The Infamous Watergate Scandal Essay Example For Students

The Infamous Watergate Scandal Essay The Watergate Complex is a series of modern buildings with balconies that looks like filed down Sharks Teeth (Gold, 1). Located on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. it contains many hotel rooms and offices. What happened in the complex on June 17, 1972 early in the morning became a very historical event for our nation that no one will ever forget. The Watergate Scandal and constitutional crisis that began on June 17, 1972 with the arrest of five burglars who broke into the Democratic National Committee (DMC) headquarters at the Watergate office building in Washington D.C.It ended with the registration of President Richard M. Nixon on August 9, 1974. (Watergate)At approximately 2:30 in the morning of June 17, 1972 five men were arrested at the Watergate Complex. The police seized a walkie-talkie, 40 rolls of unexposed film, two 35-millimeter cameras, lock picks, pensized teargas guns, and bugging devices. (Gold, 75) These five men and two co-plotters were indicated in September 1972 on charges of burglary, conspiracy and wire-tapping. Four months later they were convicted and sentenced to prison terms by District Court Judge John J. Sercia was convinced that relevant details had not been unveiled during the trial and offered leniency in exchanged for further information. As it became increasingly evident that the Watergate burg lars were tied closely to the Central Intelligence Agency and the Committee to re-elect the president. (Watergate) Four of these men, who were arrested on the morning of June 17, 1972, came from Miami, Florida. They were Bernard L. Barker, Frank A. Sturgis, Virgillio R. Gonzalez, and Eugenio R. Martinez. The other man was from Rockville, Maryland named James W. McCord, Jr. The two co-plotters were G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt. (Watergate)The senate established and investigative committee headed by Senate Sam Ervin, Jr., to look into the growing scandal. As they were investigating, they related that the famous break-in was far more involved than what everyone had expected. (Watergate) The White Houses involvement of that morning first became evident when James McCord wrote a letter to Judge Sirca. In this letter McCord explained that he wanted to disclose the details of Watergate. He made it apparent that he would not speak to a Justice department official of a FBI agent. Altho ugh his letter did unveil details, it made server chargers. McCord justified that Political pressure (Westerfled 36) had generated many defendants to plead guilty and remain silent. He also claimed that there had been whiteness at the trail who had committed perjury in order to protect the people who headed the brake-in. McCord declared that he, his family, and his friend might be in danger if he spoke out. (Westerfled 36-37)The Senate Watergate Committee saw their chance to unravel the mystery of this scandal. The offered James McCord a chance to speak publicly. In his first meeting with representatives of this committee he named two more people that he claimed were involved in the burglary and cover-up. Theses two men were John Dean and Jeb Margruder. Margruder was the second in charge of the CRP and Dean was a White House aid. After hearing these substantial accusations the Senate Watergate Committee promptly subpoenaed John Dean and Jeb Margruder. (Westerfled 37-38). We will write a custom essay on The Infamous Watergate Scandal specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now After the next session with James McCord he took the whiteness stand and explained how Liddy had promised him an executive pardon if he would plead guilty. This began to question the White House involvement since only the president could present such a pardon. (Westerfled, 40) Jeb Margruder was the next witness to testify. He admitted his own perjury to the Grand Jury and verified what McCord had said. While on the stand he also revealed another name to add to the list of those involved, John Mitchell. (Gold, 246-247)The next witness scheduled to appear was John Dean. In Deans testimony he exposed that the Watergate burglary had been only a part of a greater abuse of power. He said that for four years the White House had used the powers of the presidency to attack political enemies. They spied on and harassed anyone who did not agree with Nixons policies. If a reporter wrote stories criticizing the White House they would be singled out for tax investigations. The White House also kep t an Enemies List (Westerfled 43) of people that the presidents men wanted revenge on. After being fired, dean kept official documents that supported his statements. (Westerfled 43-44; Gold 309-330)John Dean said, is his opening statement, that he had discussed the cover-up with president Nixon in several meetings. At the first meeting, in September 1972, he told the president how he and other members of the White House had handled the cover-up so far. Dean claimed that in another important meeting with Nixon, on March 21, 1973, the president agreed $1 million should be raised to silence the burgalers. However Dean said that he dealt with the president mostly through H.R. Haldman and John Ehrlichman. (Gold 266-308; Westerfled 43)Dean faced the committee for four days of Questioning, after his opening statement. During these four days the republicans focused on what happened in these meetings between Dean and the president, which was the only evidence the president. The question that Senator baker asked and was being wondered throughout the nation was, what did the president know and when did he know it? (Westerfled, 43) The Nixon administration tackled Deans reports of the two meetings. They claimed that the March 21, 1973 meeting was the first Nixon had heard of the cover-ups. The White Houses version was they the president had rejected the burglars blackmail. (Hearings 02)For the first time in this intriguing scandal the president himself had been accused. This was the greatest blow the Nixon White House had sustained. polls showed that 70 percent of TV viewers believed Deans version of the event (Westerfled, 43). But who was to be believed? It was John Deans Word against Richard Nixons. (Gold 669-670; Westerfled, 43) The committee then made a shocking discovery, only a few weeks after Deans testimony. As the committee was managing a routine aid, they asked him how the White House administration came up with their version of what happened in the meeting s of Dena and Nixon. His response was that the meetings had probably been recorded on tape. (Westerfled 43)Alexander Butterflied explained that the White House had been equipped with a recording system. They were installed in his two offices, the Oval Room The taping device was spring load to a voice actuation situation. (Gold 436) In Alexander Butterfields testimony he said that the recording system was installed to help preserve all documents. The only people who knew of these recording devices were the president, Haledman, Kigbe, Butterfield, and the secret service people. (Gold 434-442)Now the committee had stumbled across exactly what they were looking for, a way to prove the presidents innocence of guilt. The tapes of the meeting s between Dean and Nixon were lying some where in the White House. These tapes would show which of these men were lying and if the president of the united States had been involved in a criminal conspiracy. Although when the senate asked him for the tapes the President refused, but why?On July 17, 1973 the Senate Committee went directly to the president about their request. Congress wanted the tapes of all the important meetings. President Nixon refused. The Committee decided to subpoena the tapes that afternoon. (Westerfled 45) On the same day, July 17, 1973, special Prosecutor Archibald Cox had also subpoenaed the tapes. He declared that they were significant for the grand jurys criminal investigation. This was the first time anyone had ever subpoenaed the president of the United States, and Nixon has two subpoenas in one day. Although the White House claimed that neither Congress nor the special prosecutor had the right to demand evidences from the executive branch and refused to obey. (Westerfled 45)This started a powerful struggle. The Senate Committee wondered if they could find the president in contempt of congress that would be a serious legal charge. But they didnt know who would be a serious legal charge. But they didnt kno w who would arrest him since the president controlled the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the Armed Forces. The committee had to think quick and come up with another way to get the tapes. Cox and the grand jury was going to sue for the tapes in federal court. The committee decided to follow the special prosecutors lead. (Westerfled 43) Both lawsuits went to Judge John Sirca, the same judge who presided the trials of the Watergate burglars. Judge Sirca charged the president to turn over the tapes to the special prosecutor. When the White House Appealed the decision the case went to the Federal Court of appeals. (Westerfled 43)Another scandal in the White House shocked the nation. The Department of Justice announced that they had been investigating Vice President Spiro T. Anew for taking large bribes in return for government contracts. He then resigned from office October 10, 1973. (Westerfled 47)On October 15, 1973 the court of appeals sustained Judge Sircas ruling and demanded t hat the president give the subpoenaed tapes to the Special Prosecutor, Archibald Cox. Nixon ordered Cox not to subpoena any more tapes, although Cox said he would do so. Cox also told him that if he refused he would find him in contempt of the court. (Westerfled 45) Nixon was beyond furious. Cox was an employee of the executive branch and questioning the authority of the president. Nixon ordered Richardsons deputy attorney general William D. Ruckelshavs to fire Cox. He also refused and was fired. The third-ranking Justice Department official, Solicitor General Robert H. Bork, was now acting as Attorney General. He agreed to fire Cox. This event was called the Saturday Massacre. (Westerfled 48)The nation raged in anger. So Nixon agreed to hand the tapes over to Sircas court and appoint a new Special Prosecutor. The new prosecutor was Leon Jaworski. Jaworski was a very well known lawyer and accepted the offer on the one condition that Nixon could not fire him. (Westerfled 48-49) As th e presidents lawyers were going over the tapes preparing them for the special prosecutor they made an alarming discovery. During a conversation between Nixon and Haldman there was an 18-minute gap. This made the nation lose even more faith in their president. (Westerfled 49)On April 11, 1974 Special Prosecutor Jaworski demanded the White House turn over 69 more tapes. Once again the Supreme Court ruled that Nixon had to supply the subpoenaed tapes. (Westerfled 51-54)On July 27-30, the House Judiciary Committee, whose public hearings had disclosed evidence of illegal White house activities, recommended that Nixon be impeached on three charges: obstruction of Justice, abuse of presidential power, and trying to impede the impeachment process by defying committee subpoenas. (Watergate) Millions of people watched the committee vote on television. There were twenty-seven votes for the impeachment and only eleven against it. He was accused of misuse of his authority and also violating the constitutional rights of citizens by ordering the FBI and Secret Services to spy on American citizens. The last thing he was charged with was refusing to obey congresss subpoenas. Nixon had broken his oath to up hold the law. (Watergate)With the impeachment vote against him, Nixon would have to stand trial before the U.S. senate. Two-thirds of the senate would have to vote for impeaching the president. Nixon would be removed from office. (Westerfled 46) On August 5, 1974 the White House released an overdue transcript of the tapes. The recording was from June 23, 1972, only a week after the break-in. This tape told how Nixon ordered Haldeman to tell the CIA to cease the FBIs investigation of Watergate. These tapes made it clear that Nixon was involved in the cover-up from the beginning. (Westerfled 56)At nine oclock August 8, 1974 Nixon made his last speech as president Richard M. Nixon. He only admitted loosing the support he had from Congress. He said I have never been a quitter, t o leave office before my term is complete is abhorrent to ever instinct in my body. But, as president, I must put the interest of America first. America needs a full-time president and a full-time Congress. Therefore, In shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow. (Westerfled 57)The next morning Nixon addressed a tearful White House staff. He then boarded a helicopter and began his journey home to San Clemente, California. (Westerfled 57) At noon the Vice President, Gerald R. Ford, was inaugurated. He became the thirty-seventh president of the United States. He told the American people in his first speech Our long national nightmare is over. (Westerfled 57)BibliographyGold, Gerald ed. Watergate hearings. New York: Bantam books, 1978. .u02b3e6efd17249fa8c321cd2d62f5e45 , .u02b3e6efd17249fa8c321cd2d62f5e45 .postImageUrl , .u02b3e6efd17249fa8c321cd2d62f5e45 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u02b3e6efd17249fa8c321cd2d62f5e45 , .u02b3e6efd17249fa8c321cd2d62f5e45:hover , .u02b3e6efd17249fa8c321cd2d62f5e45:visited , .u02b3e6efd17249fa8c321cd2d62f5e45:active { border:0!important; } .u02b3e6efd17249fa8c321cd2d62f5e45 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u02b3e6efd17249fa8c321cd2d62f5e45 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u02b3e6efd17249fa8c321cd2d62f5e45:active , .u02b3e6efd17249fa8c321cd2d62f5e45:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u02b3e6efd17249fa8c321cd2d62f5e45 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u02b3e6efd17249fa8c321cd2d62f5e45 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u02b3e6efd17249fa8c321cd2d62f5e45 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u02b3e6efd17249fa8c321cd2d62f5e45 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u02b3e6efd17249fa8c321cd2d62f5e45:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u02b3e6efd17249fa8c321cd2d62f5e45 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u02b3e6efd17249fa8c321cd2d62f5e45 .u02b3e6efd17249fa8c321cd2d62f5e45-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u02b3e6efd17249fa8c321cd2d62f5e45:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Angela'S Ashes Poverty EssayWesterfled, Scott. Watergate. Englewood Cliffs: Silber Burdett, 1991. Watergate. Grolier Electronic Publishing. 1992. The New grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Danbury, CT: Grolier Electronic Publising Inc., 1993. Microsoft Encarta. Microsoft Corporation: Funk Wagnalls Corporation, 1993.

What Did You Do This Summer College Interview Question

What Did You Do This Summer College Interview Question When answering a college interview question about your summer activities, no one is expecting you to be busy every day of the year. Summer is indeed a time to recoup after a busy academic year. Students who treat summer like an 80-hour-a-week job are setting themselves up for burn-out. That said, your interviewer will want to see that you did something productive in the summer. Youll want to show that you seek out meaningful and enriching experiences. A question about your summer activities has similarities to a question about  what do you do in your free time.  Summer, however, is a lot more substantial than a few free hours on the weekend, so your interviewer is going to be looking for something meaningful that youve accomplished during those months off from school. Strong Answers to a Question About  Your Summer Activities Your answer to the question, of course, is going to depend entirely on what you did in the summer, but work to identify a few meaningful activities from your summer break before you set foot in the interview room. Some activities that  will  sound good to your interviewer include: Travel.  Did you go somewhere interesting? A national park, historic site, cultural center, or some other destination that expanded your world view or opened your eyes to new experiences?Reading.  Your interviewer wont want to hear that you spent the whole summer indoors with your face buried in books, but they love to hear about reading. Students who read a lot tend to do well in college. You may even find that your interviewer asks you to recommend a good book.  Work.  Whether you helped on the family farm or cleaned dishes at the local eatery, students who work reveal a level of maturity and responsibility that will impress the admissions folks. Your summer may not be as exciting as a trip to Europe, but colleges truly do value work experience.Entrepreneurship.  This could be related to work, but youll certainly make a good impression if you started your own lawn mowing business, developed a useful app, or did something else that reveals creativity, confidence, and motiv ation.Volunteerism.  Community service and volunteer work play an increasingly important role in the college admissions process, and summer is the ideal time to do meaningful volunteer work. Education.  Did you attend a summer engineering or creative writing camp? Did you take a class at the local community college? Needless to say, colleges want to enroll students who like to learn. Weak Answers to a Question About Your Summer Colleges will want to see that youre not the type of student who lets three months go by without doing anything productive. Answers such as these are not going to impress anyone: I built a really cool world in Minecraft. Good for you, but realize that a lot of students fail out of college because they give video games priority over all else; three months staring at the computer screen represents a rather anti-social- even if multiplayer- and unproductive use of time.  I was burned out from school, so I relaxed. For three months? Also, dont highlight academic burn-out in your college interview. Sure, it happens to most students, but such an answer also sends a message that you get overwhelmed by school work. This isnt what you want to tell a college admissions representative.I hung out with my friends. Having friends is good. Colleges want to admit friendly students who build meaningful relationships with others. But what exactly did you do with your friends? Develop this reply to explain the meaningful activities you did with your friends. Ideally, you did something more productive than cruise the local shopping mall. The list could go on, but you get the idea. Answers that suggest you let the summer slip by without doing anything to enrich yourself or help others arent going to impress anyone. A Final Word About Summer Activities Your answer to the question will obviously be unique to your own interests and activities, and thats largely the point here- make sure you are telling your interviewer about summer experiences that have helped make you the person you are. Show that when you are given the time, youll do something meaningful and productive. In short, show your interviewer that youre the type of interesting, curious, hard-working, motivated person who will contribute to a campus community in positive ways.

Conditions under which Exchange Rate may overshoot Even in the Research Paper

Conditions under which Exchange Rate may overshoot Even in the Presence of Rational Expectations - Research Paper Example    John F. Muth of Indiana University coined the theory of rational expectations in the early sixties. He used the term to describe economic situations under which, the outcome depends on peoples' expectations. For example, as discussed by Sargent J. Thomas (Rational Expectations) "The price of an agricultural commodity depends on how many acres farmers plants, which in turn depends on the price that farmers expect to realize when they harvest and sell their crops". The theory greatly applies to the stock markets around the world, as, if investors expect the price of common stock of a particular company to come down they go on a selling spree and the result is obvious, and when they expect it to go up they buy heavily and hence, the prices spirally. To conclude the cornerstone of the theory, we can suggest that, people behave or take decisions in order to maximize the value of an outcome and they keep getting feedback from the transactions, as to what they expected and what they ac tually received. In this way, their expectations over a period of time tend to stabilize because of the result of the past outcomes. In other words, their expectations become rational. To put the theory in mathematical perspective, let us assume that P* is the equilibrium price (a price at which demand equals supply) in a market, then according to the rational expectations theory (Pe) will be the function of P* + e, where (Pe) is the expected price and e is the random error term, which is independent of P*. (Sargent J. Thomas, Rational Expectations). The theory of rational expectations is often put into practice in many economic as well as finance models. One such execution of the model is related to The Efficient Markets Theory of Stock Prices, which states that there are three forms of the efficient-market hypothesis, namely, weak form, semi-strong form, and strong form (Fischer Donald and Jordan Ronald 540). Weak form, which is also known as the Random-walk theory suggests that there is no purpose of examining the charts as the share pieces fully reflect the historical sequences. Semi-strong form, on the other hand, suggests that current market prices not only reflect the historical chart patterns, but also reflect all the publicly available knowledge, so this kind of information is almost always useless for the analysts and the investors. The theory maintains that as soon as the information is made public, the price plays catch-up and soon starts to reflect the new announcement. Finally, strong form suggests that not only pub licly available information is useless, but also all the information concerning the company is useless, as that will have no impact over the stock price.  

EFFICIENT MARKET HYPOTHESIS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

EFFICIENT MARKET HYPOTHESIS - Essay Example This proposition states that the markets price of securities such as shares traded in any stock exchange will vary or fluctuate according to the nature of information available to the members of the public. For instance information on company profitability, mergers, acquisition and business combination, dividend declaration and investment project that a firm intends to undertake are some of the information that influence the market price of securities. In addition to definition delineated above, efficient market hypothesis can also be delineated into three different ways, that is, allocative efficiency, operational and information efficiency. Allocative efficiency A market is considered to allocative efficient if it channels its direct savings towards the most efficient prolific project. In this case, if an enterprise is efficient it will find it easier to raise funds and this results to foster of the economy arising from the efficiency (Ogilvie, 2006). Allocative efficiency is perce ived to be at its optimal if savings cannot be a channelled to an enterprise or project that would result to higher economic prosperity. . In order, to achieve allocative efficiency in the financial market , the market should contain a fewer number of financial intermediaries such that funds are allocated directly from savers to users. Operational Efficiency Operational efficiency can be simply delineated in general as the minimization of transaction cost. This efficiency concept relates to the cost of conducting business, or the cost of capital that is the interest cost charged by the lender on money borrowed to the borrower. If the transaction cost is high this usually translates to high cost of using the financial markets. (Elton 2010). Therefore, transaction should always be at its minimum in order to increase operational efficiency especially where there is fair completion between the various market players. In order to increase operational efficiency then there is need to incr ease the number of market players who can be able to participate in the market continuously (Elton 2010). . Information Efficiency Information efficiency relates to extent that the information available to the members of public regarding the future panorama of a security is reflected in the present price of the said security. If all parties have the same information which is reflected in the present price of the security at their disposal then conducting investigation on securities becomes fair to all parties. This levels the playing ground for all market participants, because all the parties have access to same information which also reflected by the security price. Information efficiency is of great significant to financial managers since it indicates the effect of management decision will quickly and accurately be reflected in security prices (Elton 2010). The concept of Efficient market hypothesis is main based on information processing efficiency. It articulates that stock mark ets are proficient if and only if is reflected in security prices accurately and rapidly(Elton 2010). Efficient Market Hypothesis Levels Efficiency Efficient Market Hypothesis efficiency can be divided into 3 different levels: Weak form level of efficiency Weak for level of efficiency indicate that the historical price of securities can be used to articulate the changes in the security prices. According to this level of efficien

Double-Consciousness Under the White Gaze Essay Example for Free

Double-Consciousness Under the White Gaze Essay The theme of double-consciousness was first defined by Du Bois in The Souls of the Black Folk. He put the term â€Å"double-consciousness† in a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world. It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at ones self through the eyes of others, of measuring ones soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his twoness—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder. (Du Bois) It is obvious that the protagonist as well as several lesser characters in Maud Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks suffer from this distressing double-consciousness, especially Maud Martha. Maud Martha realized that she was not the cherished one because of her darker skin color at an very early age, thus â€Å"to be cherished was the dearest wish of the heart of Maud Martha Brown†. ( Brooks 1650) In her own family, her beloved father preferred her sister Helen because Helen was lighter; At school her schoolmates also liked Helen and ignored her; When she grew into womanhood and got married, her husband Paul also showed a partiality to lighter women. Martha’s father, classmates and husband acted this way because as black people they themselves were treated as inferior creatures all the time by white Americans. Under this white gaze, the value that the black was inferior was accepted and internalized by the gazed over time. This internalizing also happened to Martha as she struggled all the way to build up her subjectivity. That accounts for her inferiority about her appearance and jealous of Helen her prettier. When a white schoolmate Charles came to visit Martha, she should feel â€Å"a sort of gratitude. † (Brooks 1653) According to Michel Foucault, the gaze is actually imposed upon people by themselves even though it looks like that it is imposed from something superior upon everyone. No need for weapons, physical violence or prohibition, it takes only a surveillant gaze to humble anyone, to make them the overseers of themselves. Luckily, Martha was a woman with artistic sensibility. Although living an ordinary life in a racist world, still she can find beauty and dignity in her life. When she spared the mouse, she experienced a new cleanness in her because â€Å"she had not destroyed. In the center of that simple restraint was—creation. She had created a piece of life. It was wonderful. †(Brooks 1667) This is a prelude revealing that her subjectivity was budding. Later when she gave birth to a daughter, her subjectivity was much improved by this motherhood—she did create a new life who was totally dependent on her at that time. At the beauty salon, she was shocked that the salon owner Mrs. Johnson just put up with a white saleswoman’s humiliation of referring them as â€Å"niggers†. It is not difficult to associate to what happened when Martha went to millinery with this. She decided against the hat even though the owner promised to cut price, and this lack of manners was attributed to her skin color by the salesgirl. â€Å"Black—oh,black† Her subjectivity is helpful yet not strong enough to fight everything. When Paul was laid off she went to work as a house maid in the Burns-Coopers’, she experienced that white gaze even more violently because the white woman Mrs. Coopers showed obvious contempt towards her. At this moment, she suddenly realized what her husband had suffered all the time in his working environment. Feeling this humiliation, she quitted the job the next day. She understood better about the struggles and frustrations caused by the white American now, even though she could not do much about it. She was always sensitive to the exclusion of the Negro in a white world, yet even cannot explain to her little girl why a store Santa Claus did not like her- or even smile at her—a wishful blindness. No matter what, Martha never gave up her love for life. At the end of the novella, Martha’s brother was back from the wars alive and well which made her sense the beauty of life again. She went such a long way fighting the confliction in her life, the problem of double identity and double-consciousness, and found her equanimity finally. So she would think that â€Å"At a moment like this one was ready for anything, was not afraid of anything†¦.. At a moment like this, one could even think of death with a sharp exhilaration, feel that death was a part of life; that life was good and death would be good too. † This reconciliation can be considered as Martha’s triumph of the struggle. In a word, Maud Martha captures the essence of Black life with regard to their double-consciousness under the white gaze, and Brooks recognizes the beauty and strength that lies within each of us. References: The Souls of the Black Folk, Du Bois, W. E. B. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison , Michel Foucault Maud Martha, Gwendolyn Gwendolyn.

Salaries of Athletes are too High Essays -- Professional Athlete Athle

Salaries of Athletes What should athletes deserve to be paid? Many players have risen to stardom by becoming a professional athlete. Athletes have come from many different backgrounds; some from wealthy and some from poverty raised backgrounds. Salaries are continuing to rise, and money doesn’t seem to be an issue. Athletes are getting what they want from the owners by negotiating through their agents. Athletes’ salaries aren’t from their owners, but they come from other sources (â€Å"Athletes’ Salary†). Athletes get paid an extremely high salary for the work they do, and should consider the value of their work. They do not deserve the extreme amount they get paid and something should by done about it. One issue that these high salaries cause is that having all this money spoils the athletes. Athletes buy so much unnecessary stuff after they get their money. For example, Michael Jordan has about 28 cars. Who needs all these cars? He didn’t buy all of these, but there is a certain limit on how many cars a person needs. Athletes spend their money on cars, entertainment, clothes, and their big mansions. Another instance of athletes spoiling themselves is the use of illegal drugs (â€Å"Pro Salaries†). Michael Irvin of the Dallas Cowboys has been involved in many of these altercations. He has been through all the punishments there possibly is and still makes his money (â€Å"Pro Salaries†). Athletes think they are at a higher level and that they can do whatever they want. An issue that everyone hears about everyday that a pro athlete has committed a murder/crime. Ray Lewis, a safety for the Baltimore Ravens, is being tried for two accounts of murder. He is an excellent athlete. He is on the pro-bowl team for the 1999 season and led the league in tackles. He has just ruined his career by even being involved in a situation like this. Another player is Robert Lewis, a 20 year-old basketball player from the Dallas Mavericks. He was convicted of beating his girlfriend almost to death. A 20-year-old basketball star doesn’t need to feel that he is a king to be a leader. What kind of role model is he setting to other youngsters that want to follow in the same footsteps? The salaries of athletes are extremely high for the effort that they put through. For example, basketball, baseball, and hockey athletes only compete for about 6-8 months a year. Then they have... ...r salaries are too high to compare. They do entertain the public, but the expense for the entertainment is too steep. Athletes should make a decent salary, but they should have control over their limits. They deserve a salary that would compare to other officials who are more important to the people and that have a role which effects the people as a whole. Something must be done before a drastic change occurs. Bibliography: â€Å"Athletes’ Salary.† CQ Researcher. 2000. Bagnato, Andrew. â€Å"Against the (cash) flow as revenue streams into college coffers, Some athletes are clamoring for their cut of the profits.† Chicago Tribune 23 Feb. 1997: 1. Bryjak, George J. â€Å"The Name of the Game is Money.† USA TODAY Sept. 1998: 67-69. Danziger, Lucy S. â€Å"Sweet Inequity.† Women’s Sports and Fitness July 1999: 17. Kindred, David. â€Å"In the name of sanity.† The Sporting News 20 Apr. 1998: 63. â€Å"Pro Salaries.† n. pag. On-line. Internet. http://www.nonline.com/procon/html/prosalary.htm. 12 Jan. 2000. Spiegel, Peter. â€Å"Athletes.† Forbes 22 Mar. 1999: 220. Wigge, Larry. â€Å"Millennium mind-set: Open up game and close wallets.† Sporting News 10 Jan. 2000: 58-59.

Ethics & Philosophy Essay

Free markets can be said to be the markets which have no government interference or regulation. The only regulations present are the ones which involve protecting property rights and maintaining the legal system. Free markets are markets in which the product prices are solely set through market forces, as opposed to interference by external forces. There is also free competition in free markets, and the law of supply and demand is used to fix prices of goods and services in such markets. There are various philosophers who support free markets while others are opposed to such markets. The paper will analyze the contributions of Adam smith, Karl Marx and Milton Friedman on the issue and will give a brief conclusion on the issues discussed. Karl Marx. Karl Marx was a German philosophers who is considered to be amongst the most controversial philosophers in history. He was against capitalism and free markets, which he viewed to be a means with which property owners or the rich use to maintain control over the peasants or poor. Karl Marx viewed the capitalist system as a system meant to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. He explained that initially, capitalism was meant to be a means with which people exchanged commodities which they did not have. However, after money was created, it evolved and became a means with which people could make profits as opposed to satisfying the demand for products. Over time, capitalism undermined the human development and well being, and products created could now dictate how interactions between human beings would be. Soon, the relations between society became material as everything was treated in terms of its monetary worth, as opposed to creative and artistic qualities possessed. Capitalism led to the alienation of workers since they were separated from owning the means which was used for production, and they became slaves to the people who owned those means. This led to the emergence of two economic groups; the property owners and the workers, and the latter were oppressed by the former. This is the reason which made him predict the collapse of capitalism and its replacement with socialism. Socialism is a system in which the government or authority controls production so that it may be mutually beneficial to all members of the society or state. Karl Marx was opposed to free markets since they tended to favor the rich and oppress the poor. Free markets are a feature of the capitalist system, which made Karl Marx oppose them. Weaknesses of this argument. Karl Marx is opposed to free markets due to the weaknesses which he views in capitalism. Karl Marx views capitalism to be a system where the rich oppress the poor. He therefore opposes all features of capitalist systems which he views to be a means which promote the exploitation of the poor . However, Karl Marx does not consider the model which combines both capitalism and socialism in order to take advantage of the positive attributes of the two models. Since socialism has its weaknesses, combining both models may be more beneficial to the economy. In this respect, moderate government interference in trade by the government is an option which Karl Marx should have pursued. Adam Smith. He is considered to be the father of the modern economics and he contributed a lot toward the modern capitalist system. Adam Smith was of the opinion that production was the key to economic growth and that this could only be achieved through economic liberalization. Adam Smith therefore supported unregulated markets since he saw them as a means of stimulating economic growth. He explained that free markets would enable individuals to develop a business without having government intervention, and that the people who consume the products developed would do so at prices which have been determined by demand and supply forces . Adam Smith added that free markets enabled the most competitive producers and consumers to survive, which was beneficial to the economy. He viewed free markets are independent problem solvers which did not require government interference, since market forces eventually address any surpluses or shortages which are inherent in the market. Adam Smith uses the ‘invisible hand’ theory to explain the way in which different parts of the economy are integrated. Smith explains that each individual is guided by an invisible hand in making their decisions which benefit the economy, without their knowledge. He explains that individuals carry out actions which are meant to benefit themselves, but they end up benefiting the society at large, which is not the initial aim of the individual. Smith gives an illustration of the creation of a wool coat. He says that the coat is developed after a series of processes which are undertaken by different people. The shepherd who owns the sheep, the spinner who develops the coats, and the shipper who transports them to the market all play a role in the creation of the finished product. He explains that this subconscious process by the different parties involved achieves higher levels of efficiencies than would be achieved had the process been planned by the players involved. It means that markets which are regulated by the government have lower efficiency levels compared to markets which are not regulated . This is the major reason why Adam Smith supports the free markets as opposed to regulated markets. Weaknesses of this argument. Adam smith is of the opinion that free markets enabled the most competitive producers and consumers to survive, which is beneficial to the economy. He gives many attributes of free markets, most of which are true. However, he does not discuss the weaknesses of free markets. Free markets suffer from certain weaknesses such as inhibiting the growth of small firms. Free markets may also experience monopolistic and oligopolistic tendencies which adversely affect the economy. The economy may also suffer certain effects attributed to unfair practices in trade. Other effects like inflation, market downturns and others require regulation by a central authority. Adam Smith does not discuss these situations, which makes his argument inconclusive. Milton Friedman. Friedman made major contributions to the economic crisis during the early 20th century. He viewed the 1920s as a period of sustainable and vital growth. Friedman believed that economic growth and freedom had a direct relationship. He used several principles and arguments to further his support from free markets. The political principle was used by Friedman to define the features of free markets. He explained that in free markets, individuals cannot coerce each other and that there is voluntary cooperation between the parties involved . He further explained that parties which are involved in transactions under such circumstances benefit in one way or another, otherwise they would not participate in these transactions. In free market transactions, there are no social responsibilities and values; there are only shared responsibilities and values. However, Friedman was also of the opinion that the government should intervene in the economy if there is threat to it. One of the instances when Friedman supported government interference was during the Great depression which occurred in 1929. The Great Depression changed the view that the United States economy was robust and that it should be totally free from government control, after the US Stock Exchange collapsed due to various factors. Friedman supports the market regulation and explains that if the Federal Government had intervened and applied the right policies, this depression would have been avoided. He explains that the Federal Government should have suspended payment for the withdrawals being requested by people. The policy which was used at the time, which involved printing more money to supplement the increased demand, is blamed for the Great Depression. This reveals a more soft approach to the initial stand that government intervention should not be allowed, and that the markets should be allowed to operate as free markets. However, it does not completely change the stance which had been taken by Friedman regarding free markets. Government interference is allowed only under special circumstances where lack of intervention would lead to severe effects to the economy. This was the case during the Great depression and is also currently the case in the event of the global financial crisis being experienced. Weaknesses of this argument. Friedman is categorical that there should be free markets if economies are to grow. He argues that the absence of social values and responsibilities and the presence of shared values are factors which facilitate economic growth. However, he appears to take a soft stand when discussing the Great Depression where he advocates for government interference, but using the right policies. This is a deviation from his stand that the government should not interfere with the business environment. It also reveals that free trade has weaknesses which he does not effectively address. Personal view. In my opinion, free markets do not lead to serious political, social, or environmental problems as explained by some philosophers. This is because free markets are the most effective and natural means in which prices should be set to ensure effectiveness. On the contrary, a wrong approach of interference by the government may lead to serious political, social, or environmental problems as was seen in the Great Depression. The current financial crisis which began in the United States can also be said to have been accelerated by the government failure to limit the borrowings by investors and excess lending by financial institutions using predatory lending practices. This is a similar problem which led to the great depressions, and the government interference is seen to have led to adverse effects rather than positive effects on the economy. However, in extreme cases of economic problems, the government should intervene. This should only be done to save the economy in cases where the market forces are clearly unable to rectify the situation. For instance, the current financial crisis facing the world requires the government’s intervention. This does not mean that the government supports the regulation of markets since in the absence of economic crises, the market forces would usually be used to set the product prices. My major reasons for supporting free markets is that regulated markets usually discourage investments, especially if the regulations are too strict. Investors prefer investing in countries where there is free trade since they can predict their future earnings or returns on investment, due to the absence of external factors in the business environment. Regulated markets may also adversely affect the economy especially if the policies which are applied are retrogressive. Summary and conclusion. It is evident that the three philosophers made major contributions to the modern world. Their theories are still in use several years after some of them passed away. However, it is important to note that their arguments relating to free trade are inconclusive since some of the facts which they used to support their arguments have changed. It is also important to note that none of them has a wrong view, it is only that they looked at free trade from different perspectives. The contributions which each of them has made to society should be appreciated since they all talked about various issues affecting the society, and not just free trade. It is important that other scholars improve on the theories which were advanced by Adam smith, Karl Marx and Milton Friedman. This will reflect the market environment as it is today, and the arguments developed can be used to improve the policies in the current business environment. Works cited. Amadae Samuel. Rationalizing capitalist democracy: the Cold War origins of rational choice liberalism.Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003, p255-261. Gagnier Regenia. The insatiability of human wants: economics and aesthetics in market society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000, p25-35. Machaj Mateusz. Friedman for government intervention: the case of the great depression. Mises Daily. Retrieved on March 18, 2009 from . Sunderlin, William D. Ideology, social theory, and the environment. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2002, p23-33.