective, any amendment must require Congress to enact campaign finance reforms to ensure that all citizens, regardless of their economic status, have access to the political process.

If we prefer the government of, by and for all the people to the current oligarchy of big business and billionaires, we must pass a binding two-part constitutional amendment such as the We the People Amendment (HJR.48) to affirm that companies are not people and money is not talk.

Holly NewmanJamaica Plain

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