The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Since the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990’s, the United States’ economic clout has been rising in an unprecedented rate, remaining virtually unchallenged till the late stages of the 21st century’s first decade.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The US’s financial system by virtual of its sophistication and size is the engine of the world economic system, a fact that was evident in the 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent recession that rippled through the world economic system. In the wake of the crisis, the new administration of President Barrack Obama took over and continued economic resuscitation efforts started by former President Bush. Among the many initiatives undertaken by the current administration was the introduction of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) that Pres ident Obama signed to law in 2009. The stimulus package as it was popularly referred to was, mainly intended to stimulate the American economy through both individual and corporate tax breaks, advancement of employment benefits through expansion of the social welfare program and increased domestic spending mainly in infrastructure, energy, environment and research. Since the enactment of the act, a lot has taken place economically and different economic experts differ whether or not the act achieved its targets. To arrive at a comprehensive conclusion with the above assertion in mind, it is important to examine closely the main objectives as they were outlined by President Obama and fellow Democrats when selling the idea to the public. One of the objectives of the ARRA was to stop the recession through creation of jobs and to spur investment, effectively increasing output. Simple economics say that increased output can only be measured through overall gross domestic product growth. Most of the arguments for or against the ARRA have been partisan, based on party lines. Regardless of what one feels about ARRA, there is one aspect of the whole picture that we cannot clearly point out. Had the country taken a different path from that of ARRA, what could have been the result?Advertising Looking for research paper on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The lack of counterfactual information deprives the clean bill of health that a supporter of ARRA would give it (Page, 2011, p. 81). Nevertheless, an objective independent minded economic analyst will agree that ARRA’s net effect has been positive when measured against the common parameters that are used to gauge economic growth. Before delving further on what has changed since its ARRA’s passage, it is important to note that there is a big possibility that the economists advising the president prior to the drafting of the ARRA bill grossly underestimated the economic conditions during the financial crisis. In fact, there is consensus that the general economic outlook was far worse than initially thought. This perhaps explains the reason why there was a spike in unemployment and economic contraction in the aftermath of ARRA’s passage. Success There have been numerous reports and studies since ARRA was enacted. They include those from government, the congressional budget office and other independent institutions. While there may not be any consensus on the various aspects of the reports, the collective conclusion has been that the recession ended in 2009 (Romer, 2011, p. 53). In fact, the effects of the fiscal stimulus have been so pronounced to the point that the economy reported a 3.4% gross domestic grown in 2010, lowering the unemployment rate by one and half percentage points and adding approximately 2.7 million jobs to the economy (Mihm, 2011, p. 63). Given the sustained economic growth experienced in subs equent years, the number of jobs created since then has more than doubled (Goldstein, 2012, p.21). The above, regardless of the perspective from which anyone looks at it, is an indication of the success of ARRA. Jobs When the new Obama administration came into office, the US was losing an average of 800,000 jobs every month. The White House Council of Economic Advisers, though working at the behest of the president, is a competent body that also works for the tax payer and has a duty to tell the truth to the people especially concerning the economic outlook.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More By 2011 according to the council, ARRA had created or saved 3.6 million jobs (Goldstein, 2012, p.32). State governments had expanded their payrolls by almost 40,000 mainly through the stimulus funds they were receiving from government. Though the unemployment rate was stubbornly high in the years leading to the 2012 election, it has since fallen to sustainable single digit levels, a move that has cast a positive outlook on the general employment situation. Economists suggest a job creation rate of over 225,000 to ensure sustainable growth. Though the numbers have hardly reached that level consistently, every month since 2010 has seen positive job creation numbers a pointer to sustained economic growth momentum thanks to ARRA (Goldstein, 2012, p.35). GDP expansion Job creation and a consistently low unemployment rate are some of the major indicators of an economy in the right direction. Job growth is primarily determined by expansion of the gross domestic product. A contracting GDP indicates falling output, meaning less people are engaged in meaningful employment. That is what happened when President Obama took office in 2009. Contraction of GDP continued till 2010 when it showed signs of recovery thanks to initiatives li ke ARRA. It is important to note that ARRA rode on a $ 787 billion bill. This is a significant amount of money that when injected to the economy through increased spending on programs such as infrastructure and tax cuts creates real economic benefits. The net benefit when all factors are held constant is very significant and there is no doubt they were among the factors that propelled the economy out of the recession. It therefore makes sense to argue that ARRA made it possible for the economy to expand sooner than projected.Advertising Looking for research paper on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Conclusion As pointed out earlier, there is no telling what could have happened if the Obama administration had taken a different path in restoring the economy. However, it is also important to acknowledge that ARRA is the basis of the recovery and economic growth momentum that the country is experiencing at the moment. Regardless of one’s political leaning, it is important to acknowledge the importance of the actions that the Obama administration took especially on the extension of aid by the federal government to the local and state authorities as well as through increased spending. There is no doubt that more could have been done to pull the country out of the recession faster than it happened. In fact there is more that can be done to accelerate the economic recovery. However, credit has to be given to ARRA for providing the platform on which the current economic growth is riding on. References Goldstein, M. (2012). Recovery Act: Preliminary Observations on the Implementa tion. Los Angeles: Lippincot. Mihm, C. (2011). Recovery Act: States’ and Localities’ Use of Funds. New York, NY: Diane Publshing. Page, B (2011). Estimated Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. New York, NY: Routledge. Romer, C. (2011) Economic Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  New York, NY: Penguin Books. This research paper on The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was written and submitted by user Kyr0n to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Old Man in the Sea1 essays

Old Man in the Sea1 essays Publication: Simon and Schuster, Inc. in New York, NY. Theme: It doesnt matter if you succeed as long as you try and enjoyed the attempt. Also even if you dont succeed, its only important if you have the will to try again. If you have the will to try again good things will happen. Santiago supported this theme because for eighty-four days straight he hadnt caught one fish but day after day he would go out and try again and finally one day he caught the biggest and most beautiful fish he could dream of. He succeeded but the fish ended up getting eaten by sharks. Santiago was devastated but decided to keep on fishing. Place Setting: This book takes place in Cuba and the ocean. Time Setting: This book takes place in the early nineteen forties Point of View: This book was told in third person omniscient. I believe Hemmingway picked this point of view is because this he can show the characters emotions better and distinguish different characteristics. Santiago- The main character, an old very experienced Cuban fisherman. Despite his age he had young eyes and great determination to catch the marlin. Santiago endured a lot of pain trying to catch the marlin but wit his determination he never let go and caught the fish. Marlin the Marlin- Was an eighteen foot and beautiful fish. The fish eventually kind of became Santiagos brother. The marlin demonstrated great skill and strength for three days before being caught. Manolin- A young boy, who admired and learned to fish from Santiago. The boy cared for Santiago and refused to let him ever fish alone again. Plot: Santiago had gone eighty-four days without catching a single fish, and Manolins family had refused to let Manolin, a young boy, fish with his friend Santiago because they believed he had bad luck. The night before Santiago wa ...

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Sociology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 12

Sociology - Essay Example This globalization process has been strongly debated in the media, political and social circles for the past several years. If one includes colonialism as an ancestor of the process, one could say the debate has raged for generations. The International Monetary Fund defines globalization as â€Å"a historical process† involving â€Å"the increasing integration of economies around the world, particularly through trade and financial flows† (International Monetary Staff 2002). Globalization is typically considered a necessary and unavoidable process leading to future world economic development. However, many have criticized the process because it tends to exacerbate present inequalities that exist within and between nations, threatens the employment and living standards of individuals in all countries and prevents the natural social progress with which each of these countries have been engaged. It seems clear that even though the process is unlikely to change or to reverse , very few people are likely to benefit from the process called globalization. The ways in which many organizations conduct business have changed dramatically under the concept of globalization. It is the survival strategy of the marketplace to continuously strive to increase efficiency within the workplace by producing the greatest quantity of products with the least expenditure of resources. As globalization continues, this is also changing the way in which companies conduct business, such as through the concept of the value-added chain. â€Å"In its most basic form, a value-added chain is ‘the process by which technology is combined with material and labor inputs, and the processed inputs are assembled, marketed, and distributed† (Gereffi, Humphrey & Sturgeon, 2005). By outsourcing many activities and production processes to less developed countries and marketing to more developed countries, many corporations have also

Lorraine Hansberrys A Raisin In The Sun Essay -- essays research pap

Society in the 1959 was full of racial discrimination. White and blacks were still living in their own "areas", the public as a whole was very slow to accept the concept of mixed neighborhoods – blacks and white living together. This book, A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Vivian Hansberry, tells the story of a lower-class black family’s struggle to gain middle –class acceptance in the Southside of Chicago. The Younger family of five, four adults and one child live in a cramped apartment in one of the poorer sections of town. The dream of owning your own business and having all the money you will ever need is a goal held by many in society, then and now. Walter Lee Younger becomes obsessed with his dream of a business venture that will give him financial and social independence, after getting and losing the money that will help this dream become reality he realizes that pride and dignity are more important for him and his family. Walter is obsessed with the insurance check that the family is waiting for, ten thousand dollars, will solve all his financial and social problems. The fact that the money is really his Mama’s because of the death of his father complicates the issue. But he points out "He was my father, too!" (38). Walter wants Mama to give him the money so he can open a liquor store with two friends. He feels as if this will finally allow him the opportunity to provide all the material things, necessities and luxuries f...

Real Customer Service Problems

REAL CUSTOMER SERVICE PROBLEM This essay outlines what customer service really is and what are the problems associated with it. To understand these problems let us first understand how to define Customer service. Customer service is that process by which a company provides services, provisions to its customers during a purchase, after the purchase is done and even prior to the purchase. How important a customer is depends upon the deliverance of the type of product or service involved. The success of customer service depends upon the employees who can accustom themselves to what the customers want and give them a service based on that.Thus, if the customer is satisfied, the customer service flourishes. Further, it becomes important to understand the dilemmas that can be faced while serving a customer. The first real problem with customer service is this that, while serving the customer, organizations end up in a trap rather than actually giving the customer the substance of the servi ce. Secondly, the tools and techniques used to serve the customer better are misused on a wider scale. And, it so appears that these tools are used to serve the symptom and not the proper sickness.An example can be quoted here of the hospitals that people run for children. These organizations also believe in customer service and because of that they paint the walls of the children’s ward with clowns and animals and other things that they think might cheer up the kids. But what actually happened is, that rather than making the things therapeutic in nature for the children, they end up making the children scared as the children are more scared of clowns and animals than needles and medicines. Thus, here a better customer service would be to leave the walls as plain.A failure to providing proper customer service always results in a low customer loyalty, a low satisfaction of the customer and hence a bad reputation of the organization that causes a huge loss. Hence, the proper el ements in customer service lie in the fact that which parts of customer service are important and which parts are to be neglected. Also, the services should be provided to those customers who value them and not to those who do not value them. Therefore an alignment is to be maintained between the capabilities of service that are to be provided to the customer as well as the strategies of market that are being maintained.