Burlington High School
Burlington, Kansas
Teacher: Mrs. Devra Parker
Our Nation’s Destiny
By Mike Kewley
12th grade
Democracy is the common people, considered as the primary source of political power. The United States is known extensively for this wonderful privilege; however, not all countries are able to form such an imaginable nirvana or safe haven. There are many understandings that fall into place for one to understand the importance and belief of a country with such freedom. Thus, there is one major reason why such governments seek out this one long loved advantage: a centralized government.
In the early prospects of the nation’s history, large numbers had broken off from a mainland country known as Europe. Europeans broke away from this continent in search of freedom and a reset voyage for their lives. These people found their so called “paradise” called America! Hundreds of thousands of followers sailed across the great Atlantic Sea to start their own regime. However, these people did not realize how big of a hassle this would soon cause them. Europe did not approve of these actions because they felt as if they were being deceived or betrayed. Over the years both sides fought and died because they understood how important this country was soon to become. Overall, the first settlers defeated the all mighty European super power but only to find themselves in a state of disorganization. This was the start of the United States Constitution.
In order to form a more perfect union, one must accept the responsibilities to understand the true meanings of the U.S. Constitution. Throughout modern society, many citizens of the United States feel as if the government tries to go beyond their powers to enforce the policy. If our nation did not have an enforcer to watch over us, we would not have what we boast today. Something with such a large amount of integrity and pureness does not come easy. Many argue whether or not the Constitution is set up the way it should be, but do they possibly know how much time and work was put into that document? I reasonably think that the Constitution is made for what it is purposely meant to do: serve as an upholding syllabus to our country.
Whether its capital punishment, abortion, or civil rights, numerous other countries believe that the United States seems to obtain such harsh guidelines. For instance, France’s views towards the death penalty. This harsh penalty may be a little severe, but I think that the United States crime rate would be less if comparable France’s. Other countries have different ways of resolving problems, but it just seems that they think we handle issues more to the extreme. If the States tried to re evaluate how the government deals with situations; then I think it would transform our image to more of a weakened posture. Our nation should not be ashamed of how we resolve to problems or obstacles that slide in from time to time.
According to a statistics CNN archive, statistics show by 19 percent that various countries who do not work towards a centralized government have a tremendous economic problem. Many people may not know it, but the economy is based around every government’s action. Whether it be tax cuts, military budgeting, or education, something will always be affected somewhere else. It is very important to strive for such a task because many people’s lives would be a whole lot easier. As a known fact, crime rate, economic issues, communication, and poverty would be a whole lot higher if there were more stabilized governments put into place.
I think President George W. Bush does an excellent job to try and keep our government proceeding and centralized as possible. He has boosted our budget on homeland security and also raised the effort to stop the spread of terrorism. Over the years that President Bush has been in office, he has really helped with the economy and national trade between countries. However, not only does the President help make our nation be a better place, but assists many others as well. Government officials from all around come together, in addition to perform in many different ways to strengthen the life of our society by law.
Overall, our country has a sufficient widespread of good in the nation. All through history, mistakes have been made and learned by the way the government has been run. Although, I now think it is time that the nation start to worry about some of the problems we have here in the homeland. Nearly a century of trying to help folks live a decent life around the world has only earned us the undying enmity of just about everyone on the planet. It is time to eliminate hunger in America. It is time to destroy the homelessness here. However the world is not perfect, but one can strive towards a state of excellence. “If the world were perfect, then it wouldn’t be,” Yogi Berra once said at a Congressional debate. Our government is not trying to bring us down, but it is only building us up and makes everybody stronger. I think that is a goal worth dying for. Nobody can live a perfect or heaven-like life; however, one may fight to pursue the life of satisfaction and honor. That is how we handle ourselves here in the states, and we will continue to do so. God Bless the U.S.A.
Answers To Questions Re: The Required Reading
Q1- State the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and give two reasons it was disregarded in the case of Wickard v Filburn, 1942.
The 10th amendment grants the rights of the Constitution to the States or the people in this case. The Wickard V Filburn rights are implied more to the federal government. This is because of the courts decision has changed and a certain judge decided that the Constitution could be interpreted in various ways.
Q2- What was the rationale that the Court used in the Filburn case?
The court believed that even relatively small economic activity can play a big role on the interstate commerce of the United States; therefore even if the wheat is not distributed to the market, the production quotas congress has stated still stand strong.
Q3- What has happened in the past nine years to reverse the trend towards decentralizing government in the United States?
When the creation of the first microprocessor was introduced, this led to the development of personal computers, fax machines, cell-phones and many other greater technological items. The technology age has changed the way many others live and run their governments throughout the world.
Wick Allison
Q4- What evidence does Wick Allison offer to show that the United States is drifting closer to socialism?
Wick Allison emphasizes the rent control laws in New York city, because this shows how the United States is starting to be more of a socialistic country more and more.
William Peterson
Q5- Use one paragraph to tell us some facts about Ludwig von Mises. Use the Internet for research.
Ludwig worked throughout his life to try and improve the libertarian movement. He taught in Austria, but when he rising of the Nazi’s and Hitler came he fled Austria and taught in New York City. He believed that The Government should not acquire as much power as they do.
Q6- Take one paragraph to describe Keynesian Economics. Use the Internet for research.
Keynesian believes that aggregate demand is influenced by a host of economic decisions; both public and private—and sometimes behaves erratically. The public decisions include, most prominently, those on monetary and fiscal policy. Some decades ago, economists heatedly debated the relative strengths of monetary and fiscal policies. Some Keynesians argued that monetary policy is powerless and some monetarists arguing that fiscal policy is powerless. Both of these are essentially dead issues today.
Q7- According to Bettina Bien Greaves, what does Mises claim is necessary to reverse the worldwide trend towards larger and more centralized government?
He claims that the government now has the issue to change the outcome of an issue due to the importance or by the amount of problems they may cause. He believed that men should start coming up with their own ideas to help stop governments from gaining total control of everybody. Thus, they could form into dictatorships.
Congressional Quarterly
Q8- Define a “burden hour.”
A
burden hour is the time measured taken to collect data, fill out federal forms,
surveys and reports.
Q9- Graham is a proponent of “risk analysis.” How is risk analysis defined on page 992 of the May 5, 2001 issue of Congressional Quarterly Weekly?
Graham believed that these risk analysis should be controlled only by the government, because these people say anything they want which might lead to the miss defining of what the government really is to people.
Q10- Who was the first president to order federal agencies to weigh potential costs and benefits when writing a rule?
President Jimmy Carter was the first to start the federal agencies, which have
to weight potential costs and benefits when writing rules.
CQ Almanac
Q11- How much would compliance with OSHA’s regulations to limit injuries or
disabilities from performing repetitive tasks cost according to an estimate by
business groups as reported in the 2000 CQ Almanac? What was the response of
OSHA and Labor Department officials?
The regulations were set up in order for 27 million workers to have less repetitive motion injuries from various occupations as cargo handlers, grocery store clerks, and textile mill weavers. Thus, this regulation would affect 1.6 million employers. They responded to negative feedback to employers by adding that the rule was created to be flexible, but not to be required by many companies in order to take action.
CQ May 19, 2001
Q12- On the average, how long does it take to build an airport? A highway?
On an average basis, it takes about 15 years to construct an airport. Also, it takes just slightly less that 12 years to develop a highway.
Wall Street Journal June 18, 1993
Q13- Discuss the pros and cons of licensing requirements.
License requirements can both be good or bad in certain situations. For instance, it could save peoples lives, because some licenses show that some people are donors. Also doctors need to be licensed, because I would rather have somebody that knew what they were doing to operate on me. However there are some professions that seem to be less vulnerable needing licenses. For instance, Monique and how she wanted to braid hair and make a little bit of money. There is nothing wrong with the youth trying to built up some money every now and then without any harm.