Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney told an Iowa crowd earlier today that the U.S. government shouldn’t raise taxes because “corporations are people” too. From Talking Points Memo:
Responding to a question from an audience member as to why Social Security should be included in deficit talks when it doesn’t add to the deficit, Romney drifted into a defense of corporate rights.
“Corporations are people, my friend,” he said. “Of course they are.”
After receiving jeers from the audience over the quote, he elaborated: “Everything corporations earn goes to people. Where do you think it goes? Whose pockets? People’s pockets. Human beings, my friend.”
In some respects, corporations are treated as individuals, like when it comes to spending huge sums of money on elections and in matters of free speech. When it’s convenient, in other words.