This play has many business terms and concepts that can be confusing to people who are not deeply interested in business and finance. This is a simplified glossary of these business terms.
The 14th Amendment of the US Consitution
The official constitutional language states: All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Corporate Personhood
Corporate personhood began with the case Munn v. Illinois (1876). Munn and Scott was a grain storage company that stated that Illinois Granger laws were in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment because they should be granted due process and protection form unconstitutional seizure. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Munn. Less than a decade later, Chief Justice Morrison Waite stated that the Supreme Court would not hear any more cases about corporate personhood because the courts believed that the Equal Protection Clause applies to corporation. The only stipulation was that corporations can’t invoke the equal protection clause against the state.
The Virginia Company
After the failure of the Roanoke colony, wealthy London gentlemen formed a joint-stock venture which was the Virginia Company. They were given capital money to start a colony in hopes that the colony would make them money in return. Once the royal charter was given in 1606, the Virginia Company had full control of the colony. They were charge of the leaders, a governor and all other officials. The original favor of the Company and the Jamestown colony started to fade once the mortality rate rose and no gold or silver was not found. In 1624, the king revoked the royal charter and made Virginia a royal colony.
Corporate Dissolution
There is two types of dissolution for corporations. 1) voluntarily by paying debts, distributing assets and filing the documents with the Secretary of State 2) they can be forced to do this by the state for not paying their taxes or committing some other crime. The process can only happen when the official documents are filled o withdraw the corporation as a business entity, the proper paper work filling is different for every state but once the paperwork is filled the corporate no longer exists.
Tax Shelters (Domestic and Global)
The United States has 13 states are considered “tax shelters or havens” within these states wealthy people can place their assets in a safe place and not have taxes. Their wealth can grow without being taxed. The worst offenders are South Dakota, Nevada, Alaska, and Delaware, there is estimated to be $575 billion dollars not being taxed and placed in trusts. The next worse in the US are Tennessee, Wyoming, and New Hampshire with close to $800 billion hidden in trusts. The biggest global tax haves are: British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Netherlands, and Switzerland. Ireland used to be a huge tax haven but Ireland has signed an agreement that essentially ends their tax haven status.
Johnson & Johnson’s Pharmaceutical Expansion
J&J has been investing billions in new pharmaceutical endeavors most notably in 2021 when they released their COVID-19 vaccine. But their expansions also went further, they started to invest in medical deceives ranging from sports medicine to orthopedics. They have arms in a lot of sectors including the company, Cerenovus which helps with stroke care and Biosense Webster that has innovated catheters. According to J&J executives they are just getting started.
American Chamber of Commerce
The American Chamber of Commerce was started in 1912 after President Taft’s speech where he wanted a “central organization” of commerce. In 1912, 700 delegates from different commercial and trade organizations came together to form the US Chamber of Commerce. In 1925 the headquarters was completed and they were on Over 100 years later the American Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation with over 3 million businesses all varying in size that represent different industries and interests.
National Association of Manufacturers
Founded in Cincinnati in 1895. During this time the US was in a recession and the manufactures saw that they needed to send exports to other countries, the National Association of Manufactures helped make the National Council of Commerce which later became the US Chamber of Commerce. In the 1930s, NAM launched their first PR campaign. NAM has had a hand in a lot of different campaigns throughout their history. Currently they are the nation’s most influential advocates for manufacturing.
The FDA
The Food and Drug Administrations is the oldest consumer protection agency started in 1848. It wasn’t called the FDA in 1848, it was just a federal departent that was doing chemical tests on the agricultural products. The name FDA came around the 1930s, after it has passed the Pure Food and Drugs act, which prohibited the interstate commerce of misbranded food.
Nader’s Raiders
A student task force lead by Ralph Nader that fundamentally changed the FDA. The task force charged the FDA with distorting scientific data to enable corporate greed. The misuse of scientific data was used to maximize the profit. With this takedown of the FDA, Nader’s Raiders also charged the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, they were all enabling the FDA’s fraud.
Corporate Deceit (Corporate fraud)
Corporate deceit or corporate fraud is the illegal or unethical committed by a company or an individual acting on behalf of the company. Corporate fraud is complicated and often not easy to identify. That being said, if it is strictly language it can be protected under the First Amendment. However, a lot of the time corporate fraud has to do with financial deception, in order to boost their profits.
The Free Market
The free market is defined as an economic system based on supply and demand with little to no government control. They have spontaneous and decentralized way of having individuals make economic decisions. The free market can be large and unregulated or fall into illegality.
Angel Investors
Angel Investors are wealthy private investors who invest their own funds versus venture capitalists who use an investment fund to put capital into a business.