[00:00.00]This is the VOA Special English
[00:03.28]Economics Report.
[00:05.27]Laws in the United States
[00:07.57]and other countries
[00:09.25]treat a corporation like a person.
[00:12.80]We talked last week
[00:14.60]about how this idea
[00:16.41]developed a long time ago.
[00:19.33]In the United States,
[00:21.07]the Constitution protects
[00:23.50]freedom of speech.
[00:25.24]The Supreme Court has recognized
[00:28.23]that this is also true
[00:30.34]for corporations.
[00:32.27]But there was still a question
[00:34.57]about whether corporations
[00:36.62]could have the same freedom
[00:38.74]of political speech
[00:40.42]as real people do.
[00:42.66]During the two thousand eight
[00:45.46]presidential campaign,
[00:46.95]a nonprofit corporation
[00:49.56]released a film critical
[00:51.92]of Hillary Clinton.
[00:53.98]The group, Citizens United,
[00:57.34]wanted to make "Hillary:
[00:58.77]The Movie" available on cable TV.
[01:02.06]But it did not want
[01:03.93]to violate a limit
[01:05.55]on so-called electioneering
[01:07.72]communication by corporations
[01:10.96]and unions within thirty days
[01:13.63]of a primary election.
[01:15.87]Citizens United took the
[01:18.42]Federal Election Commission
[01:19.85]to court to fight the law.
[01:22.71]In January of this year,
[01:25.51]the Supreme Court,
[01:26.82]by the narrowest majority,
[01:28.93]voted five to four to end the ban.
[01:33.16]The ruling clears the way
[01:35.59]for corporations and unions
[01:37.89]to use their own money
[01:40.07]to support the election
[01:42.12]or defeat of a candidate.
[01:44.98]However, they are still barred
[01:47.47]from directly giving money
[01:49.71]to candidates.
[01:51.14]And the court did not
[01:53.07]consider the question
[01:54.50]of existing laws designed
[01:56.61]to prevent foreign influence
[01:58.67]in the political process.
[02:00.66]Since the nineteen forties,
[02:03.33]the traditional place
[02:04.89]for political speech
[02:06.44]by American unions
[02:08.06]and companies has been
[02:10.24]through political action committees.
[02:13.41]William Van Alstyne
[02:15.46]is a professor
[02:16.46]at the William and Mary Law
[02:18.51]School in Virginia.
[02:20.19]WILLIAM VAN ALSTYNE: "If the shareholder
[02:21.18]felt it to their interest,
[02:22.68]if they wanted to contribute
[02:24.17]to a political action committee
[02:25.85]representing the business
[02:27.90]interest of the company,
[02:29.33]then they would contribute
[02:32.38]to the political action committee.
[02:34.56]Same thing on the labor side.
[02:35.49]So members of the union
[02:36.98]might be encouraged
[02:38.10]to contribute to the PAC
[02:39.66]-- it's called a P.A.C.
[02:40.90]The PAC would then determine
[02:43.20]how best to use the money,
[02:44.39]politically speaking,
[02:45.26]in campaigns for and
[02:46.31]against candidates,
[02:47.43]ballot issues and all the rest."
[02:49.17]Now, says Professor Van Alstyne,
[02:51.41]the decision in Citizens United
[02:54.46]raises new issues. For example,
[02:57.20]the court will have to rule
[02:59.07]on whether companies
[03:00.74]with majority foreign ownership
[03:03.54]can enjoy the same expanded
[03:06.22]rights of political speech.
[03:08.52]President Obama denounced
[03:11.07]the ruling in his State
[03:13.00]of the Union speech
[03:14.30]to Congress in January.
[03:16.23]This week,
[03:17.85]Chief Justice John Roberts
[03:19.84]told law students
[03:21.40]that "anybody can criticize
[03:23.70]the Supreme Court."
[03:25.19]But, in answer to a question,
[03:28.05]he said the setting
[03:29.73]was "very troubling."
[03:32.28]Six of the nine justices,
[03:34.58]including the chief justice,
[03:36.88]were sitting right
[03:38.38]in front of the president.
[03:40.55]And that's the VOA Special English
[03:43.54]Economics Report,
[03:45.41]written by Mario Ritter.
[03:47.71]You can find last week's report
[03:50.38]on corporations at 51voa.com.
[03:55.23]I'm Steve Ember.
END OF TRACK. "END OF TRACK." The two men bowed. "Whoever was that person you were talking to?" she enquired, as soon as they stood together. The took of triumph faded from her eyes, she had grown worn and weary. The roses were wilting on the walls, the lights were mostly down now. Hetty, looking in to see if anything was wanted, found herself driven away almost fiercely. I only saw Master Jervie once when he called at tea time, The year 1747 was opened by measures of restriction. The House of Lords, offended at the publication of the proceedings of the trial of Lord Lovat, summoned the parties to their bar, committed them to prison, and refused to liberate them till they had pledged themselves not to repeat the offence, and had paid very heavy fees. The consequence of this was that the transactions of the Peers were almost entirely suppressed for nearly thirty years from this time, and we draw our knowledge of them chiefly from notes taken by Horace Walpole and Lord Chancellor Hardwicke. What is still more remarkable, the reports of the House of Commons, being taken by stealth, and on the merest sufferance, are of the most meagre kind, sometimes altogether wanting, and the speeches are given uniformly under fictitious names; for to have attributed to Pitt or Pelham their[112] speeches by name would have brought down on the printers the summary vengeance of the House. Many of the members complained bitterly of this breach of the privileges of Parliament, and of "being put into print by low fellows"; but Pelham had the sense to tolerate them, saying, "Let them alone; they make better speeches for us than we can make for ourselves." Altogether, the House of Commons exhibited the most deplorable aspect that can be conceived. The Ministry had pursued Walpole's system of buying up opponents by place, or pension, or secret service money, till there was no life left in the House. Ministers passed their measures without troubling themselves to say much in their behalf; and the opposition dwindled to Sir John Hinde Cotton, now dismissed from office, and a feeble remnant of Jacobites raised but miserable resistance. In vain the Prince of Wales and the secret instigations of Bolingbroke and Doddington stimulated the spirit of discontent; both Houses had degenerated into most silent and insignificant arenas of very commonplace business. "It certainly will be. Miss Widgeon," answered Maria, with strictly "company manners." "One who has never had a brother exposed to the constant dangers of army life can hardly understand how glad we all feel to have Si snatched from the very jaws of death and brung back to us." "Just plug at 'em as you would at a crow, and then go on your way whistlin'?" persisted Harry. "Hurroo!" echoed Hennessey; "that's the ticket." "Come forward, keeper," continued the baron, "and state how these arrows came into your hands!" "Yes." HoMEJULIA¾©Ïã2018ÏÂÔØ
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