How the Legalization of Drugs will Reduce Crime free essay sample

Argues that the government would save money and prevent crimes if drugs were legalized. This paper examines a number of crime cases and how they could have been avoided if drugs were legalized. The author compares the legalization of drugs with prohibition and the anti-phosphate laws. The paper details the harm that illegalizing drugs cause our society as well as the advantages of the medicinal uses of marijuana. Many people know that most crime in America is directly related to drugs. What most people fail to understand is that there would be no need for most of these crimes if drugs were legal. Why do people have to steal to support their drug habit? Because drugs are expensive. The average cocaine dealer has to spend around ten thousand dollars a week to support his habit. But the pharmaceutical cost of drugs is only about 2% of its street value.[i]

Welfare Reform in the United States

Welfare Reform in the United States Welfare reform is the term used to describe the U.S. federal government’s laws and policies intended to improve the nation’s social welfare programs. In general, the goal of welfare reform is to reduce the number of individuals or families that depend on government assistance programs like food stamps and TANF and help those recipients become self-sufficient. From the Great Depression of the 1930s, until 1996, welfare in the United States consisted of little more than guaranteed cash payments to the poor. Monthly benefits uniform from state to state were paid to poor persons mainly mothers and children regardless of their ability to work, assets on hand or other personal circumstances. There were no time limits on the payments, and it was not unusual for people to remain on welfare for their entire lives. By the 1990s, public opinion had turned strongly against the old welfare system. Offering no incentive for recipients to seek employment, the welfare rolls were exploding, and the system was viewed as rewarding and actually perpetuating, rather than reducing poverty in the United States. The Welfare Reform Act The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 A.K.A. The Welfare Reform Act represents the federal governments attempt to reform the welfare system by encouraging recipients to leave welfare and go to work, and by turning over primary responsibility for administering the welfare system to the states. Under the Welfare Reform Act, the following rules apply: Most recipients are required to find jobs within two years of first receiving welfare payments.Most recipients are allowed to receive welfare payments for a total of no more than five years.The states are allowed to establish family caps that prevent mothers of babies born while the mother is already on welfare from receiving additional benefits. Since enactment of the Welfare Reform Act, the role of the federal government in public assistance has become limited to overall goal-setting and setting performance rewards and penalties. States Take Over Daily Welfare Operations It is now up to states and counties to establish and administer welfare programs they believe will best serve their poor while operating within the broad federal guidelines. Funds for welfare programs are now given to the states in the form of block grants, and the states have much more latitude in deciding how the funds will be allocated among their various welfare programs. State and county welfare caseworkers are now tasked with making difficult, often subjective decisions involving welfare recipients qualifications to receive benefits and ability to work. As a result, the basic operation of the nations welfare system can vary widely from state to state. Critics argue that this causes poor people who have no intention of ever getting off of welfare to migrate to states or counties in which the welfare system is less restrictive. Has Welfare Reform Worked? According to the independent Brookings Institute, the national welfare caseload declined about 60 percent between 1994 and 2004, and the percentage of U.S. children on welfare is now lower than it has been since at least 1970. In addition, Census Bureau data show that between 1993 and 2000, the percentage of low-income, single mothers with a job grew from 58 percent to nearly 75 percent, an increase of almost 30 percent. In summary, the Brookings Institute states, Clearly, federal social policy requiring work backed by sanctions and time limits while granting states the flexibility to design their own work programs produced better results than the previous policy of providing welfare benefits while expecting little in return.

Apple Case Analysis Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Apple Case Analysis - Term Paper Example Though Apple may be thriving on its success in different segments specially its non-PC segment however, it is confronting with certain issues which can critically affect its operations in the future. Since late 1990s, the overall share of Apple in personal computers market is consistently below 5% which is far below than Apple’s traditional competitors. It seems that the buyers of Apple are too much focused on its non-PC products and consumers are willing to buy those products. The competitive products against Apple Mac are reasonably priced therefore consumers tend to prefer them over Mac due to price related variables. Further, technology is changing fast in the area where Apple is operating and historically firms tend to lose if they don’t keep up with the changes in technology. Whether Apple will be able to keep pace with this technology is something which everybody likes to explore. Situation Analysis External Analysis Apple’s competition is of international nature in its Mac segment of personal computers wherein it sells its PCs either through its own flagship stores, electronic retailors as well as through its website. The overall range of personal computers of Apple includes desktops, laptops as well as smaller mini notebooks. There can be different factors which may at play and can directly affects the way Apple operates in the industry. It is critical to note that Generation Y is becoming technology oriented with ownership of at least one PC is considered as essential because PC is now a days being used not only for entertainment purposes but for improving the productivity as well as to have access to information. What however, has changed over the period of time is the fact that consumers tend to favor those manufacturers which conserve the environment in their overall manufacturing process. The reusability of the material as well as its ability of not harming the environment is what is making the difference. It is also critical to note that the overall revenue of the industry is on rise since last decade except a slight dip during 2009. It may therefore can be safely assumed that industry is growing and there is relatively better potential for the existing players to expand with little bit of more innovation and creativity. A Porter Five Forces Analysis of Personal Computer Industry would suggest that buyers have higher bargaining power because of low switching cost. Suppliers also tend to have higher bargaining power due to technological sophistication as well as expertise they held in terms of providing the required hardware and software components to manufacture a personal computer. Providers such as Intel tend to have monopoly over certain critical components required to manufacture a PC and therefore tend to have more bargaining power. The overall threat of new substitutes is relatively low because industry is dominated by large players and the overall capital expenditure required is relatively high. Threats of substitutes can be significant especially in the wake of latest changes in the technology allowing smaller and compact tablet PCs to emerge as alternatives. Apple’s own IPAD is considered as a gadget which can actually kill personal computers therefore going forward there can be significant threats of substitutes. As a result of the technological developments and new market dynamics, the overall rivalry has intensified