A financial weakness of the Utah Symphony is its performance and contribution revenues. These revenues total 66.9% of their total revenues, while the norm is 82% for U.S. arts organizations. Program expenses are another financial weakness for the symphony, which include the orchestra salaries, related benefits, and payroll taxes. These expenses represent 85% of their total expenses and are 84% of their total income. This is mainly due to the exorbitant contract agreements with the musicians that must be paid regardless of the number of performances.
Bill Bailey One concern expressed by opera trustees was the financial strength of the opera vis-à-vis the symphony. The opera had a reserve fund and was financially stable and because of the business model could be flexible and adjust the size of the opera or eliminate projects that had not reached their fund-raising goal. The symphony, on the other hand, was a 52-week orchestra that did not have that flexibility. Another concern was that even though the opera could become a tier-one arts organization through the merger, the opera would lose its identity. (DeLong, & Ager, 2005) Bill Bailey’s concerns regarding the merger indicate that he feels that the merger would financially benefit the orchestra much more than it would benefit the opera.
Another immense strength for VSUW is the high percentage of revenue that is invested in programs to help the community. According to VSUW (2013) “less than 10 percent [of revenue] is spent on administrative costs with 90 percent invested in local programs and initiatives” to help those in need in the community. Weaknesses In preparing financial statements often times management has to make estimates on the numbers (Valley of the Sun United Way, 2013). This is a weakness because the “actual results could differ from the estimates” (Valley of the Sun United Way, 2013). Another weakness is that this non-profit “invests excess cash in investment grade marketable solutions” (Valley of the Sun United Way, 2013).
The estate tax began in 1916 with the gift tax following in 1924. Another tax was eventually added, a generation-skipping tax, where all together these taxes represent “one way of reducing the potential wealth society’s richest families might accumulate over several generations” (Spilker, Ayers, Robinson, Outslay & Worsham, 2013, pg. 25-2). It even seems like the government has debated over the ‘fairness’ of these taxes because in 2010, the estate tax was optional. In light of the direction our country is headed, taxes seem to be a priority and to some, a solution, to the debt problem we currently face.
He goes on to say in the second misperception, “college graduates are finding it harder to get good jobs with liberal arts degrees”, but “the recession has no differentiated among major fields of study in its impact” (192). Ungar believes students who focus on one particular field of study do not learn necessities such as writing and literary texts, and this puts them at a disadvantage when compared to a liberal arts graduate. While long-standing jobs, such as doctors and lawyers, will not become extinct soon, liberal arts graduates have a better chance of employment in most areas. 95% of employers surveyed would give hiring preference to graduates with skills to contribute in the workplace. 74% would recommend a liberal arts education to a young person they know today, so they will be prepared for success in today’s global economy.
Our political leaders and Delbanco can both concur that a liberal education is important, but can both see eye to eye that it is what the future economy will be built off of. In our nation it has become more and more difficult for our citizens to attain this college degree, because it is becoming less and less affordable. Alongside both parties, most American’s can agree that a liberal education is important, but neither the Republican Party nor the Democratic Party have made any significant change to better the liberal education system. According to the Obama Administration, President Obama has “proposed incentives for states to maintain their commitments to higher education through a new $1 billion investment” (“Keeping Costs Down”), and Obama has failed to accomplish his proposal. Obama needs to manage the budget a bit more wisely, because the more funding put towards the liberal education system, the more our economy will flourish.
Instead they George W. Bush and Republicans in Congress paid little political price in the last four years of his presidency for the swing from budget surpluses to deficits. But because some polls show that Americans consider reducing the deficit to be a higher priority than many other goals, including cutting taxes, and embracing a new round of borrowing could pose political as well as economic risks, social security was not a big concerning issue at the time. Most of the Republican candidates vying for the presidency have proposed at least partially privatizing Social Security. The group considers strengthening social security, focusing on specific issues such as privatization, rising the retirement age, and raising the cap on payroll taxes, which fund the program (Huff Post). Unlike the Democrats, the Republican Party has a “hard” time presenting this issue because most individuals rely on social security or any governmental entitlements.
It could create jobs, insure the almost 20 percent of Americans uninsured, and lower the cost of health insurance all across the board. The current state of the economy is not helping the reformists in the slightest. People are struggling to keep their job let alone pay for health insurance, and if there was reform who’s to say the economy will be strong enough that these same people can afford the reformed state version of health insurance. There also arguments as to our system being highly inefficient. When you look at European systems of universal healthcare and the “right to live” motto, it’s hard to understand why the United States isn’t on board with universal healthcare.
Because these areas mainly fall under governmental provision and regulation they are simply not provided to society as a whole by the private market. Privatizing prisons has once again become acceptable, “the private prison industry, which has grown by 350 percent in the last 15 years (Johnson, 2012)”. There is still much to be debated about the privatization of prisons once again, as the profit margin isn’t in the care or service they provide but rather in the number of inmates they house. Emergency services such as Fire and Police protection are areas that the market fails to give the desired quality of output and desirable price. Both of these services are pretty much wholly government run and controlled.
College is out of the question for a number of households due to no savings. We are in difficult economic times and the financial aid policies are too stiff for families with larger incomes. Colleges need to recognize the latter. The opinion suggests the John Hopkins endowments of nearly $3 billion (“a community committed to sharing values of diversity and inclusion.” The University has billions of dollars and seeks a diverse student body. Does it seek for those who can afford $52,578 year of the few who are both impoverished and qualified.