Money is Speech

The Supreme Court has declared that money is speech. And the Court is right. Very right.

Since money is speech we ought to listen to it. As with all speech--such as your mother telling you to clean up after yourself--it might be correct or incorrect, important or unimportant. But you don't know until you listen to it.

These days it is easy to find money to listen to. It blares from my TV every time I turn it on. What money is saying is that we should not vote for anyone who is running for President, Governor, Senator or Representative. The major candidates are all liars, thieves, idiots and cunning plotters against American values.

Why doesn't money have anything better to do? Why couldn't it speak for renewable energy, for instance? We are certainly going to need that after we frack ourselves to death. But money doesn't seem to want to say anything useful these days. So why do we need more of it? What is the purpose of cutting taxes if the money is simply going to sit there and nag us? Right now money is nothing but speech.

Money was not invented for purposes of speech. It was invented to facilitate trade and the collection of taxes. It was easier for the King to collect coins and pieces of paper than to gather up livestock, produce, lumber and ore. But the King learned that when he had something to say to a neighboring monarch money often said it more clearly than cannon balls. And if his neighbor refused to listen money could also buy cannon balls.

As a nation today do we need more speech or more cannon balls? Some of the candidates who are assailing our ears seem to think we need more of the latter. If so, why aren't their moneyed supporters investing in more and better cannon balls? And if we need better medical care I am sure that money could speak for that too.