Free speech isn't free

Notable among other increasing costs is the rising price of free speech. The recent Supreme Court decision which struck down certain restrictions on corporate campaign spending, coupled with a 2006 decision which denied the validity of state campaign finance restrictions, are among the latest pressures contributing to this inflationary trend. In both cases the narrow court majorities proposed a connection between free spending and free speech. Problem is, as the charges for free speech go up, poorer folks are getting priced out of the market.

Try as I might, I can’t think of a good counter-argument, though—keeping the Constitution in mind.

The way I see it, there is very little free speech that isn’t associated with some monetary outlay. From a speaker’s note cards to the cost of a soap box to stand on, from the bottle of water to wet the pipes to the 30-second spot on prime time TV, it all costs money. About the only speech that is truly free is when you stick your head out the window and shout, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna’ take it anymore!”

Still, I don’t like it. Seems like those with more money get to buy more free speech. Reminds me of Animal Farm: “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.”

So let’s take a look at the source document. “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech….” accords the civil rights-packed First Amendment. Hmmmm. I suppose one might argue that the right applies to subject matter rather than to quantity, but probably not.

Well then, what sort of free speech costs are we talking about here? Taller soap boxes? Bigger water bottles? No; for the most part, I reckon we’re talking about transmissions via electromagnetic waves—television and radio, that is.

And guess who owns those waves. We, the people, do.

More on this at a later date.