Small Business Survival

I agree with Teenie on this subject.  Small businesses do have a harder time than larger businesses when the economy is in a recession.  Unlike a large business, a small business does not usually have the financial stability that a large business is able to enjoy.  I believe small businesses have a harder time to being able to obtain financial security because of the taxes they pay and because they must attract the attention of their competition.  The government should consider a change in taxes to help assist these struggling businesses. 

Good Luck on Retiring

There was a bill passed in Rhode Island this week that suspended pension increase for state employees for the next five years.  Those five years many turn out to be longer if the pension funds do not meet certain financial targets.  The state decided to pass this bill because of the financial crisis they have found themselves in.  The state of Rhode Island currently needs $7 billion to cover the pension funds for every state and municipal employees.  That is roughly the same amount as their state budget every year.  While many, if not all, of the lawmakers who passed this bill believe it is necessary to help the fiscal budget, many of them believe that it is not fair to the employees who are not able to have their pension fund increased.  By doing this Rhode Island has shown to the other states that if they are able to pass this bill to get their fiscal budget under control they can do the same.  The United States has a collective debt of $1.26 trillion of what they promised employees and what they have to fill that promise.  Rhode Island may have made a lot of people angry but they would have had to happen one way or another.  If the state had not made this decision they would have had to increase taxes on its residents which would have made the residents just as angry. 

I believe that Rhode Island made a good decision to put a cap on its pension for now.  I agree that it is not fair to current retirees and state employees to deny the pension originally promised to them, but I agree that the state needs to get its budget under control.  The states being in debt results in the nation being in debt and our current national debt is something that would make your jaw drop at the rate it is rising.  Hopefully something will happen in the next few years that will take the cap off of Rhode Island’s pension plan so that the retirees and current employees may receive the benefits that were originally promised to them.

Think Before You Support

At first glance this plan seems like a winner in the eyes of students and former students who have miles of debt, but I have to disagree that this plan will even remotely help anyone right now.  While this plan seems like a great idea I believe there are still too many open ends left open to even consider this as a possible option for student debt.  My biggest question is what would happen to all of the leftover debt after the twenty year limit is up?  Would it just disappear into thin air or would the government be held accountable for the left over debt?  If the government were held accountable for the debt it would increase our national debt to a number that is already entirely too large.  The idea looks great to the young adults who are now or getting ready to attend college but I believe that this proposal is a stunt by Obama to help him gain more support for the upcoming election next year.  I think that Obama should be focused on how high the cost of college has become first and then focus on getting loans paid off.  By focusing on the cost of college first he could cut the number of student loans by a considerable rate.  This would in turn make the payoff rate for college loans much shorter.  The cost of obtaininga higher education has become too high and something needs to be done to stopit from climbing.  I believe that students should consider this before they start supporting this plan. 

Outrageous Costs

If I were asked to describe college tuition in one word I would have to say, outrageous.  The high cost of attending college has all of us cringing.  I believe that everyone should have the opportunity to go to the college of their choice, but the thought of paying off the student loans for the rest of their life is not appealing in the least.  The government is able to put a price cap on other expenses; why have they not put a limit on college tuition as well. 

According to the Commonfund Institute, the cost of college has risen 2.3% this fiscal year.   This in turn will sky-rocketed the student loan debt into the trillions.  There are many reasons why colleges may have raised their tuition rates such as: laboratory upgrades, computer upgrades, better student housing, and growth in administration.  One would think that the colleges and universities with endowments over $100 million would be able to provide their own upgrades and expansions, but they too have raised their tuition rates. 

It almost seems like college has become one of the luxuries that you either have the money for or you don’t.  The total cost of attaining a degree at a university, could buy a nice car, even a home in some cases, or maybe even invest in a small business.  In my opinion the government should pass a bill that would regulate the cost of college for all students.  We go to school to provide a better future for ourselves and other people why not encourage it by lowering the cost. 

With tuition on the rise, and with no decline in the near future, the government is raising the national debt every time a student applies for another loan for school.  The government should be concerned about this and it seems they are not.  The way the economy has been going; most people are concerned for the well-being of their future right now.  We as students need to be concerned about this, we are going to school to better our future and by the time we get there, there may be nothing to look forward to. 

Arrested for Being Peaceful

I’m a sucker for a good title and when I came across this one I had to stop and read it and watch the video that was posted with it, “Youcan’t be a protester and a customer at BofA.”  A few protesters in Santa Cruz, California decided to close their accounts at Bank of America.  They enter the bank holding signs that say “I am closing my BOA account today,” the manager comes up to them and says that they cannot be a customer and a protester at the same time.  The manager then locks the doors and threatens to call the police.  A similar scenario happened at a Citibank in New York where a woman was outside of a bank wanting to close her account and they called the police to arrest her for being disruptive.  If you watch the video of her arrest the woman did not appear to be disruptive at all.  I was not aware that this movement, Occupy the Boardroom, was even going on until I read this article.  I think that by writing this article Nicole Belle was trying to capture the attention of those who don’t know what has been going on in the cooperate world.  The author of this post is one of many liberals who support this movement.  She has had a continuous blog on the crooks and liars website since 2006.  Belle believes that the banks had no right to refuse the protesters the right to close their accounts.  I have to agree with her on this subject.  I have never heard of a law that prohibits a person to close their account or agreement with a bank just because they choose to protest it.  The protesters who went to Bank of America did not seem to disturb the peace at all except for the sign they took in with them, I do not think that the police should have been called just because of a couple of peaceful protester wanting to close their accounts.  The banks should find a different way to keep their customers instead of refusing to close their accounts. 

People Protesting for People

The column, Occupy Wall Street is 2^nd American Revolution, was written by DeWayne Wickham, a columnist who credentials go back over a span of thirty years.  He has worked at CBS News, Black Entertainment News, Tom Joyner Morning Show and is now the current director of the Institute for Advanced Journalism Studies at North Carolina A&T State University.  In this column Wickham states his opinions about the Occupy Wall Street movement.  He interviewed Stacey Patton for this column, she protested eleven years earlier when four New York policemen were let off on a not guilty verdict after shooting an African American nineteen times.  She was arrested and was let go the next day with an injured leg and nightmares.  Patton thought she would never be a part of a protest again and yet here she is fighting for something she wants.  She still believes in having a democracy and that is the reason that she decided to join the protest.  Wickham says this is a revolt; they are not trying to take over the government just change it.  In his eyes this is a peaceful revolt one that has opened the eyes of many Americans.  Wickham’s intended audience includes all Americans who see Occupy Wall Street as an unethical way of change.  I agree with Wickham, that this protest is a peaceful and effective way to make the government see the protesters point of view.  Even though the protester leaders have not come forward with any demands this has already made a huge impact on America.  It has led to revolts in other states which will hopefully end with a positive impact on the government.  Some people have said this is the start of “The Arab Spring” in the United States, referring to the multiple protests that rose around the Arab Nation late last year and has continued into this year.  The Arabs have seen results and hopefully we also will. 

Why Not Now?

While I was browsing through the Fox New website I stumbled upon this, "Obama Calls on Congress to Pass Jobs Bill, Not 'Now' But This Month."  The bill states that President Obama wants to raise taxes on higher-income taxpayers and reduce those of lower-income taxpayers. It will raise two trillion in revenue.  Obama said that he wanted to know what republicans thought of the bill, they responded by telling the President they sent out a memo weeks ago. Obama has been saying for weeks "pass this bill now," and it seems that he has settled for the end of October.

The title of this article was intriguing. The fact that the President took the pressure of off Congress to pass this bill was interesting because he has been pressing them to pass it for the last three weeks. I do not agree with all of the ways he proposed to use the money. I do not think it should be used to support unemployed people, I do however think that it should be used help them acquire a new job. I chose this article because I believe something as serious as taxes should not be pushed to be approved quickly.

A Possible New Government Fanatic!

After reading the assigned chapters for this week, I have come to the conclusion that I have a conservative political perspective.  Before beginning this class I did not have any views on politics because everyone I knew did not like to discuss politics.  When I signed up for this class I had every intention to learn the material, but I never thought that it would interest me as much as it has already.  I am looking forward to being able to read, ask questions, and comment my classmate's blogs in the near future.   I am also hoping to be able to hold my own in a discussion or possibly even a debate!