Federal Financial Assistance and Wage Control Essay

Federal Financial Assistance and Wage Control - Essay Example Public outrage at the bailouts and the government's haste in pushing through the economic package was huge and unprecedented, with other entities and industries also clamoring to be bailed out in a similar manner. This objective of this essay is to discuss the morality of using tax funds to bail out ailing corporate entities to avoid them becoming insolvent and whether the government should initiate wage controls and strict accountability policies when providing such funds. With respect to wage controls, the questions to be answered are why and how much, rather to what degree government must step in to control and prevent the misuse and abuse of bailout funds. Each of these questions is addressed in the different sections which follow. By its very definition, a capitalist or free market economy is built on competition and "survival of the fittest", with little or no government intervention. The success or failure of a business is determined by the way business is conducted and how such businesses deal with fluctuating market forces. In the current economic meltdown, it is quite obvious that many business entities played "fast and loose" with sound economic principles in order to maximize profits by following unsound credit practices and with inadequate risk management or controls in place. By doing so, they've traded long-term growth and profitability for short-term gains in the years preceding the sub-prime mortgage crisis. The latter acted as the trigger which brought down the American economy to its knees and led to the collapse of numerous financial institutions. This has forced the government to step in to bail-out distressed companies at the cost of its citizen taxpayers. Is such an intervention justified Th e answer is clearly a 'no', given the unique nature of a capitalist economy. Businesses are required to compete with each other in the marketplace, having a free hand in the usage of capital, labor and other resources, because the end goal is profitability. A company or business entity which does not adhere to the principles of a free market economy, or tries to derive unfair advantages by misusing its powers, is doomed to fail in the long run. This is the natural consequence of unfair competition and the corporation must face the same in the natural order of the market. However, such large-scale failures of several companies at the same time can have a disastrous effect on the economy and society as a whole, hence it raises the question of government interference to avoid a catastrophe, a rationale advocated by the Bush administration and Congress in providing the $700 billion bailout in 2008. According to Ingham (2008), in a capitalist economy, the market is a self-regulating entity and the state (or government) role should be limited to providing infrastructure and resources which help in sustaining a free market economy and intervening under only exceptional circumstances where the market fails to correct itself. Is the current economic crisis such a circumstance Common sense would indicate this to be so, but the next concern would be to what extent should the state intervene to resolve this issue The answer to this concern can be summarized as

Contact zone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Contact zone - Essay Example It happened that I befriended a tour guide who promised to take me deep into the communal areas to meet people and learn their culture someday before returning home. The problem was that on arriving in the rural area, I was embarrassed by having many people from the community following us and making some funny jokes about my dressing that was very different from theirs. In summers, am used to wearing light clothing that expose most of the body to enjoy the sun bath and the freshness of the weather in my destinations. However, the community I visited was a conservative one that adorned in clothes that covered almost the entire body. I could clearly tell they were making fun of my clothing. When having lunch, as I liked having new delicacies from native communities, the type of food that was served was very different to what I was used to. From that time, I could read some negative reactions from the people I had visited and even the person I head befriended was involved in some jokes that made fun of me. Considering am not used to working in the garden, I made an ugly scene trying to learn farming using animals to plough. The reaction in the entire contact with the community was that I was a fool who did not know the best things to eat and one that could not work. From the interpretations that I got, I learned that the locals were remarking that people of my type were a lazy lot who could not do any physical activity or wear decent clothing to cover the body. From the experience, a contact zone is influenced by the extent of adherence to beliefs and values in a community and the degree to which such a community recognizes and embraces defying cultures. The community in question was a conservative one that followed strict codes of behaviour and values. Anyone who failed to abide by these values was a laughing stock and an outcast not welcome in the community. Pratt (37) suggested that a person surrounded and living in a particular culture will develop a strong be lief that their culture is much better than other cultures out there, and will look down upon anyone practicing a different culture. This influence was manifested in the community above. Most of the indigenous people do not travel but live in strong communal ties separated into several clans, with each clan having a strict code of values and behaviours to follow. As a result, anyone with different behaviours or values was an intruder whose behaviour had to be ignored with a â€Å"disgusting† attitude. Concerning the dressing code, the community had a strong belief that wearing exposing clothing was a taboo that an adult was not supposed to be indulged in. A pair of summer shorts and a small vest was not considered decent clothing, and from the observation, there was a sense of disgust especially from the elders. Communities are differentiated not by their genuineness, nevertheless by the stylishness in which such communities are imagined (Pratt 37). Judging from the entire re ception and treatment while in the community, it was evident that the community had a perception and belief that I lacked values and discipline. The fact that I could not participate in farm activities effectively or other strenuous physical activities such as using animals in the farm suggested I was lazy compared to their fellow communal members. The main problem was that the community lacked any insight regarding western communities or life and cultures in the western world,