Saturday, January 25, 2020

Social Security Act of 1935: Causes and Effects

Social Security Act of 1935: Causes and Effects Social Security Act of 1935 Before 1935, there were no benefits for the old and other financially challenged persons in America. The only people liable to benefits after their service were veterans who received pensions. The remaining occupations had no benefits after their service (DeWitt, 2010). In every occupation there is a retirement age upon which the employee is considered unable to contribute positively towards the organization. As a result, when employees attain such status they are cut off as employees. Unfortunately, when one had not made savings during their service they would up in the streets as beggars. Alternatively, the elderly would ultimately become dependents especially if they had low wages during their active duty. The fortunate people were those who had been employed in high paying jobs and managed to make huge savings while they were working. Being dependent would mean that you either rely on your siblings or children to cater for your financial needs. In August 1935, Franklin Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act which improved life for the elderly in the society (Gareth and Derthick, 2007). The Act ensured benefits to elderly citizens in the US. As a result, United States of America become one of the first countries in the world to provide support for the elderly in their country. In life, there are complex challenges that are accompanied with old age, based on these challenges most people tend to avoid old people instead of helping them. The US stood out as one of the communities that would rather provide support to the elderly than to lock them out of national benefits. Therefore, this paper discusses  the Social Security Act of 1935, describing factors that led to the development of the legislation (history) including the amendments made to it. In addition it discusses its effects and relation to the American Economy. Social Security history The federal government of America had isolated itself from elderly benefits before the legislation of social security Act. Primarily this responsibility was handled by family members since they are the only social unit most reluctant to abandon their kin. Moreover, this responsibility was accustomed to the local and state governments Social security concerns from the federal government were initiated by the Great depression. During and shortly after the Great depression most Americans especially the elderly were exposed to harsh living conditions. The depression led to the increased unemployment rates ever in the US history (DeWitt, 2010). The elderly who had lost their jobs during this time had no chance of seeking employment elsewhere. In addition, the few remaining vacant spots were consequently filled by the younger work force who had also been sacked as a result of the Great Depression. In January 1935, Franklin Roosevelt decided to write to the congress seeking legislation for social security in the country. Despite of the positive influence that the legislation would have made on humanity, the bill was greatly opposed. Since the president was so eager to pass this bill, he lobbied several senators and even appointed six judges who consequently approved the bill. The president signed the bill seven months late after drafting the later to the congress and it became a law. Social Security Act of 1935 On 14th August 1935, America passed a bill which ended up in the development of social security system that provided benefits for the elderly unemployed, causalities of industrial accidents, unemployed persons, vulnerable mother, children and the physically handicapped. The Act was not specific to the elderly alone but also other economically challenged persons in the society as described. A society is composed of both negative and positive attributes of human nature. Whilst a society is made vibrant by the youth and the young adult through their workability, it should not disgrace the elderly or those unable to fend for themselves (Cogan and Mitchell, 2013). Both entities should coexist together in harmony supporting and encouraging each other where and when necessary. Social Security Act of 1935 is composed of 11 different titles which express support for the economically challenged America citizens. The first title entails grants to states for old-age assistance. The second title encompasses federal Old-Age benefits. Third, grants to states for compensation for the unemployed. Fourth is a grant to states for aid to dependent children. Fifth is grants to states to maternal and child welfare (Cogan and Mitchell, 2013). Sixth is title for public health. Seventh is title for social security board. Eighth is title to taxes with respect to employment. The ninth tile is to tax on employees of eight or more employees. The tenth title is grants to states for aid for the blind. The eleventh title is general provisions. These grants are contributed by both the government and the working population. Both employees and employers contribute differently towards these grants. The federal government then allocated the grants to states based on the quality of a state’s population based on the number of dependent children mothers, unemployed persons and the elderly. This statistics are extracted from the most recent census to aid the allocation process (Cogan and Mitchell, 2013). The social security board manages the collection of revenues attributed to social security funds. Amendments to the Social Security Act of 1935 The first amendment was instituted four years after the signing of the original amendment. In 1939, the act was modified and the beneficiaries were not only the retired worker but also the children and spouse of the retired worker. Initially, the benefits were solely allocated to the retired worker and it was upon them to utilize the benefits on their family. However, after sometime it was discovered that a portion of retired workers misused the funds from their benefit scheme. Instead of using the funds in enriching their lives they wasted the money on personal needs as irresponsible consumption of alcohol (King and Wayne, 2009). To minimize these, the federal government decided to recognize both the children and spouse of a retired worker and they were also affiliated to the retired worker’s benefit. The first amendment was later preceded with a series of changes until the 2008 during Obama’s reign, there have been addition to the social security trustees. For instance Medicare has been slotted together with social security (Hodges, 2013). Not only financial benefits are allocated to the beneficiaries but also medical benefits. This is as a result of current concern for high quality Medicare which is expensive. Therefore, dependent mothers and children were more likely to miss out. But with the amendments of the current administration the poor and the physically challenge would also have equal chances in obtaining high quality healthcare as the rich in the society (King and Wayne, 2009). Effects of the Act Production in any system is determined by the morale manifested by the working force. The standard age of retrenchment is not an indicator of senescence in human resource capability. Retrenchment is a tactic used by the government to create employment opportunities for the youth. Therefore, when people retire form civil service, they might still productive in their present locations (Cogan and Mitchell, 2013). Grants allocated to the old serves as an inspiration to these elderly population. This money can be used in establishing small scale enterprises which serve as injection to the economy. Grants allocated to dependent children helps these children obtain education and end up as positive resource for the economy. Education is a positive contributor to strong economy. In addition, education is directly proportional to the economic strength of a country. As a result, the US poses as the strongest economy in the world based on positive human resource which is due to high quality education in the country (Hodges, 2013). Children without education or those who lack other basic needs end up in the streets. Once on the streets they are more likely to indulge in criminal activities to meet their needs. Consequently, this result to increased crime rate which ruins an economy. When dependent mothers lack sufficient financial support it leads to strenuous consequences. The first problem is associated with delivery of pregnant mothers. Since they are not capableof financing safe delivery costs in hospitals, they would opt for unsafe birth avenues which are cheaper and require lesser or no paper work (Gareth and Derthick, 2007). Unfortunately, this might lead to the  death of either the mother or child or both. High mortality rates also negatively impact the economy. However, with grants being offered to states for dependent mothers and children in the United States as a result of the social security Act negative attributes associated with dependent mothers and children are lower compared to other regions in the world (King and Wayne, 2009). In conclusion, Franklin Roosevelt unveiled a formidable mechanism of ensuring that all members of the society are catered for. In addition, the system also contributes positively towards the economy. Despite the amendment made to the act the primary objective has been maintained. References DeWitt, L., (2010) The Development of Social Security in America, Social Security Bulletin, Vol. 70(3) Hodges, K., (2013), Debating Social Security: Understanding and Evaluating Perspectives on the Social Security Act of 1935, Academy for College Career Exploration, Baltimore City Public School System King, T. and Wayne, C., (2009), The History of Major Changes to the Social Security System, The CPA Journal May Issue Gareth, D. and Derthick, M., (2007), Race and social welfare policy: The Social Security Act of 1935. Political Science Quarterly 112(2) Cogan, F. and Mitchell, O., (2013), Perspectives from the President’s Commission on Social Security reform, Journal of Economic Perspectives Vol. 17(2)

Friday, January 17, 2020

To What Extent Was Stalins Reign Successful

Throughout the reign of Stalin he was able to establish himself as a successful dictator through totalitarian rule. He became the undisputed leader of the USSR and the factors that enabled him to do so were Industrialisation, his social policies and his ability to defeat Hitler in World War Two. However, through Stalin’s political career he also encountered many failures. These were Collectivism, the purges and the terror he caused by the people living in Russia during his reign. Stalin’s reign was successful through Industrialisation.He modernised industry by introducing the 5-Year Plans, which consisted of two plans. The first plan from 1928 to 1933 and the second to 1932 to 1937 and they had the aims of improving the Russian industry. Many of the regions of the USSR were backward. Stalin believed that ‘to be backward was to be defeated and enslaved, but if you are powerful people must beware of you. ’ There were many successes of the 5-year plans. The US SR was turned into a modern state, which was able to resist Hitler’s invasion and as well as that there began to be a genuine communist enthusiasm displayed among the young ‘Pioneers’.There were huge drastic improvements in the industry; the output was projected to increase by an enormous 180% over 5 years and there were also huge achievements in coal, steel and hydroelectric power productions. The targets he had set were impossibly high however Stalin believed that he could force a nation to meet them. Overall throughout his reign he achieved fantastic successes, but at a big human cost, and while industrial output soared, the production of consumer goods remained static.Another way Stalin was successful during his reign was through his social policies. In 1936, Stalin published a new constitution. Soviet citizens were granted the right to a job, social security, equality, health care and education. They were also promised freedom of speech and right of a fair t rial. Before this, after the 1917 revolution, there had been a lot of social changes however, Stalin returned the USSR to traditional values that related to the communist rules and regimes.Despite this, there was an increase in the number of women entering the workforce and child -minding services were set up in every factory to accommodate the needs a woman. Women had more rights given to them and the educational systems dramatically improved leaving to key successes. Stalin ultimately wanted the people to believe that strong leadership was good for the USSR and through this time he was seen in a very ‘positive light’. Evidently, through the introduction of new social policies, Stalin was successful during his reign over Russia.By having the ability to defeat Hitler in World War Two, Stalin’s reign was successful. Hitler at the time was attempting to invade the Soviet Union, and Stalin kept retreating into the Soviet territory. After many battles within the Sovi et Territory, Hitler began to realise that the Soviets were beginning to win battles. The broken troops in 1941 were replaced with new soldiers that were willing to defend the ‘motherland’. While Hitler was pouring more of his reserves into the battle, Stalin just began to scratch the surface of his reserves leaving him with more troops.After the battle of Stalingrad over 91,000 of Hitler’s army had been captured and their supply line was cut. The Red Army pushed the Nazi forces back to Berlin in 1945 and in The Battle of Berlin; The Red Army took control over Berlin, which is Germany’s capital. Through his leadership skills and having the ability to ‘not lose his nerve’ and stay in Moscow when Germany was closing in he was able to defeat Hitler in World War Two, evidently making Stalin’s reign successful. However, Stalin had many failures throughout his reign, one of which was through collectivism.Stalin had a strong desire to modernis e agriculture, which led him to collectivise the farms of Russia, uniting them and putting them under full state control. Stalin thought he needed to collectivise farms because Soviet agriculture was backward, food was needed for workers in towns and this was essential if the five-year plans were to succeed. The NEP wasn’t working, by 1928; the USSR was short of 20 million grains that were needed to feed the people in towns. Another reason Stalin collectivised agriculture was because the Kulaks opposed communism, as they liked their ‘private wealth. The Kulaks hid food from the government collectors and became very influential on peasants, so therefore, Stalin wanted to destroy them. From this came disastrous implications which included the fall of stock, an example of this is in 1928, 73 Tons of Grain was produced however, in 1933 this figure fell to 69 Tons of Grain produced. This lead to a famine because there wasn’t enough food for the people of the USSR and in 1923, 33 million Russians died as a result of the famine.Another failure was that the Kulaks were eliminated, however, in Stalin’s eyes this was a major success. Overall through collectivism Stalin experienced a failure through his reign. Another failure during Stalin’s reign was through the Great Purges. At fist the actions of the purges were limited to ‘removing membership cards’. However, it became much more brutal as it escalated quickly as it expanded onto the majority of the population. One out of eighteen in the USSR was accused, put on trial and then either sent into exile of executed.Some of the most developed minds in the government were killed because they didn’t agree with the policies Stalin put forward. Purging of the officers in the army in the 1930s also weakened the Red Army, which caused the collapse and loss of Western Russia to Nazi forces in 1941. Through all of what the great purges caused another failure for Stalin’s reign. Through the terror that Stalin caused onto the people of Russia, people lived in fear of him, which became a failure of his career. Stalin believed that Russia had to be united, with him as a leader if it was to be strong.He also believed that Russia has 10 years to catch up with the western world before Germany invaded and because of this Stalin became extremely paranoid and ‘power-mad’. The results of Stalin’s enforced terror was Russia came to dominate the whole of the USSR, the Orthodox Church was attacked and twenty million people were arrested. Most people lived in fear of the secret police and the industry grew as the terror caused provided free slave labour. A Stalin cult was formed and the army and navy weakened due to the purges of leading officers.Through all of these things he caused terror to the people of Russia making this a failure in Stalin’s reign. Overall, Stalin’s greatest success included becoming the undisputed leader o f the USSR through Industrialisation, his social policies and his ability to defeat Hitler in World War Two, however this came a greater cost to the people of Russia by collectivisation, the Great Purges and the terror he enforced upon the people of Russia. So, therefore, Stalin was successful through his reign to some extent however he did have acts that hindered his success.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

The Media s Impact On The Television Industry - 2116 Words

Technological advances have made a significant impact on the television industry in Australia. While new technology encourages the TV networks to improve the local content to satisfy the demanding young audience, it also scatters the audience into different media platforms and drives them away from traditional TV broadcasts. The first part of this essay will analyze the current trends in the Australia television industry. As the audience tends to spend more time on the Internet interacting with the live TV programs and watching videos content, the commercial TV networks still broadcast quality local content to attract the audience. The second part will address major challenges that television industry is facing and how particular companies including Optus and Channel Nine cope with this hardship. These challenges mainly emerge from the development of the streaming video on demand services. 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Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Description of the Organisation - Asfa Plastic Surgery - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1329 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Medicine Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? Description of the Organization â€Å"Get The Look You’re Looking For.† That is our motto at Asfa Plastic Surgery! It’s also exactly what we represent as a company. We aspire everyone to be as happy as they want when it comes to their appearance. Not to worry about the price, or what their neighbors will say, but focus solely on their own happiness and how we can help make it happen. We also give hope! Hope that after they have been through a diagnosis of breast cancer, or skin cancer, that they will be able to return to a normal life with minimal scarring and only a slight reminder of what they have been through. Running a business, such as this one, and in such a tight knit location, where everyone knows everyone, is very challenging. Asfa Plastic Surgery, PC is run by the owner/physician Dr. Saied Asfa, and his wife who as the Vice President is also in charge of marketing. Dr. Asfa came from Isfahan Iran, where he lived all his life aspiring to become a physician. He attended the best Americanized universities, while attending medical school and graduated with a medical degree, in the top one percent of the national college pool. Asfa Plastic Surgery is set in a beautiful location, close to the hospital, approximately five miles off of the local interstate eighty one exit, this makes our office easily accessible but away from the hustle and bustle of major traffic. Our office consists of three employees, a licensed practical nurse, a certified nursing assistant/administrative assistant, office manager/certified professional coder and surgery scheduler, and the physician. In our office our employees are required to multi-task, being able to cross train with medical assisting, billing, reception and scheduling. Our culture welcomes new and fresh ideas, and numerous responsibilities with regards to the business. This provides the employees of Asfa Plastic Surgery with an interest in the business itself, and makes it mor e than just a job. I work as the Administrative Assistant for a small, yet very well-known plastic surgery office in Harrisonburg Virginia. I joined this company in May of two thousand nine, where I was part of basically the same layout that we currently run, only three employees, and all sharing responsibilities and tasks. I met Dr. Asfa by chance through a school board posting at Blue Ridge Community College. They were looking for a medical assistant with receptional experience as well. With an office as busy as ours, it didn’t take long before I just had to jump into the work full force. Everything was a little overwhelming at first, but the office culture was such a relaxed atmosphere that I felt right at home in this position. Not only was I overwhelmed but all of us were starting this new business venture with Dr. Asfa, so we kind of had to learn as we went. Our billing was being outsourced through another company, however, we still completed the bills like we wer e going to be the one sending them to the insurance company or patient. This frustrated me and after being there almost six months we took over the billing full force. Our goal was to eliminate billing errors, retractions, and write offs for our office, so that we could increase our revenue and reduce our debt. Dr. Asfa was concerned with this as well, and was interested to learn how he could improve his notes, and learn the proper coding marks, so that he could avoid retractions and denials, decreasing write offs. This was an exciting venture for me, one that I never would have foreseen myself in. It was new and difficult, but it paid off and we ended up appealing lost funds, retractions and write offs, allowing us to get back thousands of dollars that the outsourced company had filed away. Being able to control the billing first hand in our office provided us with a sort of structure we have never had before. It allowed me to open up my duties as an administrative assistant and provide Dr. Asfa with an opportunity to have more control over his finances, where billing was concerned. As the administrative assistant I was responsible for getting all the superbills from the physician, making sure they were marked with Current Procedural Terminology or CPT codes, as well as the correct International Classification of Diseases or ICD-9 codes and the correct modifiers. This was quite a task, and not only carried out by me, but also the office manager who compared the notes when I completed the daily batch with all the superbills. This did however provide our office with a lot less clerical and billing issues in the future increasing our revenue and allowing our time to be used more wisely. We held monthly meetings to provide the physician with a layout of the progress we were making with this new venture and educated him on things he could do to help the process go more smoothly. Gradually we learned the proper procedures to address any billing issue before it b ecame a huge problem. Before I was hired into my position the office manager would do most of the imputing of information into the billing tab, and then as I mentioned before, all billing was outsourced. After I was trained for the most part, billing and the proper rules and regulations with regards to that was done in office. Everyone was informed and the office became more structured, however still maintaining our relaxed cultural atmosphere. This new structure shifted a lot of responsibilities around throughout the office, but was mainly handled by myself, the office manager and physician. During this time of restructuring, I was given a large raise and bonus and provided with more managerial duties. Problem Statement Asfa Plastic Surgery became more organized by reintroducing their own billing back into the company, however there was still an area that required more focus. Asfa Plastic Surgery needs to allow for a professional biller and coder that can strictly focus on the billing aspect of the company and not be required to obtain so many other duties. Our office does not hire new staff on a regular basis and when we do, unfortunately we have not been able to find someone that can fit our company culturally. We review resumes, call references, all the normal hiring things, but we seem to focus on the wrong skill set. All the procedures we go through in the interviewing process tells us nothing about the actual ability or skill level this person has. We know what kind of person we are looking for and what is expected of them as an employee of such a small business, however our problem becomes that we can’t get the physician to hire someone full time. Dr. Asfa wants a person who only works the two days a week he is in office and he wants us all to multi-task our responsibilities. This has been discussed with the office manager who agrees this position will be a hard one to fill. In the last five years I have been an employee we have incr eased our clientele by thousands, but still run the office with three individuals because we can’t find someone willing to work with his standards of hire. We need to make him see that we need to split up the billing duties to alleviate some of the work load, and ensure that our revenue continues to stay up and errors stay down. I will research why it is important for our office to hire a person who is trained and certified in professional billing and coding. Why it is important in the job that we do, that things are precise and correct and why multi-tasking when handling billing and coding procedures is not the best practice. Lots of research has been conducted on this subject and the importance of its accuracy. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Description of the Organisation Asfa Plastic Surgery" essay for you Create order