Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Economics Commentary - U.S quota reduction on textiles Essay Example for Free

Economics Commentary U.S quota reduction on textiles Essay China is an industrialized country and it exports lots of goods to other country. International trade involves the exchange of goods and services across international boundaries. The country depends on its sales abroad to develop its country. The textile industry is a massive industry in china, depends a lot on its exports to make its profits. But the United States (U.S) also has a text tile industry and so to protect their industry they use quotas to protect its industry. The quota is worth $6 billion annual quota and U.S is reducing its quota on the import of Chinese textiles by $9 million because U.S thinks that China is using a third country to get its goods to U.S. Chinas government is not pleased with this and it is try to protect its industry. U.S is using protectionism, which is the restriction of international trade. It prevents consumers and producers reaching the equilibrium price and quantity that would happen in a free market. One way to enforce protectionism is Quotas take the form of a physical limitation on the quantity of a commodity which is allowed to enter the country in a given year. What U.S is doing to Chinese textiles is that it is dropping its quota by $ p million dollars from the $6 billion annual quota. The world supply falls; and this gives the Chinese firms to supply more to the U.S market, directly. The decrease in the quota also leads to consumer surplus to rise. Consumer surplus is the difference between the prices that a consumer is prepared to pay the actual price paid. This is because the consumers were willing to pay for the Chinese textiles price with the quota and so now it is cheaper. Therefore the consumer surplus rises from ADE to ABC. Consumer surplus which is gained is areas 1, 2, 3 and 4. Area 1 is the loss of domestic producers benefit from selling more at a higher price. Area 3 is the windfall gain; it is part of the revenue that the foreign traders get, in this case China. The total revenue for Chinese textiles sold in the U.S is are area 3, 5, 6 and 7 together, before dropping the quota, area 3 was the only amount that China was allowed to sell. Area 2 and 4 are a net loss to society (deadweight loss). China has comparative advantage over U.S in the textile industry. A country is said to have a comparative advantage in the production of a good if it can produce it at a lower opportunity cost than another country. The labor-intensive industry is one where China has an advantage over other producing nations, therefore China has specialized in the textile industry and they would import other goods into the country. The Chinese officials are not pleased with the quota reducing; this is because the textile industry in China is a strategic industry and is trying to protect it. To protect a strategic industry is to protect an industry that employs a large proportion of the population and/or maybe the industry has strong roots in the country and it contributes to the nations identity. These are the two reasons why China does not like what U.S is doing to them, because other country might lose its trust to China and would try to prevent trading with them. Another reason for China not liking the actions taken by U.S is because china hopes anticipated gains in the textile industry will offset huge losses in employment capacity in other economic sectors. China wants all of its industry to grow at the same time and equally, and so this reduced quota will harm their industries, this is why China takes this matter very seriously. China does not like what U.S has done to their textile industry as this might break trade relations, and this may well be loses for both sides. Their relation would get worse, and then China would retaliate as they want to protect its industry and this would lead to more problems. As exports represent an injection into the circular flow of income and are subjected to the multiplier effect. And also unemployment would rise in other industry within China, and even some firms in U.S, as they might not be able to compete with the Chinese industries.

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Physician Assisted Suicide Essays -- Physician Assisted Death

"With the stroke of a pen, California Gov. Jerry Brown made it legal for physicians in the state to prescribe lethal doses of medications if their terminally ill patients wish to end their lives. Brown signed the "End of Life Act" into law on Monday, and in doing so California joins four other states — Oregon, Washington, Vermont and Montana — where patients' right to choose doctor-assisted death is protected either by law or court order." http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/10/05/446115171/california-governor-signs-physician-assisted-suicide-bill-into-law Death, despite various definitions of the concept, is an unavoidable part of life in which all persons will one day become acquainted. However one prefers to essentially exist and prolong this event is completely his or her choice. Or is it? What, then, if an individual should choose death itself? Should that person, regardless of the reason for hastening death, be denied assistance if sought after? The concept of physician-assisted suicide has been a topic of debate since the birth of medicine. Controversy even surrounds its name as the term â€Å"suicide† is associated with a form of mental illness and irrational behavior, both of which are to be prevented it if at all possible according to medical obligation (Quill and Greenlaw). Physician assisted death/suicide occurs when a physician provides a medical means of death and instruction to a patient but does not administer the actual cause of death (Lonnquist and Weiss 389-91). This is quite different than the concept of active euthanasia in which a physician directly administers the cause of death. Recognized as far back as the 5th century BCE in the ancient Hippocratic Oath, the origin of this practice cou... ...hy E., and Greenlaw, Jane. "Physician Assisted Death." From Birth to Death and Bench to Clinic: The Hastings Center Bioethics Briefing Book for Journalists, Policymakers, and Campaigns. Garrison: Hastings Center, 2008. 137- 42. Physician Assisted Death. Web. 5 Nov. 2013. http://www.thehastingscenter.org/Publications/BriefingBook/Detail.aspx?id=220 2. 5. Reich, Warren T. "The Hippocratic Oath." Encyclopedia of Bioethics. Revised ed. N.p.: n.p., 1995. University of Minnesota Human Rights Library. Web. 5 Nov. 2013. http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/hippocratic.html 6. Roberts, John, and Kjellstra, D. Carl. "Jack Kevorkian: A Medical Hero." BMJ. JSTOR, 8 June 1996. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. 7. "Frontline: The Kevorkian Verdict: The Thanatron." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kevorkian/aboutk/thanatronblurb.html Physician Assisted Suicide Essays -- Physician Assisted Death "With the stroke of a pen, California Gov. Jerry Brown made it legal for physicians in the state to prescribe lethal doses of medications if their terminally ill patients wish to end their lives. Brown signed the "End of Life Act" into law on Monday, and in doing so California joins four other states — Oregon, Washington, Vermont and Montana — where patients' right to choose doctor-assisted death is protected either by law or court order." http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/10/05/446115171/california-governor-signs-physician-assisted-suicide-bill-into-law Death, despite various definitions of the concept, is an unavoidable part of life in which all persons will one day become acquainted. However one prefers to essentially exist and prolong this event is completely his or her choice. Or is it? What, then, if an individual should choose death itself? Should that person, regardless of the reason for hastening death, be denied assistance if sought after? The concept of physician-assisted suicide has been a topic of debate since the birth of medicine. Controversy even surrounds its name as the term â€Å"suicide† is associated with a form of mental illness and irrational behavior, both of which are to be prevented it if at all possible according to medical obligation (Quill and Greenlaw). Physician assisted death/suicide occurs when a physician provides a medical means of death and instruction to a patient but does not administer the actual cause of death (Lonnquist and Weiss 389-91). This is quite different than the concept of active euthanasia in which a physician directly administers the cause of death. Recognized as far back as the 5th century BCE in the ancient Hippocratic Oath, the origin of this practice cou... ...hy E., and Greenlaw, Jane. "Physician Assisted Death." From Birth to Death and Bench to Clinic: The Hastings Center Bioethics Briefing Book for Journalists, Policymakers, and Campaigns. Garrison: Hastings Center, 2008. 137- 42. Physician Assisted Death. Web. 5 Nov. 2013. http://www.thehastingscenter.org/Publications/BriefingBook/Detail.aspx?id=220 2. 5. Reich, Warren T. "The Hippocratic Oath." Encyclopedia of Bioethics. Revised ed. N.p.: n.p., 1995. University of Minnesota Human Rights Library. Web. 5 Nov. 2013. http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/hippocratic.html 6. Roberts, John, and Kjellstra, D. Carl. "Jack Kevorkian: A Medical Hero." BMJ. JSTOR, 8 June 1996. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. 7. "Frontline: The Kevorkian Verdict: The Thanatron." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kevorkian/aboutk/thanatronblurb.html

Monday, January 13, 2020

Government Control and Subsidy of Energy vs. Private Sector Investment Essay

A subsidy is a payment from the government to a business to encourage the continual use or development of a technology or product that is considered to be useful or beneficial to the society. Most often, the money (or subsidies) is coming directly from taxpayers. This is where Milton Friedman’s signature phrase, â€Å"there’s no such thing as a free lunch† comes in to play. A unit of a product or service may be free for one person, someone or something is enduring an opportunity cost. Currently, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power are being subsidized by roughly $24 billion a year because of the perceived environmental benefits that go along with â€Å"green† technologies. However, renewable energy companies such as Solyndra have gone bankrupt and the government has supported them to keep them running via subsidies. The argument for continuing these subsidies is that wind and solar are still in the start-up phase in the industrial world a nd have not yet reached large scale markets. Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely that these companies will ever be largely profitable because renewable energy, with a few exclusions, are unable to reach the profitable market margin that generating plants fueled by coal, natural gas or nuclear can. While the government tries to focus their support on said renewable energies, only providing limited tax breaks for the private oil companies, the US private sector has produced a substantial increase in oil. 2011 was the third consecutive year of higher domestic oil production and, at the same time, natural gas output reached an all-time high. Over the past five years, about two thousand new jobs have been created in the oil and gas industry while employment growth for renewable energies has been limited at best. With many of the recent failures of several renewable energy companies, employment has declined in this area during several periods. The renewable industry will also struggle to prosper because they rely too heavily on the government for support. The government has taken billions of dollars and will place it in this industry with little to no return for the enrichment of the economy and society. Friedman makes a rather sarcastic comment on activities like this by saying, â €Å"If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand†. This is an example of rent-seeking. Rent-seeking is a term, used by economists, to describe actions that involve a political process of taking wealth of others and getting essentially a loss of wealth. Without the incentive to compete to raise and gain money, the renewable energy industry doesn’t feel the need to produce more efficient and cost effective products or services. On the flip side of that, since most companies in the oil industry are in the private sector, the profit alone is a large enough incentive to supply valued goods and services at reasonable prices. If private sector companies do not continually improve or develop, they will quickly be â€Å"weeded out†. Since the private markets are decidedly competitive, they are continually searching for the sweet spot in the market that assures a large and readily available supply of energy and the cleanest yet practicable balance of the usage of our limited resources, all at the lowest price possible. Despite the fact that for more than a decade, there has been a large amount direct taxpayer support, renewable energy still cannot meet the market demand and, therefore, the subsidies for these areas should be significantly reduced if not completely done away with. If politicians are truly concerned with cutting greenhouse gas emissions, a better allocation of federal spending would be to target subsidies and incentives towards natural gas and nuclear power plants. These clean-burning fuels can heat our homes, power our vehicles, and generate electricity for America’s households and industries a lot more cheaply and reliably than renewable energy can. If America is not careful, it will quickly fall into crony capitalism. Crony capitalism, in layman terms, is where private businesses focus on doing political favors rather than the consumer market because the government uses spending, regulations, and subsidies to benefit businesses that provide political support. Instead of trying to pick winners and losers, the government should create a competitive marketplace with fair rules, no subsidies, and allow the private sector to prosper. One great aspect of America is the freedom to continuously change business strategies and marketing to adapt to change. Like Milton Friedman said, â€Å"Many people want the government to protect the consumer. A much more urgent problem is to protect the consumer from the government.†

Sunday, January 5, 2020

King Lear - Power Corrupts Essay - 773 Words

Power is the ability to manipulate and control whatever one desires; to do what one pleases to do without answering to authority. The power that corrupts the characters plays an extensive role throughout Shakespeare’s play, King Lear. Goneril and Regan are corrupted by the power that Lear offers them. Edmund’s corruption comes from the trust of his father. Absolute power corrupts absolutely with the characters, because once have full control, they are so cold that they will do anything to keep the power – or to gain more. The quest for power corrupts, but when absolute power is attained, treachery and deceit is the only path to take. The power that Lear gives to Goneril and Regan makes them treacherous and deceitful. Lear offers his†¦show more content†¦Regan is no better, when Lear comes to her door looking for a place to stay, â€Å"the old man and’s people cannot me well bestowed.† (2, 4, 330-331) That if Lear wants to stay then he has to give up his followers. The power corrupts them into treacherous beings, where respect and honor for their father are less important than their own well-being. The power that makes Edmund corrupt is trust. He uses the trust to manipulate and control his father for the benefit of himself. He frames his brother by composing a false letter to his father implicating a plot to kill Gloucester, that when â€Å"our father would sleep till I waked him, you should enjoy half his revenue forever.† (1, 2, 55-56) Gloucester replies with â€Å"this villain of mine comes under the prediction of mine: there’s son against father† (1, 2, 112-117) This shows that Gloucester had great faith and trust in his son Edgar. To better his plan he goes to Edgar and convinces him to run away. The thought that he would frame his own brother for the chance to gain power shows his corruption, and that he will do anything to have more power. Edmund writes another letter, except this implicates his father in a plot with France to kill The Duke of Cornwall. He does this so that â€Å"the younger rises [and] the old doth fall† (3, 4, 25) and he wi ll become the Earl. Edmund is so corrupted and blinded by his quest for power that he is willing to jeopardize his father’sShow MoreRelatedKing Lear - Power Corrupts798 Words   |  4 PagesPower is the ability to manipulate and control whatever one desires; to do what one pleases to do without answering to authority. The power that corrupts the characters plays an extensive role throughout Shakespeares play, King Lear. Goneril and Regan are corrupted by the power that Lear offers them. Edmunds corruption comes from the trust of his father. 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