...Institution Course Date Income Inequality: A Hindrance to Retirement Security Holland, K. (2015). On retirement security, US rank far behind others. CNBC. Retrieved 8 November 2015, from http://www.cnbc.com/2015/02/09/ In this article, the author suggests that America lags behind 18 other countries in retirement security because of the high-income inequality observed in many states in America. The author suggests that according to the recent study, the United States offers little support for retirement security services unlike other developed countries. The author quotes Sweden, Denmark, and Switzerland as among countries that have good retirement security systems. Many characteristics define these economies. First, most of the nations that score higher than the United States in retirement security have high tax burdens. However, these countries have a narrow income inequality. In addition, most countries are also improving on the gap between the poor and the rich. The universal healthcare schemes provided by these countries have also contributed to the good ratings of the most countries that have better retirement schemes than the United States (Holland, 2015). The author has focused on highlighting the importance of retirement security as a key pillar in economic developments. The author clearly states that the United States social security problem lies with the expanding income inequality. The author states that in order to have a good retirement scheme...
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...Institution Course Date Income Inequality: A Hindrance to Retirement Security Holland, K. (2015). On retirement security, US rank far behind others. CNBC. Retrieved 8 November 2015, from http://www.cnbc.com/2015/02/09/ In this article, the author suggests that America lags behind 18 other countries in retirement security because of the high-income inequality observed in many states in America. The author suggests that according to the recent study, the United States offers little support for retirement security services unlike other developed countries. The author quotes Sweden, Denmark, and Switzerland as among countries that have good retirement security systems. Many characteristics define these economies. First, most of the nations that score higher than the United States in retirement security have high tax burdens. However, these countries have a narrow income inequality. In addition, most countries are also improving on the gap between the poor and the rich. The universal healthcare schemes provided by these countries have also contributed to the good ratings of the most countries that have better retirement schemes than the United States (Holland, 2015). The author has focused on highlighting the importance of retirement security as a key pillar in economic developments. The author clearly states that the United States social security problem lies with the expanding income inequality. The author states that in order to have a good retirement scheme...
Words: 960 - Pages: 4
...Institution Course Date Income Inequality: A Hindrance to Retirement Security Holland, K. (2015). On retirement security, US rank far behind others. CNBC. Retrieved 8 November 2015, from http://www.cnbc.com/2015/02/09/ In this article, the author suggests that America lags behind 18 other countries in retirement security because of the high-income inequality observed in many states in America. The author suggests that according to the recent study, the United States offers little support for retirement security services unlike other developed countries. The author quotes Sweden, Denmark, and Switzerland as among countries that have good retirement security systems. Many characteristics define these economies. First, most of the nations that score higher than the United States in retirement security have high tax burdens. However, these countries have a narrow income inequality. In addition, most countries are also improving on the gap between the poor and the rich. The universal healthcare schemes provided by these countries have also contributed to the good ratings of the most countries that have better retirement schemes than the United States (Holland, 2015). The author has focused on highlighting the importance of retirement security as a key pillar in economic developments. The author clearly states that the United States social security problem lies with the expanding income inequality. The author states that in order to have a good retirement scheme...
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...GLOBAL INEQUALITY Global inequalities among nations are the outcome of centuries of nations’ struggle over global supremacy, forced circumstances and mismanaged priorities by the nations themselves and world as a whole. Historically global inequality refers to the three-world model and includes "World System Theory."The three-world model assumes that the entire world was once agrarian. Most of the worlds’ work involved farming, which was the most advanced type of economic activity. Around the middle of the eighteenth century, Europe began the transition to an industrial economy. The countries of Western Europe adopted the economic policy of capitalism and coupled it with factory technology. These (and their offspring: United States, Canada, and Australia, principally) became the wealthy countries of the world and are referred as the first world countries. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Russia adopted the socialist economic model and began to industrialize. However, it was a century and a half behind Western civilization, and socialism did not turn out to be effective in a world that was geared toward capitalism. The countries that followed this model (U.S.S.R,China, Cuba, etc.) became the Second World Countries. Countries that were unaffected by the two great revolutions (Industrial Revolution in the West and Communist Revolution in the East) are today's Third World Countries, the poorest countries in the world. World System Theory postulates that the vast majority...
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...My understanding of social justice is that it is society’s responsibility to ensure that everyone has equal access to public services, healthcare, and quality of life. Inequalities come in many forms. Some people are poorer, less well educated, and live shorter and less healthy lives than others, etc. It is well known that wealthier people are on average healthier than poorer people. Why then is that a wealthy country like the United States is not healthier than some poorer countries? Access to care is the answer, equality to that access, regardless of ethnicity, geography, economic status, or educational level. Powers and Faden’s (2008) view is that social justice, while developed for the specific contexts of public health and health policy, also applies equally well to other realms of social policy, including education and economic development. Madison Powers and Ruth Faden argue that our institutions must provide a sufficient level of six basic dimensions of human well-being, for every individual 1) a healthy life and life span (relative to the wealth and technological capability of the society) 2) personal security against violence 3) the respect of self and others 4) the ability to form and to benefit from attachments to others, particularly in childhood 5) autonomy with respect to decisions affecting one's own future 6) and a healthy amount of reasoning abilities. They felt that our institutions must prioritize the health and overall well-being of children when forced...
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...It’s Time Obamacare begins its main act The Prince, an excellent writing by Niccolò Machiavelli, who was born on May 3, 1469, in Florence, Italy; illustrates a practical guide for ruling. The Prince is dedicated to Lorenzo de’ Medici, the ruler of Florence. Machiavelli abstract tackles the way autocracy regimes rule, rather than republic. Base on The Prince, this essay is attempt to answer a critical question: how the tension between individual liberty and the common good is resolved in contemporary society? A great Prince (ruler) is whom can merge the gap between common goods without violating individual liberty; as Machiavelli would argue: the theme that obtaining the goodwill of the populace is the best way to maintain power. Goodwill is the crucial term to understand Machiavelli definition of a great ruler. Machiavelli introduction of The Prince is about the way Lorenzo should govern with absolute power, as military power is dominant. He proposed the advantage and disadvantage to attend various routes to power. The most important theme in his book is how a Prince should avoid hatred from his populace. This can directly relate to contemporary society. As Machiavelli suggested, it is not necessary for a Prince to be love, but hatred is the downfall of a ruler. His realist’s argument point out that fears is the best alternative to sustain power; however, in modern society context, it doesn’t work anymore. How is his argument related to today context? The latest issue...
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...Phone: 773-241-**** E-mail: *********@rocketmail.com Health Status and Health Care Services in the United Kingdom with comparison to the United States HSM310 Introduction to Health Services Management Course Project Date submitted: 11/29/2015 Table of Contents Executive Summary………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3 Population and Health Status………………………………………………………………………………………………………………... 3 Demographic characteristics of population Mortality, Infant mortality data, causes of death Other data of health status Related information (such as on quality if life); analysis Availability of Health Services………………………………………………………………………………….. 4 Basic organization/general description of services institutions, providers of care Issues related to access Utilization of services (data, if available) Other related information/analysis Expenditures………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5 How are health services paid for; any roles for the government here Data on total expenditures Other related information/analysis Macroenvironmental influences on the health care system……………………………………………… 6 Political Socioeconomic Cultural Technological/Other relevant influences Summary comments…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7 Problems Opportunities Other related comments regarding this country's health care services Comparison to the United States: what works better, what is not working as well Concluding comments: Lessons learned for the U. S...
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...the provision of essentials that assists given countries to adhere to the practice of healthy policies. In the long run, it will in turn lead to the creation of various opportunities including research and training of health workers. One of the health initiatives involves the Health Disparity. There exists a broad discrimination in the event in which various patients receive health services. It, therefore, puts health disparity as one of the public health initiatives. In this regard, this paper discusses more health inequality and its relevance to the health sector (Barr, 2014). Health disparity is a standard issue in the present world. It is a matter that arises due to the distinctiveness in the ethnic background, the color difference of individuals and the even difference in the language spoken. However, in the event of finding a solution to the given disparity, there exist certain principles of economics for evaluating and assessing the need for health inequality. The first principle advocates for the equal treatment of everybody in need of medical attention. It is a principle whose aims majors in equity (Bayer, 2012). Regardless of an individual’s ethnic background, each and every person dwelling in the planet earth deserves an equal health treatment. It is a venture that leads to an increase in the demand for the health care services. At the same time, the supply of health care services also increases evenly. Bridging the given disparity assists in the creation of a peaceful...
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...Final Paper Wealth Inequality in U.S. and Economic Efficiency Over the last decade, income inequality has become one of the most important issues in the U.S. and a subject of a lot of debate. There is a prevalent idea in the society that the wealth inequality in United States is currently at the highest level in the history after steadily raising for a number of decades. The financial crisis is said to have contributed to this significant gap between the top 1% and everybody else. People view it as an inherently negative thing, and fight hard to promote the equality and income redistribution. This paper examines the causes of inequality; the relationship between wealth inequality and economic growth and the hypothesis on how policy measures can be designed to mitigage the income disparity both in U.S. and in the rest of the world. The researh is based on the theory that inequality is an essential aspect of an efficient free market economy that adversely affects economic growth when in excess. When it comes to global wealth inequality, people often tend to accuse capitalism. In fact, the real laissez-faire capitalism doesn't exist anywhere on our planet. According to its definition, laissez faire is "an economic system in which transactions between private parties are free from intrusive government restrictions, tariffs, and subsidies, with only enough regulations to protect property rights." It has been previously proven free markets lead to the most efficient use of economic...
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...Abstract Health policy debates are replete with discussions of federalism, most often when advocates of reform put their hopes in states. But health policy literature is remarkably silent on the question of allocation of authority, rarely asking which levels of government ought to lead. We draw on the larger literatures about federalism, found mostly in political science and law, to develop a set of criteria for allocating health policy authority between states and the federal government. They are social justice, procedural democracy, compatibility with value pluralism, institutional capability, and economic sustainability. Of them, only procedural democracy and compatibility with value pluralism point to state leadership. In examining these criteria, we conclude that American policy debates often get federalism backward, putting the burden of health care coverage policy on states that cannot enact or sustain it, while increasing the federal role in issues where the arguments for state leadership are compelling. We suggest that the federal government should lead present and future financing of health care coverage, since it would require major changes in American intergovernmental relations to make innovative state health care financing sustainable outside a strong federal framework. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law on March 23, 2010 by President Barack Obama. The ambitious (and controversial) legislation focuses on reforming the...
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...Introduction In this essay, I will be taking a look into the general growth and development experience of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay over the period of 1950 to present day. Using several dimensions of development, I hope to provide a glimpse into the development process that Uruguay has gone through in the above mentioned period. Description Uruguay is a South American country with a relatively small population of 3.3 million people, as of 2008, living in a land area of 176,000km2 (World Bank, 2009). However, they do possess a fairly good Gross National Income (GNI) per capita of US$8260, which is fairly high compared to the Latin America & Carribean average of US$6781 (World Bank, 2009). Throughout the last 60 years of its history, Uruguay has undergone much changes in terms of its social, economic and political scenes. Uruguay suffered many years of turmoil during the period of the 1950s and 1960s. Though at one point of time, the people living in Uruguay had the highest per capita income in the continent, that did not last and economic problems occured. In the 1970s, Uruguay suffered a military coup, in which the generals took power from the elected officials and thus began a period of military rule from 1973 to 1985. During the early years of military rule, the economy did recover from the economic downturn of the previous period. However, the Uruguayan economy began to worsen once again towards the end of this period. Because of this, the military was forced to...
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...HEALTH RISKS & COSTS The Effects Of Obesity, Smoking, And Drinking On Medical Problems And Costs Obesity outranks both smoking and drinking in its deleterious effects on health and health costs. by Roland Sturm ABSTRACT: This paper compares the effects of obesity, overweight, smoking, and problem drinking on health care use and health status based on national survey data. Obesity has roughly the same association with chronic health conditions as does twenty years’ aging; this greatly exceeds the associations of smoking or problem drinking. Utilization effects mirrors the health effects. Obesity is associated with a 36 percent increase in inpatient and outpatient spending and a 77 percent increase in medications, compared with a 21 percent increase in inpatient and outpatient spending and a 28 percent increase in medications for current smokers and smaller effects for problem drinkers. Nevertheless, the latter two groups have received more consistent attention in recent decades in clinical practice and public health policy. M a n y b e h a v i o r a l r i s k f a c t o r s , chief among them smoking, heavy drinking, and obesity, are known causes of chronic health conditions. Chronic health conditions, like cancer, diabetes, or heart disease, in turn are primary drivers of health care spending, disability, and death. This paper compares the associations of smoking, problem drinking, and obesity with health care use and chronic conditions....
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...The Policy Process University of Phoenix The Policy Process The policy process is an ongoing event according to Kronenfeld (1997). When a policy is formulated there are two major parts; agenda setting and development of legislation. After these stages then the implementation stage begins. The way issues emerge can bring public awareness to a situation, such as the need for healthcare reform in the United States and eliminating the uninsured population. This paper will discuss and define the various stages of the policy process required to address this issue and will include the formulation stage, legislative stage and the implementation stage. Policy formulation begins with problems, possible solutions and political circumstances (Kingdon, 2009). Identifying problems and agenda setting is the first step in the policy formulation process. The problem in this scenario is that 46 million Americans are without health insurance in the United States (Census Bureau, 2008). With the number of uninsured American’s, policy formulation is critical; issues need to be straightforward, who is involved in the process, and what needs to be done has to be clearly defined in order for policy to be considered at this stage (Fafard, 2008). The Institute of Medicine reported that between 2000 and 2006, 137,000 American’s died due to lack of health insurance (Dorn, 2008); this number includes 22,000 alone in 2006. This is evidence enough for health reform to be on a political agenda for policy...
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...within the United States. Many individuals do not always agree with the decisions made for health care, the more concerned issues are the increase and where the money will be coming from to pay the costs of increase. Patient’s costs has doubled more in the U.S than any other country along with leaving some people without health care. This paper will discuss health care expenditures, as well as spending is too much or not enough. This paper will also discuss whether or not the nation should add or cut in certain areas and why. How the public need for health care are financed and the percentage of expenditures they represent. Lastly, I will provide future economic needs of the health care system along with reasoning for addressing these needs, and envisions for financing these needs. The spending for health care uses a great deal of the economy revenue, the national studies that have been completed within the past decade clearly shows many U.S citizens will have to make decisions that are disconcerting based on their ability to obtain affordable health care. As health care cost has been on the rise for many years. The expenditures in the United States to health care rose above $2 trillion in 2008. This has affected many families and businesses as well as the budget for the public. Health care spending cost are increasing at a more rapid rate than the economy current state as a whole and more rapidly than employee wages. Other countries spend rate is about 12% while the United States...
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...and it is important that the citizens maintain a good healthy balance between their work life and family life. Being wealthy is frowned upon by the general population of Norway, having an excess of money and material items are ranked very low on their list of values. There are no homeless or hungry residents, education, day care and government services are offered to all, and their financial security is guaranteed. Norway has evolved from a fishing and farming community to a mostly white collar high-tech, state-owned oil export industry with very little manufacturing thereby preserving their pristine environment. Norms Norway is a very small country but it spends 1% of its GDP each year to fight global poverty donating millions more in foreign aid than the U.N. Oslo often serves as a mediator to foreign conflicts between North and South Korea and in the Middle East peace process, gaining clout and global respectability. It is my opinion that the United States has a much different agenda for the foreign aid that we offer as compared to Norway. It appears to me that our current government may be viewed not only as the most powerful, but also as the “Bully”. I am not sure that this current norm is gaining us the same type of global respect that Norway has earned. To maintain a good balance between work and family time, employees work flexible hours having a usual 38 hour work week. Employees are encouraged to be home by 5 pm and are given liberal sick leave...
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