For profit corporations were originally formed to serve the public interest ...
Mistake #1
Ahem:
Chief Justice John Marshall:
A corporation is an artificial being, invisible, intangible, and existing only in contemplation of law. Being the mere creature of law, it possesses only those properties which the charter of its creation confers upon it. (1819)
Chief Justice Roger Taney:
A corporation can have no legal existence out of the boundaries of the sovereignty by which it is created. It exists only in contemplation of law and by force of the law. ... It is indeed a mere artificial being.agreed wholeheartedly in
[Bank of Augusta v. Earle 1839]
"These two powerful architects of original Supreme Court authority insisted upon this artificial status in order to hold early American corporations particularly accountable to the state and to the public at large. Most of Americas first corporationsbridge companies, water companies, transportation companies, banks, and insurance companieswere viewed as essentially public service corporations or public franchises.
In addition to grants of property and public financing, the state usually accorded such entities special privileges like monopoly power, the power of eminent domain, or toll-taking authority.
In return for those benefits, the government insisted on the special public obligations of corporations. Not only were corporations
not exempted in any way from generally applicable regulatory laws, but they were routinely held to higher standards of public service, public accountability, social responsibility, and public trust."
"Through most of our history, when the Supreme Court did discuss the constitutional rights of corporations, it only reinforced these principles of artificial status and public obligation."
Hobby Lobby and corporate personhood: Here?s the real history of corporate rights in America.