Treating Money as Free Speech

MONEY, by definition, is a medium that can be exchanged for goods and services and is used as a measure of their values in the market. We are taught that the value of some things, such as our integrity as individuals, our privacy, and our right to free expression, cannot be expressed in monetary terms.

But in the United States today, we apply this principle inconsistently -- and generally in ways that undermine democracy and favor wealthy people and special interests.