Legalize Marijuana Essay Example for Free

Legalize Marijuana Essay Marijuana has been vilified in America over the past 70+ years. Despite its many practical uses, medicinal and industrial, our Federal government insists on maintaining the status quo that the growth, possession and use of marijuana is criminal despite the evidence that the legalization of marijuana would have a positive influence on America. In this paper I will discuss the history of marijuana, the industrial uses of hemp, the prohibition of marijuana, the economic impact prohibition has on America, the effects of marijuana use on the mind and the body, marijuana for medical use, and how legalization of marijuana would have a positive influence on America. Although I support the legalization of marijuana I do not support the legalization of other Schedule I drugs, therefore this paper is not about the legalization of all drugs. Marijuana, as most people commonly know it, is really a plant called hemp, or cannabis sativa. There are other plants called hemp, but cannabis hemp is the most useful of these plants. Hemp is any durable plant used since prehistory for many purposes, and cannabis is the most durable of the hemp plants. The cannabis plant also produces three very important products that other plants do not, seed, pulp, and medicine. The cannabis sativa plant grows as weed and cultivated plant all over the world in a variety of climates and soils. Marijuana has been used throughout history; in 6000 B.C. cannabis seeds were used as food in China; in 4000 B.C. the Chinese used textiles made of hemp; the first recorded use of cannabis as medicine in China was in 2727 B.C.; and in 1500 B.C. the Chinese cultivated Cannabis for food and fiber. This time line goes on and on right through today. It is thought that hemp was first brought to the New World in 1545 by the Spanish; it was introduced in Jamestown by the English in 1611 where it became a major commercial crop alongside tobacco and was grown as a source of fiber. Our forefathers grew hemp; in fact it was the principal crop at Mount Vernon and it was a secondary crop at Monticello. There are recorded notes made by George Washington regarding the cultivation and harvesting of hemp. These hemp crops of course were grown for industrial use only and there is no indication that our forefathers were using their crops recreationally. Today the hemp grown for industrial purposes have extremely low levels of THC Delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol delta 9-THC, the active component in cannabis therefore it is impossible to get high from such hemp grown for industrial use. During the Colonial Era Americans were legally bound to grow hemp. During the Second World War the federal government subsidized hemp and US farmers grew about a million acres of hemp as part of that program. Hemp is extraordinary in its diversity. There are over 25,000 different uses for the hemp plant. Because of how quickly hemp can be cultivated it is the Earth’s number one biomass resource. Hemp’s uses include but are certainly not limited to fuel; food, hemp seeds provide an incredible source of protein-not only for people but for birds who seek out hemp seeds which have been mixed with other seeds; paper; textiles, for example canvas, paper, cloth, rope; paint; detergent; varnish; oil; in; medicine; and building materials. Almost any product that can be made from wood, cotton, or petroleum including plastics can be made from hemp. In fact, hemp plastics are biodegradable. Besides its diversity, the practicality of utilizing hemp to its fullest potential is clear. Trees take from 50 to 100 years to grow; hemp’s growth cycle is 120 days. It is estimated that if the hemp pulp paper process reported by the USDA in 1916 were legal today it would soon replace 70% of all wood paper products. Despite all of its proven uses, all of which are beneficial to the planet Earth, the growth of industrial hemp in the United States remains a criminal act thanks to the robotic ravings of our federal government. President and founder of Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) Glenn Levant Hemp is marijuana. Philip Perry, special agent in charge of the DEAs Rocky Mountain Division ignorantly states, (Levant 1) the effort to decriminalize hemp is no more than a shallow ruse being advanced by those who seek to legalize marijuana. It should be noted that the selling hemp products are not illegal and in fact the U.S. hemp-products industry does about $125 million in retail sales a year. Although most states had local laws prohibiting marijuana use and possession, it wasn’t until 1937 that the federal government passed the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act. Interestingly, the congressional hearings on marijuana prohibition lasted all of two hours in direct contrast to most congressional hearings on new laws which last for days and days. There were exactly three bodies of testimonies testifying at these hearings. The first was Commissioner Harry Anslinger, the newly named commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics who happened to be appointed by his uncle-in-law, Andrew Mellon, who was the Secretary of the United States Treasury. Commissioner Anslinger testified on the government’s behalf. Not surprisingly he was working from a text which he had not written himself but which had been written for him by a New Orleans District Attorney. Reading directly from this text Commissioner Anslinger told the Congressmen at the hearings, Marihuana is an addictive drug which produces in its user’s insanity, criminality, and death. That was the Commissioner’s brilliantly insightful government testimony to support the marijuana prohibition. The second bodies of testimony to testify at this congressional hearing were industrial spokesmen. The first of these spokesmen was, believe it or not, a man representing the rope industry. This industry representative testified that it was cheaper to import from the Far East the hemp needed to make ropes and therefore the United States no longer needed to grow any more hemp to make rope. Five years later, in 1942, the United States was cut off from its sources of hemp in the Far East and, since we needed a lot of hemp to outfit our ships with rope for World War II, the Federal Government went into the business of growing hemp on gigantic farms throughout the Midwest and the South. The paint and varnish spokesmen didn’t seem to care either which way. The only industrial spokesperson who objected to the Marijuana Tax Act at all was the birdseed representative who sang the praises of hemp seeds for the birds’ coats. Based on this objection the birdseed industry got an exemption from the Marijuana Tax Act for denatured seeds. â€Å"The third body of testimony was two representatives of the medical field. The first testimony came from a pharmacologist who claimed that he had injected the active ingredient in marihuana into the brains of 300 dogs, two of which died. When asked by the Congressmen if he choose dogs for the similarity of their reactions to that of humans the answer of the Pharmacologist was, I wouldnt know, I am not a dog psychologist. The active ingredient in marijuana was first synthesized in a laboratory in Holland after World War II therefore it is unknown to this day what this pharmacologist injected into the dogs. The second testimony on behalf of the medical field came from the Chief Counsel to the American Medical Association, Dr. William C. Woodward. Dr. Woodward was the hearing to testify at the request of the American Medical Association. His exact quote to the congressmen was, The American Medical Association knows of no evidence that marihuana is a dangerous drug. to which one of the Congressmen said, Doctor, if you cant say something good about what we are trying to do, why dont you go home? Remember, this testimony came from the Chief Counsel of the esteemed American Medical Association. It should be no surprise that the bill passed. The act did not itself criminalize the possession or usage of marijuana but instead levied a tax of approximately one dollar on anyone who dealt commercially in marijuana. The penalty provisions for violators of the proper procedures could result in a fine of up to $2000 and five years imprisonment. The intended result and indeed, the result of the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act was to effectively make it too risky for anyone to deal in the substance. During the war years the Bureau chose to concentrate on opiates and abandoned responsibility for most marijuana law enforcement to the states. In the post-war years, however, there was found to be a significant increase in narcotic drug abuse and the public began to be concerned with the spread of narcotic addiction, particularly among young persons. Congressional furor was aroused by the assertion that the use of marihuana inevitably led to the use of these harder drugs, particularly heroin. In 1951 Congress passed the Boggs Act, increasing penalties for all drug violators. It was at this time, for the first time in federal drug legislation, that marijuana and the narcotic drugs were lumped together, since the Act provided uniform penalties for the Narcotic Drugs Import and Export Act Boggs Act, ibid. and the Marihuana Tax Act. The states followed the federal lead. Then, in 1956, Congress passed the Narcotic Control Act, escalating the penalties still further. Once again the individual states followed suit. The current Controlled Substances Act (CSA), Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 is a consolidation of numerous previous laws regulating the manufacture and distribution of narcotics, stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, anabolic steroids, and chemicals used in the illicit production of controlled substances. The CSA places all substances that are regulated under existing federal law into one of five schedules. This placement is based upon the substances medicinal value, harmfulness, and potential for abuse or addiction. Schedule I am reserved for the most dangerous drugs that have no recognized medical use, and, of course, is the current classification of marijuana. Public opinion on the medical value of marijuana has been sharply divided. Some dismiss medical marijuana as a hoax that exploits our natural compassion for the sick; others claim it is a uniquely soothing medicine that has been withheld from patients through regulations based on false claims. Proponents of both views cite scientific evidence to support their views and have expressed those views at the ballot box in recent state elections. In January 1997, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) asked the Institute of Medicine to conduct a review of the scientific evidence to assess the potential health benefits and risks of marijuana and its constituent cannabinoids. That review began in August 1997 and culminates with the report Marijuana and Medicine, Assessing the Science Base from the Institute of Medicine. This study was supported under Contract No. DC7C02 from the Executive Office of the President, Office of National Drug Control Policy. This report summarizes and analyzes what is known about the medical use of marijuana; it emphasizes evidence-based medicine derived from knowledge and experience informed by rigorous scientific analysis, as opposed to belief-based medicine derived from judgment, intuition, and beliefs untested by rigorous science. After their nearly two-year review, the investigators affirmed Scientific data indicate the potential therapeutic value of cannabinoid drugs for pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation. Except for the harms associated with smoking, the adverse effects of marijuana use are within the range tolerated for other medications. However, the authors noted that cannabis inhalation would be advantageous in the treatment of some diseases, and that marijuanas short- term medical benefits outweigh any smoking-related harms for some patients. A most comprehensive and informative report on this subject is, The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition by Jeffrey A. Miron, Visiting Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, Harvard University, which was published in June, 2005. This paper concludes. Replacing marijuana prohibition with a system of legal regulation would save approximately $7.7 billion in government expenditures on prohibition enforcement $2.4 billion at the federal level and $5.3 billion at the state and local levels. Revenue from taxation of marijuana sales would range from $2.4 billion per year if marijuana were taxed like ordinary consumer goods to $6.2 billion if it were taxed like alcohol or tobacco. These impacts are considerable, according to the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. For example, $14 billion in annual combined annual savings and revenues would cover the securing of all loose nukes in the former Soviet Union estimated by former Assistant Secretary of Defense Lawrence Korb at $30 billion in less than three years. Just one years savings would cover the full cost of anti-terrorism port security measures required by the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002. The Coast Guard has estimated these costs, covering 3,150 port facilities and 9,200 vessels, at $7.3 billion total. A further comprehensive study which reports and analyzes national arrest data between 1995 and 2002 is, Crimes of Indiscretion, Marijuana Arrests in the United States, compiled by Jon Gettman, PhD, published by The NORML Foundation in 2005. There are many reasons for marijuana wanting to be legal. It isn’t just the stoners and illegal distributers that want it, but also the people that use it for medicinal use. In my perspective that’s the reasoning for the bill not being passed. Just people seeing that one word marijuana, they take one look and think it’s just a group of pot heads that want to be able to smoke it legally. It can help many people probably everyone in the world if you think about it properly. Works Cited 1. Cruz, Veronica. â€Å"Gunmen Get Medical Pot from Home on NE Side†. Arizona Daily Star. 20 March, 2012: A1 A5. 2. Kurwa, Nishat. â€Å"Federal Agents Bust Marijuana School ‘Oaksterdam.’’’ NPR. NPR, 03 Apr. 2012. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. http://www.npr.org/2012/04/03/149937087/federal-agents-bust-marijuana-school-oaksterdam. 3. Legalizing Marijuana. Legalizing Marijuana. Web. 09 May 2012. http://www.uri.edu/personal/atro6990/. 4. Legalization of Marijuana. Legalize Marijuana, Legal Weed, Marijuana Facts. Web. 09 May 2012. http://legalizationofmarijuana.com/. 5. Schlosser, Eric. Reefer Madness, TheAtlantic: 1994. 6. â€Å"Up In Smoke.† The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 14 Apr. 2012. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. http://www.economist.com/node/21552609.

Poem Response Essay -- essays research papers

In just one paper, I am going to go from two inspirational poems, to a more depressing one. The inspirational poem I will be responding to is â€Å"The Tyger†, written by William Blake. This piece is by far one of my favorite poems read. I read it often just to remind me not to wimp around with my lifting and my getting bigger, just like the song by Survivor, â€Å"Eye of the Tiger†, does for me. It keeps in mind what it’s going to take to do this. The second piece of inspiration I like is, â€Å"I will put Chaos into fourteen lines†, by Edna St. Vincent Millay. On a depressing side of things, I am then moving on to a more disheartening type of poem. This poem is â€Å"Facing It†, by Yusef Komunyakaa.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In â€Å"The Tyger†, by Blake, I really enjoy many lines of this poem. This whole poem gets me going. In line six, the words â€Å"Burnt the fire of thine eyes† give me a picture of a tiger lying in the jungle and all you can see are his eyes lying somewhere within those woods. The tiger is definitely a very intimidating creature, especially at night. Then late the author talks about a furnace burning inside the tiger’s head, just upsetting the tiger even more, getting him to feel a rage within. His heart began to beat Crilow 2 from this intensity. It mentions many powerful objects, such as a hammer, a chain, an anvil, and a deadly grasp. All of these you could probably feel when the tiger would pounce on you. I can venture to say, it wouldn’t be a very good feeling. These a...

Foreign Direct Investment: An Overview Essay

What is Foreign Direct Investment? Foreign direct investment (FDI) is defined as a long-term investment by a foreign direct investor in an enterprise resident in an economy other than that in which the foreign direct investor is based. The FDI relationship consists of a parent enterprise and a foreign affiliate which together form a transnational corporation (TNC). In order to qualify as FDI the investment must afford the parent enterprise control over its foreign affiliate. The UN defines control in this case as owning 10% or more of the ordinary shares or voting power of an incorporated firm or its equivalent for an unincorporated firm. Understanding Foreign Direct Investment Foreign direct investment (FDI) plays an extraordinary and growing role in global business. It can provide a firm with new markets and marketing channels, cheaper production facilities, access to new technology, products, skills and financing. For a host country or the foreign firm which receives the investment, it can provide a source of new technologies, capital, processes, products, organizational technologies and management skills, and as such can provide a strong impetus to economic development. Foreign direct investment, in its classic definition, is defined as a company from one country making a physical investment into building a factory in another country. In recent years, given rapid growth and change in global investment patterns, the definition has been broadened to include the acquisition of a lasting management interest in a company or enterprise outside the investing firm’s home country. As such, it may take many forms, such as a direct acquisition of a foreign firm, construction of a facility, or investment in a joint venture or strategic alliance with a local firm with attendant input of technology, licensing of intellectual property, In the past decade, FDI has come to play a major role in the internationalization of business. Reacting to changes in technology, growing liberalization of the national regulatory framework governing investment in enterprises, and changes in capital markets profound changes have occurred in the size, scope and methods of FDI. New information technology systems, decline in global communication costs have made management of foreign investments far easier than in the past. The sea change in trade and investment policies and the regulatory environment globally in the past decade, including trade policy and tariff liberalization, easing of restrictions on foreign investment and acquisition in many nations, and the deregulation and privatization of many industries, has probably been the most significant catalyst for FDI’s expanded role. The most profound effect has been seen in developing countries, where yearly foreign direct investment flows have increased from an average of less than $10 billion in the 1970’s to a yearly average of less than $20 billion in the 1980’s, to explode in the 1990s from $26.7billion in 1990 to $179 billion in 1998 and $208 billion in 1999 and now comprise a large portion of global FDI. Proponents of foreign investment point out that the exchange of investment flows benefits both the home country (the country from which the investment originates) and the host country (the destination of the investment). The push factors indicate the benefits to the investors and the pull factors to the host countries. First, international flows of capital reduce the risk faced by owners of capital by allowing them to diversify their lending and investment. Second, FDI allows capital to seek out the highest rate of return. Third, FDI helps to expand market. For the host countries, it can contribute to the general development as well as to the poverty reduction objective in a variety of ways. Major benefits to host countries are as follows: †¢ FDI allows transfer of technology—particularly in the form of new varieties of capital inputs—that cannot be achieved through financial investments or trade in goods and services. FDI can also promote competition in the domestic input market. †¢ Recipients of FDI often gain employee training in the course of operating the new businesses, which contributes to human capital development in the host country. †¢ Profits generated by FDI contribute to corporate tax revenues in the host country. Thus, it contributes not only to the direct source of investment but also to the government revenue. †¢ FDI helps to integrate the host countries economy to the global economy. Determinants of FDI FDI is the investment decision of profit-maximising firms facing world-wide competition and where significant differences in cost structures (due to say, factor productivity, wage differential) justify cross-border investment and production. a. Institutional features of the host country: degree of political stability and government intervention in the economy; the existence of property law legislation; the property and tax system; adequate infrastructure, etc. b. Economic factors: trade and investment regime; the degree of â€Å"openness† of the host countries, the absorptive capacity and growth prospects of the host country; fix and variable costs of production relocation; the degree of monopolistic competition which prevents the entry of other (domestic and foreign firms; general macroeconomic performance (inflation, monetary and fiscal policy) etc. c. Policy related factors: Fiscal (tax rebates and exemptions) and financial incentives (subsidized loans), laws that restrict FDI in certain sectors on the ground of political sensitivity of certain industries (oil, broadcasting, etc.); policy that restricts the degree of foreign ownership, (temporal or permanent) the remittance of interest, dividends and fees for technology and the shares allowed to foreign -owned firms through limits on capital repatriation, minimum investment, etc. d. Characteristics of the labor force: education, skills, etc. Some features of world FDI activity a. The sharp increases in world FDI activities that started after 1985. b. Increased activity and concentration of FDI. Indeed, in the 1990s, FDI has become one of the most important sources of external finance in developing countries. USA has become the largest host country in international capital markets, receiving capital from both Japan and Europe. Japan has emerged as a major home country of FDI outflows. c. Developing countries have liberalized financial markets and offered special incentives (lower taxes, subsidies for infrastructure, etc) to attract FDI in the hope of acquiring technological transfer, know-how, and in general, positive externalities. Basic types of FDI  · Greenfield investment: direct investment in new facilities or the expansion of existing facilities. Greenfield investments are the primary target of a host nation’s promotional efforts because they create new production capacity and jobs, transfer technology and know-how, and can lead to linkages to the global marketplace. However, it often does this by crowding out local industry; multinationals are able to produce goods more cheaply (because of advanced technology and efficient processes) and uses up resources (labor, intermediate goods, etc). Another downside of greenfield investment is that profits from production do not feed back into the local economy, but instead to the multinational’s home economy. This is in contrast to local industries whose profits flow back into the domestic economy to promote growth.  · Mergers and Acquisitions: transfers of existing assets from local firms to foreign firms takes place; the primary type of FDI. Cross-border mergers occur when the assets and operation of firms from different countries are combined to establish a new legal entity. Cross-border acquisitions occur when the control of assets and operations is transferred from a local to a foreign company, with the local company becoming an affiliate of the foreign company. Unlike greenfield investment, acquisitions provide no long term benefits to the local economy– even in most deals the owners of the local firm are paid in stock from the acquiring firm, meaning that the money from the sale could never reach the local economy.  · Horizontal Foreign Direct Investment: investment in the same industry abroad as a firm operates in at home.  · Vertical Foreign Direct Investment: Takes two forms: 1) Backward vertical FDI: where an industry abroad provides inputs for a firm’s domestic production process. 2) Forward vertical FDI: in which an industry abroad sells the outputs of a firm’s domestic production. FDI based on the motives of the investing firm FDI can also be categorized based on the motive behind the investment from the perspective of the investing firm:  · Resource Seeking: Investments which seek to acquire factors of production that are more efficient than those obtainable in the home economy of the firm. In some cases, these resources may not be available in the home economy at all (e.g. cheap labor and natural resources). This typifies FDI into developing countries, for example seeking natural resources in the Middle East and Africa, or cheap labor in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe.  · Market Seeking: Investments which aim at either penetrating new markets or maintaining existing ones. FDI of this kind may also be employed as defensive strategy; it is argued that businesses are more likely to be pushed towards this type of investment out of fear of losing a market rather than discovering a new one.  · Efficiency Seeking: Investments which firms hope will increase their efficiency by exploiting the benefits of economies of scale and scope, and also those of common ownership. It is suggested that this type of FDI comes after either resource or market seeking investments have been realized, with the expectation that it further increases the profitability of the firm. Importance of FDI Making a direct foreign investment allows companies to accomplish several tasks: Avoiding foreign government pressure for local production. Circumventing trade barriers, hidden and otherwise. Making the move from domestic export sales to a locally-based national sales office. Capability to increase total production capacity. Opportunities for co-production, joint ventures with local partners, joint marketing arrangements, licensing, etc. What do companies considering FDI require? Depending on the industry sector and type of business, a foreign direct investment may be an attractive and viable option. With rapid globalization of many industries and vertical integration rapidly taking place on a global level, at a minimum a firm needs to keep abreast of global trends in their industry. From a competitive standpoint, it is important to be aware of whether a company’s competitors are expanding into a foreign market and how they are doing that. At the same time, it also becomes important to monitor how globalization is affecting domestic clients. Often, it becomes imperative to follow the expansion of key clients overseas if an active business relationship is to be maintained. New market access is also another major reason to invest in a foreign country. At some stage, export of product or service reaches a critical mass of amount and cost where foreign production or location begins to be more cost effective. Any decision on investing is thus a combination of a number of key factors including: assessment of internal resources, competitiveness, market analysis market expectations. From an internal resources standpoint, does the firm have senior management support for the investment and the internal management and system capabilities to support the set up time as well as ongoing management of a foreign subsidiary? Has the company conducted extensive market research involving both the industry, product and local regulations governing foreign investment which will set the broad market parameters for any investment decision? Is there a realistic assessment in place of what resource utilization the investment will entail? Has information on local industry and foreign investment regulations, incentives, profit retention, financing, distribution, and other factors been completely analyzed to determine the most viable vehicle for entering the market (greenfield, acquisition, merger, joint venture, etc.)? Has a plan been drawn up with reasonable expectations for expansion into the market through that local vehicle? If the foreign economy, industry or foreign investment climate is characterized by government regulation, have the relevant government agencies been contacted and concurred? Have political risk and foreign exchange risk been factored into the business plan? Policies to attract Foreign Direct Investment There is keen competition among developed and developing countries to attract foreign direct investment (FDI).This drive to lure investment often extends to the sub national level, with different regional authorities pursuing their own strategies and assembling their own baskets of incentives to attract new investments. Various reforms and strategies have been implemented, with mixed results. Some are critical of the high costs of many of these initiatives, arguing that it would be more rewarding to improve a country’s general business environment. The many different methods used by policymakers to attract FDI and their effectiveness are as follows:  · providing targeted fiscal incentives, such as tax concessions, cash grants, and specific subsidies;  · improving domestic infrastructure;  · promoting local skills development to meet investor needs and expectations;  · establishing broad-reaching FDI promotion agencies;  · improving the regulatory environment and decreasing red tape; and  · engaging in international governing arrangements. Promotional efforts to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) have become the important point of competition among developed and developing countries. This competition is also maintained when countries are adopting economic integration at another level. While some countries lowering standards to attract FDI in a â€Å"race to the bottom,† others praise FDI for raising standards and welfare in recipient countries. Countries have adopted their respective policies for attracting more investment. Some countries rely on targeted financial concessions like tax concessions, cash grants and specific subsidies. Some countries focus on improving the infrastructure and skill parameter and creating a base meet the demands and expectations of foreign investors. Others try to improve the general business climate of a country by changing the administrative barriers and red tapism. Many governments have created state agencies to help investors through this administrative paperwork. Finally most of the countries have entered into international governing arrangements to increase their attractiveness for more investment. Sound investment climate is crucial for economic growth. Microeconomic reforms aimed at simplifying business regulations, strengthening property rights, improving labor market flexibility, and increasing firms’ access to finance are necessary for raising living standards and reducing poverty in a country. Reform is necessary for creating an investment-oriented climate. Reform management matters as investment climate reforms are done politically. They often favor unorganized over organized groups and the benefits tend to accrue only in the long term, while costs are felt up front. Political decisions play a significant role in this context. Each and every country over the globe is stepping forward to change the climate for attracting more investment. Opening up of doors by most of the nations have compelled them for adopting reforms. Relaxation of rules and regulations, of course, is an essential requirement but not sufficient on its own to bring in FDI. As the study points out, business rules in India still bar FDI in most sectors. It was only last February that the government there decided to allow FDI of upto 51 percent in the single brand retail sector, which is expected to trigger a new flurry of investment. As things stand, Pakistan is far ahead of India in terms of offering all kinds of incentives to foreign investors – although some administrative bottlenecks still remain to be removed. It also boasts a high economic growth rate and there exists a consensus among all political forces on following the market economy model. Still, it has failed to catch the fancy of foreign investors at the desired level. The designated target was to raise foreign investment from 1 billion dollars to 27 billion dollars during a five-year period. That target is nowhere near realization. The government claims to have brought foreign investment to the 3 billion dollars mark this year. But that is a fallacious claim since the money has come in on account of privatization of government-owned entities. There has only been a transfer of assets from the public sector into private hands; no new generation of activity in the retail or production sector, which is badly wanted to address the twin problems of poverty and unemployment. The situation underscores the need not only to remove administrative hurdles but also to create ease of operations vis-à  -vis law and order and the socially restrictive atmosphere.

Trading Liberty for Illusion Analysis - 959 Words

The events of 11 September 2001 inverted the actions that have led the US government to deal with criminals and terrorists in different and wide-ranging principles and measures. Standards that are mildly intrusive, coercive, and less democratic induce Security Departments to break privacies and breach human rights in the name of ‘war on terror’ The power given to the government to prevent and investigate the potential acts of terrorists was not balanced with civil liberties. These rights were guaranteed by the First Amendment â€Å"[to allow] the individuals to speak, think, assemble, worship, or petition without ‘government’ (or even private) inferences or restraints† (thefreedictionary, 2005). Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the United States†¦show more content†¦Perceptibly, civil liberties have been restrained and invaded over the past will continue to be now and in the future. However, worst acts have been committed by leaders of the United States. Examples of Presidents John Adams, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin Roosevelt were provided by Kaminer to support this claim. She shows how President Adam apprehended many people for things like disloyalty, how President Wilson jailed Eugene Debs for criticizing the US government to â€Å"enter the first world war,† and President Roosevelt for his dishonorable decision to arrest the Japanese families in the second World War. However, she mentions that the Supreme Court participation to legitimize the action at that time was for security purposes. Many such facts come into view to affirm that politicians keep classifying people and grind the minorities and ethnic groups only for ideological ostensible sympathy. According to Kaminer (2002), â€Å"Liberty was trampled by all of these measures, while security was enhanced by none of them,† (p. 397). People feel more secure for such actions. Another example Kaminer offers, from the Bush Administration when given the order to hold and â€Å"[detain] over one thousand immigrants in the wake of September 11 attack â€Å"(p. 398). Kaminer says that most of them had no relation to terrorism. As Kaminer concludes, people who become afraid are to accept and bear the inhibitory andShow MoreRelatedTrading Liberty for Illusion Analysis973 Words   |  4 Pagesand investigate the potential acts of terrorists was not balanced with civil liberties. These rights were guaranteed by the First Amendment â€Å"[to allow] the individuals to speak, think, assemble, worship, or petition without ‘government’ (or even private) inferences or restraints† (thefreedictionary, 2005). 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Nationalism was a dominant part of public life in the 19th Century, whether as a disrupt force, seen in the break up of the European arm of theRead More Herbert Marcuse’s An Essay on Liberation3414 Words   |  14 Pagessocial and revolutionary theories relevant and vit al. It deals with an increasingly complex society in an increasingly sophisticated manner. This effort creates an interesting historical tension within Marcuse’s work because the complexity of his analysis makes it impossible to adhere to Marx â€Å"in toto.† This paper will examine the extent to which Marcuse has forsaken his Marxist heritage and will also offer a critical assessment of Marcuse’s thought based on its own merits. Central to Marx’sRead More International Free Trade and World Peace Essay6197 Words   |  25 Pagessculpt a conclusive study. Unfortunately, Smith fails to provide us with such a foundation. In several passages in The Wealth of Nations, Smiths readers catch a glimpse of his intellectual struggles with the issue, only to conclude in the final analysis that he was ambiguous. Despite this fact, his successors have allowed cries of ‘free trade’ to drown out the rest of [his] teachings (Earle, 1943: 124) by basing their policy on the idea that trade is inherently pacific. Smith was born in 1723Read MoreGeorge Orwell23689 Words   |  95 Pagesthey are ‘practical’, as they are so fond of claiming for themselves. One has only to look at their methods of town planning and water supply, their obstinate clinging to everything that is out of date and a nuisance, a spelling system that defies analysis, and a system of weights and measures that is intelligible only to the compilers of arithmetic books, to see how little they care about mere efficiency. But they have a certain power of acting without taking thought. Their world-famed hypocrisy –Read MoreDefine the Manager Terrain28443 Words   |  114 Pagesmanagers when they perform their functions. Together with Unit 1 it provides a general introduction to the field of management and forms the foundation for your understanding of management. This unit is divided into ten sections. The first section is an analysis of the omnipotent vs. the symbolic view of managers. This clarifies the ex tent to which managers should be responsible for the performance of their organizations. The second section discusses concepts in organizational culture and how organizationalRead MoreDubais Political and Economic Development: Essay38738 Words   |  155 Pagesfederation of small Arab, Islamic monarchies known as the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), its leaders have implemented a bold development strategy. In the space of four decades, they have managed to shift the citys economic focus from fishing and gold trading to tourism, mass communications, shipping, and finance. Unlike many of its regional peers which have developed unstable regimes and stagnant, oil-dependent economies, Dubai has diversified its economy to become a politically stable center for commerceRead MoreInstructor Manual37126 Words   |  149 Pagesis to balance managerial concepts and analysis. This balance does not work out perfectly as some topics are intrinsically more â€Å"managerial† and others more à ¢â‚¬Å"analytical†. Each chapter includes material that should work well pedagogically in a number of ways. For those who want to emphasize analysis, problems are developed in each chapter and solved problems included at the end of each chapter. The short cases at the end of each chapter all require some analysis and usually have some managerial issues