The Role of Super PACs in US Politics

A super PAC is a modern breed of a political action committee thats allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money from corporations, unions, individuals, and associations to influence the outcome of state and federal elections. The rise of the super PAC was heralded as the beginning of a new era in politics in which elections would be determined by the vast sums of money flowing into them, leaving average voters with little to no influence. The term super PAC is used to describe what is technically known in federal election code as an independent expenditure-only committee. They are relatively easy to create under federal election laws. There is about 2,400 super PACs on file with the Federal Election Commission. They raised about $1.8 billion and spent $1.1 billion in the 2016 election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Function of a Super PAC The role of a super PAC is similar to that of a traditional political action committee. A super PAC advocates for the election or defeat of candidates for federal office by purchasing television, radio and print advertisements and other media. There are conservative super PACs and liberal super PACs. Difference Between a Super PAC and Political Action Committee The most important difference between a super PAC and traditional candidate PAC is in who can contribute, and in how much they can give. Candidates and traditional candidate committees can accept $2,700 from individuals per election cycle. There are two election cycles a year: one for the primary, the other for the general election in November. That means they can take in a maximum of $5,400 a year -- half in the primary, and half in the general election. Candidates and traditional candidate committees are prohibited from accepting money from corporations, unions, and associations. Federal election code prohibits those entities from contributing directly to candidates or candidate committees. Super PACs, though, have no limitations on who contributes to them or how much they can spend on influencing an election. They can raise as much money from corporations, unions, and associations as they please and spend unlimited amounts on advocating for the election or defeat of the candidates of their choice. Some of the money that flows into super PACs cannot be traced. That money is often referred to as dark money. Individuals can mask their identities and the money they give by contribution first to  outside groups including nonprofit  501[c] groups  or  social welfare organizations  that go on to spend tens of millions of dollars on political ads. Restrictions on Super PACs The most important restriction prohibits any super PAC from working in conjunction with a candidate its supporting. According to the Federal Election Commission, super PACs cannot spend money â€Å"in concert or cooperation with, or at the request or suggestion of, a candidate, the candidates campaign or a political party.† History of Super PACs Super PACs came into existence in July 2010 following two key federal court decisions that found limitations on both corporate and individual contributions to be unconstitutional violations of the First Amendment right to free speech. In SpeechNow.org v. Federal Election Commission, a federal court found restrictions on individual contributions to independent organizations that seek to influence elections to be unconstitutional. And in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that limits on corporate and union spending to influence elections were also unconstitutional. â€Å"We now conclude that independent expenditures, including those made by corporations, do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption,† Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote. Combined, the rulings allowed individuals, unions and other organizations to contribute freely to political action committees that are independent of political candidates. Super PAC Controversies Critics who believe money corrupts the political process say the court rulings and creation of super PACs opened the floodgates to widespread corruption. In 2012, U.S. Sen. John McCain warned: I guarantee there will be a scandal, there is too much money washing around politics, and it’s making the campaigns irrelevant. McCain and other critics said the rulings allowed wealthy corporations and unions to have an unfair advantage in electing candidates to federal office. In writing his dissenting opinion for the Supreme Court, Justice John Paul Stevens opined of the majority: At bottom, the Courts opinion is thus a rejection of the common sense of the American people, who have recognized a need to prevent corporations from undermining self-government since the founding, and who have fought against the distinctive corrupting potential of corporate electioneering since the days of Theodore Roosevelt. Another criticism of super PACs arises from the allowance of some nonprofit groups to contribute to them without disclosing where their money came from, a loophole that allows so-called dark money to flow directly into elections. Super PAC Examples Super PACs spend tens of millions of dollars in presidential races. Some of the most powerful include: Right to Rise, a super PAC that spent more than $86 million supporting  former Florida Gov. Jeb Bushs failed bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.Conservative Solutions PAC, which spent nearly $56 million supporting U.S. Sen. Marco Rubios failed bid  for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.Priorities USA Action, which spent more than $133 million supporting  Hillarys Clintons bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and backed President Barack Obama in 2012. Another prominent pro-Hillary super PAC is Ready for Hillary.New Day for America, which spent more than $11  million supporting Ohio Gov. John Kasichs campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.

Types Of Diversion Programs Currently Used - 821 Words

Please email your instructor answering the following questions: 1. Describe the types of diversion programs currently used. Diversion programs are a deferment of the criminal process, where offenders can participate in community-based treatment programs. Typically, diversion programs are used with juvenile first time offenders. However, there is also an adult diversion program, which is available to first time offenders only. Such programs include, drug rehabilitation, which involves those with alcohol and drugs related offenses and mandates offenders to complete a quantity of hours in alcohol/drug classes, or those with domestic violence charges which requires those offenders to compete certain amount of hours in domestic violence and anger management classes. Additionally, there is a mental health diversion for those who have mental health issues and diverts them from the criminal justice system to appropriate mental health care/treatment. 2. List five purposes of the presentence investigation. Probation officers complete a presentence investigation and submit a presentence report to the court; this report assists judges in making decisions involving sentences. According to Steverson (2012) there are five functions of the PSI: 1. to assist judges reaching an appropriate sentence; 2. it provides probation staff with a detailed summary of risks and needs, allowing determination of appropriate levels and types of supervision, i.e. home, office, phone, as well as otherShow MoreRelatedThe Juvenile Justice System778 Words   |  4 Pagesarticle discussed diversion programs that are used to help adolescents who have been arrested for first-time misdemeanors. These diversion programs use group counseling as a mandatory component of sentencing demonstrate initial success in reducing recidivism rates in national outcome studies. 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Essay on Charge of the Light Brigade Free Essays

How is inner and outer conflict represented in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and ‘the charge of the light Brigade’? Whereas ‘Romeo and Juliet’ contains a lot of inner conflict as well as outer conflict, Lord Tennyson’s ‘Charge of the light Brigade’ contains many techniques to enhance the conflict as well as glamorise the ‘light Brigade’ in various ways. Tennyson presents the cavalry men of the Crimean war (1854- 1856) as great victors and a powerful army. This glorious army is bragged about in the form of a poem by Tennyson. We will write a custom essay sample on Essay on Charge of the Light Brigade or any similar topic only for you Order Now Imagery is one of the techniques which Tennyson uses to build the conflict up as a picture to let the audience visualise the conflict on the battlefield. He talks about the dangers the light brigade are up against as well as enemies, ‘cannon to the right of them, cannon to the left of them, cannon in front of them’ the light brigade are in a perilous position, the repetition of the phrase ‘cannon’ nearly creates a picture in the audience’s mind of the cannons and dangers the light brigade are up against. This is a sense of outer conflict due to the fact that they are cavalry men with spears up against guns and cannons. In addition to this construction of imagery in the audience’s mind Tennyson uses metaphors to describe the walk of the light brigade into their deaths. ‘Into the valley of Death rode the six hundred’, The phrase valley of death indicates that the army is going to die, how ever the inner confliction here is that the army knows they are going to die, they almost walk into valley of death. The valley of death is probably a monument or a place where many others have fallen or a place of bereavement or a great genocide, this line is repeated at the end of every stanza but is varied eventually towards the end of the poem. Rhythm is also a technique which Tennyson expresses through out most of the poem for effects on the audience. Repetition is also present in this poem on top of the regular fast-paced rhythm to poem. This regular fast paced rhythm is created by regular number of syllables in the lines, end rhymes (rhyming couplets), repetition of line structures and words along with repetition of variation of last line. For example the last line of the first couple of paragraphs is ‘Rode the six hundred’ which continuously repeats itself through out the poem however as soon as the audience approaches Stanza 4 they will all realise that it says ‘ they rode back, but not the six hundred’ this is almost the climax of the poem when the audience will start to realise that the light brigade are slowly diminishing in number, they are starting to be defeated in battle. This variation of the last line of stanza 4 tells the audience that the Light brigade are perishing in battle and are not the heroes they were at the beginning of the poem. So rhythm plays a huge part in the understanding of the poem, as well as enhancing the poem. As well as rhythm, Onomatopoeia also enhances the poem, to glamorise each stanza and increase the heroism of the light brigade and enliven the dangers and enemies the light brigade come across, ‘Volley’d ; thunder’d; Storm’d at with shot and shell’ the light brigade are being shot at and they are on the battlefield, the Phrases ‘volley’d’ and ‘Thundered’ emphasise the situation of the stanza and more or less make it easier for the audience to imagine the battlefield and the situation of the stanza. The conflict is shown through the Onomatopoeia and the way they emphasise the understanding the stanza and help with the imagination of the enemies. Sound also plays a huge part in the enhancement of the understanding and imagery of the poem, for instance ‘Shatter’d sunder’d’ tell us how they were attacking or what their surrounding sounded like, this physical conflict is emphasised by the sounds and the words that describe the action and scenery. In total there are 6 stanzas (amazing fact), but did you know that each stanza has its own theme, for example the theme of Stanza 1 is ‘A league of their own’ or the theme of stanza 4 is ‘the fall’, the transition from stanza 1 to stanza 4 is almost a whole journey, the audience would have seen the heroism and then the fall of the brave soldiers. The themes help to build up the poem and the climax, this plan is a general base for the audience to know what to expect in each of these stanzas. The conflict is built up slowly over each stanza and then finally publicized. Duty and obeying in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is one of the similarities as of ‘The charge of the light brigade’, in this case Juliet must obey her parents orders but most of all her fathers, for during those times it was a patriarchal society, so when her father asked her hand in the marriage of her and paris, she had to obey, but she could not, due to her strong love for Romeo, this conflict against the order of the ‘boss’ of the house, this failure to follow orders will result in a loss, in Juliet’s case she will lose the love of her father and presumab y her mothers as well, her father will disown. Juliet will live but this is not the case for the light brigade, they must follow the orders of their commander, and if they refuse to follow orders, then it is a possibly different case, they would probably be Court Marshalled, this procedure will most probably end their lives. This commander made decisions and gave orders with out realising the dangers up ahead. This conflict, Either physical or inner, is shown through the Enhancers of the poem as well as the actions of the characters, these are represented in the most common of ways, Duty and obligation are common but not the consequences, both the poem and the play contain inner conflict, the inner conflict in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is shown through the words of Romeo and his inner confusion if this is his true love, and ‘the Light brigade’ must follow orders even if they wish other wise. Conflict overall is easier to identify in the light Brigade and is mostly outer and physical conflict which is emphasised by the techniques which glamorise the ‘light Brigade’ this glamorisation is the factor to which makes the Soldiers look like heroes. Essay word count: 1096 How to cite Essay on Charge of the Light Brigade, Essay examples

Social Accountability in Accounting

Question: Case Study: Social Accountability in Accounting. Answer: Introduction This study deals with issues in social accountability. In order to identify issues, it is necessary to drawing comparisons with two different companies of same industry listed in Australia Stock Exchange (Kothari and Barone 2011). The company selected are Caltex Australia Limited and Austex Oil Limited. Both the companies belong to oil exploration. Caltex Australia Limited is the parent company of Caltex Australia Group. This business entity is listed in Australia Stock Exchange. The main activities of Caltex Australia are purchase, refining as well as distribution and marketing for the same. On the other hand, Austex oil limited is one of the oil and gas producing company operating in Oklahoma and Kansas (Pahler and Mori 2012). This company raises capital for developing oil and gas leases in USA. Discussions On comparison, it is noticed that both the companies listed in Australia Stock Exchange. Caltex Australia is operations in Australia while Austex oil limited operations in USA. Both the companies belong to the same industry but involves in different operations at the same time. Caltex Australia involves in purchase, refining as well as marketing of petroleum products. On the other hand, Austex Limited involves in exploration of oil and gas selling of end products in an overall manner (Jeter and Chaney 2012). Austex does not deal directly with the end user in any firm. After reviewing at the accounting policies of Caltex Australia, it is revealed that it gets compiled with environmental provisions of the company. As far as necessary accruals are concerned, it is adjusted with necessary information as well as circumstances in the near future. It involves recovery from third parties and accounted for future analysis purpose. Most of the cost incurred after compiling with environmental r egulations as well as on-going maintenance in monitoring of expenses in incurred expenses (Jeter and Chaney 2011). Austex Limited meets the environmental regulations for extraction as well as use of natural resources. It includes environmental expenditure as incurred by the company preventing future contamination as well as leading improvement in environmental safety. It increases the level of efficiency of the existing assets as well as capitalization of cost as far as possible. In case of accrual, it reveals booking of any environmental liabilities for estimated future cost in the most appropriate way (Hoyle, Schaefer and Doupnik 2011). It is important to understand the fact that company poses own health as well as safety policy. Policy of the company is duly approved by OHS and Environmental Risk Committee. This particular Committee requires Caltex in providing safe as well as healthy workplace for the people. OHS committee mainly aims at motivating company in operating adverse affect of health and safety (Hoyle, Schaefer and Doupnik 2011). It engages neighbours as well as customers and public for the same. It is advisable for the company in involving in health and safety measures as per embedded business planning process. It entrenches culture in and within business organization at the same time. Ethics in accounting concerns with making presentation as well as disclosure of financial information regarding activities. As per the financial statement, companies prove important for the stakeholders like shareholders, lender as well as banks and financial institutions. Ethics in accounting renders reliable financial information in the financial statement in regards with people for undertaking financial decisions in an overall manner (Fischer, Taylor and Cheng 2012). Most of the financial accounting concerns with matters relating maximization of shareholders wealth. It mainly aims at helping distant as well as remote financial markets and many others. Financial accounting has no obvious social as well as environmental interest that needs consideration in the near future (Fischer 2011). Financial Highlights On comparison with both companies, it reveals sales revenue of Caltex at $24.6 million that was ahead of Austex at $16.9 million. Hence, this is not one of the major factors in judging performance of the company. As far as gross profit is concerned, Austex Limited comes around 70% and Caltex at 7%. This reveals that Caltex is 10 times of Austex GP ratio in all the forms. There is also difference present in the primary activities of the business organization. Expenses of Austex Limited is considered on the higher side in comparison with Caltex Limited (Dicksee and De Montmorency 2012). After making comparison on net profits, Austex Limited went into losses for around $ 1.1 million. On the contrary, Caltex Limited has some profits amounting to $528k. Conventional financial accounting mainly gives rise to cause harm to society as well as environment for the same. Profits of the companies are increasing due to inevitable expense as in case of social as well as environmental damage for the same. Caltex limited tries in stopping for such abusive practices in the near future (Beams 2011). Caltex Limited focuses ways in participating in Commonwealth Energy Efficiency Opportunities Scheme as well as reported under National Greenhouse Energy Reporting in any form. It takes forms under carbon disclosure projects in an overall manner. It requires participation of both the companies for addressing issues regarding social responsibility as a whole (Beams 2012). ISO 50001 reveals Energy Management It mainly helps organization in saving money as well as becoming energy-efficient for the same. ISO mainly aims in providing different guidelines in conservation of resources and tackling with the climatic change for the same. ISO varies through energy management systems that help in supporting organization in all sectors for energy efficient scheme (Baker 2011). ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization. Austex Limited expects in increased oils and natural gas exploration. This company continues in developing new wells in form of intention for growth purpose. It considers with vision of the company in acquisition of capital from public at the end of the year (Kothari and Barone 2011). It is the organization that helps in providing tools in managing as well as tackling global challenges in modern world. ISO aims at working for attainment of sustainable development for providing with resources in meeting present requirements. It should not compromise with ability for future generations in meeting own needs. ISO 14000 deals with environmental management systems. It aims at providing tools for helping in improving environmental performance as well as control over environmental impact for the same. It enables providing framework for setting up effective environmental management system (Kothari and Barone 2011). Management, employers and stakeholders relies upon ISO in case of environmental impact for measuring as well as bringing improvement in the near future. Benefits of ISO 14001 include reduced cost of waste management as well as savings in consumptions of energy and materials. It involves in lower distribution costs as well as improved corporate image in and among regulators, customers as well as publics for the same. Caltex Limited registered under ISO 14001. As per the company annual report, it involves in environmental responsibility paper manufacturing in case of using environmental management system. ISO 26000 aims at providing necessary guidelines for companies in operating in a n effective and social ways. It needs to follow guidelines as well as act ethical and transparent ways for the same. It should contribute with company health as well as wealth of the society as a whole. ISO 50001 provides framework ascertaining various requirements of the organization. It helps in developing policies for ensuring more efficient uses of energy in an overall manner. It aims at fixing targets as well as objectives in meeting policy in the most appropriate way. It makes use of data in better form for understanding as well as making decisions about energy usage. It establishes ways for measuring results as well as reviewing the policies for designed works. It is continuously improves as energy management tool for future analysis purpose. In the recent Compeitive world, organization should plan in reducing expenditure. Energy considers as one of the major sources used by company in converting raw materials into finished goods for the same. It makes use of energy management systems for planning ways in cutting down energy expenses as far as possible. It provides beneficiary returns from the point of view in financial as well as social perspectives (Jeter and Chaney 2012). It helps companies in conservation of resources as well as tacking climatic changes in the most appropriate way. Conclusion From the above analysis, it is interesting in indicating the issues regarding social accountability faced by business organization in recent world. After considering above points, it is important to look after the financial state of both the companies as well as ISO standards applications. Caltex Australia Limited standards prove better in comparison with Austex Limited in every form. Caltex Limited poses strong financial background as well as establishes in Australia for more than 100 years. It has created many convenience stores as well as reaches the ultimate customer. It satisfies the needs as well as makes the necessary changes in the accounting policies in an overall manner. Caltex Limited has registration under ISO 14001. It helps in meeting up corporate social responsibility in accordance with high accounting standards. Caltex Limited is more profitable business in comparison with Austex Limited. Reference List Baker, R. (2011).Advanced financial accounting. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Beams, F. (2011).Advanced accounting. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Beams, F. (2012).Advanced accounting. Boston: Pearson. Dicksee, L. and De Montmorency, J. (2012).Advanced accounting. London: Gee. Fischer, P. (2011).Advanced accounting. Mason, Ohio: South-Western. Fischer, P., Taylor, W. and Cheng, R. (2012).Advanced accounting. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Hoyle, J., Schaefer, T. and Doupnik, T. (2011).Advanced accounting. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Hoyle, J., Schaefer, T. and Doupnik, T. (2011).Fundamentals of advanced accounting. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Jeter, D. and Chaney, P. (2011).Advanced accounting. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Jeter, D. and Chaney, P. (2012).Advanced accounting. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Kothari, J. and Barone, E. (2011).Advanced financial accounting. Harlow, England: Financial Times Prentice Hall. Pahler, A. and Mori, J. (2012).Advanced accounting. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.