Economics of State and Local Governments Research Paper

Economics of State and Local Governments - Research Paper Example ative inflation period during the same period, which stood at 9.06 percent, calculated by using consumer price indices for January 2013 and January 2009 (Griender). The Texas government applies sales and use taxes at the final points of sale. Consumers are taxed for the goods and services they purchased outside Texas and used within the state of Texas. The sales and use tax is the highest tax revenue for the Texas government. In the fiscal year 2014, the Texas government collected approximately $19 billion in state sales taxes. Texas charges an average tax of 6.25% for all foods (Griender). The government set the rate in the year 1990, and there have not been any changes in the rates since then. Cities, transit systems, districts in the state and counties may impose the local taxes, which may be up by another 2 %. Majority of Texas residents pay total sales taxes of 8.5%. There are, however, many goods that are exempted from this tax. These commodities include motor vehicles, crude oil, mixed drinks, insurance premiums, and aviation fuel. This is because these items are taxed under other provisions. The Texas state aims at increasing sales tax revenue and removing the exemptions. The government also puts various measures to improve collections. Some of these measures include examination of funds from sales tax, tightening the eligibility for exemptions as well as scrutinizing applications for tax refunds on items meant to be tax-free. Texas state government collects various fees that are charged to people operating motor vehicles within the state. The largest source of these records revenues is the car registration fees and permits, which are meant for special vehicles such as vehicles with excess weight and size. Motor vehicle fees generate about $2.4 billion in a fiscal year (Griender). The 82nd legislature has powers to consider proposals that aim at increasing the motor vehicle registration fees. According to estimates from the Texas Transportation

Do you agree with Eguchi That sex and death are related Essay

Do you agree with Eguchi That sex and death are related - Essay Example These young women stay asleep throughout the visit and while men can sleep next to her, they cannot sleep "with" her. The warden of the brothel warns Eguchi in the very beginning of the novel: "He was not to do anything in bad taste, the woman of the inn warned old Eguchi. He was not to put his finger in the mouth of the sleeping girl, or try anything else of the sort." (p. 13) The curiosity of the old men to see what actually happens in this house and the mystery of the sleeping girls opens many doors of discussion. It brings many questions to the mind and the reader is provoked to seek his own answers. How is sex connected with death here Why are sexually impotent men allowed in this house and why these men would want to sleep next to sleeping young girls Death is critical to the discussion because the entire novel revolves around it. The old man's age puts him closer to death, the sleeping girls resemble dead people and lack of noise and sound in the house also signifies death. I do not however agree with Eguchi that sex and death are related. There is a link between the two but that is in their sheer contrast and not any similarities. Sex is a completely opposite force. It injects life-force in people and makes them even more aware of their existence. The lack of sex in the place is thus closely connected with the onset of death. The quest begins with Eguchi's need for erotic gratification. He is sexually potent but needs to know more than having sex. He wants enlightenment and the experience forces him to confront who he really is. The youth and beauty of his companions at first excite him: "He caught his breath. She was more beautiful than he had expected. And she was young too. It was as if another heart beat its wings in old Eguchi's chest" (pp. 18-19). Eguchi feels young again and this is where we get an idea of why old men might choose to come to this place. Their main purpose was to drink from the well of youth that lies next to them. By looking at youth and its beauty, they feel a difference in themselves. However the reason Eguchi feels death is close to sex is because lack of later in this house makes old men even more aware of their old age and their death. When he looks at the girl, he wonders if she is alive because she looks dead. The silent and stagnant position of the girl forces him to think about how the girl had been turned into a living toy: " Though this girl lost in sleep had not put an end to the hours of her life, had she not lost them, had they sink into bottomless depths She was not a living doll for there could be no living doll; but so as not to shame an old man no longer a man, she had been made into a living toy. No, not a toy; for the old men she could be life itself." (p. 20) The girl represents much more to Eguchi at first. She is a symbol of life for him because of her youth and freshness. He carefully observes her body and features and realizes she was quite young: "She could be life itself." (p.20). His friend had also told him that he would "feel alive" sleeping next to such a woman. But Eguchi is still scared. There is fear in his soul as if something bad was about to happen. The fear becomes very real when near the end, the girl mysteriously dies. Eguchi informs the proprietress who gives a shocking. The whole crux of the story lies in that

Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect - Essay Example The most favored solution is the implementation of legislation that requires a combination of safeguards be put into place. These safeguards would include mandating screening of patients on a more frequent basis, an ombudsman program, and required training for all staff that includes consequences if caught being abusive or neglectful. The time from reporting abuse to the investigation of abuse by should be reduced from the standard of ten days to a standard of within 24 hours. According to Dr. Terry Fulmer of New York University (Journal of American Geriatrics Society, Feb 2004) elder mistreatment is "the intentional actions that cause harm, or create a serious risk of harm, to a vulnerable elder by a caregiver or other person who stands in a trust relationship to the elder". Such mistreatment of elders in nursing homes is a significant problem in this country. Gone are the days when families quite naturally took on the responsibility of caring for the elderly. Most elderly in the country, who cannot care for themselves, are sent to nursing homes. Reports from across the country tell horrifying stories of those abused or neglected. In New Orleans, Louisiana a nursing home employee aged 19 raped a 92 year old woman (New Orleans City Business, 2004). Another nursing home resident had her leg amputated because of bedsores. ...An elderly man lost his testicles because of botched attempts to insert a catheter (New Orleans City Business, 2004). In her guest editorial to Nursing Homes Magazine (March 2005) Gloria Schramm tells the sad story of how her uncle was treated while he was in a nursing home. She recalls how he was miserable, had fallen from his chair because he was not properly restrained, and was unassisted at mealtimes when family was not there to assist him. She recalled how he waited long periods of time for simple things such as a drink of water, a diaper change, or help with repositioning himself in bed. The daily visits from family were critical to his recovery as the level of care he received otherwise was lacking. III. Background: Nursing homes were not always the answer in this country. Prior to World War II the poor and destitute elderly were sent to almshouses, or poor farms, which were known for their poor conditions and inadequate care. Some cities took responsibility for their poor and built, or renamed existing homes, to reflect the change in level of care. "In New York City, in 1903, the Charity Board renamed its public almshouse the Home for the Aged and Infirm. The city of Charleston followed suit in 1913, transforming their almshouse into the Charleston Home." (Haber, 2007) After World War II legislation was put into place that somewhat funded nursing homes and nursing homes were built to act as long term care hospitals. Because of concern for those elderly in need women's groups and religious groups established old age homes for the elderly. "As the founder of Boston's Home for Aged Women (1850), explained-a haven for those who were "bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh" (Haber and Gratton, p. 130).

Globalization Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Globalization - Assignment Example cal entities in cargo carrying executed by automobile, sea, railway, river and ferry transportation; establishing obligations, rights and responsibilities of every participant in transportation. The parties to the contract also guaranteed to endorse synchronized tariff policy. These were implemented for the success of the GUAM Agreement. Collaboration in the field of transport in between Georgia and Ukraine has become increasingly better and it can be regarded as another success (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, â€Å"Relations between Georgia and Ukraine†). The main challenge has been that of the territory settlement between the member countries. The demilitarization of the conflict region and establishment of safety in these regions with the assistance of the multinational peacemaking services set out within UN or OSCE support for ensuring return of inhabitants and peaceful coexistence of communities have been the other challenge. Several measures are being taken to settle the conflicts in the territory of GUAM states to enhance the peace process so that trade activities can be carried out without any disturbances. This was done for proper integration among GUAM countries to maintain trade relationships (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Azerbaijan, â€Å"The Organization for Democracy and Economic Development – Guam†). Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Azerbaijan. â€Å"The Organization for Democracy and Economic Development – Guam†. 2008. About GUAM. October 4, 2010.

Online Social Networking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Online Social Networking - Essay Example Boyd and Ellison (210) define online social networking (OSN) as an online platform, site, or service that is focused on facilitating the building and reflection of online social relations among people with common social ties, interests, or who do similar activities. These sites allow users to display information about themselves like age, location, interests, and activities among others. OSN is achieved through social networking services (SNSs) like Facebook, Google+, Twitter, MySpace, Friendster, Linkedin, Spoke and Cyworld. The main function of OSN is to provide a link through which people can communicate. According to Papacharissi (120), OSN sites allow people to create a profile for representing themselves and interacting through instant messaging, email and other integrated communication channels. There is a section on these sites that is dedicated to comments, friends, and other people with similar interests. Some of them allow users to create contact groups for ease of sharing common interests. They also allow users to hold discussion forums over the internet through services like chat rooms. Secondly, OSN provides a powerful means through which people can share information and personal data among other things. SNSs offer individually-centered services which allow users to share personal data, activities, events, information, interests, and ideas within their individual networks. Thirdly, OSN provides a quick way of expanding one’s social base. The social sites allow users to view or search people that share the same interests. Individuals or organizations can also compile and share lists of contacts. They also allow users to suggest more friends to their own friends. OSN has played a role in recent conflicts. The social sites have allowed people to communicate quickly and easily.

Climate Change Impacts & Trends Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Climate Change Impacts & Trends - Essay Example According to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, 2014), the main cause of global warming is greenhouse effects because of the trend of human expansion. NASA named three gases as the main component that traps radiation in the atmosphere; these are methane, water vapor, and carbon dioxide. Other gases listed are the nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons. Human activities like the burning of oil and coal play a significant role in increasing greenhouse gases (Withgott, and Brennan, 2010). Accumulation of the greenhouse gases in the space traps radiations and cause the increase in temperatures (Freedman 2012a). The increasing temperature leads to melting of the snows, which results in rising water sea levels. A rise in water sea level reduces the land for agriculture as well as changed ecosystem in the Arctic and Antarctica. Such changes in weather and climate patterns over years would lead to changes in the biodiversity, these have devastating effects on land and marine ecosystems because it affects the flora and fauna (Hoegh-Guldberg and Bruno, 2010; Van Aalst, 2006). The long-term effect is the emergence of diseases that are resistance to available drugs because they get adapted to the environment very fast hence uncontrolled diseases. Besides, the abnormal warm sea surface temperature, as well as the disappearance of Arctic sea ice, contributed significantly to these changes in weather patterns and the impact on property, land, and human life was massive especially in New Jersey, New York.

Desert Survival Situation Essay Example for Free

Desert Survival Situation Essay The desert survival scenario taught me how to think rationally and demonstrate effective interpersonal skills. There is a certain time when we need to act as a group to achieve a goal, maybe to survive. The SDI and the desert survival scenario were intertwined especially during discussions. In a group. In SDI, we have four colors red, hub, blue and greed and each represent behaviors. Red characteristic behaviors tend to be competitive, forceful risk taker and self confident, Blues trust, helpful, modest, devoted, caring and supportive. Green characteristics are cautious, principled, fair and reserved. Hubs posses the three characteristics combined. All these four colors have an overdone side of each. In our discussion during the desert survival, were put in group and each group had members who were in these categories of colors. Interestingly,some group agreed to rank the items in a different ways, while others were able to almost come up with a list almost the experts rankings, Why?.Looking at their color characteristics, if a group had only gree, blue and hub, they were most likely to come up with no challenge. On the other hand, if we had all reds in a group there was not going to gain anything because all the will do is everyone compete and try to dominate. If all were green, they were likely to avoid and start talking out of the discussion. The Kilman conflict mode also can be applied in this analyses.For example,if in our discussion ,we had a competing member and all the others are avoiding mode,what will happen?. The red(competitor) will control all what the others say. No one will object anything and I thing the discussion will yield nothing at the end. If we have majority of accommodating members and avoiders, what will happen?.Everything will be â€Å"yes, I will do it† or avoid all. In order for the group to function, we need to have all the above members balanced. In an organization, if the manager is competing and a subordinate staff answerable to the manager is accommodating, that will lead to overworked, overwhelmed and misuse. In my society, women do not hold powers like men in every aspect of their lives. Although it is now changing the perception has not changed much. They are not entitled to posses or inherit properties. Not like in this country. In our class discussions, the professor does divide students into small groups to discuss the certain topic. I like how small group play because in this class we have members, who are adults and have experiences from their ages. They know how to handle and talk about issues. There personalities and attitudes are positive in how they interact with others. I have not been contributing much to the class and I think that is not being rude but this is something that I have struggle all along in my life.