Friday, January 24, 2020

Double and Triple Taxation Must be Eliminated :: Expository Exemplification Essays

Double and Triple Taxation Must be Eliminated President George Bush states that "it's unfair to tax money twice." This statement is actually an example of normative economics and only describes an opinion. It cannot be proven because the term "unfair" is relative to different people; however, not many people would dare to disagree. Especially if the double tax was not aimed only at the large corporations or the richest 10% of the nation but at every hardworking American who brings home a paycheck. Even worse, many of these Americans do not even realize the "double tax," and sometimes even "triple tax," that is imposed on them. Currently, large corporations are required to be taxed a certain percentage of all of their profits. This includes the money from which dividends are derived. When stock holders obtain the dividends from these corporations, the government counts this as individual income and is taxed once again. Six percent of the population would benefit from abolishment of this "double tax." However, the largest part of the income that is taxed twice is the income from the worker's paycheck. Opposed to the 6 percent of dividend holders, this affects every working American. The income is first taxed as a whole and then Social Security and Medicare tax is also deducted. The money that was for Medicare and Social Security is never seen but is counted as if the individual had an opportunity to spend it. What is worse is much of the Social Security money is received from retirees who are again taxed on the income, creating a "triple tax." For Social Security recipients, there is a fixed amount of income allowed to go untaxed but is taxed once exceeded. However, these base amounts do not change with inflation which creates more and more people who are "unfairly" taxed. Also, this "triple tax" is paid all by the same person whereas the dividend tax is shared by both corporations and stockholders. This double tax is imposed on far more people who make much less money than the di vidend holders. The Social Security tax on a worker's paycheck can only be implemented on a certain amount of income, creating a maximum base amount. This base amount does rise with inflation. Therefore, as income increases, the Social Security tax actually decreases. Those who make less money pay a larger percentage of their income to the government through the Social Security tax than the wealthy class does.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

History of Hippies and the Counter Culture Movement Essay

The origin of the word â€Å"hippie† derives from â€Å"hipster† which was first coined by Harry Gibson in 1940 in a song titled â€Å"Harry the Hipster† (as Harry referred to himself). Hipsters were beatniks who had moved into New York City’s Greenwich Village. Beatniks were followers of the Beat Generation literary movement who through their writings, promoted anti-conformist attitudes and ideals. The first clearly used instance of the term â€Å"hippie† occurred on September 5, 1965 in the article â€Å"A New Haven for Beatniks† by San Francisco journalist Michael Fallon (who was writing about the Blue Unicorn coffeehouse). Similar counter culture movements had occurred in Germany between 1896 and 1908. Known as Wandervogel (which translates roughly to â€Å"migratory bird†), the youth movement arose as a countercultural reaction to the urbanization that was occurring in Germany at the time. Wandervogel youth opposed traditional German values and forms of entertainment and instead emphasized amateur music and singing, creative dress, and communal outings involving hiking and camping. They were a back to the earth generation who yearned for the simple, sparse, back to nature spiritual life of their ancestors. In later years, the Wandervogel Germans immigrated to the United States where they opened many West Coast area health food stores. Many moved to Southern California. Over time other Americans adapted the beliefs and practices of the Wandervogel youth. Songwriter Eden Ahbez wrote a hit song called Nature Boy that was inspired by the Wandervogel follower, Robert Bootzin. The song helped popularized health consciousness, yoga, and organic food throughout the United States.

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Relationship between culture and identity Free Essay Example, 1000 words

Tentatively, the notion and aspect of culture holds that the beliefs of one society are unique and cannot be shared or cannot overlap to the next. Culture therefore becomes the defining factor that shapes the worth and value of a people. The very basics and tenets that determine a person or a thing. All human beings in the world are unique from the next only on the basis of their culture. For instance, the things that may be acceptable and pleasant to Americans may be a lot less in Africa or China. Therefore, the overriding beliefs and principles that a people value and define them may not be acceptable or permissible in Africa or Asia. Culture is also learnt and taught to people by their relatives and friends in a community. It is common to notice that people in a society or a community would share culture and beliefs. The term identity in its sense and aspect refers to a condition or a situation of being a thing or being a person. It also refers to the phenomenon or the qualities and properties that make a person to be known or recognizable. We will write a custom essay sample on Relationship between culture and identity or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now In all aspects and fairness, it is to mention that the sense of belonging or awareness that makes a person or something to be unique and distinct. For instance, it is important and worth the properties and characteristics of a person are unique and innate. This argument and line of thought implies that those characteristics and properties are unchangeable and cannot be mistaken. Identity is in born and it is unchangeable or cannot be learnt by one person to the next. In principle, identity is a deep within a person and the basics or tenets of a person cannot be mistaken or shared with the next. Thus, the properties and qualities that define the identity of a person are certain and specific to that person alone and another person can never learn or share the characteristics of a human being or person. For instance, if a person is funny or kind in nature the kindness is unique and cannot be shared with another person (Kakar 24). The properties of kind ness or being funny can only be explained or could only hold as true for such a person. Culture may affect people’s identity, but it cannot determine one’s identity. This is to mention that culture could be held by people with commonalities such as being of the same society. Therefore, if people who belong to the same area or same language belong to the same geographic area learn and acquire modes of life and their ways of living. For instance, something such as a language can be used for communication by people pf a tribe, country or locality and then that identifies and sets them apart from the rest.