Abstract This paper explains that initiating a flat-rate tax would greatly simplify taxation in the United States, thereby freeing up time and capital spending on compliance with tax codes. The author points out that decreases in marginal taxes will increase incentives to produce and will funnel money away from non-economically productive investments designed to minimize taxes. The paper relates that one of the most common criticisms concerning the implementation of a flat tax rate is that it will harm lower-income households, while not greatly affecting higher income Americans.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Support for a Flat Tax
Criticisms of the Flat Tax
Conclusion
From the Paper "Importantly, the flat tax system is economical and efficient simply as a result of its ease to administer and comply with. A flat tax system reduces the hassles and burdens of compliance to a complex graduated system. This reduces the burden on taxpayer, the tax collector, as well as the accountant. While a flat tax system will ultimately reduce the demand for accountant's and lawyer's services, it will free a large numbers of Americans from time-intensive taxation issues. Higgins argues that a flat tax system will save about two billion hours per year in filling out forms and keeping records. Further, the $200 billion needed to comply with current tax codes will be significantly reduced. As such, these Americans can presumably funnel this extra time into making more money, thus ultimately improving consumer spending and stimulating the economy."
Abstract This paper summarizes the main points of Eric Schlosser's book on the eating habits of many Americans. The paper reports on Schlosser's depiction of the french fry as ubiquitous in the American diet of fast food and how the french fry came to occupy this position. he paper also covers the effect of globalization and the changes in consumers' nutritional demands. The articles cited in the bibliography are appended to the paper.
Factory Farming
Globalization
Changes in Consumer Nutritional Demands
Financing Issue
From the Paper "Considering all the news about the problems with the American diet, it isn?t surprising that Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation became a best seller. The chapters about how cattle become hamburgers are truly frightening reading, with graphic detail about little calves figuring out what happens at the end of the chute and trying to run, and the human toll, where cumulative trauma injury is ?almost 35 times higher than the rate in any other American industry.? (Schlosser, p. 173.) That sort of information is enough to put one off beef entirely, even without the new possibility of Mad Cow Disease. But Schlosser takes on the entire fast food industry, and arguably the most prevalent single item"or at least the best known"is the french fry. "Do you want fries with that"? has become something of a national anthem of dining. The impact of the french fry on the American diet, culture and economy is both a success story of major proportions and a quietly cooking national scandal."
Abstract This paper begins by explaining the difference between a public debt and a federal debt and then takes a look at President Bush's tax-cut policy, the theory behind why it is supposed to help the economy, its effects, and its implications for American citizens and the American economy.
From the Paper "A debt that has been accumulated by the Federal Government in either its Treasury or in its Financing Bank is referred to as a "Public Debt". The debt could have been incurred by either the selling of "securities" and bonds to the public, or through the borrowing of funds from a Federal account. A public debt can also be defined as the total amount that the Federal Government has accrued due to all its borrowings in the past. (Definition of Public Debt) Federal Debt, on the other hand, can be defined as the total amount of debt that is owed by the Federal Government that is as yet unpaid. A federal debt can consist of both public debt and agency debt. A federal debt is made up of the funds owed to the Treasury, in the form of Treasury Bills, Treasury Notes, and also Treasury Bonds."
Abstract This paper examines the social problem of child poverty in the U.S., comparing the U.S. child poverty rate to that of other countries where the rate is much lower. The paper looks at the primary causes of child poverty, the devastating economic and social consequences of child poverty and possible strategies and policies that might be implemented in order to address and solve the problem.
Table of Contents
Poverty and Children in the U.S.
The Problem
The Cause
The Consequences
Help for Poverty
From the Paper "Nearly one in five (18.3%) of children in the United States lived in officially defined poverty in 1998 (Poverty, 2000). A poor family is defined as on with and income of less than half the national average (Poverty, 2000). A family with extreme poverty earns an income of less than 6,500 dollars per year (Koch, 2000). How do some families become so far into poverty level? Is there any way that society can help these families? Today approximately 13.5 million American children are still poor amidst unprecedented prosperity (Koch, 2000). When compared to other countries around the world, these numbers are even more astonishing."
Abstract This paper examines the impact of oil prices and the economic effects that occur directly following rising oil prices. The paper suggests that tapping large oil resources in Canada will help decrease the cost of crude oil but warns that the voracious appetite of the Chinese economy for fuel may not yet have peaked. The paper points out that regardless of the direction of oil prices it is clear that the United States is in the unenviable position of being forced to find an alternative fuel source for the future. In conclusion, the paper shows that as the leader of the global economy, American will bear the bulk of the costs associated with this effort but will hopefully reap the majority of the rewards and until that time, oil prices will continue to have a significant impact on the US economy.
Outline:
Rising Oil Prices Hurt the Consumer in a Number of Ways
The Resilient American Economy
Peaked or Transitioning Higher
From the Paper "Just four years later, Huber's article seems less accurate than it might have been viewed at the time it was written and yet, many of the indications presented in the article can be reasonably said to have survived the economic tumult that rising oil prices have caused in the US. It is, however, difficult to assess how much of an impact the price of oil is responsible for causing to various aspects of the economy. To be sure, oil price has a measurable impact, but at what point does the terrorist attack of 2001, the corporate scandals of 2002 and the Iraq war of 2003 become simply economic footnotes rather than an influencing factor on the buying power of the American public. After all, the price of oil does not exist in an economic vacuum and yet there are some indicators that can be tied directly to the price of oil."
From the Paper "Andrew Carnegie's greatest contribution to the "Rise of Big Business" was his introduction of cost accounting in the business world. Carnegie changed the method of bookkeeping that had been used by most businessmen since the Renaissance to a more formal and accurate method of accounting. This cost saving method led to the United States becoming an industrial world power because it brought the most trained management and workforce into business."
Abstract This paper examines components of restrictive rent control legislation and its economic and social consequences in America. This examination focuses specifically on rent control applications in New York City and the urban cities of Santa Monica and Berkeley, California. Additionally, the paper discusses how government regulations violate two of the eight basic principles of economic thinking. These basic principles are: (1) incentives matter ? choice is influenced in a predictable way by changes in economic incentives and (2) economic actions often generate secondary effects in addition to their immediate effects.
From the Paper "Rent control is one of the most controversial social welfare programs in existence. In 1943 and after World War II, the federal government enacted rent controls as a "temporary" attempt to combat housing shortages in intensive populated or urban areas and to protect residents from high housing prices. Opponents argue that rent control result in decreased levels of construction, decreased levels of maintenance on existing properties, and abnormal housing vacancies, and is therefore economically ineffective. Some opponents even feel that rent control causes homelessness. Advocates of rent control and rent stabilization see it as a way to ensure the availability of affordable rental housing for low and middle-income urban dwellers. Rent control advocates contend ? there was already a housing shortage and that rent-control laws were enacted to keep landlords from taking advantage of the situation by "gouging" tenants? (Sowell, 1999). Many rent control proponents feel that the abolishment of rent controls would result in increased homelessness. "
A look at the different schools of thought that have offered ways to improve the environmental quality of the world, focusing on two particular theories.
1,500 words (approx. 6 pages), 2 sources, 1998, $ 49.95
From the Paper "In recent years the environment has become the focus of an ongoing and seemingly never-ending controversy; a controversy that centers itself on the human exploitation of the natural world. Although the exploitation of nature has been happening for centuries, interest in the well-being of the environment only became important when the Western world, especially Americans, realized that their rate of growth, progress, and development, while affording them a better lifestyle, was at the same time causing an unhealthy and deteriorating environment in which the much needed and used resources were-rapidly disappearing or becoming unusable. "
An economic analysis of the pros and cons of raising the minimum wage, including the Republican vs. Democrat viewpoint. Concludes from points raised that raising the minimum wage would harm society and the economy rather than help it.
1,579 words (approx. 6.3 pages), 2 sources, 1999, $ 51.95
Abstract This is an economic paper that argues that although partially beneficial, raising the minimum wage would in fact harm society and the economy more than it would help. The Republican versus Democratic views are compared and contrasted. Moreover, many economic issues such as the business cycle, and supply and demand, and taxes are implied and/or discussed.
From the Paper "Money supply is an important economic indicator in every economic system. Central Banks impact the economy through the money supply. In the United States there are several measures of the money supply that the Federal Reserve Board can adjust when using active monetary policy."
From the Paper "Banks play a central role in a money supply process. Banks can affect the money supply and Federal Reserve System can affect the banks."
Abstract This paper discusses the international consequences of the Great Depression. It addresses the question: how did an economic crisis in the United States lead to such a ripple effect throughout the world? The paper is divided into five chapters. The first chapter gives some background information about European dependency on the United States in the interwar period. The second chapter discusses the consequences in Europe from an economic point of view; and the remaining chapters explore the political consequences, both in general, and more specifically concerning Britain, France, and Germany.
From the Paper "The day of October 24, 1929 has been coined "Black Thursday". With the sounding of the bell on Wall Street, what started as an unsuspecting normal business day, ended with a market crash that had lasting and unlimited consequences on the modern world. Although not recognized immediately, the events on Wall Street sparked the Great Depression and led to immense political chaos. The crash, which ended the "Locarno Honeymoon" period, left the world in turmoil, and began a struggle for recovery. The analysis of the Great Depression poses questions that are twofold in regard to Europe: First, what where the international consequences felt in Europe, and second, how did an economic crisis in the United States lead to such a ripple effect throughout the world? "
Tags: britain, crash, europe, france, germany, great, interwar, market, stock
Abstract This paper looks at the US debate over antitrust laws. Disagreements over antitrust policy range in scope from a consideration of the effectiveness of a specific policy to whether or not the entire model on which our laws are based is flawed at the core. Here an attempt is not made to give full answers to any of those questions. Instead, some examples are considered to help clarify the debate. Specifically, the competition in our free-market economy is considered, with some examples of specific policies in this area, and an example that illustrates differing opinions of the success or failure of the goals of those policies.
From the Paper "The single most frequently used word that one will encounter in researching almost any economic topic is "competition". This word can be defined in the economic sense as "a market situation characterized by a sufficiently large number of buyers and sellers so that no single buyer or seller can influence prices or quantities sold or bought in the market". The model of "pure competition" is, of course, illustrated by the horizontal demand curve of the firm versus the downward sloping demand curve of the industry. The fact that each firm is a price-taker and various other requirements, such as perfect knowledge and homogeneous products, exist in this model."
From the Paper "The Midwest is expected to see prices of gasoline reach up to three dollars a gallon this summer. The cause is that more than three quarters of the energy that powers our automobiles, homes and factories; is from fossil fuels (coal, oil, etc.). These resources which some told us would last forever, is suddenly in short, limited supply. Our oil is running out and there is little time left to ponder what we will do about it. Energy is all around us; we just have not found safe and easy ways of capitalizing on it. Finding the nation a reliable and plentiful energy source must be the top priority for the American government."
Abstract This essay suggests that Third World debt and underdevelopment are inextricably linked to European and American colonialism and imperialism. Historical and recent examples are given. Dependency theory is discussed.
From the Paper "Dependency theory emerged out of Latin America in the 1960s, during a time when modernization theory, which stresses heavy industrialization and laissez-faire economics, was increasing in popularity. It examines the root problems of poor countries, taking into account their histories?which are very different from those of the European and American superpowers, and by drawing connections between the imperialism of the last five centuries, and the neocolonialism of today."
