The Power of Religion Essay Example for Free

The Power of Religion Essay In a very rapidly evolving economy and society the power of religion, culture and politics are making a major effect on the world that everyone today calls home. The power of religion, culture and politics relate to the post colonial literary lens and can be synced into creating the definition of what the post colonial literary lens means. In the New York Times bestseller written by John Updike titled Terrorist, the post colonial lens is evident throughout the novel as there is a continuous struggle of religion, culture and politics. The power of religion and culture is shown as individuals are willing to risk their lives for their own religion. In the United States of America members of the Muslim religion are not always treated as equally as the average American and this creates a struggle. The effects and struggles are shown throughout the novel from three of the main characters Ahmad Mulloy, Jack Levy and Shaikh Rashid. Ahmad Mulloy is an eighteen year old boy who is about to graduate high school and is strongly influenced by his Muslim religion and background beliefs. Jack Levy is the guidance councilor at the school that Ahmad attends and sees the intelligence in Ahmad when others do not including Ahmad himself. Shaikh Rashid is the leader of the local mosque that Ahmad attends frequently for advice and to pray. Through these three very different characters the post colonial lens is shown in different ways. At the beginning of the novel it is evident that the Muslim religion is not welcomed and appreciated in the American society of Patterson, New Jersey where Ahmad has been raised. Ahmad has a hatred for his mother Teresa Mulloy who raised him from a child, but on the flip side he idolizes his absent father who left Ahmad and his mother when he was only three years old. The power of the Muslim religion on Ahmad is present right from the beginning of the novel as he has sexual impulses towards another girl at his high school named Joryleen. The power of the Muslim religion on Ahmad can be seen when â€Å"Ahmad knows it is a sin to be vulgar towards his own god and that is why his sexual impulses for Joryleen dissipated,† (Updike, 18). Ahmad had sexual impulses towards a fellow schoolmate Joryleen who he had a crush on but God instructed him to repress them as it is a sin to have thoughts like this occupying your head. The power of religion is shown as he forces himself to give up thoughts that make him happy and excites him because it is not welcomed by the God in which he finds himself in the arms of. Moving through the novel Ahmad who is a very intelligent young adult has a desire to be a truck driver as he is convinced that it is a practical skill of good merit. Ahmad is also very frightened by the thoughts that continuing his academic studies in high school will strengthen his occasional religious doubt. While Ahmad is sitting in class his thoughts are doubtful, â€Å"sitting in class listening to his fellow classmates discuss what they are doing on the weekend, he realizes that he is not doing as much to keep up with his religion as he did in the past,† (Updike, 64). Ahmad has been in school and is realizing that the effects of an American public high school is changing his views on his religion and in his mind he believes he is betraying his God and this frightens him. He realizes tha t he needs to get out of school because it is manipulating him into a non-Islamic minded American like all of the others. He decides to drop out of school and become a truck driver and focus more on his religion and practicing the Muslim religion and this is why he begins going to a local mosque frequently. Moving on towards the ending of the novel Ahmad has become a very big believer in the Muslim religion and it is overpowering his thoughts on what is politically right and right in his religion. Ahmad’s involvement in the local mosque that he attends has got him involved in a terrorist plot against American infidels or non-Muslims. Shaikh Rashid who is the leader of the mosque Ahmad visits frequently begins going through the terrorist plot â€Å"Ahmad you will be driving the truck that is going to be used to blow up the Lincoln Tunnel under the Hudson River,† (Updike, 196). Ahmad is willing to risk his life by blowing himself up in the blast of the Lincoln Tunnel for the Muslim religion he believes in and stands so strongly behind. The power and impact of others and God on Ahmad is evident in showing how the power of religion is used and shown in the novel as not many people are willing to go to the extent of killing themselves to prove that they are true to their religion and beliefs. Throughout the novel Ahmad goes from losing his beliefs in the Muslim religion to realizing that his religion is what sets him free from everybody else and it is what he cares so strongly about. Moving throughout the novel and after Ahmad had realized that he needs to put more focus into his Muslim religion he meets a man named Shaikh Rashid. Shaikh is Ahmad’s imam at the local mosque that Ahmad begins to attend and his visits become more frequent as he gets closer to Shaikh. This man worked as Ahmad’s imam and mentor and this kept Ahmad going back and back to the mosque more frequently as he liked to associate himself with Shaikh. A good time in the novel where this is shown is when Ahmad left school to go to the mosque, â€Å"the streets were empty as everybody was in class learning and as Ahmad was about to learn more about himself,† (104). Shaikh was a great mentor for Ahmad and this is shown as he would give up going to school to further his beliefs in the Muslim religion. Shaikh agrees with Ahmad’s decision to give up going to school and focus on his religion because he also agreed that by continuing the opportunity of going to school it wou ld further corrupt his mindset on the Muslim religion. This would occur because Ahmad would have more American based beliefs pushed into his mind every day at the public high school he was enrolled in. Continuing deeper into the novel Shaikh found Ahmad a job with a furniture company called Excellency Home Furnishings and at this point Ahmad began trusting Shaikh more and more as he was helping him move on from high school. Shaikh announced the news to Ahmad about him finding him the job at Excellency Home Furnishings and this lead to Ahmad being more independent and without his mother. Ahmad shows this when he says, â€Å"My mother has tried to strip me down of my true Muslim desires for her own comfort,† (141). Shaikh has made Ahmad believe that his mother was a bad influence on him as it is evident that she did not put any focus into his background and where he came from. Ahmad does not feel the need for his mother anymore and begins being more independent because his mother is the only person in his life and she does not believe in the Muslim religion. To Ahmad this means that it is just him and the people he knows from the mosque now as he sees them as more caring towards him than his own mother. The power of Ahmad’s religion has pushed him right out of his mother’s arms and into the arms of fellow Muslims at the mosque. Shaikh turns out to be a very manipulative person and has mentored Ahmad for his own benefit and the job at the furniture company just turns out to be part of the plan. Shaikh manipulates Ahmad to participate in the terrorist bomb plot to blow up the Lincoln Tunnel under the Hudson River. Shaikh has gotten Ahmad taken over by the Muslim religion and says, â€Å"Already you have lived longer than many martyrs in Iran and Iraq,† (195). Shaikh has used the power of religion to manipulate Ahmad into participating in the terrorist plot and sacrificing his own life. The power of the Muslim religion has taken Ahmad fully over and it had been pressured upon him by Shaikh who is also a strong believer. Ahmad has felt let down by both of his parents and feels as if there is no life left in him; this is his calling to be a true Muslim and to prove that he is a pure believer. Shaikh used the power of religion to get a young adult to sacrifice his life for something that he himself was to coward to do alone. Throughout the novel Shaikh uses the power of religion to manipulate a young adult to do things he never would have done on his own. The power of the Muslim religion is proven when Ahmad follows through on the sacrifice of his life even after he finds out that is was staged. Lastly, the power of religion on Ahmad can also be seen through the interactions with the guidance councilor of the high school where Ahmad was attending. Jack Levy is an American Jew who had abandoned practicing his religion earlier on in his life. Jack in the novel showed that he cared for Ahmad quite a bit after visiting his mother to try and get her support in pushing Ahmad to further educate himself at the college level as he is very intelligent. Jack comes across as a nice and caring guy as he is trying to help Ahmad make the right choice in his life as shown when he goes to talk to his mother Teresa Mulloy â€Å"hello Ms. Mulloy, I am Jack Levy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (176). Jack and Ahmad’s mother both agreed into trying to push Ahmad towards going to college but Ahmad disagreed. He thought about what abandoning his religion got Jack and it got him nowhere, he became one of many Americans who is in an unhealthy marriage and lives every day of his life facing coming home to an o bese wife. To Ahmad he cannot abandon his religion because putting more belief into it has changed who he is and how he does things. He is not risking of getting this happiness and freedom that he sees in the Muslim religion taken from him by going to college. Moving on into the conflict between Jack and Ahmad, each of them learn more about each other and many things come as surprise to both of them. One of the things that Ahmad learns about Jack is that he has been having an affair with his mother for the past three months. Ahmad learns this when Jack tries to have an honest conversation with him and says, â€Å"I have been having an affair with your mother for the last three months,† (213). This is the last string for Ahmad as he sees that Jack abandoning his religion has turned him into a sinner and a cheater as he cheated on his wife. The last thing that Ahmad wants is to turn out like Jack and share the same American non-Islamic beliefs. At this point Jack realizes that what he has just told Ahmad has pushed him further away and his mind more on continuing his religious practice. The power of the Muslim religion on Ahmad has him unwilling to turn into and die a sinner and thus is why he continues in his terrorist plot. Coming towards the end of the novel Ahmad is not looking back and has no regrets. He continues his trek to blow up the Lincoln Tunnel under the Hudson River. Nothing can stop him at this point and this is seen when â€Å"Ahmad while approaching the meeting point in the bomb-laden truck does not see his accomplices,† (274). On the day of the planned terrorist plot Ahmad’s accomplices are not at the planned meeting place but the mission must continue in Ahmad’s mind. Ahmad avoids being arrested by federal agents and continues his suicide mission alone as he has no intentions of turning around. Jack hears about this planned plot and tries to stop Ahmad but is ignored as Ahmad drives past him. At this point for Ahmad it is sacrificing his life because to him it is the right thing to do as his God is telling him to do it. He had two choices to continue the mission or to stop and turn out like the other American non-Islamic people and he did not want to turn out like them. The power of religion upon Ahmad is very evident and Jack Levy is used to show that nobody could stop Ahmad as the power of his beliefs caused him to get involved with criminal activity but it is what the Muslim God wanted for him. Finally, the aspects of the post colonial lens such as the power of religion, culture and politics are very evident in this novel. The power behind the belief in the Muslim religion is shown through Ahmad as the novel progresses and it is evident that no religion should be challenged. The struggle of American non-Islamic citizens on a true believer of the Islamic Muslim religion is seen throughout the novel. Evident characters in the novel that fall victim to these struggles are Ahmad, Shaikh and Jack. Ahmad was the biggest person in the novel that was influenced by the Muslim religion and proves that religion is very powerful as shows the willingness to sacrifice his life for his God. Shaikh is the main person involved in Ahmad’s life as he taught him a lot about himself and motivated him also. Although seen the motivation not always to be a good thing in his mind it was right, he strongly believed that. Jack is the one who saw well in Ahmad but failed to be able to help him because at this point Jack was only fueling Ahmad’s terrorist plot activity. Throughout the novel the power of religion surprises everybody and it is proof that nobody should challenge another person’s beliefs because it is infuriating and this is shown through Ahmad’s activities towards the end of the novel. Works Cited Updike, John. Terrorist. New York: The Random House Publishing Group. 2006. 310.

How to end a relationship Essay Example for Free

How to end a relationship Essay Ending a relationship is one of the hardest processes in the development of any bond between two friends. Ending a relationship especially when it is intimate is the most difficult thing to do. Starting a relationship is far much easier than bringing it to a close. Most relationships have ended in violence ( verbal and otherwise) and sometimes even in suicide or murder because most people are unable to cope with the pain associated with it. Most people would prefer suffering than parting ways with their friends or potential life partners. Before ending a relationship it is very important first to do a critical analysis of the reasons of ending the relationship and be certain that the only solution to the problems is calling it quits all together. Therefore one should think twice before making emotional decisions that will back fire much later. (Pushpa Pal Singh) After being certain of ending the relationship, it is equally important to prepare adequately of what you are going to say and the reasons of terminating it, this will help in facing the other partner who is bound to enquire of the reasons. (Pushpa Pal Singh) Ending a relationship can sometimes be dangerous and may result to physical assault, therefore you should strive as much as possible to remain calm and not let emotions drive you. (Pushpa Pal Singh) Ending a relationship also calls for the use of the right approach; this means that you should not use the phone, note or email to end it, being available physically would suffice because you would meet the other partner face to face and avoid the danger of being stalked or confronted that may result to physical attack. (Pushpa Pal Singh) Finally, as much as possible the relationship should not end on a harsh note; rather strive as much as possible to remain friends. Therefore the process should be some sort of relief for you and your partner when the relationship ends on a happy note. It is imperative to assure your partner that ending the relationship will not interfere with you remaining friends and you are going to keep in touch. (Pushpa Pal Singh) Works Cited Pushpa Pal Singh: How to end a relationship in 4 ways: Retrieved on 20th May 2008 from http://EzineArticles. com/? expert=Pushpa_Pal_Singh

Ineffective Unworkable Stability Growth Pact

Ineffective Unworkable Stability Growth Pact Abstract The paper presented provides a discussion and evaluation of the functioning of the fiscal discipline instrument; it was designed in the early 1990s for inclusion in the Maastricht Treaty, refined in 1997 with the creation of the Stability Growth Pact (hereafter, ‘SGP), and reformed in 2005. Assuming that we need it for reasons rehearsed in literature, the SGP will be evaluated and discussed in relation to its effectiveness to date. Although case law is not studied extensively, a brief overview of the SGP crisis in 2003 will be provided, followed by a legal/economic analytical framework perspective with the SGP examined under the lens of soft and hard law primarily. With the legal principles exposing the economics behind the SGP, the rules and discretion debate is followed supporting evidence that the current framework has proved to be inadequate. The methodology continues to analyse the SGP framework with a particular focus on the economic crisis of Greece. The lessons illumin ated from this particular case study will further provide possible recommendations to help the SGP become a more effective regime, in face of ageing populations and a need for growth enhancing forms. 1. Introduction While monetary policy is delegated to the European Central Bank (ECB) who face a challenge of convincing speculators that they are serious about the maintaining of exchange rate stability and that they will not use the option of devaluing (Jacquet 1998), fiscal policy remains in the hands of national authorities. Member States (MS) should however, according to the Treaty on European Union (hereafter, Maastricht) comply with the principle of sound public finances. To ensure this, the Treaty presents a no bail-out clause which prohibits the ECB, and other nations of rescuing a MS in financial trouble. This was further protected by the introduction of the Stability Growth Pact (SGP) which further specified rules and procedures. A primary source of European Union law is provided for by the power-giving EU treaties which set broad policy goals and establish institutions that, amongst other things, can enact legislation in order to achieve these goals. The SGP is precisely this further legislation that is required to give force and credibility to the Treaty. The legislative acts of the EU may come in two forms; directives and regulations. In the case of the SGP, it consists of two council regulations 1466/97 and 1467/97 which are directly applicable and binding in all MSs without the need for any further domestic legislation. The fundamental objective for the SGP is to identify excessive deficits and end them as soon as possible[1]. However, the SGP, in its original, reformed and current form is not effective. Whilst initiating debt and deficit cuts, it fails to stimulate and enhance growth. It has no end to criticisms in applying fiscal discipline. This has led to not only the SGP crisis facing the European Court of Justice in 2003 where the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) failed to impose sanctions on delinquent MSs but more significantly the recent crisis of Greece, where the failure of the SGP to discipline their budgetary discipline has led to spiralling debts forcing the EU to possibly ‘eat its own words in relation to the ‘no bail-out clause. This not only undermines the credibility of the SGP as a framework, but calls into question the functioning of the European Monetary Union as a whole. With the pact being described as an operational recipe and repeatedly being consi dered as too weak, will this finally spur policy-makers into producing a much harder pact? 2. Designing, Building and Naming the Ship From Maastricht to SGP[2] The aim of the following chapter is to provide a brief focused review of how the SGP framework was formed. The debate leading up to the creation of the SGP began long before the Maastricht treaty was signed in 1992. After the experience of the 1970s and 1980s it became clear that a new focus was required on medium term stability and fiscal discipline, and it became certain that there was a need for institutional mechanisms. In particular, the absence of a fiscal rule meant that the free rider problem was feared as MS may be tempted to run excessive deficits in the expectation that the Monetary Union will bail them out (Begg Schelkle, 2005). Later, this became the one of the most compelling rationales for the SGP; to prevent the European Central Bank (ECB) from being pressurised for an inflationary bail out (Eichengreen Wyplosz, 1998). In 1989, The Delors Committee composed of central bankers reported that economic and fiscal decisions â€Å"would have to be placed within an agreed macroeconomic framework and be subject to binding procedures and rules† (Delors Report, 1989). This would also help to avoid differences in public sector borrowing requirements between MSs and present obligatory constraints on the size of budget debt and deficits (Delors Report, 1989), therefore limiting the use of fiscal policy itself. This not only combined but reflected both the Keynesian coordination and fiscal discipline arguments. The vital question was how? The European Union (EU) was faced with key players representing different rationales. Whilst France wanted an ‘economic government the Germans central focus was on price stability, and they were adamant that excessive deficits must be avoided. Thus the result was the Treaty on European Union 1992. Whilst Article 99 states that MSs shall regard their economic policies as a matter of common concern and shall coordinate them with the Council, Article 104 states that â€Å"Member States shall avoid excessive government deficits†. The Treaty requires MSs to satisfy two fiscal convergence criteria to qualify fully as EMU members: to keep general budget deficit/GDP below 3% and nominal gross debt/GDP below 60% (Article 104c Protocol) (hereafter the ‘rules of the SGP). Furthermore, the excessive deficit procedure (EDP) is defined and shaped by the interaction between the Council and the Commission. For Euro MSs, this can lead to financial sanctions because of possible negative spillover occurring throughout the Monetary Union as a result of established excessive deficits. However the procedure, as laid down by the Treaty, is in no sense mechanistic. Ultimately it leaves the discretion of whether to take action to the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN). The EDP protects MSs from action in the form of ‘forgiveness clauses which accommodate deviations from the rules, for example resulting from an idiosyncratic shock, given that MSs meet specified conditions. This means MSs are still able to participate in EMU (Article 104(c) 2a Article 104(c) 2b). For the debt ratio rule, the escape clause is ambiguous in its wording as the ‘satisfactory pace for approaching the reference value has not been defined and this has been interpret ed very freely and at the discretion of each MS. It has proved difficult to devise a formal rule covering all possible events. It was interesting to note, that the SGP provided a further detailed specification regarding the interpretation of the deficit ratio emphasising the importance placed on it, yet it remained silent on the debt criterion. This can be interpreted as the SGP effectively overlooking the debt/GDP ratio as being unimportant in the application of fiscal discipline. As Maastricht aimed at bringing into line the states whose fiscal history in previous periods had given rise to problems, Maastricht offered a great incentive of joining EMU successfully.[3] However, pessimists worried that ‘Maastricht fatigue would set in once countries were admitted to EMU. It was thought that countries had been forced to suck their stomachs in to squeeze into Maastrichts tightly tailored trousers, but upon EMU entry, they would expel their breath violently (Eichengreen 1997). Beyond doubt, a further mechanism was required to ensure that MSs sustained compliance. The EU faced two options; they could either continue to rely on voluntary agreements where MSs agreed to meet convergence criteria after EMU was fully operational or the EU could impose explicit rules that would elaborate on and give further instructions from Maastricht. Although the introduction of the SGP implied that the EU chose the latter, it soon came to light that in fact the EU had implicitly chosen the former. The Original Stability and Growth Pact Prior to the introduction of the Euro, the German government became extremely anxious about giving up the reputable Deutschmark in favour of the new single currency that would include fragile economies who lacked stability culture. Germany already maintained a low inflation policy, and through the SGP the German government hoped to limit the pressure other MSs could exert on the European economy. They hoped to remove the margin for discretion left by Article 104 of Maastricht by ensuring that the EDP would be implemented according to a predetermined timetable and the eventual sanctions would be levied according to a predetermined formula (Costello, 2001). However such an automatic sanctioning mechanism was considered inappropriate by some MSs. In 1996, the SGP was finally concluded[4] as being â€Å"far less mechanical than the initial proposal† (Fischer et al 2006). Based on two council regulations, it took the force of law, with decisions to be taken within the original standard legislative framework of the Treaty. Fiscal policy remained decentralised but the SGP hoped to combine restraint with flexibility, whilst representing a backbone of fiscal discipline in EMU to primarily address negative spill-overs from MSs (Fischer et al 2006). Although the Commission reserved its ‘right of initiative, the Council ultimately retained discretion in making decisions within an overall rule based framework. Whilst some argued that the SGP was â€Å"no more than a clear affirmation of Article 4† (Jacquet 1998), others suggested that the SGP builds on the Maastricht provisions (Fischer et al 2006), by presenting a monitoring process, based on Article 99, which combines surveillance through stability programmes and a quasi automatic warning system for countries suffering from excessive deficits based on Article 104, often referred to as the ‘preventive and ‘corrective arm. The preventive arm requires Euro members to submit stability programmes while non-Euro members present convergence programmes. Both are required to include the medium term objective (MTO), and if applicable, an adjustment path towards it. The MTO is required to be ‘close to balance or in surplus and the rationale is to ensure sustainable fiscal positions in the long run whilst also creating sufficient room for fiscal policy to smooth out fluctuations in the short run without violating the 3% deficit ceiling as specified in the SGP regulations. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that although the programmes must be submitted to the Commission, it may be examined by the ECOFIN Council which may choose to make its opinion public, and this can be understood as ‘naming and shaming. In addition, if the Council forecasts a deviance from the budgetary position it may choose to address a recommendation to the respective MS. However this is not obligatory, highlighting the Coun cils power as it can take it upon itself to apply peer pressure. The corrective arm however, in contrast to Maastricht, provides for a much stricter and formal procedure, designed with a rigorous course of action set with time limits, to enforce fiscal discipline in the SGP (Dutzler Hable 2005). Whilst an excessive deficit is established upon a breach of the 3% deficit or 60% debt rule under the Treaty provisions, the SGP nonetheless focuses on the 3% deficit ceiling. This is arguably, a mistake on the part of the SGP creators. The inability of monitoring deficits due to difficulty in time lags means that data is imprecise. It can take more than four years to detect disobedience reliably, which means that disciplining MSs is even more unlikely.[5] Therefore, focusing on the debt/GDP ratio would be more sensible. After all, it is the total debt stock that needs to be financed. Focusing on the short term requirement does not do much in preventing MSs from getting themselves into situations where they may need to be rescued as the Greek experience illustrates. Because debt is a persistent stock and not a flow, it can help policymakers in nation states to choose more suitable and reasonable plans, which will help lower the probability of nations facing a crisis such as the one faced by Greece. The persistence of a debt will help give governments an incentive to keep debt at lower levels in order to be able to adjust to unforeseen circumstances more ea sily. There is a question of how to set that debt limit; but that can easily be done using the empirical work of Reinhart and Rogoff (2009), and others, on the links between debt and growth rates. Nevertheless, the EDP clarified the following. Firstly, the ‘exceptional circumstances are defined as ‘an annual fall of real GDP of at least 2% meaning that countries will be automatically exempt from further action. Furthermore, a fall of between 0.75% and 2% may be deemed exceptional if MS provide evidence. The deadline for correction of excessive deficits should be completed in the year following its identification unless there are ‘special circumstances; these were not defined. As the rules in the SGP are insufficiently flexible, they allow for breaches that ultimately may undermine the operation of the SGP. However, because the procedural steps clarify that the timing between reporting a deficit above 3% GDP and imposition of sanctions should be no more than 10months, it means that, if no corrective action is taken in adequate time to correct the deficit by the year following its identification, sanctions will be imposed. Financial sanctions will be in the for m of non-remunerated deposits which will take the value of 0.2% of GDP and rise by one-tenth of the excess deficit up to a maximum of 0.5% of GDP. Additional deposits will be required each year until the excessive deficit is removed. If the excess is not corrected within two years the deposit will be converted into a fine; otherwise it will be returned. Ultimately, this means a MS can run excessive deficits for at least three years before their deposit is converted into a fine. Although the inability of monitoring deficits is unfortunate, the effect of legal and institutional weight given to the corrective arm means that the short term requirement of keeping government deficit below 3% is treated with much more seriousness than the preventive arm. This is ironic since in practice, the excessive deficit procedure is not properly enforced as no MS has yet been fined. The preventive arm on the other hand is enforced, yet its lack of formal and legal basis and no procedure to punish a failure to comply with the objective of a medium term balance further emphasises the lack of importance placed on the preventive arm. (Rostowski 2004). 3. Soft Law to Softer Law This chapter will provide a review of the SGP as a form of proper regulation up until the SGP crisis in 2003 which led to the consequent reforms. The hard versus soft law debate will be discussed. Difficulties facing the SGP after its Inception Whilst several Euro countries bettered their fiscal outcome by moving their budgetary positions into surplus, others such as Germany, France, Italy and Portugal remained trapped in high deficits (Fischer et al 2006). The implied emphasis on correcting deficits rather than preventing them (because on its sanctioning nature) induced a failure to achieve ‘medium term balance meaning that they had little scope to allow automatic stabilisers to operate once economic conditions deteriorated (Rostowski 2004). They were criticised as not being tuned into the pact and this failure of key MSs to respect the requirements of the SGP just a few years after its inception, triggered a heated debate regarding a potential reform on the architecture of the SGP (Fischer et al 2006). Though some may argue that countries would have faired worse had there not been a SGP[6], the operation of the pact brought to light issues which where nevertheless important. A continued period of low growth levels t riggered by the dot-com crisis in 2000, eroded budget balances to the point where fiscal policies had to become strongly pro-cyclical to respect the 3% limit (Wyplosz, 2008), highlighting the fact that the SGP encourages pro-cyclical behaviour. In addition, the SGP discouraged growth and economic reform, most importantly in the labour market. REFERENCE? Although these are major criticisms of the functioning nature of the SGP itself, whats more is that the SGP is perceived as being contradictory; although created as hard law it takes the effect of soft law. With a legally binding nature, there should be little room for discretion, however as mentioned the sanctioning is not automatically applied (Schelkle 2005) to countries who are in breach of the EDP but rather, the members of the Council are required to vote, and only by qualified majority can countries be declared to have excessive deficits (Rostowski 2004). The council composing of finance ministers from MSs, implies that not only is ECOFIN dependant but it is also partial (Schuknecht 2004). As concluded by Eichengreen and Wyplosz (1998), the SGP will in this respect have some, but not maximum, effect. As long as imposition of sanction remains a political decision in the hands of national governments, it is highly unlikely that large and influential states will be punished (Rost owski 2004). This was proven in the European Court of Justice (ECJ) crisis of 2003. Due to the fact that EU officials will be reluctant to levy fines and lose goodwill, EU decision makers will compromise, allowing the 3% deficit ceiling to be violated. MSs will be reluctant to incur fines and suffer embarrassment, and therefore governments will also compromise by modifying their fiscal policies just enough to obey the rules, and avoid forcing the EU to impose sanctions. Thus although the lack of hard law perhaps implies that the sanctions were to act as a deterrent for MSs from violating the rules, the presence of the sanctions which will ‘never be imposed provides no incentive whatsoever for countries to comply with fiscal discipline. This is not only in the best interests of the respective MS but for the best interests of EMU as a whole. Furthermore fines may adversely affect a MS, causing conditions to worsen, leading â€Å"to recrimination and dealing a blow to EU solidar ity† (Eichengreen Wyplosz 1998). It makes no sense to place emphasis on penalising MSs after the rules have been breached; rather the EU needs to do more to prevent these breaches from occurring. Not surprisingly, to date no country has yet incurred fines. Evidence suggests that the SGP has created divergence between different sized MSs (von Hagen 2005). With the three largest countries seemingly unwilling to push for underlying balance, the Pact seems to have worked well for a group of smaller countries (as well as Spain) (Annett, 2006).[7] This demonstrates that enforceability is not uniformly weak; generally small countries have respected the SGP provisions, the only exception being Portugal (Rostowski 2004). This suggests that either enforceability needs to be applied equally, or the pact must regain the support of the larger MSs, especially Germany and France who fought for the creation of the pact. Perhaps a more vital question is why the pact lost support of the key players in the EU. If governments do not believe fines will be imposed in bad times, what incentive do they have to run fiscal surpluses in good times? The following SGP crisis was therefore inevitable. The Original SGP Crisis In 2003, Germany and France established excessive deficits. However, the European Council (described as the ‘dozing watchdog in Heipertz Verdun 2004) voted to hold the EDP in abeyance as it is permitted to do so by the articles in the Maastricht Treaty, causing great uproar for the ‘existence of the pact. As described by Begg Schelkle (2004), â€Å"The ECOFIN council decision was widely interpreted as the death-knell for the Stability Growth Pact.† The Commission challenged this decision by presenting the case to the ECJ whose judgement[8] left many unanswered questions. This in turn led to legal uncertainty and the loss of credibility for the EU fiscal framework (Dutzler Hable 2005). More specifically the Council stated that France Germany had established excessive deficits. In the case of France, Council recommendations on basis of art 104(7) set a deadline for taking appropriate measures to reduce their deficit. Once the deadline was reached, the Commission observed France had not taken effective action upon the recommendations (Dutzler Hable 2005). The case of Germany differed slightly; although another deadline was established, in face of the economic slowdown facing Germany, the content of the recommendations was moderate. Upon reaching the deadline, Germany had, from the Commissions point of view, taken inadequate measures to implement Council recommendations. Thereafter the Commission issued further recommendations to the Council in order to advance with proceedings with regard to both MSs, and in particular, to take action in face of art 104(8) and art 104(9) EC respectively (Dutzler Hable 2005). Although, from the Commissions point of view, this shoul d have resulted in the Council immediately resuming the EDP (Dutzler Hable 2005), the Council upon voting, chose to suspend the EDP for both Germany and France. This decision was not unanimous; most of the smaller countries (who incidentally hold better fiscal positions) voted in favour of the Commissions recommendation, but the larger countries formed a blocking minority (Fischer et al 2006). As commented by Dutzler Hable (2005), in essence, the ECJ had to deal with two claims by the Commission. On one hand it was asked to annul the decision of the Council of not adopting the formal instruments contained in the Commissions recommendations pursuant to art 104(8) and 104 (9). On the other hand it was asked to annul the Councils conclusions, because it involved the decision to hold EDP in abeyance. The Court, in its judgement[9], demonstrated an appreciation of both parties. It ruled that the Council can and must hold the EDP in abeyance if the majority in Council does not vote to sanction the MS in question. However, it ruled in favour of the Commission in stating that the Council cannot adopt political conclusions (Dutzler Hable 2005).The judgement proved fatal to the existence of the pact as it failed to address important questions and clarify the institutional balance of powers between the Council and the Commission. It not only called into question the political willingness of countries to adhere to the prior agreed fiscal rules but it remains unsettled if the issue is to arise again in the future. Although Dutzler Hable (2005) comment that it remains unclear whether the EDP can be continued without the Councils approval, it is likely that the sanctions will never be applied without the backing of MSs as this would never be politically accepted. Therefore the question of whether the SGP effectively enforces MSs to obey fiscal rules is brought to light. The extent to which the system of fiscal surveillance and economic policy coordination binds the MSs and institutions remains unclear. The 2003 crisis called for a refocusing of the SGP and a need for political agreement opening the path to reform the SGP architecture (Begg Schelkle 2004), as supported by many of its critics. Question of Reform? To restore the credibility of the so called ‘hard-law fiscal coordination, in 2004 the Commission â€Å"suggested that an enriched common fiscal framework with a strong economic rationale would allow differences in economic situations across the enlarged EU to be better catered for and would contribute to greater credibility and ownership of the SGP in the MSs building on the culture of sound fiscal policy established in the EU over the last decade† (Commission 2006). In 2005 the reforms took place (legal provisions in EU Council (2005a,b)). The revised version arguably offers some answers to what was known as the inadequate SGP. There are changes in the preventive/corrective arms and the EDP, for example a variety of standards such as the position in the cycle, the nature of expenditure and the level of public debt must be taken into account to calculate whether a MS is in breach of the 3% deficit rule (Couere Pisani-Ferry, 2005), emphasising further flexibility. Contrastingly, there are no changes in governance. The voting methods and basic procedures remain the same, as changes to these would require modifications to the Maastricht treaty. Though the changes are welcomed (Fatas Mihov 2003), the SGP may still be identified as the ‘dog that would never bite (Heipertz Verdun 2004). For many critics, it was unruly that a softer pact was coming into existence, as a harder pact was desirable. However the Commission role has been strengthened considerably in that it can now give early policy advice and is under obligation to file a report if a budget deficit has been violated. The changes are summarized in Table 1. Original Pact Reformed Pact Preventive Rule: Medium-term Objective (MTO) All MS have an MTO of â€Å"close to balance or in surplus† Country-specific differentiation of MTO depending on debt level and potential growth, allows for 1% deficit if debt is low In case of Deviation from MTO No adjustment path or action Specified Commission can issue direct â€Å"early policy advice;† adjustment path specified as a minimum fiscal effort of 0.5% of GDP and countercyclical; structural reforms can be taken into account to allow for deviation Corrective Rule: Monitoring if Deficit Exceeds 3% No obligation for Commission to prepare report; no mitigating other relevant factors (ORF) specified Commission will always prepare report, taking into account whether deficit exceeds investment expenditure. ORF can justify temporary â€Å"excess† Debt Position No specific provisions â€Å"Sufficiently diminishing† debt can be taken into account qualitatively; Systemic pension reforms can be taken into account for five years if reform improves long-term debt position Excessive Deficit Procedure Excessive deficit must be fixed in year following identification; if not, a noninterest bearing deposit must be made with the Commission that is turned into an â€Å"appropriate size† fine if situation persists; No ‘minimal fiscal effort defined; No repetition of steps foreseen Correction can be postponed for one year if ORF applies; Minimal fiscal effort of 0.5% of GDP to reduce excessive deficit required; Deadlines for correcting deficit can be extended if necessary steps are taken or if unforeseen adverse circumstances occur Table 1: Schelkle 2007 Analysis Under Soft and Hard Law Hard law instruments can be distinguished from soft law in that they are fully binding. When MSs do not comply with these laws they are breaking the law and may be sanctioned accordingly. Contrastingly soft law instruments are negotiated in good faith and provide a new framework for cooperation between MSs. Whilst favouring openness and flexibility, policy processes follow a codified practice of benchmarking, target setting and peer review. This allows national policies to be directed towards certain common objectives. The essence of it is not to provide a single common framework but instead to share experiences and to encourage the spread of best practice. By avoiding regulatory requirements, it allows experimentation whilst fostering policy improvement and possibly policy convergence. These can be seen as managing techniques which provide means to promote policy coordination without further undermining sovereignty. An example in the general EU context is the OMC method used under t he Lisbon strategy. Whilst soft law is easy to agree on but hard to enforce, hard law instruments on the contrary are difficult to agree on but easy to enforce. According to Wessels and Linsenmann (2001), EMU introduced both hard coordination in fiscal policy in the form of the SGP and soft coordination in economic policy in the form of Broad Economic Policy guidelines (BEPG). If a country deviates from the guidelines the Council can as in the case of Ireland adopt a non-binding recommendation against the respective MS (Jacquet Pisani-Ferry 2005). Unlike the EDP, the guidelines are not supported by any sanction. However, there is a fixed format of reporting and a predetermined timetable is followed, rather than allowing for ad hoc decisions by policy makers that set the agenda for discussion and action. Therefore, upon this insight, it suggests the SGP takes the form of hard law in that it is legally binding, but soft law in that enforcement is not automatic. Of course there are m any shades of softness in the SGP framework. The preventive arm with its close to balance or surplus provision, without sanctions is rather soft. By contrast the corrective arm with the ultimate threat of sanctions comes much closer to hard law (ESB working paper 2004.)This is not effective as it implies that only when things are wrong, is it time to sanction and this is an ultimate downfall of the SGP design. It is therefore confusing that following the reforms, critics claimed that the ‘hard law institution for fiscal surveillance has become soft. Furthermore, critics claim that the SGP has become so soft that the functioning of the SGP is jeopardized (Schelkle 2007). Schelkle (2007) refutes this claim by arguing that the revised pact will be better suited in constraining MSs in their fiscal behaviour since the new rules will be perceived as binding constraints that shape domestic efforts. An apparent paradox exists; the weakening of obligation to the pact may in fact make it difficult to evade, although it implies a softening of the governance framework. Abbott et al (2000) have proposed that there are three dimensions of governance all of which characterise the degrees of legislation; obligation, delegation and precision. This allows one to compare and contrast the original SGP with the reformed version for effectiveness of instruments and for the relationship between these dimensions. Obligation has been defined as a commitment arising under rules. At the two ends of spectrum, hard law is defined as sanction-able obligations whereas soft law are norms which are too general to create specific duties. Delegation, whilst at the hard law end of spectrum would mean an international court or organization given powers to resolve a dispute, contrastingly with the soft law end, which implies diplomacy. Precision defines whether a rule indicates the type of action that needs to be taken and by whom it needs to be taken in order to comply with the rule. For example, the BEPG state the objectives, but not how these objectives could be met. As the following table summarises the changes from the original to the revised pact, it can be understood the changes were not a uniform move from hard to soft law. Original Pact Revised Pact Obligation high to medium: Quasi-automatic sanctions under EDP but political de

Animal Farm, by George Orwell :: Animal Farm Essays

Animal Farm By George Orwell Animal Farm is a story of how the animals revolted because of the way they were treated by Mr. Jones, the farmer. They felt that the farmers made all the profit, reaped all the rewards but didn't do any of the work. So they formed a government called Animalism. In Animalism, there are no owners, no rich, but no poor, workers got a better life, and all animals are equal. They had even established laws called the Seven Commandments, which were intended to give basic rights to animals and protect them from oppression. The goals of the government were also established. The goals said that everyone was equal, there would be more food and sleep for all, there was to be respect for all animals, and they would build a windmill to make life better for all. By the end of the book, all this no longer existed. The animals were getting less sleep, less food, and less respect. The windmill became a source of money for the leaders, not for all the animals. The seven commandments were gradually chan ged to suit the pigs and then there was only one Commandment left. "'Are the Seven Commandments the same as they used to be, Benjamin?' There was nothing now except for a single Commandment. It ran: All animals are equal but some are more equal than others" That single commandment made the pigs more powerful. Animalism no longer existed. At the beginning of the story, there were two leaders, Snowball and Napoleon, who were sharing power. Snowball was good with words, honest, good at arguing, was inventive, and believed in technology. He stayed in touch with the animals, and wanted to make things better for them. Napoleon, on the other hand, was bad with words, dishonest, hated arguing, and was not inventive. He wanted to be above all the animals; he didn't care about making things better. He only believed in serving himself. In order for Napoleon to be above all the animals, he had to get Snowball out of the way. Napoleon did that by getting his dogs to scare him away so Snowball would never come back to the farm. Napoleon was now in total control of the farm and the animals. Napoleon and the pigs started acting like humans - they would drink, wear clothes, sleep in beds, fight, and walk. They did everything that they had once said was wrong.

who was right :: essays papers

who was right When white men crossed the boundary of the Missouri River, it upset the balance between the pioneers and the red men. Obviously the red men were not happy and lashed out against their white oppressors. Many just saw savages, but much of the American army saw courage and honor. Was it right for members of the army who had just maintained the union of their own society, to dismember the culture of the Native Americans? I believe it was. First of all, the army did not enjoy having to push the Indians back from the lands that the white people wanted, but then they also had to try and convert them to Christianity. The Indians retaliated against the army, but it was the United States government itself that broke the treaties that promised the Indians land and then expected the army to keep the peace through mutual trust. Military action appeared to be the only way to keep white civilians from complaining about Indian attacks on the white man's newly acquired land. An Army official named Sheridan received reports each week about the horrendous acts of violence caused by the red man. It was then that famous phrase was created "the only good Indians I ever saw were dead." There were many men like Sheridan who hated the Indians and looked down upon their senseless acts of violence. However, men like William Tecumseh Sherman had a deep respect and admiration for the enemy and his fighting skill. In fact, both Sheridan and Sherman confessed to pity and compassion for the Native Americans they had set out to destroy. Even men like General Nelson A. Miles who had personal reasons for revenge against the enemy showed a deep respect, almost reverence, for the red man. Colonel John Gibbon proclaimed that the record of white hostility and treachery would force any man to fight. Gibbon raised more questions about his own culture than he answered about his enemies. To many soldiers who had the same ideals as Gibbon, the courage and bearing of the red man suggested a purer way of life before the coming of the white men. Some men like General George Crook became more of an Indian than some Apaches. Crook's argument about the Indian violence was that their nature is responsive to treatment which assures him that it is based upon justice, truth, honesty, and common sense.

effects of television on children :: essays research papers

THE FOLLOWING DESCRIBES THE TERMS ON WHICH EBAY OFFERS YOU ACCESS TO OUR SERVICES. Welcome to eBay Inc.'s User Agreement. This Agreement describes the terms and conditions applicable to your use of our services at http://www.ebay.com and our general principles of our International affiliates. If you have any questions, please refer to our User Agreement Frequently Asked Questions at (http://pages.ebay.com/help/basics/f-agreement.html) or our User Agreement Revision Frequently Asked Questions at (http://pages.ebay.com/help/basics/uarevision1-faq.html). We may amend this Agreement at any time by posting the amended terms on our site. Except as stated below, all amended terms shall automatically be effective 30 days after we initially post them on our site. This Agreement may not be otherwise amended except in writing signed by you and eBay Inc. This agreement is effective on March 21st, 2001 for new registering users, and is otherwise effective on May 15th, 2001 for all users registered prior to March 21st, 2001. 1. Membership Eligibility. Our services are available only to individuals who can form legally binding contracts under applicable law. Without limiting the foregoing, our services are not available to minors or to temporarily or indefinitely suspended eBay members. If you do not qualify, please do not use our services. Further, your eBay account (including feedback) and User Id may not be transferred or sold to another party. 2. Fees and Services. Joining and bidding on items at eBay is free. Our Fees and Credits Policy is available (at http://pages.ebay.com/help/sellerguide/selling-fees.html) and is incorporated by reference. We may change our Fees and Credits Policy and the fees for our services from time to time. Our changes to the policy are effective after we provide you with at least fourteen (14) days' notice of the changes by posting the changes on the announcements board. However, we may choose to temporarily change our Fees and Credits Policy and the fees for our services for promotional events (for example, free listing days) and such changes are effective when we post the temporary promotional event on the announcements board. When you list an item you have an opportunity to review and accept the fees that you will be charged for the use of our listing services. We may in our sole discretion change some or all of our services at any time. In the event we introduce a new service, the fees for that service are effect ive at the launch of the service. Unless otherwise stated, all fees are quoted in U. effects of television on children :: essays research papers THE FOLLOWING DESCRIBES THE TERMS ON WHICH EBAY OFFERS YOU ACCESS TO OUR SERVICES. Welcome to eBay Inc.'s User Agreement. This Agreement describes the terms and conditions applicable to your use of our services at http://www.ebay.com and our general principles of our International affiliates. If you have any questions, please refer to our User Agreement Frequently Asked Questions at (http://pages.ebay.com/help/basics/f-agreement.html) or our User Agreement Revision Frequently Asked Questions at (http://pages.ebay.com/help/basics/uarevision1-faq.html). We may amend this Agreement at any time by posting the amended terms on our site. Except as stated below, all amended terms shall automatically be effective 30 days after we initially post them on our site. This Agreement may not be otherwise amended except in writing signed by you and eBay Inc. This agreement is effective on March 21st, 2001 for new registering users, and is otherwise effective on May 15th, 2001 for all users registered prior to March 21st, 2001. 1. Membership Eligibility. Our services are available only to individuals who can form legally binding contracts under applicable law. Without limiting the foregoing, our services are not available to minors or to temporarily or indefinitely suspended eBay members. If you do not qualify, please do not use our services. Further, your eBay account (including feedback) and User Id may not be transferred or sold to another party. 2. Fees and Services. Joining and bidding on items at eBay is free. Our Fees and Credits Policy is available (at http://pages.ebay.com/help/sellerguide/selling-fees.html) and is incorporated by reference. We may change our Fees and Credits Policy and the fees for our services from time to time. Our changes to the policy are effective after we provide you with at least fourteen (14) days' notice of the changes by posting the changes on the announcements board. However, we may choose to temporarily change our Fees and Credits Policy and the fees for our services for promotional events (for example, free listing days) and such changes are effective when we post the temporary promotional event on the announcements board. When you list an item you have an opportunity to review and accept the fees that you will be charged for the use of our listing services. We may in our sole discretion change some or all of our services at any time. In the event we introduce a new service, the fees for that service are effect ive at the launch of the service. Unless otherwise stated, all fees are quoted in U.

Consumerism & marketing Essay

The difference between needing and wanting has changed. In the past people bought products because they needed them; however by time, wanting has become the new needing. Purchasing â€Å"new goods and services with little attention to their true need, products origin, durability or the environmental consequences of manufacture and disposal† has become the new way of consuming. We do not consider why we are buying a certain product or a certain service because we feel that we need it. From a producing world we have shifted into a consumerist world. It is not about the culture, nor the tendencies of personality. With globalization and marketing people have forgotten what it is to buy what you need instead of what you think you need. The goal of marketers both local and international is to come up with marketing strategies through researches that would draw more customers to consume their services and products. According to Marken (n. d), â€Å"Consumerism has changed the rules of the game and produced the need for new strategies. By using the new rules to your advantage, you’re sure to end up on the winning side. † Marketing has taken over everything. Companies that had failed to develop effective marketing strategies end up losing to more successful businesses. To be able to construct a marketing strategy that will be helpful in their undertaking, they have to bear in mind the needs and wants of their target market. In a global context, more extensive researches are conducted to satisfy the needs of the market. It is not only the companies that have to adapt. Consumers also adapt to the changes in the market by responding to the offers. Consciously or not, the consumers had been manipulated to want the newest products in the hope that they will have a better life. Marketing has raised consumerism to what it is now, and has affected every one–male, female and even young kids. People in this country acquire goods even just for the sake of acquiring goods. This culture of consumerism, many people claim, will lead to the demise of the American society – both as they use up limited resources and abuse the capacities of their minds and body. But no matter how needed a change in the pattern of lifestyle and values may be, such will not easily take place. Consumerism is a historical phenomenon, its dynamics embedded with a number of social factors and historical events. In fact, it is social development in American society, both materially and ideologically, that gave rise to consumerism. The 1920s is usually identified as the dawn of consumerism. By this time, the industrial revolution had reached its fruitful stage, and mass production, mass distribution, and thus mass consumption are easily imagined and implemented. Indeed, that was what the owners of large industries and corporations set out to achieve. In order to do these, they designed new systems to control the full processes of production from the raw materials to the finished product. Together with the material reality that faced America in the 1920s was the marketing tool found in psychology. Advertisement campaigns are the core of this decade, shaping the mentality into one, which seek fulfillment in consumption and glorified it. The public was enticed to buy for the sake of buying more than anything else. The advertisements offered whatever one needed, wanted or just lacked. Perhaps there can be no clearer situation that demonstrated the power of advertising than during World War II. Even at a time when the nation was actually being frugal, living with recycling and rationing, advertisers worked hard to maintain the same level of consumerism. During the World War II, Americans supported their government by helping the nation economize, either by growing food in their own garden or by recycling resources for other productions. During the war even though there was not much to sell or not much available sources to buy anything, advertisers would still work on their campaigns. As everyone waited for the war to end, there came the excitement after the war. As the war ended, people were ready to forget and get back to their lives as consumers. New products were introduced during this era like aerosol spray cans or nylon. Such new products caught the attention of the consumer and created a cycle; newer products increased the willingness to buy more. One important factor that facilitated the continuity of consumerism well into the middle of the 20th century was the strategic targeting of women as main consumers. When the war ended, the family became a central part of society again, and women were pushed once more into the homes to become the dutiful wife and mother, integral to rebuilding a healthy and thriving society. The domestic role that woman had for years, and the baby boom after the war were great reasons to create new products and reasons to buy them. The increase in pregnancies and births after the war resulted in the focus of advertisers and producers. New baby products from toys to food, from clothes to books were introduced to the market. And mothers were pressured to have the best and be role models. With men as the ones who earned, women were the one who spent the money; and they spent it according to their role against men. Aside from consuming products for becoming the ideal mothers were the products for being the ideal wife and ideal housekeeper or the ideal woman. Since the early 1920’s consumerism has shifted with the help of marketing and mass production. Women who bought only their necessary needs, like cloths to make their own clothing, or meat that would be enough for the day for the whole family, went into buying the brand that stood ahead. Instead of making clothes for themselves, or having it made for them, people started to buy mass produced clothes from stores. As the quantity of items displayed in stores increased, the competition began. And there came the marketing department. The distinctions of branding, the ad campaigns, the photo shoots and the change in the concepts of beauty, need, and want are all what advertisers and marketers did. Changing one’s perception is not easy, but it is done everyday. Women who were just wives or mothers were now woman standing against their husbands or fathers. They had the opportunity to relieve themselves from their duties and add a little for their own. Now they had the opportunity to buy what they wanted or thought they needed. They had choices for kitchen appliances or furniture designs. Each magazine they bought had suggestions for fashion, make-up and hair, or for their family members. And each suggestion had one thing in common, the fact that it has to be purchased.