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Words and Their Stories: Money, Part 1

December 27th, 2009 at 03:56am Under Words and their stories

Now, the VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

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I think people everywhere dream about having lots of money. I know I do. I would give anything to make money hand over fist. I would like to earn large amounts of money. You could win a large amount of money in the United States through lotteries. People pay money for tickets with numbers. If your combination of numbers is chosen, you win a huge amount of money – often in the millions. Winning the lottery is a windfall.

A few years ago, my friend Al won the lottery. It changed his life. He did not have a rich family. He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Instead, my friend was always hard up for cash. He did not have much money. And the money he did earn was chicken feed – very little.

Sometimes Al even had to accept hand-outs, gifts from his family and friends. But do not get me wrong. My friend was not a deadbeat. He was not the kind of person who never paid the money he owed. He simply pinched pennies. He was always very careful with the money he spent. In fact, he was often a cheapskate. He did not like to spend money. The worst times were when he was flat broke and had no money at all.

One day, Al scraped together a few dollars for a lottery ticket. He thought he would never strike it rich or gain lots of money unexpectedly. But his combination of numbers was chosen and he won the lottery. He hit the jackpot. He won a great deal of money.

Al was so excited. The first thing he did was buy a costly new car. He splurged on the one thingthat he normally would not buy. Then he started spending money on unnecessary things. He started to waste it. It was like he had money to burn. He had more money than he needed and it was burning a hole in his pocket so he spent it quickly.

When we got together for a meal at a restaurant, Al paid every time. He would always foot the bill, and pick up the tab. He told me the money made him feel like a million dollars. He was very happy.

But, Al spent too much money. Soon my friend was down and out again. He had no money left. He was back to being strapped for cash. He had spent his bottom dollar, his very last amount. He did not even build up a nest egg. He had not saved any of the money.

I admit I do feel sorry for my friend. He had enough money to live like a king. Instead, he is back to living on a shoestring — a very low budget. Some might say he is penny wise and pound foolish. He was wise about small things, but not about important things.

(MUSIC)

WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, in VOA Special English, was written by Jill Moss. I’m Faith Lapidus.

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Money, Influence and the Election of Judges

June 30th, 2009 at 02:20am Under Economy Report

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Clarification attached

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Elected judges in the United States got a warning this week about money, politics and the law. The Supreme Court ruled that a huge campaign donation can be reason enough not to judge a case involving the donor.

Thirty-nine of the fifty states elect at least some of their judges. Terms can last from two to twelve years. Experts say Japan and Switzerland are the only other countries that hold some kind of judicial elections.

In many states, elections for judges are increasingly competitive. The Justice at Stake Campaign says candidates raised one hundred sixty-eight million dollars between two thousand and two thousand seven. The group says that was double the amount raised in the nineteen nineties.

Critics say the situation threatens the fairness of state courts. It may create the appearance that judges are selling their influence.

Chief Justice Brent Benjamin of West Virginia

The Supreme Court ruled on a vote by a judge elected to West Virginia’s high court five years ago. Justice Brent Benjamin — now chief justice — voted to overturn a fifty million dollar judgment against the Massey Coal Company.

Massey’s chairman had spent three million dollars to help elect him to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. That was after the company lost a jury trial over a business dispute.

Justice Benjamin refused to remove himself from Massey’s appeal and cast the deciding vote. The reason he gave for not recusing himself was that there was no financial gain for him in making his decision. The donations, however, represented about sixty percent of all his campaign money.

The United States Supreme Court found that the “extreme facts” of the case raised the probability of bias to an unconstitutional level. Not every campaign gift requires a judge’s recusal, the court said, “but this is an exceptional case.”

Yet the nine justices were narrowly divided in their opinion. Chief Justice John Roberts was one of four dissenters. He said the court provided no guidance about when recusal will be constitutionally required. This, he said, will lead to an increase in claims that judges are biased, “however groundless those charges may be.”

The American Bar Association’s Committee on Judicial Independence is working on guidelines for when judges should recuse themselves. Committee chairman William Weisenberg says the lawyers group is for greater use of merit-based selections. This is where a committee nominates candidates to the state governor for appointment.

And that’s the VOA Special English Economics Report. I’m Mario Ritter.

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Clarification: This story notes an estimate of $168 million in campaign spending for state courts from 2000 to 2007. That amount is for elections for state supreme courts alone.

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