Current Events | Political Science News

Modern Governmental Techniques to Provide Greater Efficiency

Both local and federal government agencies are making changes to increase efficiency in the way that things are run. This is a benefit from both the functionality and the business sense of government offices. Running the government similar to a successful business is a key part of effectiveness for those in political office.

In March 2011, President Obama named Shantanu Narayen, the president of Adobe Systems, as part of a panel to advise on and implement business practices within the national government. This can help to save tax dollars by using the money more wisely, thus creating more efficiency. Many individuals who are running for office are campaigning with ideas of how to help the country run more smoothly, and for a lot of voters, this is a key platform in deciding who they will vote for. Knowing that there is someone in office who is aware of how to run a business can ease the minds of of those who want to be sure their tax money will be spent carefully.

Members of the American government are also looking at other countries in order to mimic some of the processes that work. Another way that officials are looking to improve government technology and efficiency is through green initiatives. One example of this is eliminating coal-powered energy, since this is expensive. Another example is a campaign designed to lessen the waste of vital resources, such as water. These can help eliminate waste on the environment as well as cut costs. The government seems to be aware of the necessity of change, and these modifications will help things to become even more efficient.

Filed Under: Current Events, General Tagged With: Adobe Systems, Business, Federal government of the United States

Filtering Media

The time was when you could only judge a candidate for the Presidential election by what you heard on the radio, read in the newspapers or heard in a debate. This left many with information that didn’t seem to give the full picture of the candidate. This having been said, not being overwhelmed with unrelated information can help to keep the basics in sight. There is an incredible amount of information available on each candidate in many forms. It can be found on the news on television, in the newspapers and magazines, on the radio and now everywhere on the internet. It is difficult to know what is true and what is extra information; that does not tell a true story and paints a bad picture of the candidate.

However, the increased amount of information can help voters have a better feel for their candidate and what the candidate stands for. This is important when you are trying to decide which candidate will represent your views appropriately. You need to be able to go through the information that is coming in and filter it leaving only the information that best represents what the candidate is really all about. This is where the voters have to really understand the point of view of the candidate and ignore everything that is not pertinent to the important topics of society.

When it comes to using the large amount of media outlets to assess which candidate is best suited for the job, taking what is important and leaving what is extra information is behind will go a long way. If you try to take in all the information and use it to shape your ideas about the candidates in your mind, you may end up with a false idea of that candidate and their ideals.

Filed Under: Current Events, Politics Tagged With: Candidate, Republican, United States

Income Tax Hikes? Only for the Highest Tax Brackets

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Income tax, and what is going to happen over the next few years to the tax breaks, is a huge thing in both politics and the media. Some people are concerned that we will lose the tax breaks that have been prevalent in the last few years. Others fear that not only will tax breaks lessen, but taxes themselves will increase.

Realistically, what many people do not understand is that the tax breaks that are being discussed currently will most likely not effect them. Most of the tax cuts that are currently in place, that are being talked about the most, only effect the top few percentile points of the country. When talking about reducing the tax breaks, it is usually only those that make well over $250,000 a year. In fact, when President Obama has discussed raising taxes, it has only been on those in the wealthiest tax brackets.

What this means is that for the majority of people in the United States, nothing will change. This is a huge relief for many who are considered middle class or lower. Many times in the media, when these tax cut repeals are talked about, or tax hikes are discussed, it is not made clear that this would only affect for those in the higher tax brackets. When these things are gone over in the media, it almost seems like a way to boost ratings, by scaring those in the lower tax brackets.

Income tax breaks and current tax rates for most people in the country will not change, even if there are repeals of some of the current tax cuts. Understanding exactly what is being said, instead of going along with what others think is crucial to understanding what is going on in our government.

Filed Under: Current Events, Discussions Tagged With: Income tax, Politics, Republicans, Tax, Tax bracket, Tax cut, Taxation, United States

American Corruption

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A lot has changed the way Washington does business with the world. From the ever burgeoning number of business transactions that keep going on in Washington, it seems that the whole country is preoccupied with money.

The entire system has become money centric and made it their predominant activity to obtain money. The effects of this are pernicious on the running of a government. It does not matter what position you hold, it is ultimately the power of money that determines you position and strength. Hence obtaining money from anywhere in the preeminent goal of every one. Many of the issues and bills raised are decided on the economical advantages it has to the one with the power and the one with the money. Employment in white house is now based on the bank balances and not experience. Values have been subverted leading to the complete transformation of politics. People are resorting to acts that are unethical and morally unreasonable. Public service has become as cover for open purse stashing. Many administrative and legislative outcomes are now based on the interests of large corporations rather than the interests of the public. This is the only time h political money is playing a universal role in getting work done at the highest levels with little difficulty and little resistance. Washington has become a place for people to look forward to benefit from government service for just shutting up instead of what used to pull people to Washington before; the deep love for the country and its idealism. Lobbying has seen an drastic rise in the recent years. Hiring ex congress members as lobbyists is seen as a way to attract the favor of congress towards their interests by corporations. No matter what is done to make the illegal transactions, new ways will be invented to carry out the same.

Filed Under: Current Events Tagged With: Barack Obama, Business, John Boehner, Lobbying, Politics, United States, United States Congress, Washington

China Buying California

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California is the biggest economy in America. Most of the global tech companies are located in this state. Also known as the silicone capital of America, this is the place where one out of 5 start ups in America is begun. It has the largest number of venture capitalists and the companies in California attract the highest investment when compared to the other companies in other states. Also the largest number of high tax paying individuals reside in this state along with some multi billionaires. But now the state is seeing its worse economical situation since industrialization in California began. The government of California has gone completely bankrupt. With the recent recession and the numerous companies filing for chapter 11, the complete stated in bankrupt. The government politicians and the aides of Arnold Schwarzenegger are looking at creative ways of attracting investments. The huge debt of $125 billion per year is getting too much to even be pending for the state. The budget deficit of the state is %15 billion and is growing rapidly. Credit rating for California has dropped to the lowest ever since ratings began. A recent meeting by the California government with the prime minister of China was to attract Chinese investments in California. Already most of the Californian companies get their American designed products build in Chinese companies. The governor of California is probably looking at doing the same with Chinese companies. He even invited CEO’s of Chinese companies to California and have a good idea about the investment opportunities here. He is hoping that the Chinese companies come and set up companies in California or just start out sourcing work to California. What ever the case, jut hope that the economic situation in California improves, because a bad economy is not good for innovative products to be launched.

Filed Under: Current Events Tagged With: Arnold Schwarzenegger, California, China Investment Promotion Agency, Deficit, Government of California, List of companies of the People's Republic of China, United States, Venture capital

Bankruptcy and Politics

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Just a few years ago, the Federal bankruptcy laws were reformed. Many people consider this a result of the lobbying power of the credit industry. With the recent revelations of abusive practices on the part of credit companies, from credit cards providers to mortgage companies, it’s hard to deny this claim. To add credibility to this claim, who else but the credit industry would stand to gain from changing these laws. Lucky for today’s debtor, total bankruptcy is there to help.

The intent was sold as a way to prevent consumers from abusing the laws. The credit industry claimed that consumers simply ran up their credit bills knowing that bankruptcy was an easy way out. They backed this up by reporting that many people filed bankruptcy again and again. Of course, they took no responsibility for handing out new credit cards to people who were barely out of bankruptcy time and time again. Because no one can file again for at least seven years, the credit card companies seemed to consider this a strategy. Offer the cards at high rates knowing that they would be paid for at least that amount of time.

What exactly changed when the new laws were put into place? For one, anyone who would like to file bankruptcy must attend credit counseling first. Because most people file bankruptcy because of job loss or high medical laws, this just didn’t make sense. It did, however, delay the case and allow the credit companies to extend their collection efforts for awhile longer. Another major change is that bankruptcy attorneys must now verify some of the claims that the debtor makes instead of relying on their word. What ever happened to the trust between a lawyer and his client? The net effect of this change is that the legal fees required to file have skyrocketed since the reform was completed.

Filed Under: Crimes Against Children, Current Events, Discussions Tagged With: Bankruptcy, Company, Credit card, Credit counseling, Debt, Debtor, Law, United States

Changes for Student Loans

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Student loans for college students has recently been changed. How you get a loan, where you get it, and what you end up paying have all gone through an overhaul. President Obama signed legislation in March, 2010 to mandate these new changes.

In the past, when getting a student loan, a student would have to go through a private financial institution. Many of these companies would charge fairly high interest, as well as other fees. The new law eliminates these fees, and with the savings that are estimated, the government hopes to expand Pell grants. This will also make it much easier for a student to repay their student loans after graduation.

Students will no longer be directed toward a college’s favored banks to get their student loans. These loans will now come directly from the college itself, and be disbursed to the college from the government.

The cap that students will be allowed to have for repayments of student loans will be 10%, rather than the current cap of 15%.

The new law also invests in the colleges themselves. There is about $2 billion dollars allotted to go to community colleges throughout the next four years. The government holding the loans is said to generate more than $60 billion in the next 10 years.

The new law is supposed to make it easier for students to get a loan that they are actually able to pay off. Starting as of 2014, students will be able to apply for an income based repayment, making it much easier to repay these loans.

There are many different opinions in the general public about this new law. Some people are vehemently against it, and claim that with this new law, the government is trying to take away our freedoms. Others agree with it wholely, claiming that it is a way to help people get an education without having to worry about staggering student loan payments.

Filed Under: Current Events, Society Tagged With: Education, Loan, Student loan

Fighting for the Middle

The success of either political party depends on which one is able to win over the hearts of independent voters. Democrats have done the best job in recent years of reaching out to those in the middle but now it looks like the pendulum is swinging again back in favor of Republicans. A new Gallup poll reveals that more independent voters now disapprove of the job that President Obama is doing than approve of it.

The same survey also found that independent voters believe that more republicans are needed in Congress to try and stop out of control government spending. A new political action committee has been established to help the GOP capture the independent vote this fall, it is known as the Resurgent Republic. Former Republican Party head Ed Gillespie formed the group along with political activist Whit Ayres last year with an eye on the 2010 Congressional races. The goal of the group is to try and shift the balance of power in both the House and the Senate. It was formed after the President pushed his health care reform plan through the Congress.

At its website the Resurgent Republic makes it clear that jobs will be the key issue that they focus on during the fall campaign. The group says while new government jobs have been created this year thanks to the census, there is no significant growth in employment in the private sector. They question the effectiveness of the government stimulus program backed by the democrats which was supposed to help create new jobs. The Resurgent Republic supports tax credits for small businesses instead which they say would provide real economic growth and put millions of out of work Americans back on the job. Polls show that creating new jobs remains the number one concern of people across the country.

Filed Under: Current Events, Discussions Tagged With: Barack Obama, Ed Gillespie, Republican

Banned Books and Freedom of Speech

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Is freedom of speech in the United States a true freedom? Many people think that there is too much censorship in our current world to have freedom of speech considered still in effect.

One very good example of this is banned books. Many books have been added to the banned books list, including some literature that up until recently has been considered classic. Even Shakespeare has been banned in certain areas.

The question that arises, why are these books banned? Many times it is a parent or teacher that brings the faults of a book to the forefront. They feel that the particular book is unfit to be read by children. The book in question may be considered “sexually explicit” by the reviewer. Other times it may go against the religious views of the reader. Once a person decides that a book should be banned, whether it is from their local library, school, the state or even throughout the whole country, they would need to get other supporters.

Unfortunately, if enough people agree that a particular book is unfit to be read, it can, and has, been banned either locally, through the state, or all the way up to the national government.

Many people disagree with the banning of books in the United States. They say that it is freedom of speech, and therefore should not be censored. Unfortunately, book banning continues to happen on a frequent basis. Some are worried that if this practice continues and develops, other forms of free speech will be targeted as well.

Already in the United States there is censorship in books, television, and movies. Many people are worried that one day this will extend to the Internet as well. Many in the United States are concerned that their freedom of speech is at risk.

Filed Under: Current Events, Politics Tagged With: Book Banning, Government, United States