The Fiscal Cliff Allison Stewart, Khristy Parham, Ronnie Adger, Steve Fincher ECON 2003 Mr. Alfred Bundrick January 8, 2013 The phrase “Fiscal Cliff” has been in the news for months but many U.S. citizens are not sure what this means or how it will affect them. With the president and both parties of congress blaming the opposing party for the economic situation that the nation now finds itself in, it is understandable that people are confused. However, the fiscal cliff is a real danger to an already weak U.S. economy and if not handled properly, could send the nation spiraling into a deep recession. To understand the economic conundrum the nation is facing the term Fiscal Cliff must be defined and, if allowed to occur, what impact will
Due to a myriad of reasons, our nation has stopped rewarding themselves with time off. In fact, according to CNN, in 2010 Americans gave up $67 billion worth in vacation days. This economy has made vacation a non option for many people who are fearful of losing a job or need a surplus of cash to go in an emergency fund. Employees just can’t risk leaving work for a week for fear that the workload will pile up while away and be insurmountable upon return. In many countries in Europe, vacation days are mandatory and are provided by employers by law.
Medical plan options include high-deductible plans, health savings accounts, fee-for-service plans, health maintenance organization plans and preferred provider organization plans. The Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHBH) Program is one of the most valuable benefits of Federal employment, but the coverage is not automatic. You must enroll within the first 60 days of employment or wait until open season towards the end of the year. There is no retroactive coverage for your expenses prior to the effective date of enrollment. Most Federal employees earn both annual and sick leave.
A constitutional amendment takes an issue away from the normal process of democracy. However most proposals aren’t inspired by a broad national consensus but instead for political gains, e.g. the day after the Supreme Court ruled flag burning to be protected speech in 1989, the US representative Michael Bilirakis introduced an amendment outlawing desecration of the flag. Amendments to ban flag burning have been introduced in every session of Congress since, spanning more than two decades. Another reason why most proposed amendments fail to pass is the difficulties posed by the very complex amendment process.
The first being the economic impact, followed by the dangers of illegal immigration and the threat of immigrants taking American jobs. To help ease those issues, the first solution to illegal immigration would be to cut the funding to the border control effort. Although this may seem highly contradictory, research has found that a majority of the illegal immigrants that have come to the U.S. have applied for some kind of legal documents. However, due to the almost 10 year lag in the application process, many felt as though they could not wait until it was legal. If funding was redirected in a way that would decrease the lag time, many immigrants would no longer have to sneak in to the U.S. (Sassen).
Firstly, the President is through to be ‘weak at home’ because of how reliant he is on Congress. The President is dependent of Congress for all legislation and money. He relies on the Senate to confirm all of his nominations and ratify his treaties. Moreover, with the ‘power of the purse’, which is one of the main ways Congress can limit executive power, the President is considered ‘weak’. For example, limitations were placed on Reagan concerning military funding which led to the withdrawal of United States Marines from Lebanon.
Conflict Theory and the Government Shutdown Eugene Peter Lewis, Jr. SOCI 200- D01 LUO Mrs. Susan Deneen November 24, 2013 One of the biggest news stories of 2013 as we near its close is the shutdown of the United States government. The legislative branch of the government has a task enumerated by the Constitution- agree on spending so that the government may be funded. When this does not happen, most of the rudimentary processes of the government fail to function. The Republican members of the House of Representatives desired to fund the government with the obvious exemption of the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. The Democrats in the United States Senate insisted on funding the entire federal government, including
I personally say that strength is not given but earned by what you do to get others to approve your intensions. In other words, strengths and weakness depends on a personal capacity to influence the conduct of those in government. Power seems to be based on how influential or persuasive one can be. However, I also think that no matter how much the President tries to get what he wants during his term, the President will never be the most powerful man in the country. He is always sharing his power due to the checks and balances system.
Congress has one key duty in the Constitution and that is to pass spending bills that fund the government. If it does not happen, like it did, most functions of the government will halt and many federal employees will be furloughed. The republicans need to stop worrying so much about Obama-care and more about what they are really suppose to be doing. Which is agree on a spending
In the article written by Bob Faw from NBC News he states that many didn’t have any type of insurance, many could not leave the area because they were dependent on government checks, and many couldn’t even afford the basic transportation. He also states “This natural disaster illustrates what experts have known all along — disasters do not treat everyone alike. Surviving is easier for whites who have than for blacks who don’t. And when push comes to shove, it’s every man, woman and child for himself.” From analyzing Bob Faw’s article it seems that he correlates a lot of the poverty due to race. Faw states that 67% of the population in New Orleans is African-American and that half of that population lives below the poverty line.