Macroeconomics Song Essay Example for Free

Macroeconomics Song Essay The poem’s major theme revolves around the unravelling of the US financial sector – and particularly its impact on investment banks in the wake of the recent global economic recession that affected the US and most of the world economies. Some of the macroeconomic concepts addressed – tacitly and explicitly – include: executive compensation, and the business cycle (Paxton, 1). The crisis is said to have primarily been triggered by the sub prime mortgage crisis. Traditionally, investment banks and other lending institutions have financed their customers’ borrowings from the deposits they collect from the members of the public. With the demand for credit finance to purchase essential items such as homes rising exponentially, the deposits became inadequate to finance the borrowing requirements and many of these financial institutions resorted to innovative financial products such as the securitization model or mortgage backed securities. Here, the financial institutions sell bonds. Those buying the bonds are guaranteed of getting their money back after a certain duration plus an attractive interest, and the money raised from floating these bond is advanced to the borrowers (in this case, prospective homeowners). The bondholders will be paid back their money whether the borrowers pay the bank back or default. Thus, it can be seen that the investment banks here shoulder substantial risks (Zeese, 1; Rasmus, 3; BBC, 1). The main problem was that these loans were made out to a segment of the market that is considered risky due to its low income and poor credit history. This segment has been referred to as the sub-prime mortgage segment. As long as the prices of homes continued to rise, this model of financing home purchases made sense because the borrowers could refinance their home purchases. However, and against all expectations, the real estate bubble that had been so prolonged in the country burst, and home prices began trending south at a dramatic rate. The import of all these is that the sub prime mortgage borrowers were unable to pay back what they had borrowed. They defaulted, leading to massive foreclosures (Zeese, 1; Rasmus, 3; BBC, 1). The loans that had been made out by the financial institutions were in the tune of billions of dollars. When these borrowers defaulted, the banks were left holding toxic assets, which they wrote down leading to massive losses. A number of them were pushed to the brink of bankruptcy. These include: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Goldman Sachs, AIG, Merrill Lynch, Bears Stearns and Lehman Brothers (Zeese, 1; Rasmus, 3; BBC, 1). It is this backdrop that provides the context for the poem. The poet parodies the false sense of security that these institutions had projected – for long, investment bankers such as Lehman Brothers had been viewed as beacons of stability in the American economy, doling out priceless advice to Americans on maters economic. But as the poet shows, the sub prime mortgage crisis unmasked them for who they are, left them at a loss of what to do, and they have turned out to be â€Å"the blind leading the blind†(Paxton, 1). One wonders how, with all their wisdom, the investment bankers could have hedged their risks upon such a risky market as the sub-prime mortgage segment. One of the immediate responses to the financial crisis was the rollout of a bailout package by the US government (whose worth was â€Å"seven hundred million grand,† in the words of the poet) (Paxton, 1). The failing institutions were major beneficiaries of this bailout package. According to Nanking (1), Bears Stearns was bought by JP Chase for $236 million, with the Federal Reserve Bank providing a staggering $30 billion to facilitate its purchase. Courtesy of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, the government is said to have put in some $400 billion in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The AIG on its part received at least four cash bailouts, all of them amounting to $180 billion in total (Nanking, 1). The poet strongly questions the ethics behind these bailout packages, given that the crisis that affected the investment banks was largely self-inflicted. For example, apart from poor judgment resulting in the sub-prime mortgage crisis, the problems which the banks faced were also catalyzed by poor management practices such as excessive executive pay. The problems facing the banks also broke out at a time the issue of executive pay was coming under the spotlight. For example, Linn (2) writes that in 1970, top executives were earning 44 times what subordinate workers got and that by 2007 this had jumped to 344 times what the subordinate employees got. More telling is the fact that the CEO’s of Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch, two of the failed investment bankers, received a total of over $117 million in spite of leading their organizations down the drain (Bass and Beamish, 1). Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sach’s top honcho, got $54 million, when the bank made a loss, with the 116 investment banks that had been short listed for aid under the bailout package having paid a cool $1.6 billion as bonuses to their CEO’s. AIG was mulling paying its CEO $165 million, when it had made a loss of over $60 billion (Bass and Beamish, 1). Given that these banks had been advanced cash under the bailout plan (which itself is from taxpayer funds), it is logical to assert that it is the average American (who earns 344 times less what the CEO gets) who is being made to pay for the mistakes of the CEO’s. It is this obscenity that the poem seems to rant about. Listen to the poet: â€Å"And it said that failure was the only crime. If you really screwed things up, then you were through; Now––surprise!––there is a different point of view. All that crazy rooty-tootin’ And that golden parachutin’ Means that someone’s making millions––just not you!† Works Cited: BBC. (2007). The downturn in facts and figures. 21 Nov 2007. 28 May 2010.   http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7302341.stm Bass, Frank and Beamish, Rita. (2008). AP Study Finds $1.6B Went To Bailed-Out Bank Execs. 22 Dec 2008. 29 May 2010.   http://corridornews.blogspot.com/2008/12/investment-bank-executives-pork-out-on.html Linn, Allison. (2009). â€Å"AIG flap gives ammunition to critics of high pay.† MSNBC. Mar 20th 2009. 29 May 2010. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29791834/ Nankin, Jesse. (2009). History of U.S. govt bailouts. 1 Nov 2009. 29 May 2010. http://www.propublica.org/special/bailout-aftermaths#penncentral Paxton, Tom. I am changing my name to Fannie Mae. Rasmus, Jack. (2008). Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac: phase two of the financial crisis. Sep 2008. 28 May 2009. http://www.zcommunications.org/zmag/viewArticle/18717 Zeese, Kevin. (2008). The causes of the auto crisis. 25 Nov 2008. 28 May 2009. http://www.countercurrents.org/zeese251108.htm

Sexuality in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Essay -- Essays Papers

The Complications of Sexuality in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Gawain's travels in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight suggest a world in which home--i.e., Camelot--is "normal," while away--the opposing castle of Hautdesert where Gawain perforce spends his Christmas vacation--is "other," characterized by unfamiliarity, dislocation, perversity. And in fact the atmosphere at Hautdesert appears somewhat peculiar, with various challenges to "normal" sexual identity, and with permutations of physical intimacy, or at least the suggestion of such intimacy, that are, to say the least, surprising. The typical journey of medieval romance juxtaposes a "real" world where things and people behave according to expectation with a "magical" world in which the usual rules are suspended. According to this paradigm, we might expect that this poem would place Hautdesert outside the bounds of tradition, separated by its difference from the expectations that govern Camelot and the remainder of the Arthurian world. However, Gawain's journey away from Camelot and back is framed by references, in the first and last stanzas, to the journeys into exile of Aeneas and of Brutus, the legendary founder of Britain, that complicate this apparent opposition. As this paper will argue, this framework complicates the poem's presentation of gender and sexuality. Rather than a clear opposition between, say, marital sexuality and everything else, we find a situation in which potentially adulterous acts and kisses among men are vested with varied--and shifting--values. The poem uses references to the (imagined) British past to complicate any simple reading of the tale it tells in terms of sexual morality or transgression.1 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight opens with a summary of the events leading from the fall of Troy to the establishment of Britain: Sià ¾en à ¾e sege and à ¾e assaut watz sesed at Troye, à ¾e borgh brittened and brent to brondez and askez, à ¾e tulk à ¾at à ¾e trammes of tresoun à ¾er wroght Watz tried for his tricherie, à ¾e trewest on erthe: Hit watz Ennias à ¾e athel, and his highe kynde, à ¾at sià ¾en depreced prouinces, and patrounes bicome Welneghe of al à ¾e wele in à ¾e west iles. Fro riche Romulus to Rome ricchis hym swyà ¾e, With gret bobbaunce à ¾at burghe he biges vpon fyrst, And neuenes hit his aune nome, as hit now hat; Tirius to Tuskan and teldes bigynnes, Langaberde in Lumbardie lyft... ...e is once again surrounded by the familiar faces of Arthur's knights, this return cannot undo what he has experienced, does not unwrite what the poet has written. The return of the endless knot to the place of its beginning does not negate the existence of the pattern that has been created. Bertilak "reads" the ominous and the disruptive in Layamon's depiction of the origins of Britain. By locating the story of Gawain's flirtation with Lady Bertilak within the context of Layamon's chronicle of treason in Troy as well as at Camelot, the Gawain-poet complicates any reading of Camelot and Hautdesert as opposed places with opposed valuations. Treason is already and always present at Camelot, named with obscure referent in the first stanza of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight--and this very obscurity points to the difficulty of reaching any conclusions surrounding gender or sexuality in the poem. The use of history shows that femininity, masculinity, normative sexuality and transgression are all difficult, perhaps impossible, to define. Gawain, of course, does not read Brut, and is therefore left floundering in search of a finality which is unobtainable within the world of this poem. Sexuality in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Essay -- Essays Papers The Complications of Sexuality in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Gawain's travels in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight suggest a world in which home--i.e., Camelot--is "normal," while away--the opposing castle of Hautdesert where Gawain perforce spends his Christmas vacation--is "other," characterized by unfamiliarity, dislocation, perversity. And in fact the atmosphere at Hautdesert appears somewhat peculiar, with various challenges to "normal" sexual identity, and with permutations of physical intimacy, or at least the suggestion of such intimacy, that are, to say the least, surprising. The typical journey of medieval romance juxtaposes a "real" world where things and people behave according to expectation with a "magical" world in which the usual rules are suspended. According to this paradigm, we might expect that this poem would place Hautdesert outside the bounds of tradition, separated by its difference from the expectations that govern Camelot and the remainder of the Arthurian world. However, Gawain's journey away from Camelot and back is framed by references, in the first and last stanzas, to the journeys into exile of Aeneas and of Brutus, the legendary founder of Britain, that complicate this apparent opposition. As this paper will argue, this framework complicates the poem's presentation of gender and sexuality. Rather than a clear opposition between, say, marital sexuality and everything else, we find a situation in which potentially adulterous acts and kisses among men are vested with varied--and shifting--values. The poem uses references to the (imagined) British past to complicate any simple reading of the tale it tells in terms of sexual morality or transgression.1 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight opens with a summary of the events leading from the fall of Troy to the establishment of Britain: Sià ¾en à ¾e sege and à ¾e assaut watz sesed at Troye, à ¾e borgh brittened and brent to brondez and askez, à ¾e tulk à ¾at à ¾e trammes of tresoun à ¾er wroght Watz tried for his tricherie, à ¾e trewest on erthe: Hit watz Ennias à ¾e athel, and his highe kynde, à ¾at sià ¾en depreced prouinces, and patrounes bicome Welneghe of al à ¾e wele in à ¾e west iles. Fro riche Romulus to Rome ricchis hym swyà ¾e, With gret bobbaunce à ¾at burghe he biges vpon fyrst, And neuenes hit his aune nome, as hit now hat; Tirius to Tuskan and teldes bigynnes, Langaberde in Lumbardie lyft... ...e is once again surrounded by the familiar faces of Arthur's knights, this return cannot undo what he has experienced, does not unwrite what the poet has written. The return of the endless knot to the place of its beginning does not negate the existence of the pattern that has been created. Bertilak "reads" the ominous and the disruptive in Layamon's depiction of the origins of Britain. By locating the story of Gawain's flirtation with Lady Bertilak within the context of Layamon's chronicle of treason in Troy as well as at Camelot, the Gawain-poet complicates any reading of Camelot and Hautdesert as opposed places with opposed valuations. Treason is already and always present at Camelot, named with obscure referent in the first stanza of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight--and this very obscurity points to the difficulty of reaching any conclusions surrounding gender or sexuality in the poem. The use of history shows that femininity, masculinity, normative sexuality and transgression are all difficult, perhaps impossible, to define. Gawain, of course, does not read Brut, and is therefore left floundering in search of a finality which is unobtainable within the world of this poem.

Should changes be made to the regulations for foods, served in public schools?

Should changes be made to the regulations for foods, served in public schools? The topic selected is should changes be made to the regulations for foods which are served in public schools. This topic is selected because of two reasons, first, education is the base of development on each level, whether it is on individual level, social level, economic level, or at national level. The second reason is, Government has opened public schools to provide education at minimum or no cost to the students and they also provide free or lost cost meal to them to make sure that they get the minimum calories to have a healthy body and sound mind. But the food served is generally not of a quality standard and that is why we often come across some news or the other about the degraded food quality. So the topic was selected to know more about the same. Thesis statement: Food leads to healthy mind and body, healthy mind and body leads to education, Education leads to development. Which means ultimately a healthy food can lead to development. So it is very important to eat well. National school lunch program: It is a federally assisted program of meal being operated in either nonprofit private schools or public schools and residential child care centers. The purpose of this meal program is to provide a low-cost of free meal to the kids of schools so that they maintain a balanced nutritional diet along with study. This program was started under National School Lunch Act, which was duly signed by President Harry Truman in 1946. The three major characteristics of my audience are, first, they are a mass of people and a mass of people can lead to change in decisions; second, the current view on this topic and third is awareness. Now the question which needs to be answered is do we need a change? If the answer is yes, then the time is now. Free meal or low-cost meal does not mean a low quality or limited quality and quantity of food materials. If the nutrition is not reached up to minimum level also then what is the use of giving free or low-cost meals to the students. Scope of study: The scope of this study is to find out the meals menu served, the minimum nutrition it gives to the students, the changes which it might need etc. Research design: The research design which can be used in this project is exploratory research design and Descriptive research design. Exploratory reveals all the Who, What, When, Why and How of the topic and it defines the problem. Descriptive research design is that research which describes the problem and finds a solution. Mode of data collection: Survey can be the best mode of data collection. It will include a questionnaire and some personal interviews. This will give the primary data. For secondary data, we will have to find out the old surveys done on this topic. Internet can be the best place to find secondary data. Sample: The sample for this project can be the schools or the private organizations which opts for free meal or low-cost meal. The teachers, the students etc can be the sample. The sample size will depend upon the availability of time and money for this project. Data Analysis: The data got from the primary and secondary survey can be analyzed using different statical tools to come to a certain result. Conclusion: This project is about the research that should there be a change in the meal provided at public schools or of the non-profit private schools. As the meal provided is generally not at par with the standard of the food quality approved by nutritionists so it needs to be changes. The foods do not contain fresh fruits, green vegetables, pulses or right amount of any nutrition filled foods so it is required to change the menu as differently as it can be so that proper nutrition can be given.References: H. Nanci, (1/25/2012), Government requires more fruits, veggies for school lunches, USA TODAY, retrieve from * http://yourlife.usatoday.com/fitness-food/diet-nutrition/story/2012-01-25/Government-requires-more-fruits-veggies-for-school-lunches/52779404/1 B.  Karen  Wednesday, (Jan. 26, 2011), Parents, Principals Don't Like School Lunch Rules, Time U.S., retrieve from *

David Foster Wallace on SNOOTS

SNOOT (n) (highly colloq) is this reviewers nuclear familys nickname à   clef for a really extreme usage fanatic, the sort of person whose idea of Sunday fun is to hunt for mistakes in the very prose of [William] Safires column [in The New York Times Magazine]. This definition of the family word SNOOT (an acronym for Sprachgefà ¼hl Necessitates Our Ongoing Tendance or Syntax Nudniks of Our Time) appears in footnote number five of David Foster Wallaces review article Authority and American Usage (in Consider the Lobster and Other Essays,  2005). There, the late author of Infinite Jest devotes more than 50 smart and entertaining pages to the topic of grammar, in particular, to the dispute between linguistic conservatives and linguistic liberals, otherwise known as the Prescriptivists vs. the Descriptivists. Before deciding whether you would feel comfortable characterizing yourself as a SNOOT, consider Wallaces description of SNOOTitude: There are lots of epithets for people like this--Grammar Nazis, Usage Nerds, Syntax Snobs, the Grammar Battalion, the Language Police. The term I was raised with is SNOOT. The word might be slightly self-mocking, but those other terms are outright dysphemisms. A SNOOT can be defined as somebody who knows what dysphemism means and doesnt mind letting you know it.I submit that we SNOOTs are just about the last remaining kind of truly elitist nerd. There are, granted, plenty of nerd-species in todays America, and some of these are elitist within their own nerdy purview (e.g., the skinny, carbuncular, semi-autistic Computer Nerd moves instantly up on the totem pole of status when your screen freezes and now you need his help, and the bland condescension with which he performs the two occult keystrokes that unfreeze your screen is both elitist and situationally valid). But the SNOOTs purview is interhuman social life itself. You dont, after all (despite withering cultural pressure), have to use a computer, but you cant escape language: Language is everything and everywhere; its what lets us have anything to do with one another; its what separates us from the animals; Genesis 11:7-10 and so on. And we SNOOTS know when and how to hyphenate phrasal adjectives and to keep participles from dangling, and we know that we know, and we know how very few other Americans know this stuff or even care, and we judge them accordingly.In ways that certain of us are uncomfortable about, SNOOTs attitudes about contemporary usage resemble religious/political conservatives attitudes about contemporary culture: We combine a missionary zeal and a near-neural faith in our beliefs importance with a curmudgeonly hell-in-a-handbasket despair at the way English is routinely manhandled and corrupted by supposedly literate adults. Plus a dash of the elitism of, say, Billy Zane in Titanic--a fellow SNOOT I know likes to say that listening to most peoples public English feels like watching somebo dy use a Stradivarius to pound nails. We are the Few, the Proud, the More or Less Constantly Appalled at Everyone Else.(David Foster Wallace, Consider the Lobster and Other Essays. Little, Brown and Company, 2005) As regular visitors to this site may have noticed, we strive to remain on speaking terms with both sides in the Usage Wars. Looking at how language works (description) happens to interest us more than laying down arbitrary laws on how language should be used (prescription). And yet its clear that most readers arrive at About.com Grammar Composition in search of rulings, not linguistic ruminations, and so we do try to be accommodating. But how do you define your interest in language? Are you a fan of Lynne Trusss Eats, Shoots Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation (2004), or do you feel more at home with David Crystals The Fight for English: How Language Pundits Ate, Shot, and Left (2007)? Are you inclined to fuss at a child who uses aint, or are you more interested in finding out that until the 19th century in both England and America aint was an acceptable usage?