Abstract The following paper discusses the practical and symbolic significance of Social Security. The writer argues that the main reason social security is facing long-term insolvency is because the population is aging. This paper examines studies that claim that by 2030 there will be exclusively two active workers for every one retiree. The writer discusses the fundamental demographic shift that will occur when fewer and fewer workers will be contributing payroll taxes to support more and more retired individuals.
From the Paper "To finance the current level of benefits, payroll taxes for the Old Age Survivors and Disability Insurance portion of the FICA tax would have to be increased from the current 12.4 percent to 18 percent. The long-term shortage in the OASDI trust fund is about 2 percent of payroll, which is approximately a $32 billion annual deficit in today's dollars. The Social Security trust funds have been building up surpluses in anticipation of baby boomers' retirement needs. These surpluses, however, help mask the true size of the federal deficit. In fact, the trust funds are projected to pay out $18.6 trillion in benefits over the next 75 years but collect only $9.8 trillion in income from taxes, leaving an unfunded liability of $8.8 trillion. Beginning in the year 2012, the trust funds will begin to experience negative cash flows. By 2029, OASDI will be insolvent; able to pay only 77 percent of promised benefits. "
Abstract A discussion of the pros and cons of surveillance in the United States, looking at whether more surveillance for protection against terrorism outweighs intrusion of one's privacy. The terrorist attacks on 9/11 saw an increase in surveillance and new laws passed concerning wire-tapping. The three characteristics of surveillance technology used to describe its various aspects, amplification, re-utilization, and sublimation are examined. The author investigates whether surveillance is ethical and if it could really have prevented past or prevent future terrorist attacks.
From the Paper "When Orson Wells wrote his famous novel about government surveillance taken to the extreme, the world he described seemed very unrealistic. However, at the turn of the new millenium, the world that he describes is not so different and it seems as if we are just one step away from the "thought police" knocking on the door. For some this gives them an extra-added element of security, but others see it as a serious infringement on their freedom.
Today, we are watched in a variety of ways. Every where you look, you see video cameras recording our every move. Wiretaps are frequent and devices that transmit over the air such as cell phones are easy targets for those trying to hone in on our private affairs. The government monitors our email and web surfing activities, our bank accounts, credit card accounts and almost anything else you can think of."
Abstract This paper outlines how the "Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996" was implemented in order to better serve members of public assistance programs,welfare and social security recipients, child support recipients and foster families. The components of the legislation are presented and discussed, such as the requirement of state governments to implement an automated data collection system, requirements for companies related to wage information, laws of personal disclosure, and other means of ensuring that individuals and families receive money they are entitled to.
From the Paper "Changes in fiscal or organizational policy can have a significant impact on corporate and governmental outlook and effectiveness. This was the case with the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. It caused major changes in the organization and role of the state governments. Its impact was significant.
"The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 was enacted as a method of better serving members of public assistance programs including welfare families, users of SSI, foster children, and children of "dead beat dads". However, the Act made such large changes in the organization and fiscal systems between the federal, state and private organizations, which had a significant impact on individual state governments that were caught in the middle."
Abstract This paper examines the "Temporary Assistance to Needy Families" (TANF) package most often referred to as "welfare," which provides cash assistance and work support for low-income families with children. It discusses the effect of these new economic and social conditions on family reunification and preservation and examines the impact on the poor and needy. It also looks at the role of a child welfare worker and how it is conceivably different in 2001 than it was prior to welfare reform.
From the Paper "In 2001, cash assistance is no longer an entitlement to low income parents raising children. Cash grants are now time-limited, and parents in need of financial help must meet a number of performance requirements. In the early to mid-1990s, prior to the passage of PRWORA, many states obtained waivers from the federal government that permitted them to put into action reforms to their welfare programs. With these state waivers and changes to the federal laws, the welfare system in the United States has undergone a dramatic alteration."
Tags: U.S., economic, social, conditions, jobs, hunger, health
From the Paper "Introduction
This study will examine right-wing terrorism in the United States, focusing on the bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, and arguing that such right-wing terrorism is a combination of both political and religious beliefs which focus far more on destroying the system which exists rather than building a new system to replace the old. As such, the scope of the study will be limited to the argument that right-wing terrorism in the United States, as exemplified in the Oklahoma City combing, is rooted in frustration and rage more than in the idealism which these terrorists claim to espouse. The methodology of the study will be an analysis and comparison of four sources which take disparate views of right-wing terrorism in general and the Oklahoma City bombing in.."
From the Paper "This research paper analyzes at different levels the origins, management and resolution, and consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. A careful study of all the material on that crisis which is now available suggests that no single level of analysis is adequate to explain the crisis. The thesis of this paper is: (1) while the immediate cause of the crisis was the Soviet decision to deploy secretly in Cuba medium range and intermediate range ballistic missiles (MRBMs and IRBMs, respectively), which produced a dangerous confrontation between the world's nuclear superpowers, misconceptions, misunderstandings and mistakes by both sides helped bring about the crisis and magnified its intensity; (2) although responsible statesmanship on both sides enabled them eventually to resolve..."
Contends 1989 was a watershed year in international relations with the end of Cold War. Offers cultural & political theories incl. Postmodernism, liberalism & realism to help understand new (post Cold War) international acts.
1,350 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 5 sources, 2001, $ 47.95
From the Paper "International Crises
Many theorists in the field of international relations maintain that 1989 was a watershed year. In fact, they argue that 1989 stands out as "a dramatic divide in contemporary history, in some respects comparable to the French Revolution two hundred years earlier" (Simensen, 1999, p. 391). Thus, Jarle Simensen asserts that the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, the end of the Cold War, and the subsequent dissolution of the Soviet Union inaugurated a new era in international relations (Simensen, 1999, p. p. 3). The significance of the Cold War to the development of international relations cannot be overstated. In fact, Simensen notes that international relations as a subdiscipline of political science developed during the Cold War (1999, p. 395). On the other hand, the Persian Gulf War demonstrates that no .."
Reviews the history of Cuba since the Castro-led revolution. Examines the goals & achievements of Castro's government, as well as the failures. Analyzes Cuba's prospects for the post-Castro future.
2,250 words (approx. 9 pages), 8 sources, 1996, $ 79.95
From the Paper "Despite the original promise of the Revolution, the failure of Cuba's leadership to respond effectively to a poor economy, failing social programs and the collapse and repudiation of communism in other parts of the world makes future success unlikely. A terrible economic crisis, the constant reminders of Fidel Castro's age and mortality, serious indications that many of the revolution's goals are as far away from being accomplished as they were in 1958, and the rising disillusionment and cynicism of the Cuban people all indicate that the country's socialist revolution--the most thorough and radical in twentieth-century Latin America--is failing.
The political and economic life of early twentieth-century Cuba was dependent on a powerful planter class and on foreign support, thus creating a lopsided society of privileges. For almost 25 years, a shrewd army sergeant, Fulgencio Batista y Zaldi..."
Examines philosophical roots (Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau) of rights & compares Amer. Declaration of Independence & French Declaration of Rights of Man & Citizen.
1,125 words (approx. 4.5 pages), 6 sources, 1996, $ 39.95
From the Paper " CONTEXT
The concept of natural rights and the idea of the social contract were paramount in the thinking of the colonists when they challenged the right of Europe to control their economic and political lives. The Declaration of Independence is a restatement of Locke and Rousseau, and the same concepts would be embodied in the Constitution. The French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen would be influenced by the same sources and by the Declaration of Independence as well. The idea of the social contract infuses all of these documents, an idea honed by Locke and Rousseau, though the Declaration of Independence and the Declaration of the Rights of Man have somewhat different visions of individual rights and responsibilities as a comparison will show."
From the Paper "This research examines the validity of the statement: "there is more ethical accountability in local government than at the federal level." This issue will be addressed first by describing the movement toward developing ethical codes for governmental officials, followed by an analysis of the "reinventing government" movement that has heightened the accountability of local governments.
Talking about "ethical issues" is easier than defining "ethics" to everyone's satisfaction. As subjective judgments of competing values are involved, individual interpretations are characterized by continuing disagreement, ambiguity, and uncertainty. However within societies there tends to be acceptance that ethical issues are linked to a code of conduct. In the case of business associations and government bodies, this ..."
Theoretical & empirical exploration of three ways that identification with group (religious, economic, political) increases an individual's likelihood of voting.
3,150 words (approx. 12.6 pages), 12 sources, 1997, $ 111.95
From the Paper " THE ROLE OF GROUP IDENTIFICATION ON A VOTER'S DECISION TO
CAST A BALLOT
Introduction
This paper develops and defends the notion that group identification increases the likelihood that an individual will decide to vote (as opposed to deciding not to vote) in any given election. The notion is developed and defended on both theoretical and empirical grounds.
The paper itself can be divided into three sections. The first section offers a brief delineation of the Rational Choice and Collective Action models of political/voting behavior, justifying their use in the development of the group identification/decision-to-vote relationship on the grounds that they have been frequently used as explanative frameworks for.."
From the Paper "Aristotle defined eudaimonia, or happiness, as ?the best possible life.? It may be argued that people today see happiness in much the same way; a challenge arises, however, when one attempts to define what is meant by ?the best possible life.? Our multicultural society's views are difficult to pin down, but it will be proposed in this paper that modern philosophy as a whole embraces an understanding of happiness different from that of Aristotle. The ideas of two influential thinkers of the modern era, Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx, as well as an informal survey of ?pop culture,? will be appealed to as support for this thesis.
Aristotle approached the idea of happiness, or eudaimonia, from the standpoint of ?what is good for man,? in accordance with the meaning of what it is to be ?man.? The discussion of eudaimonia, then, must begin with two definitions: what it is to.."
Examines theory and practice in the Nixon, Reagan, Bush and Clinton administrations, abuses of power, political and sexual scandals and the role of the media.
2,025 words (approx. 8.1 pages), 23 sources, 1999, $ 71.95
Abstract "The purpose of this research is to examine the issues concerning ethics in government. The plan of the research will be to set forth the context in which the subject of government-related ethics issues have achieved importance, and then to discuss the variety of views, some of them controversial, surrounding such subsidiary topics as a hierarchy of ethical priorities as against the priorities of governance.
From the Paper "The purpose of this research is to examine the issues concerning ethics in government. The plan of the research will be to set forth the context in which the subject of government-related ethics issues have achieved importance, and then to discuss the variety of views, some of them controversial, surrounding such subsidiary topics as a hierarchy of ethical priorities as against the priorities of governance.
There appears to be an inherent tension between the idea of democracy and that of ethics in governmental principles and priorities in the modern period. Boundaries between democratic values, ethics, and power to influence government seem blurred. De Tocqueville famously remarked about 1830s America that successful foreign relations demands scarcely any qualities democracy is noted for but almost all it is deficient in (De Tocqueville ..."
Abstract "Justice is a concept we believe we understand even if we have difficulty putting the concept into words. Justice is defined by the relationship that exists between the individual and the state.
From the Paper "Justice is a concept we believe we understand even if we have difficulty putting the concept into words. Justice is defined by the relationship that exists between the individual and the state. Justice means that the state treats every person equally and seeks to resolve disputes on the basis of the facts and compared to objective criteria rather than a subjective determination. Justice in the broadest sense is fairness. Justice cannot assure that every dispute comes out "correctly" or that no mistakes are made, but it should be such as to assure that the process by which decisions are made and goods allocated is fair and produces an acceptable result in the aggregate, even if an individual case justice might fail. Justice occurs when the distribution of political power and economic opportunity is as uniform as possible or when the social and political system is such ..."
From the Paper "Ted Kennedy's Speech to the Moral Majority
This essay discusses a speech given by Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy at Liberty Baptist College in Lynchburg, Virginia on October 3, 1983 to 5,000 students and townspeople, most of whom were adherents of the Reverend Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority, analyzes its background, goals and rhetorical obstacles and evaluates the strategies used by the speaker for overcoming those obstacles as well as the success or failure of the speech.
Background
Senator Kennedy's speech which was entitled "Truth and Tolerance in America" came about in part by accident. Through a computer error, Senator Kennedy was included in mid-May, 1983 on a mass membership solicitation mailing of the Moral Majority and was offered Membership No. B0500878. The Senator's office leaked..."
