Germny Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Germny - Essay Example e can be, it will never be truly accurate, and will never be accurate on an individual level – for instance, just because most Americans believe in god does not mean that you can assume anything at all about a particular American if you meet them on the street. So when trying to describe the characteristics and stereotypes of the German people, and of Germany in general, it is essential to keep in mind everything stated above, that these characteristics have a wide degree of accuracy and that they cannot be applied to an individual German person even if they are true of the population generally. There are several characteristics of the German people that are popular as stereotypes, some positive, some negative, though most have both positive and negative connotations to them. Generally the positive characteristics are the ones that tend to be more accurate and the negative ones tend to be less so, as a general rule. One of the most popular positive characteristics of the Germa n people is a love of accuracy and precision, and this stereotype has a good deal of evidence to back it up and is probably true, while Germany still has many negative stereotypes that are associated with World War II, including being somewhat war-mongering and racist, and these characteristics tend to be untrue. The first characteristic people often think of when they think of the German people is a love of efficiency and order. People believe that the German people are better than many others at producing things that require a great deal of accuracy and design, and believe that Germans are better than many other people in small-details accuracy. This belief finds its best representation through people’s perception of German engineering and design being of a higher quality than almost anyone else’s. This belief is fueled in part by the fact that many German companies tend to brand themselves this way. Car companies like BMW and Volkswagon, which are both German, tend to play

Why Did Casey Anthony Kill Her Daughter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Why Did Casey Anthony Kill Her Daughter - Essay Example By Tuesday, July 12, there were 325,283 tweets about the same topic – 64% disagreed with the verdict while 35% were neutral (Varma). Outside the courthouse, people cried in frustration – there were very few who were not surprised with the results. A majority already made up their mind – Casey Anthony killed her daughter, and it was unjust to let her off. Why do people think Casey Anthony is guilty? What were the evidences against her? These are just some of the questions that I hope to address in this paper. I believe that Casey Anthony committed this heinous crime because of the evidences (though circumstantial) show that there is no other person with a motive to kill Caylee. How can a mother kill her own child (or children, in certain cases)? Before Casey Anthony, there was Mary Ann Cotton (Times Magazine), Marybeth Tinning (Bettman), Diane Downs (Howell) and Susan Smith (S.C. Department of Corrections). Of course, there were others after her, but the point is that mothers who kill their own children are not uncommon. In a book entitled Mothers Who Kill Their Children: Understanding the Acts of Moms from Susan Smith to the â€Å"Prom Mom†, it was mentioned that â€Å"infanticide is as old as human society itself†¦no culture is immune† (Meyer, Cheryl and Oberman, Michelle 1). ... Often, these are committed by mothers whose circumstances prevent them from parenting their children. They are deliberate acts and would require premeditation. There is no single factor that prompts to commit such crimes, and there are no one has been able to develop an intervention that will prevent them from happening again. Research shows that contemporary infanticide and filicide are fueled not only by poverty and isolation, but also â€Å"by demographic shifts in family structure and by a rise in substance abuse† (Meyer, Cheryl and Oberman, Michelle 10). A research published by two French psychiatrists showed that infanticide due to a mental illnes, now known as postpartum psychosis. Modern studies showed that one or two of every one thousand women who give birth are affected by postpartum psychosis. The illness is â€Å"characterized by a dramatic break with reality, accompanied by a ‘grossly impaired ability to function, usually because of hallucinations or delus ions’† (Meyer, Cheryl and Oberman, Michelle 12). It is typically a brief episode and will disappear a few months after childbirth. Because Caylee Anthony was already two years old at the time of her death, postpartum psychosis is not a valid reason. Moreover, Casey Anthony had to undergo psychological testing as a routine procedure and state psychologists showed that she was fit to stand for trial and that she was not suffering from any mental illness. Other patterns found in modern infanticide and filicides are connected with â€Å"sociocultural and economic influences such as disability, substance abuse, and unresolved trauma combined with the pressures associated with being the sole

A Global Language Essay Example for Free

A Global Language Essay As a Untied States citizen, English is the first language of any American citizen. If we add another foregin language to the criteria of our nation, The United States would not be a mixed diversity of race anymore. The Ethnicity would be the same, but our race would be different. For example, The United States of America has been a diverse country with many races such as, American, African American, Hispanic, Chinese, etc. As the generation ages, the country should be open to learning a new languages. When a language acquires a global identity as English has done, many unexpected things can happen. The two main conflicting issues that have come out as a problem are identity and internationalism. Internationalism here means the ability for a language to be understood. It calls for a standard that is agreed in terms of grammar, vocabulary, spelling, punctuations and the conventions of its use. There is no doubt whatsoever about English being a global language in these times we are leaving in. It has become the language of communication and technology and any one who does not want to be left behind in all this has no option but to learn it and eventually English speakers in the coming years will increase extremely. This in itself will disadvantage the native English speakers as they will be outnumbered by the non-native English speakers. They will be the only ones speaking one language as they will see no reason in learning a second language. With time the English language will be controlled be the many non-native speakers who will have become competent in it. The language will then diversify into many versions that will then bring about a lesser understanding than it was initially intended. Communication is the most phenomenal factor in the live of human beings and this has been greatly advanced by the existence of global language. This is language that is used beyond the borders of a single country and this has created understandings among the countries. A global language is sometimes known as lingua franca and includes French, English, Latin, and German among others. Having such a language is sometimes beneficial and may also be detrimental to those who are using it. This discussion will explore the instances where English as a global language is overridden by disadvantages. It is important to note that most of people use English as their second language besides their native language. People whose English as their mother-tongue language have an advantage over the other group of people since they easily develop the ability to manipulate the language. This will however be disadvantageous to the other speakers who have English as their second language and will have many problems and waste most of their time trying to master the language. Dominance of English as a language also creates the notion in the minds of many people that their native language is not important and unnecessary. This will create a room of discrimination of the minor groups in the society and further enhance it because language in most cases is used as an identity. This may make the threatened individuals to abandon their language thus enhancing extinction.

Que He Hecho Yo Para Merecer Esto Film Studies Essay

Que He Hecho Yo Para Merecer Esto Film Studies Essay Her only companions are her household appliances. Theyre the sole witnesses to her pain, her solitude and her anxieties. Theyre also the only witnesses of the murder she commits. Expand on this comment from Almodà ³vars interview with Strauss explaining the full significance of this statement to the characterisation of Gloria in  ¿Quà © he hecho yo para merecer esto!! (1984). In  ¿Quà © he hecho yo para merecer esto!!, the household appliances are, as Almodà ³var states, Glorias companions. They are also, quite simply, the bane of her existence. They stand for the incessant amount of housework within which she is constantly immersed, the deterioration in the relationships she shares with her husband and children, and the modern lifestyle that has failed to deliver its lucrative promises. This duality that the household appliances present for Gloria will be explored in the ensuing essay. The first time the viewer sees Gloria in connection with her household appliances is when she fills her washing machine with clothes. The next direct liaison between housewife and appliance is seen when she puts a pan into the oven. In both instances the camera is positioned so as to show the appliances, in effect, taking the point of view and looking back at her. Almodà ³var explains this choice of camera angle: I framed the shots from within these domestic appliances because I wanted to tell the story from the perspective of the objects that were a part of her daily life. Indeed, the subjective shots from inside the household appliances suggest Gloria is being observed by the objects. Moreover, the camera frames Glorias face in a close-up for several seconds at a time a view which is rarely seen throughout the entire film and it is in these instances that the viewer can properly see Glorias wrinkles, her frowning lips, her eye bags. All this infers that it is only the appliances that are able to comprehend her pain, her solitude, and her anxieties, whereas her husband, or anyone else for that matter, could not care less. Her only companions are indeed her household appliances. On the other hand, the viewer could deduce the opposite at the same time by analysing this same mise-en-scà ¨ne. These sequences feature an unconventional reverse-angle shot amidst a conventional kitchen setting: only the reverse shot is shown; we do not see Glorias point of view that one would normally expect of the washing machine as she loads it with clothes. While this non-naturalistic use of the reverse-angle shot is startling as it creates a distancing effect for the viewer, it is not entirely unfamiliar, since TV commercials for clothes washers and fried-chicken recipes long ago appropriated this particular editing figure (DLugo, Pedro Almodovar, p. 40). Almodà ³var explains in his interview with Philippe Rouyer and Claudine Vià ©, I wanted to show the flip side of all these ads that always tout the happiness brought by domestic appliances but never the misery that envelops the housekeeper, the lack of pleasure that these appliances bring. (Willoquet-Maricondi, Pedro Almodà ƒ ³var: Interviews, p. 75) Almodà ³var indeed succeeds in demonstrating this concept since there is no sense of happiness in Glorias look as she puts in the laundry; the quotidian, routine nature of loading the washing machine can be clearly perceived here in her indifferent expression. In the ads of yesteryear however, the housewife using the washing machine would have a bright toothy smile plastered onto her face, as if to suggest that she could not be happier doing anything else since the machine has made her life so easy. In fact, this spoof of old commercials seen in these sequences sets the genre of the entire film itself. Despite its eclecticism and resultant hybrid nature,  ¿Quà © he hechoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦!! suggests in general a satire of a sitcom about a beleaguered housewife. Its frenzied pace makes the film run hastily, and the close-quarters framing, where the viewer is shown the constant movement of actors in and out of the frame, recreates the look of the television screen. As Marcia Pally writes,  ¿Quà © he hechoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦!! plays directly off the traditions of daytime TV without quoting any particular sitcom or soap (Willoquet-Maricondi, Pedro Almodà ³var: Interviews, p. 86). These appliances definitely do not in any way make her life any easier: the chicken that she had put into the oven for dinner becomes burnt, causing her husband to curse at her. It is then she who eats the burned parts this effectively being an example of how it is the housewife who sacrifices herself for her family. In this respect, it can be deduced that the household appliances do more harm than good to her. In this latter scene, the oven undoubtedly manifests itself as a contributing source of tension and conflict between the married couple. Moreover, after the shot from within the washing machine, she impatiently shoos away her son Toni from the kitchen when he comes to ask her help with his homework. In the next shot, the viewer sees Toni walk into the living room and it his grandmother who asks him how his homework is coming along, and offers to lend him a hand. True, she gives him all the wrong the answers, but that is beside the point: Toni and his grandmother spend a lot of time together, discussing their future plans when they go back to their pueblo, walking in the streets and the park, going to the cinema, etc. To this end, in terms of film editing, the contrast between the relationships between Toni and Gloria, and Toni and his abuela, are especially emphasised due to the juxtaposition of these two scenes. Gloria has been far too busy doing her housework to notice her sons grow up over the years. This is demonstrated near the end of the film when Toni hands her some of his savings. She tells him, Hijoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ quà © poco te conozco; she obviously has been unaware of what he does and where he goes everyday. When the bus pulls away, we are shown a mid-shot of Gloria for more than 45 seconds as she walks back home. The length and type of shot allows us to fully comprehend Glorias facial expressions which is markedly chock full of emotion: tearful and distressed, it appears that it has just dawned upon her what she has missed all these years being a housewife, and now it appears to be too late as both sons have left. It could be thus said that her only companions are her household appliances by virtue of the very fact that her household appliances are her companions! The fact that she is addicted to amphetamines such as washing detergent could not convey any clearer this point that she has an unhealthy relationship with her household appliances; just like any drug addiction, it spells the deterioration of her relationship with her family. To Almodà ³var, the sequences which are reminiscent of commercials also have another implication: Advertisingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ is the only medium which makes these objects alive and even endows them with personalities. There are a huge number of commercials in which the main character is a yoghurt carton, directed as if it were a real character, lit by the cameraman as if it were a genuine star. Im very interested by this aspect of advertising. The value it gives to objects and the way it turns them into characters. Indeed, the fact that the viewer sees Gloria, the subject of the shot, from the point of view of the washing machine and the oven makes it appear as if the household appliances are autonomous beings who have some sort of command and higher authority over Gloria, bidding her to live her life around opening this door, filling that compartment with detergent, pushing this button, turning that knob, and so on. These shots are disturbing and slightly alarming when seen in this light, but this is certainly the underlying reason why Gloria is so downtrodden by her career as a housewife, slowly crumbling under the weight of the travails that everyday life dictates. On a deeper level still, these household appliances, independent of their commercial-like representation in the film, are a constant reminder of this modern standard of living in which Gloria and her family inhabit. This mise-en-scà ¨ne reflects the migration motif of the narrative. The plot and mise-en-scà ¨ne of  ¿Quà © he hechoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦!! is reminiscent of a specifically Spanish tradition of black comedies from the fifties and early sixties such as Josà © Antonio Nieves Condes Surcos. Indeed, it is a film which Almodà ³var himself acknowledges as one of the cinematic inspirations for  ¿Quà © he hechoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦!!. Grounded in the socioeconomic conditions of the period, these films focused on the plight of urban dwellers. They struggled to survive in a city that was unable to provide jobs and housing to a population swollen by recent arrivà ©es from the economically even more desperate provinces in search of the consumerist culture that had been the promise of Francos economic policies (DLugo, Pedro Almà ³dovar, p. 41). Contrary to Almodà ³vars often-cited declarations about making films as if Franco never existed,  ¿Quà © he hechoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦!! depicts a world created by the urban non-planning of the Franco years, growing out of a policy that actively sought by passive neglect of urban social services to discourage immigration to the corrupt cities (Carr and Fusi, The Rural Exodus in Spain: Dictatorship to Democracy, pp. 66-70). Like the characters from those earlier films, both Gloria and her husband have come from the pueblo, the pueblo to which her mother-in-law and older son Toni will return at the end of the film. The post-Franco city has failed them, as it fails Gloria, despite their apparently greater material well-being in a world of timesaving home appliances, the consumer paradise of contemporary Spain. As Almodà ³var succinctly puts it in his summary of the film, [Gloria] would like to become a member of the consumer society, but only manages to consume herself, day by day. Nevertheless, as Almodà ³var states in the quote in the question above, the only witnesses to her murder are not beings but her refrigerator and gas stove. The only other witness, the lizard, is killed. Obviously due to their inanimate nature, they cannot reveal the truth to the policemen, but because they do not, thus seems to suggest that they sympathise and even tacitly approve of the murder of her brutish husband. In this regard, the household appliances are indeed her companions, and perhaps passive accomplices in the crime. The characterisation of Gloria is also conveyed through the use of still camera shots. Almodà ³var acknowledges that although this technique was determined rather by the restricted nature of the sets, the tripod was perfect for the film; it added a great deal of tension. Generally, tracking shots tend to soften the action while the tripod hardens it. I wanted to stay inside the house because it was Glorias only universe. Hence it is the house that is the setting for much of the film as if the house, and everything within it, were a protagonist itself. This inevitably connects the household with Gloria, as if they were on equal footing, and thus reinforcing Almodà ³vars statement that her only companions are her household appliances. Moreover, this tension that the use of the tripod brings for the viewer serves to intensify the sense of anxiety and stress that Gloria the housewife undergoes perpetually as she exists within her universe. In the attempted suicide scene, on the other hand, Almodà ³var uses almost a long tracking shot. He starts with a shot of Gloria and then moves to an elaborate tracking shot, with the camera surveying her entire field of vision before returning to her. I really wanted to use an original shot. The effect if pretty deep, it renders what is most intimate in a human being. I wanted to show that the moment she becomes free, free from any obligation, she comes back home and finds it so neat and ordered that she feels terrible, because theres nothing for her to do. Her life has no meaning. She worked for her family her entire life, never taking time to do something for herself, to have hopes. She feels the emptiness created by everybodys departure, a huge abyss opens under her (Willoquet-Maricondi, Pedro Almodà ³var: Interviews, p. 75). This 360-degree pan from her point of view registers the emptiness of the home. It appears that Glorias entire life has been about nothing but cooking and cleaning and serving her family. The film starts with Gloria as a housewife and thus, as far as the viewer is concerned, she might as well have been a housewife forever prior to that. It follows thus that when there is no longer a need to use her household appliances to serve her family, she has lost her raison detre. This is indeed what leads her to want to commit suicide at the end of the film. It must be obvious after this discussion that when Almodà ³var describes the household appliances as Glorias companions, he does not mean to suggest that they are her friends. Although they are the only entities that pay her any attention whatsoever, she is enslaved to them, and this is clearly detrimental to her relationships with her husband and children. Moreover, the household appliances represent the modern way of living for Gloria and her family, and as such reveal the lack of fundamental change despite the intervening years of the so-called economic miracle and the end of Francoism.

Comparing the American Dream in My Antonia, Neighbor Rosicky, and 0 Pio

The American Dream in My Antonia, Neighbor Rosicky, and 0 Pioneers!      Ã‚  Ã‚   While many American immigrant narratives concentrate on the culture shock that awaits those who arrive from the more rural Old World to live in a city for the first time, Willa Cather's immigrants, often coming from urban European settings, face the vast and empty land of the plains. Guy Reynolds notes that "the massive outburst of America westwards was in part powered by the explosion of immigrants through the eastern seaboard and across the continent. Ethnic diversity was at the heart of America's drive westwards" (63). The land and land ownership shape the lives of these newcomers in powerful ways, giving them an immigrant experience that is in some ways quite unique. In "Neighbor Rosicky," 0 Pioneers!, and My Antonia, Cather presents vivid characters and situations that serve to describe the urban-rural conflict in America, and as John H. Randall III notes, "'there is no doubt in the author's mind as to whether the country or city is the real America" (272).    In "Neighbor Rosicky", the notion of land ownership as a fundamental feature of the American Dream is most clearly set forth. Anton Rosicky is a Czech who experienced life as an immigrant both in London and New York City and found both lacking. Only in his life on the farm in Nebraska does he find peace and fulfillment.    Rosicky had been a tailor in the Old Country and had immigrated first to London, where he was miserable and poor. At age twenty he left London for New York, and for a time he was happy there, becoming "a good workman" (Cather, "'Neighbor Rosicky" 241) and experiencing the cultural life of the city, including opera and the ballet. As time goes on, however, he ... ...at owning land brings are a substantial part of the American Dream immigrants come to the United States hoping to achieve.    Works Cited Cather, Willa. My Antonia. New York: Quality Paperback Book Club, 1995. ---. "Neighbor Rosicky." Collected Stories. New York. Vintage Classics, 1992. 231-261 ---. 0 Pioneers. New York: Quality Paperback Book Club, 1995. McFarland, Dorothy Tuck. Willa Cather. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1972. Randall, III, John H. "Interpretation of My Antonia." Willa Cather and Her Critics. Ed. James Schroeter. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1967. 272-322. Reynolds, Guy. Willa Cather in Context. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1996. Woodness, James. "Willa Cather: American Experience and European Tradition." The Art of Willa Cather. Ed. Bernice Slote and Virginia Faulkner. Lincoln: 1974. 43-64.   

Reputation Management :: Visibility, Transparency, Responsiveness

The research suggests that reputation comes from relationships and trust. Fombrun (1996) stated that to have a positive reputation managers must invest in building and maintaining good relationships. Building relationships with the company’s publics can result in a higher opinion of their reputation. These relationships also builds trust in the company. â€Å"Trust, like reputation, can take years and resources to build up, and while it may be difficult to break, it, again, like reputation, can take considerable time and even more resources to restore† (Bronn, 2010, pg. 310). With both relationships and trust, a company must be communicating with its publics. Van Riel and Fombrun (2007) developed six key communications principles that yield a high reputation: visibility, distinctiveness, authenticity, transparency, consistency and responsiveness (pg. 313). Applying these six principles to the Carnival case, we can determine if Carnival used them in managing their reput ation. Visibility deals with the public and market prominence of the organization or how much people know about the organization (pg 313). During this crisis, Carnival used social media to keep people updated about what was happening at sea. Before this instance, Carnival was a common name in the cruise industry. According to the Carnival website (www.carnival.com) Carnival is apart of the World’s Leading Cruise Lines alliance. Coombs (2010) said that, â€Å"a strong reputation prior to a crisis is an asset to organizations during the crisis† (pg. 478). Having this positive reputation before hand should help Carnival in the end with customers. Distinctiveness are the characteristics that set an organization apart from others. These characteristics can be its logo, slogan and trademarks (pg. 314). Carnival has all three, a distinct logo, slogan â€Å"Fun for All. All for Fun.† and trademarks on the names of ships, â€Å"Splendor†, â€Å"Freedom† and †Å"Liberty† to name a few of the 23 different ships (www.carnival.com). Authenticity helps make an organization real, genuine, accurate, reliable and trustworthy (pg. 314). By using social media and addressing the crisis head on, the company appears trustworthy to people. Carnival took responsibility for the accident and tried to solve it as quick as possible. The CEO of Carnival also made a public apology to those on the ship and to Carnival customers. Next, transparency is how much information and access stakeholders have about an organization (pg. 314). The Carnival Cruise Director John Heald went to his blog to offer updates and on-broad accounts to consumers and the press. Reputation Management :: Visibility, Transparency, Responsiveness The research suggests that reputation comes from relationships and trust. Fombrun (1996) stated that to have a positive reputation managers must invest in building and maintaining good relationships. Building relationships with the company’s publics can result in a higher opinion of their reputation. These relationships also builds trust in the company. â€Å"Trust, like reputation, can take years and resources to build up, and while it may be difficult to break, it, again, like reputation, can take considerable time and even more resources to restore† (Bronn, 2010, pg. 310). With both relationships and trust, a company must be communicating with its publics. Van Riel and Fombrun (2007) developed six key communications principles that yield a high reputation: visibility, distinctiveness, authenticity, transparency, consistency and responsiveness (pg. 313). Applying these six principles to the Carnival case, we can determine if Carnival used them in managing their reput ation. Visibility deals with the public and market prominence of the organization or how much people know about the organization (pg 313). During this crisis, Carnival used social media to keep people updated about what was happening at sea. Before this instance, Carnival was a common name in the cruise industry. According to the Carnival website (www.carnival.com) Carnival is apart of the World’s Leading Cruise Lines alliance. Coombs (2010) said that, â€Å"a strong reputation prior to a crisis is an asset to organizations during the crisis† (pg. 478). Having this positive reputation before hand should help Carnival in the end with customers. Distinctiveness are the characteristics that set an organization apart from others. These characteristics can be its logo, slogan and trademarks (pg. 314). Carnival has all three, a distinct logo, slogan â€Å"Fun for All. All for Fun.† and trademarks on the names of ships, â€Å"Splendor†, â€Å"Freedom† and †Å"Liberty† to name a few of the 23 different ships (www.carnival.com). Authenticity helps make an organization real, genuine, accurate, reliable and trustworthy (pg. 314). By using social media and addressing the crisis head on, the company appears trustworthy to people. Carnival took responsibility for the accident and tried to solve it as quick as possible. The CEO of Carnival also made a public apology to those on the ship and to Carnival customers. Next, transparency is how much information and access stakeholders have about an organization (pg. 314). The Carnival Cruise Director John Heald went to his blog to offer updates and on-broad accounts to consumers and the press.

Is Social Security going Bankrupt? Essay

Background of Research When the US Social Security retirement system was instituted in 1937, one major objective was to provide incentives for older workers to retire so that more jobs would be available for younger workers. At that time, life expectancies were considerably lower, and there were far more working-age adults than elderly. Now, however, continuation of current benefit levels has been presented as a major funding problem. 2 In order to increase the ratio of workers who pay Social Security and Medicare taxes to the number of people receiving Social Security retirement income and Medicare benefits, or at least to reduce the rate of decline, public policy is turning toward encouraging people to delay retirement. Similar changes in attitude are apparent throughout the economy. In decades past, workers in the US were required by many employers to retire at a certain age, usually 65, and seldom later than 70. Today mandatory retirement ages are rare. How does the Social Security retirement system in the US work? All workers in the US are required to participate in the Social Security retirement program, regardless of citizenship. Currently, 6. 2 percent of a worker’s pay is withheld, up to a maximum that is adjusted annually. An additional 1. 45 percent (with no maximum) is withheld to support Medicare, making a total of 7. 65 percent of earnings for most workers. The employer contributes the same amount. Self-employed workers must pay not only their own but also the employer’s portion, a total of 15. 3 percent up to the Social Security maximum for the year and then only the Medicare tax on any excess. To receive benefits upon retirement, one must have received credit for working at least 40 quarters. Full benefits have long been available at age 65; reduced benefits are available at 62 years of age, with increased benefits for those who continue to work up to age 70. In order to help maintain the solvency of the system, the full retirement age (FRA) is gradually being increased to 67 years of age for those born in 1960 and later. 4 Reduced benefits are still available at 62 years of age but will be reduced proportionately more since they will eventually be available up to five years earlier than the FRA. The maximum age for earning increased benefits for delaying retirement will still be age 70. Most Americans know that Social Security is headed toward bankruptcy. Nothing makes the point better than the poll taken a couple of years ago in which young people said they had a better chance of spotting a UFO than receiving Social Security benefits. But many may not know why the system is threatened. In order to develop a solution – one that meets my goal of saving Social Security for today’s retirees and those near retirement, the baby boomers and their children – we need to understand the serious difficulties facing Social Security. However, little research has been conducted on those who continue to work beyond the traditional retirement age, sometimes for many years. Since this group is gaining in size we need to better understand the factors associated with the decisions these workers make about maintaining their attachment to the labor force (or, in some cases, beginning employment). Increased healthcare costs for the elderly, in particular the costs of prescription drugs not currently covered by Medicare, have undoubtedly been a factor for many who have decided to continue working for pay. Employer-provided health insurance generally pays for most prescription drugs, minus a modest co-payment. Recent erosion of the retirement savings of many Americans after a precipitous decrease in the US stock market during the first half of 2000 has also contributed to the reversal of the trend towards earlier retirement that reached a low in 1993. By 2003, the overall labor force participation rates for those 65 years of age and over had increased to 18. 6 percent and 10. 8 percent of men and women, respectively, from lows of 15. 6 and 8. 2 percent. One important question that has yet to be answered satisfactorily is what impact having to work longer will have on the well-being of the oldest old. American policy-makers seem to assume that there will be little negative impact because the elderly are, in general, healthier, and are living longer. In recent years there has been much alarmist talk of the impending bankruptcy of Social Security, but it is in the private sector that real dangers of default now loom. Social Security is safe through 2041 or longer, but the pension fund crisis is already squeezing corporate budgets, with disastrous consequences for jobs. If nothing is done, this pension-and-jobs crunch will intensify over the next two years. While many CEOs sold at the top of the market, the pension funds and holders of 401(k)s were left with depreciating paper. Swooning stock markets have caused the major pension funds to lose 40 percent or more of their value since March 2000. Even the well-stuffed 401(k) has become a 201(k). Pension funding has become so central to today’s capitalism that these developments menace the financial good health of corporate giants as well as individual retirees. Most reports on the crisis have, understandably, focused on the plight of the 42 million Americans who have 401(k)s or the equivalent. But the impact on corporate pension schemes, on which a similar number of people depend, has been just as bad. Many businesses must now forgo investment or face bankruptcy because they cannot meet their pension obligations. (Achenbaum, 1986) In a â€Å"defined benefit† scheme (DB) the employer guarantees a pension calculated as a proportion of salary; this can be an onerous obligation for a company with many former employees. In a â€Å"defined contribution† scheme (DC), like the 401(k), only the contributions are defined, so benefits rise and fall with the market. Public-sector DB schemes are generally well and cheaply run, and are anyway guaranteed by state or federal authorities. But balanced-budget rules often force those authorities to meet pension underfunding by cutting other programs. Most large private schemes are now badly underfunded, their asset values depleted by stock declines and too many past-contribution holidays. We know this courtesy of recent reports from analysts at Merrill Lynch and UBS Warburg. Adrian Redlich of Merrill has undertaken massive research into the 348 companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 with a DB scheme. He warned in November that these schemes would end the year with a pension shortfall of $300 billion, and this is still the best estimate. If underfunded nonpension benefits are included, an even scarier deficit looms. (Hudson, 1999) The pension crunch is not simply a result of CEO misbehavior; it’s also rooted in a flawed structure that aggravates the boom-and-bust cycle. During a boom, the pension fund soars and no contributions are needed to maintain fund solvency. But when times are bad and the employer faces cash ebb, the actuaries insist there must be more dough on the table. Companies hide the unpleasant truth by fancy accounting. When they can no longer do this, they cut investment programs. This financing regime is dangerously pro-cyclical–that is, it encourages booms and aggravates recessions. New laws could enhance the rights of those in pension plans, but last year’s House and Senate approaches to reform of DC schemes offered the wounded patient a Band-Aid, when what is needed is a blood transfusion. (Achenbaum, 1986) The House bill was quite gentle on corporations. It reduced the time employees have to wait before their pension holdings are vested, but it allowed employers to continue contributing to 401(k)s with matching company stock. Ted Kennedy’s Senate proposal limited the amount of their own stock employers can contribute and gives employees more say in how their retirement fund is invested. But Kennedy didn’t propose obliging employers to offer a contribution. More robust proposals are not yet in sight. In addition to reliable regulatory structures, more resources are needed. The pension-jobs squeeze has only just begun. For individuals its reality has been softened thus far by house price inflation and earnings that continue to rise slowly. But while many investors prefer not to know about it, the goosing of the DB pension numbers by unreal assumptions could well prove as dangerous to economic health as the Japanese banks’ huge inventory of nonperforming loans. Will the Bush Administration stand by and do nothing as this time bomb ticks away? If the Administration simply wished to help the corporations out of a tight spot, they could be legally released from their obligations to retirees. This would allow them to resume investing. But it would be grossly unfair and provocative. Another solution might be to pump money into the PBGC. But to use taxpayers’ money to bail out pension funds in the current deflationary situation would be a dangerous exercise. And the PBGC arrives on the scene too late anyway: It only kicks in once Chapter 11 is staring a company in the face. The DB funds might be rescued by imposing on employees compulsory additional contributions. But this would weaken demand and could spark a firestorm of resentment. The most likely outcome is one that would allow employers to convert DB schemes to a DC logic, using â€Å"cash balance† or some kindred formula, but shortchanging employees in this way would create legal as well as political difficulties. A determined plan could address the pension crisis before it gets any worse. Corporations should be obliged to make up for their past and present derelictions by replenishing their employees’ retirement funds. However, simply forcing employers to contribute cash to every worker’s pot or company scheme is not the answer. Opponents would rightly warn that this would raise labor costs, drain cash flow, undercut investment and reduce demand. Applied anytime soon, it would mug an ailing economy and send unemployment skyrocketing. It would aggravate, not solve, the pension crisis. There is one approach that would shore up depleted savings without threatening a shaky economy: The funding gaps could be plugged by obliging all corporations to issue new stock or bonds each year equivalent to, say, 10 percent of their profits. This share levy, or stakeholder premium, would be calculated like a corporate tax, but unlike such a tax, it would not be a deduction from cash flow, nor would it be passed on to consumers. And unlike payroll taxes, it would not add to labor costs, thus giving no reason to lay off workers. A great advantage of the share levy is that unlike an ordinary tax, it would not exacerbate the problems of an economy threatened by recession. The issuing of new shares does not oblige companies to pay out more in dividends–it simply adds to those who will receive such dividends in the future. The levy should be calibrated to insure that all retirement funds gain more than they lose. While it would act in some respects like a wealth tax, it would not take demand out of the economy. And its revenues and payments could be adjusted to moderate the swings of the business cycle. (Kingston, Schulz, 1997) Defining the Problem Believe it or not, in 1945 there were about 42 workers for each person receiving Social Security benefits. By 1960, that ratio had shrunk to about 5 to 1. Today, it’s 3. 4 to one and by 2030, there will be just 2. 1 workers for each beneficiary. At the same time, Americans are living longer. That’s good news. But it means retirees will receive benefits for a longer period. Americans are also having fewer children, which mean relatively fewer workers paying Social Security payroll taxes. It is those taxes that finance current benefits. (Buell, 1999) Aside from these demographic trends, first-time Social Security benefits are growing far faster than inflation. These benefits now rise with overall wage growth, and wages are rising faster than prices. The result: over the next 75 years, benefits will increase more than 20 times, while prices will go up at half that rate. A retiree in 2060, for example, has been promised annual benefits starting at over $140,000. The result is a system that would require people in the future to work longer hours and pay more in taxes to support retirees. By 2034, payroll taxes would need to be increased by 50% to pay promised benefits or benefits would need to be slashed. Between now and 2070, benefits will exceed payroll taxes by a cumulative $120 trillion. Is it any wonder young people don’t expect to receive their Social Security? Something better can be done and is happening. Every generation of Americans has left a legacy of prosperity for its children. We cannot let our legacy be a Social Security system drowning in a sea of red ink.