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This is a progressive paper. It is a total of 5 assignments so that means 5 different papers on the same topic. Please find attached documents with instructions for each assignment. Also I am looking for someone that will do all 5 assignments with the required number of sources. There will be a total of 19 pages broken down below: Assignment 1 is one (1) page Assignment 2 is one (1)page Assignment 3 is three (3) pages Assignment 4 is six (6) pages Assignment 5 is eight (8) pages Delivery will be 5 different documents as labelled above. Also, use the instructions for each assignment to determine how many sources will be required.

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL THESIS, MAJOR POINTS, AND PLAN

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Research Proposal Thesis, Major Points, and Plan

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Should the U.S. Tax Social Security income ceilings for contributions be raised?

The reason for choosing this topic is one; to analyze if at all the tax rate should go up and why, the second reason is to understand how tax raise will affect the citizens. Taxes are used as a medium for collecting money by the government and it is crucial for us to find out if the money that is taxed is used wisely and in doing what?

The characteristics of the audience in this topic are; the government, who are in control of how the tax money is used in the state. The citizens who are the ones that give the tax and benefit from programs carried out by the government. However, despite the citizens being taxed, they are not in a position to determine how the money is utilized by the government.

The citizens of United States are ready to raise taxes so as to retain social security covers. The Democrats that are willing to do so are 65% and 53% of Independents and 38% of Republicans. The life cover of Social Security could be extended for the next 75 years when there is a raise in the cap of taxation payroll which at this time limits the contributions to $110,100.

In 2011 the social security cover for the employee was reduced to 4.2% and the employer portion remained un-deterred. There was no money that was collected for Medicare. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners is a contributor on the social security tax ceiling. Once there is no enhancement in CPI-W, the cost of living is not adjusted and there is no increase in the input base.

The structure of both Social Security and Medicare caters for the retired employees. The government reviews the funds of an individual be it their income or assets. This causes other resources to surpass the stipulated level which leads the government to deduct on the individual’s payment.

References

Altmeyer, Arthur J. 1949. Statement by Arthur J. Altmeyer, Commissioner for Social Security

Administration on Recommendations to Improve the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Provisions

Of the Social Security Act.

Ball, Robert M. 1973. “Social Security Amendments of 1972: Summary and Legislative History.” Social

Security Bulletin 36(3): 3–25.

http://andrewgbiggs.blogspot.com/2009/06/why-we-shouldnt-increase-social.html

.

Report before the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives. Available in the

“Downey Books” Legislative History of 1950, Volume 4.

Snee, John, and Mary Ross. 1978. “Social Security Amendments of 1977: Legislative History and

Summary of Provisions.” Social Security Bulletin 41(3): 3–20.

Wade, Alice H., J. Patrick Skirvin, and William M. Piet. 2005. Computing the Ratio of Social Security

Taxable Earnings to Covered Earnings; Implications for Provisions to Raise the Contribution and

Benefit Base. Memorandum to Stephen C. Goss. Baltimore, MD: SSA, Office of the Chief Actuary.

Woolley, John T., and Gerhard Peters. 2011. “Social Security Amendments of 1977 Statement on Signing

S. 305 into Law.” Santa Barbara, CA: The American Presidency Project.

Running head: PROBLEMS FACING THE GOVERNMENT OF U.S AND ITS CITIZENS 1

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Problems facing the Government of U.S and its citizens

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There have been various issues that have led to the government being unstable. One of the main reasons is luck of funding that has led the government to scrape off retirement benefits, they have gone into debt and certain issues that are considered more significant have been abandoned. This has led to the retirees feeling un –appreciated and some have resulted to seeking employment from private sectors. Some of the citizens have ended up terming the government as

not confident and unreliable. In some of the counties, they have been rendered bankrupt. This has resulted to U.s having an initiative to raise tax and how the country will benefit from that.

There are various questions that have risen on how the government spends its money. This has come up due to the funding that U.S is getting for survey of the space program. Some people have viewed this as a waste of time and money while others think that it is the way to go. The government has had to deal with issues of getting their retired employees benefits but only for those that had worked for twenty years. Many have condemned this proposal and some cities have resulted to organizing on how the public employees can enjoy retiree benefits after five years of service.

The problem of giving the employees that have worked for 20 years is because; there are those that will want to retire early (Johnson1995). They are likely not to finish the 20 years in serving the government. When this happens, because of the few years they are not eligible for benefits then this will only be seen as unfair. There are those benefits that will not cater for sick leaves and this actually in human. Once the employee gets a disability, and they are not able to get employment, they should be considered despite the fact of having worked for less than 20 years.

In some of the benefits that are given to the employees, their beneficiaries are not included in the cover (Johnson1995). This kind of discrimination will lead to employees opting for other insurance schemes, that will provide for them guaranteed cover after retirement. It is unethical for the government to rule out the employee’s family from the cover; because in some instances, he/she could be the sole provider. When there is such an incidence, the employee is bound to pay for expenses when needed and yet they could have paid a premium rate for retirement.

In some instances, the government has been able to escape law suits cover (Johnson 1995).This is because insurance is not an obligation of the government and when they do no offer it, it is not considered illegal. The method that has been used by many governments is pay-as-you-go in which, the government’s work is to view reports and not to fund this benefit. It is a boost to the public employees for them to get benefits even after a few years of serving the government.

The problem of the U.S using funds for the space program has raised a debate on the morals of the government. It is the view of some that using the funds exploring space is an investment of a life time. This is because in a few years to come, it will be reliable and convenient. There are those that think it will be better if the government concentrated on settling debts, providing better health services or providing shelter for the homeless.

It is in this view that space exploration has been viewed as a luxury and not a necessity. In all this aspects, it has also been used to save lives through the use of GPS. It depends on how one views it, and it is essential for the government to provide health care to its citizens that to develop the use of space in the country. It will be useless to come up with such innovations if the citizens are able to utilize them.

The issue of taxes being raised in order to cover Social Security covers. There are those that are ready to add amount paid on taxes but again, they are not the only determiners. This has led to the decrease of the employees Social Security to 4.2%. If there is no improvement in Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners, then, living costs are not adjusted.

The government deducts the retiree’s payment for those that have insurance cover with Social Security and Medicare companies. The government will first review their assets or income before deducting. This is unethical because citizens should be at liberty to choose an insurance cover that suits their needs.

The government has however, reviewed some of the problems that have been affirmed. It is the duty of the government of the government to ensure that its citizens are treated right and fairly. The government has put into consideration the pleas of citizens, and it has pledged to come up with solutions to some or all the problems (Woolley, John T., and Gerhard Peters. 2011).

The government is the key policy maker, and it is looked up to make the right choices on behalf of the country. If at all the government is not in a position to do so, they are required to consult citizens who at times share ideas that are quite beneficial to the government.

References

Johnson, R. W. 1995. Pension underfunding and liberal retirement benefits among state and local government workers. Santa Monica, California: RAND.

Woolley, John T., and Gerhard Peters. 2011. “Social Security Amendments of 1977 Statement on Signing

S. 305 into Law.” Santa Barbara, CA: The American Presidency Project.

Kay, W. D. 1995. Can democracies fly in space?: The challenge of revitalizing the U.S. space.

Running head: ADVANTAGES OF U.S GOVERNMENT IN ITS PROGRAMS 1

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Solutions and Advantages to Problems of the U.S. Government and Citizens

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The government reviewed the problems that its citizens were facing and it concentrated on dealing with the issues. The problem of state employees not getting their retirement benefits has been taken seriously. Many counties have taken measures to ensure that employees retire at a certain age. If they do not, then there are conditions that have been set to ensure that they looked after. The government has taken to putting funds to the right investments by investing in a good healthcare system, giving laws on how children are supposed to feed in public schools and so on.

The government has been between a hard rock to ensure that public employees are given retirement benefits. The government has proposed to raise taxes to be able to cater for the citizen’s health benefits. The majority have taken it positively while others argue that it will drain their pockets. In this case, some will view it as beneficial for them to pay more to have the raise in tax money but be assured of healthcare insurance.

The issue of health benefits has also led to the bankruptcy of some governments, and others are afraid of following suit (Johnson 1995). This is because there have been an increase in costs of health, pension is sometimes not available and lack of government support.

In some cities however, they have found solutions that have enabled their retired workers to be assured of benefits even for those of their families. There are those cities that have come up with solutions to help public employees to enjoy their retirement age. However, this has not come without its limits as the employee will be required to retire after a period of serving the government. It has varied in various cities around the States. For some, the retirement age to those that have served for more than five years is 60. Those that have served for longer, retire at their desired age. This has been used as a way to limit people from retiring early and expecting retirement benefits.

There are solutions that different cities have come up with to benefit the retired employees. The government of certain cities saw the need for them to implement programs that would benefit the retired employees. We will look at some of the measures taken by different cities to ensure that the retired workers are covered in health insurance. The strategies that these cities have come up with are faced with challenges, but they are beneficial to the retired public workers. Like;

In California, they have come up with a strategy that ensures that the pensions of retired employees are addressed this is because the health care sector is not developed. This has also come with its challenges. OPEB has been seen as a fiscal problem, and the only way out is to have revenues being channeled to finance it. This has proved difficult because it will not be fair to use money that is meant for taxes in order to fill the fiscal gap. This kind of program has brought a change to the pay-as-you-go method to a more reliable program.

The advantage of this program is, it provides cover for its retired public employees compared to those private sectors. However, this will depend on how established the company is because the larger companies will present retirement benefits for its employees. This insurance will look after dependants; cover dental costs, life and vision covers.

The employers that wish to retire at a young age are also considered, and they are required to join their risks with other young employees. This way, their premium rates will be lower. The government gives young employees the chance to choose another share in the employee’s premium for them to acquire another health cover once they have left employment.

In some other cities, we see that there is a law that has been passed that, retired law makers receive insurance for free after serving for four years while the judges will get the same benefit after serving for six years. Those from the university and public servants get free insurance after working for twenty years. The retirees will be required to pay for the years that will have worked for the government and their ability to pay law. Teachers are not included in this insurance.

It is excellent news to those in Illinois because retirees will still be in a position to have access to their retirement benefits. This will lead to lowering of costs for the tax payers. However, this has changed with time requiring all employees to pay a premium rate for insurance.

In United States, there is an insurance cover that has bee designed to capitalize in dealing with the elderly. It caters for people who are 65 years and older, people that are less than 65 but have disabilities and people of all ages that have succumbed to renal disease. For the various parts, it seeks to cover different costs. In part A, it covers hospital bills for the elderly, part B caters for the cover of a medical insurance while covers the cost of drugs prescribed in part C.

The advantage of this program is, it receives funding not only from the government. This means that the employees will not have to pay for the covers.

In social security, it gets its funds from Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax (FICA). The employees and employers are required to make their payments through FICA. The workers are given cover in retirement and disability benefits. Incase of death, the spouse and children, will benefit from the insurance cover. In this case though, investments are not made on behalf of the beneficiaries they are used to gauge the levels of benefit. The retirees will collect benefits for longer because of the life expectancy.

In Illinois, the retirees are divided according to the jobs that they do. Terms and conditions will vary for the different sectors. There are advantages for the retirees because they have the opportunity to choose if, to take a cover that is sponsored by the government or to have their payments added to their pension schemes. The people that have worked for the government for twenty years will not pay health insurance premiums after retiring. The amount that the government has been able to fund is $800 million. This is according to the Department of Central Management Services, and premiums for the employees cover will only be 3% of that amount.

There formation of another scheme called Tennessee Consolidated Retirement system has enabled the retirees have access to medical insurance (Great Britain2011). It has concentrated on different sectors in the job industry. The advantage of this program is that, it provides cover even after disability; death and beneficiaries are also covered in this insurance. Once members have been covered with this insurance, and they get a disability that prevents them from gaining employment they are still eligible for the benefit. This is despite the fact that they have worked for a period of time. This will apply when the employee also get injured when in their line of duty.

The budget of Florida is financed by money collected from taxes. Employees that are regular and deal with Special Risk are entitled to retirement benefits at1.6%-1.68% annually. There are five classes of employees that will be given retirement benefits though they will vary in percentage. The higher rates are placed to encourage early retirement.

In North Carolina, a variety of benefit swill be given to permanent employees once they reach the retirement age. They will receive disability income, sick leave, credit union and so many other benefits. For the employees that have reached the age of 60, ought to have worked for 25 years while those that have attained the age of 65 should have served for 5 years. The employees that retire after five years, but have not worked for more than 10 years will be considered for a State Health Plan after they have paid the full amount of their premiums. Those that have worked for one year and happen to die, they will receive death benefits that will be not less than $25,000 and not more than $50,000.

In this county, there are added advantages of paying for health insurance. This is because they will cater for a number of illnesses, even the ones that are terminal like cancer and they will offer long-term insurance and for those that become critically ill and cannot get into employment.

The Connecticut state government salaries were rated as one of the highest public paying employee salaries (United States2005). The public employees must pay 3% for those that have worked for less than five years. This scheme has allowed the public workers to retire at the age of 52 instead of 55. The number has risen from 175 people in the previous years. For retirees that feel they would want to enhance their life insurance cover they are allowed to buy a universal life insurance cover. The state in thus case pays seventy percent of the health care costs. Beneficiaries of employees are covered in this kind of insurance.

In Massachusetts, they have a board that looks into the retirement issues. This board is for the public employees, and it consists of five members one of whom must not be retired, an employee nor a member of the commonwealth. Attaining membership is necessary for employees of the state be it part-time or full-time (Great Britain. 2011).

The members contribute towards their retirement by paying before- taxes in their deductions of the payroll. For the employees that are full-time, they will be eligible for creditable service for ever year completed, while, for the part-time employees, the will get an equal percentage from the full-time service rate. By doing this, even short term employees are bound to benefit despite having worked for a period of time.

In Kentucky, the employees have the chance to either accept or reject retirement cover. Once the employee rejects the cover and decides to join later on, they are allowed to do so in the first day of the month (Snook 1981). They will not be required to pay for the services that they did no gain before joining. The employees that are seasonal, part-time interns those on probation, independent contractors and temporary workers are not eligible to this scheme.

Once employment is terminated, the employee has three options to retire if they have reached the retirement age, to leave the contributions that they have made at KRS until they retire or they could get a refund of their account balance. The funds could be paid to another retirement plan of the employee’s choice, or they could be paid directly to the individual. However, no funds or benefits are received until the employee has completed a form, and it has been approved by the KRS offices.

If the government raises the amount of tax ceilings, it will be able to curb debt ceiling that gives the country room to borrow money so that it is able to support its expenses. If the debt ceiling is not raised, the country will have to cut its expense by 40%. If the government raises its debt limit, it will be able to fulfill its obligation like paying for Medicare benefits and Social Security benefits.

The government has reviewed issues to do with using funds for the exploration of space program (Kay 1995). It has improved the medical sector by ensuring that people have access to hospitals and medicine is available. The government has collaborated with other non-governmental organizations to put people in shelters for those that are homeless. The government has been in a position to provide food security to its citizens. To the extent that U.S gives relief food to third world counties that are engulfed in drought and hunger. The use of space has resulted into changing the planet to a greener technology planet, and it has led to advanced stewardship of the planet (McCurdy2001).

At the same time, space exploration has continued to be a substantial benefit to the citizens of U.S because they will be in a position to enjoy connectivity from various options. This technology has been viewed by many as a crucial investment that has brought about change in terms of efficiency and reliability. The use of GPRS has contributed to easier tracking of stolen cars and giving directions (Kay 1995). This investment has helped save lives. There are those medicines that can only be made from the space and such medicines have helped prolong life.

The development of a space program has brought about satellite technology, measurement of bone-density, heart pumps and many more technologies. There is the innovation of purifying water, wireless switches, coming up with robots that are used in the war zone countries to detect bombs (McCurdy2001). It has brought about convenience in knowing weather changes, about the natural calamities, and it has been used to detect the minerals that are underground.

In conclusion, all states are unique, and they all experience different problems be it structural or monetary. It seems as though the investment that have done by the government are not rising to keep up with the rising need for benefit payments. Some of the states have taken to increasing rates of taxes in order to cater for these covers for the state employees. The government has tried to weigh what works for the country and its citizens.

References

Brown, H. D. 1910. Civil-service retirement: New South Wales, Australia. Washington: Govt.

Print. Off.

Great Britain. 2011. Public service pensions: Good pensions that last. London: Stationery

Office.

Johnson, R. W. 1995. Pension underfunding and liberal retirement benefits among state and

local government workers. Santa Monica, California: Rand

Macklin, J. P. 1968. Adjusting public employees’ retirement benefits for economic changes.

Snook, D. W., Greenberg, J., Wilson, D., & United States. (1981). Civil service retirement

system: History, provisions, and financing. Washington: U.S.

G.P.O.

United States. 2005. H.R. 4391: The “Public Servant Retirement Protection Act” : hearing before

the Subcommittee on Social Security of the Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House

of Representatives, One Hundred Eighth Congress, second session. Washington U.S.

G.P.O.

Kay, W. D. 1995. Can democracies fly in space?: The challenge of revitalizing the U.S. space

McCurdy, H. E. 2001. Faster, better, cheaper: Low-cost innovation in the U.S. space program.

program. Westport, Conn.

Runningheader: ASSIGNMENT 5 1

ASSIGNMENT 5 11

Assignment 5

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Topic: should the U.S Tax Social Security income ceilings for contributions be raised?

If the U.S Tax Social Security income ceiling or the contribution base is increased, this means that there will be an increase in the maximum social security tax to be collected from an individual worker. Thus, the Social Security changes determine the contribution base based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners. The contribution base thus determines the cost of living adjustment applied to the recipients. If there is no increase in the contribution base, then the consumer price index for urban wage earners remains the same as well as the cost of living. In U.S., the social security income benefits increases automatically in every year as long as the same (increase) is attributed in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, from the third quarter of the previous year to the corresponding period of the present year (Internal Revenue Service, 2010). However, this was not the case in the year 2010 because there was no change in the Consumer Price Index for the Urban Wage Earners. This means that the individual’s social benefits remain the same. This is because the social security Act prohibits an increase in the contribution base (Social Security’s Maximum Taxable Earnings). From the past, the contribution base increase was justified by the desire to achieve an improved system of financing as well as maintain meaningful benefits for the higher and middle earners.

The advantage of raising the contribution base is that the social security benefits will be put on a more stable footage. This means that more people will benefit from the program especially the future generation. However, requiring high income generators to contribute more on the benefits may be received with mixed reactions with some viewing the program as less equitable. Other reason to increase the contribution base beyond the wage indexed levels is to reflect the growing earning inequalities and help restore the financial balance (Livingston, 2008). However, according to the statistics, 53 percent of the American people would prefer to raise the contribution base in order to ensure social security’s solvency. This will require raising the income tax cap from the current limit on social security contribution from 110,000 dollars (the current limit) to more than 250,000 dollars (the proposed limit).

Since the amendments were enacted in the year 1977, the contribution base has risen automatically with an increase in average wages. The current proposal to further increase the contribution base tend to emphasis the rationales (that were included in the 1977 amendments) of reducing the social security’s projected funding shortfall and creating a less regressive income tax structure as well as responding to changing earning distribution (Livingston, 2008).

Before increasing the contribution base, there is a need to consider the effects it has on the economy. First, the increase will result to solve most of the 75-year actuarial deficit, a trust fund measure. However, most economists and government analysts view government trust fund as “accounting mechanisms” but do not necessarily save or transfer resources over time. Thus, as much as the contribution base may have a legal meaning, it may have a little significant on the economy. Most economists are of the view that social security surpluses only subsidies the current consumption in the budget but do not improve the overall budget or improve or rise the national saving.

Thus, this point is important since increasing the contribution base would produce large short-term payroll-tax surpluses, which would be credited to the trust fund and then “carried forward” to pay retirement benefits in the future (Internal Revenue Service, 2010). Consequently, eliminating the tax cap (currently proposed) does improve Social Security’s long-term cash flows, reducing annual deficits by around half. But the most anticipated advantage to the system’s actuarial balance hinges on a large trust fund buildup or from the increased contribution base in the short term is that higher taxes produce a bubble of payroll tax surpluses. If these surpluses are not truly saved as anticipated then Social Security’s financing will be improved more on a mere wording than in reality. After all, it may cut annual deficits in the budget which is great, but may not necessarily eliminate them. Another effect on raising the contribution base is that it will constitute a significant increase in marginal taxes for many people falling in a middle class standards o f living bracket. For instance, consider a person earning 108,000 dollars which is just above the current tax ceiling. That person pays 28 percent on the marginal federal income rate, 2.9 percent on Medicare tax rate, and 5 percent on state income tax rate. Generally, that person will contribute almost 36 percent of her income to the government.

Value of increase in contribution base in relation to the economy

The most commonly used measures of tax earning values include

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The nominal dollar

· Inflation adjusted dollars, and

· Wage adjusted dollar

The diagram bellow shows the tax values for these three measures. There saw no change in the Consumer Price Index for the Urban Wage Earners between 2009 and 2011, thus there was no cost of living adjustment foe recipients (Livingston, 2008).

·

Thus, increase in the contribution base has an effect on inflation. However, the nominal values do not account for such. The diagram shows that the real value of the tax earnings decreased from 1937 to around early 1950s before increasing during the late 1950s since then. Also from the diagram, the wages have generally increased at a higher rate than inflation. The third approach is used to adjust the tax income with the wage growth. This is important as the tax max applies to wages. From 1980s the wage adjusted values have almost remained the same with slight changes. This result reflects the effects on the wage index and consequently the share of economy wide earnings. Generally, increasing the contribution base is aimed at expanding and improving future benefits for the middle and higher earners. The development of the contribution base is also attached to political development as well as inflation effects and income inequalities (Livingston, 2008).

Conclusion

Despite of the merits attributable from increasing the contribution base, the demerits are way much more. Thus, based on the above argument, the U.S. Tax Social Security income ceilings for contributions should not be raised as that will have adverse social/individual effects as well as increase the long term effects on the State’s deficit. Additionally, this does not improve the economy.

Topic 2: Should state and local governments provide health insurance only for retirees who have served 20 years in government service?

Most healthy insurance plans are designed especially for public employees and most so for retirees who have served in the government service for more than 20 years. Generally, the local government is obliged to provide healthy insurance to its employees. However, the local government on most cases restricts this responsibility to retirees who have served public offices for more than 20 years. This is because the government may find it expensive to cater for health insurance to all its employees. Thus the government could lack funds to finance their employees on this insurance plan. Most states nowadays are reducing and others eliminating health coverage for retirees. This is because the plan is very expensive and hugely underfunded. But more than 77 percent retiree employees in the U.S. state and local government were eligible for retiree health insurance. However, the rising healthcare costs, plummeting tax revenues and unfunded pension liabilities have forced some states and local government into bankruptcy (United States & United States, 2004)

This has been a problem to many states to the extent that in some of the cities, insurance is no longer offered. It is a disadvantage to the employees because once the government backs down they cannot sue them. This is because the government is not obliged legally to cater for healthcare covers. This has led to many workers of the public sector being expected to cater for their own healthy care costs. In some cities, the employees have been forced to pay for their benefits because of lack of funding.

If the local government decides to offer for healthy insurance to all its employees, certain effects will be attached. To achieve this plan, the government may propose to raise taxes to be in a position to cater for the citizen’s health benefits. The majority have taken it positively while others argue that it will drain their pockets. In this case, some will view it as beneficial for them to pay more to have the raise in tax money but be assured of healthcare insurance (United States & United States2004).

The issue of health benefits has also led to the bankruptcy of some governments, and others are afraid of following suit. This is because there have been an increase in costs of health, pension is sometimes not available and lack of government support. In some cities however, they have found solutions that have enabled their retired workers to be assured of benefits even for those of their families. This has been termed as unfair for the employees since they have dedicated their time and energy to serve the country. There are those cities that have come up with solutions to help public employees to enjoy their retirement age. However, this has not come without its limits as the employee will be required to retire after a period of serving the government. It has varied in various cities around the States. For some, the retirement age to those that have served for more than five years is 60. Those that have served for a longer time retire at their desired age. This has been used as a way to limit people from retiring early and expecting retirement benefits. There are solutions that different cities have come up with to benefit the retired employees. The government of certain cities saw the need for them to implement programs that would benefit the retired employees. In United States, there is an insurance cover that has been designed to capitalize in dealing with the elderly. It caters for people who are 65 years and older, people that are less than 65 but have disabilities and people of all ages that have succumbed to renal disease. For the various parts, it seeks to cover different costs. In part A, it covers hospital bills for the elderly, part B caters for the cover of a medical insurance while covers the cost of drugs prescribed in part C. (United States, 2004)

Conclusion

In summation, all states are unique, and they all experience different problems, be it structural or monetary. It though seems that the investments that are done by the government are not rising to keep up with the rising need for benefit payments. Some of the states have taken to increasing rates of taxes in order to cater for these covers for the state employees. Therefore, the question as to whether the state and local governments should provide health insurance only for retirees who have served 20 years in government service depends on the financial stability of a state. But more precisely, the local government should provide health insurance for retirees who have served for more than 20 years as this will help retain its employees for a better period.

Topic 3: Should funding for the U.S. space program be changed?

The U.S. government has been funding space programs since 1957 when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik. Its aim was for it to be the first to go where no man has ever been there. Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space in 1961and since then more people are battle ling to break records and frontiers (Kay, 1995).

The issue of funding the space program has been received with mixed reactions from the public with some opposing greatly that the program should be publicly funded. Opposes of this motion argue that the cost of pushing boundaries in the space is very expensive to be funded from the tax payer’s money. Over 16.5billion dollars have used to get to the moon. They argue that these funds should be used to help people on rather than be spent on space. Dennis Kucinich responded to President Bush’s space initiative that, “I also want to explore planet Earth and planet D.C” meaning that he opposed the move. They also argue that private markets are better suited for space exploration investments as this would transfer the investment risk away from the public money. They also hold that space programs are a waste of tax payer’s money (Kay, 1995).

On the other hand, the proposers of this motion argue that public funding is necessary to achieve real results in space. The private sectors are more attached to serving the rich and it is to the best interests of the public to fund the space programs for the best interest of the general public. They also hold that space programs have relatively small budgets and that space exploration is more valuable than other human expenditures. Space programs have brought many practical benefits to the people as well as benefits from natural resources of other planets (Kay, 1995).

Conclusion

Based on the above argument, space exploration is a perfect investment the public and for the future generation and the world would be a different place if space exploration was neglected. With the current improvement and advancement of technology, space knowledge is crucial as the human race may require its accommodation in the future, for instance, the study of planet Mars. Technology innovation is also attributed from space exploration, for example, kidney dialysis and the new artificial heart which have been based on technology found in space shuttles. More importantly, space exploration has led to the development of satellite, the most important thing that keeps us connected with one another. Therefore, the funding of the space program should not be changed.

Reference

Internal Revenue Service. (2010). Statistics of Income, Final Individual Income Tax Returns: 2008. Internal Gitterman, D. P. (2010).

Boosting paychecks: The politics of supporting America’s working poor. Washington, D.C: Brookings Institution Press. Revenue Service.

Livingston, S. G. (2008). U.S. social security: A reference handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO.

Clark, R. L. (2010). Retiree health plans in the public sector: Is there a funding crisis?. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Pub.

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