Federal Reserve Should Raise The Federal Funds Rate

The discussion of whether the Federal Reserve should raise the federal funds rate is a highly contentious one. Members of the Federal Reserve (â€Å"Fed†) and academic economists disagree about what constitutes appropriate future macroeconomic policy for the Unites States. In the past, the Fed had been able to raise rates when the unemployment rate was under 5% and inflation was at a target of 2%. Enigmatically, since the Great Recession and despite a strengthening economy, year-over-year total inflation since 2008 has averaged only 1.4%—as measured by the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (â€Å"PCE†). Today, PCE inflation is at 1-1.5% and has continuously undershot the Fed’s inflation target of 2% three years in a row. (Evan 2015) In the six years since the bottom of the Great Recession the U.S. economy has made great strides in lowering the published unemployment rate from about 10% back down to about 5.5%. In light of this data, certain ind ividuals believe that the Federal Reserve should move to increase the federal funds rate in 2015 because unemployment is near 5% and inflation should bounce back on its own (Derby 2015). However, this recommendation is misguided. Overview The Federal Reserve should utilize a balanced approach to monetary policy. The current state of the economy—undershot employment and inflation goals—presents no conflict in achieving a neutral state. In fact any action that supports employment growth also moves inflation up toward our target (EvanShow MoreRelatedEssay about Eco/372 Final1144 Words   |  5 Pagesfull-time job 5) The Bureau of Economic Analysis is responsible for which of the following? C. Calculating U.S. gross domestic product] 6) The Federal Reserve provides which of the following data? A. Federal funds rate 7) Consider if the government instituted a 10 percent income tax surcharge. 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Civilize Them With A Stick Free Essays

1) Study Guide Questions for Test #1 To Prepare for Test #1, I recommend that you write down your responses to the following questions. You do not have to turn this assignment in for credit. If you are unclear about the answers after reading the chapters, contact me. We will write a custom essay sample on Civilize Them With A Stick or any similar topic only for you Order Now If you’d like me to look over your answers before your test, email them to me. This assignment is designed to help you prepare for the test. You will only be tested on material that relates to the study guide questions: Chapter 1 Study Guide Questions: 1. Define and describe sociology. 2. Describe the sociological imagination and apply the sociological imagination to one aspect of your own life. 3. Define and distinguish the macro and micro levels of social life. 4. Describe and distinguish the functionalist, conflict, and symbolic interactionist theoretical perspectives. Explain how each perspective would attempt to understand a college degree. Obedience Video Study Guide Questions: 1. Describe Milgram’s experiment, his research findings, and your own reaction to the video. 2. Discuss ways in which the findings of the Milgram experiment relate to things that occur in the real world. 3. In what way did proximity to the subject affect obedience? In what way did proximity to the authority figure influence obedience? How did groups influence obedience? (hint: variations are shown at the end of the video) 4. What are the independent variable(s) and dependent variable(s) in the study (Chapter 2 of the textbook defines these terms). 5. What was the operational definition of obedience (Chapter 2 defines this term) Chapter 2 Study Guide Questions: 1. Define objectivity and explain why it is important 2. Describe the 6 steps of the scientific method and be prepared to assess whether or not the scientific method has been followed in an exam question that provides your with a research study to assess. 3. Define operational definition. Be prepared to identify and assess the validity of an operational definition in an exam question that provides you with  information about a research study. 4. Define and distinguish independent, dependent, and control variables. Be prepared to identify and distinguish independent and dependent variables in an exam question that provides you with information about a research study. 5. Explain the difference between correlation and a causal relationship between variables. 6. Define and distinguish validity and reliability. 7. Define sample and explain the importance of a random sample. Be prepared to identify sampling issues and discuss the importance of a random sample in an exam question that provides you with information about a research study. 8. Briefly describe and be prepared to identify the following research methods: survey, experiment, field research and secondary data analysis. 9. Distinguish mean, median and mode. Explain why the median income in the U.S. is a better measure of the â€Å"middle value† than the mean (hint: consider the impact of incomes such as that of OprahWinfrey, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates on an average). Chapter 3 Study Guide Questions: 1. Define culture. 2. Define and distinguish material and non-material culture. 3. Define and distinguish norms and values. 4. Describe the types of norms (mores and folkways). Provide one example of the different types of norms that relate to your own life. 5. Define sanctions. Provide one example of sanctions that have influenced your own behavior 6. Define and distinguish ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. Explain how the article, â€Å"Civilize Them With a Stick† Relates to ethnocentrism. 7. Define and distinguish subculture and counterculture. 8. Define culture shock. How to cite Civilize Them With A Stick, Papers

Expository free essay sample

Discuss. In exploring the themes of identity and belonging, individuals (are the individuals exploring the themes? That’s how it reads. ) will make sacrifices against certain things in order to belong in society, this usually results in the loss of identity. In life, many people will have to make very difficult decisions, which lead them to make sacrifices or compromise. The most common sacrifices and compromises are usually personal, such as against family which may lead certain people to take up another culture, against sexual orientation which may lead the person to quit something they love doing and against education which may result in the loss of family tradition. Sacrifices are made against family so individuals can belong in society and different groups (phrasing). In the story of ‘Five Ways to Disappoint Your Vietnamese Mother’, Diana, who is the main character, makes a lot of sacrifices against her family to get what she wants. Diana was ugly when she was in high school, she described herself as an â€Å"Asian bookworm with big owl-eyed glasses and a brown school uniform two sizes large† (how are her looks relevant to the essay topic? ). Her mother’s dream was for Diana to become a doctor, but Diana did not want this. The worst sacrifice she made was having a boyfriend (it was not a sacrifice to have a boyfriend), which to her mother was â€Å"a big no-no, no boyfriend until after university†. Diana’s boyfriend was Chinese and this was a problem in her mother’s rule books. This sacrifice against her family broke many family rules, and all Diana wanted was to belong in the world as she saw herself as ugly and thought having a boyfriend would solve her problem (she never says this Daniel. Make sure you are not making assertions about people without reasonable evidence for it. ). This resulted in Diana getting kicked out of her home and being seen as a slut daughter. After five years she was still with her Chinese boyfriend, but still seen as a slut in her mother’s eyes. This proves that sacrifices are made against family to take up another culture and that these sacrifices indeed change our identity and where we belong in the world. (You really needed to refer more to Diana’s lifestyle choices in career, interests and sexual freedom, which you do a little. The sacrifice she was making to obtain her identity was her traditional family. You should have made a stronger connection to this). In life, our sexual orientation makes up our identity and in order to belong, sacrifices are made against this to solve our problems. In the United Kingdom, eight football players have admitted they are gay but there is a fear coming out of them. Two primary examples are of an American football player Robbie Rogers who admitted he was a homosexual and quit playing football. The reason he quit was because he had a fear that if he continued the fans would target him for being a homosexual and start abusing him. Another example was shown in 1990 when a former Norwich and Nottingham Forrest striker Justin Fashanu admitted he was a homosexual but then committed suicide eight years later at the age of thirty-seven. Fashanu committed suicide because the fans no longer focused on his skills but his sexual orientation. He also got bullied by his team coach and team mates before he committed suicide. With these two players identity is shaped by what the fans thoughts of their sexual orientation, they had sacrificed their identities of being homosexual to commit suicide because they believed it would have solved the problem of getting targeted by fans for being gay. (Again, you haven’t quite nailed it here. I would expect you to refer more to the fact that sportsmen HIDE their sexual orientation in order to continue in their profession. They make that sacrifice of self in order to avoid potential ridicule or negative backlash. The first example you give is a great example of this. You could also refer to Jason Akermanis’ comments a few years back about how homosexual Football players should NOT come out. ) In order to belong in society, sacrifices are made against our education which can result in the loss in family tradition. In the short story ‘Chinese Lessons’ written by Ivy Tseng, Ivy has Chinese lessons to enhance her education on the spoken and written language. She struggled to learn because she did not pay attention during the lessons. Ivy regretted not paying attention and learning because at her school, there were many people from different cultural backgrounds who could speak their family’s first language and English both fluently. Ivy sacrificed her diligence to educate herself on the Chinese language and this did not benefit her in the future. If I’d be more diligent in my lessons, write on my resume: Speaks fluent Mandarin. † Although the language was difficult to learn, Ivy tried her best to understand it but could not get to understand it all. Ivy was not interested in what it was actually about, she just wanted to understand her father. â€Å"I just wanted to understand my father† (why write a sentence and then put the exact same words in a quote ). The sacrifice Ivy made against her diligence to learn affected her tradition in learning the language. This proves that sacrifices are made against our education to belong and that this shapes our identity and where we belong in the world. (I know I gave you the idea of sacrificing education, but it doesn’t really work. I feel this paragraph gave you an opportunity to talk more about compromise, rather than sacrifice. As she gets older, Ivy compromises and finds a balance between her daily life and that of her Chinese family. She feels the need to belong to her family and by learning Chinese, she achieves this to a certain degree. Ivy’s identity, therefore, has been altered to include this feature. In order to belong in society, it is proved that sacrifices are made against not only family but also our sexual orientation and our education. The sacrifices we make can cause a loss in culture, something we love and our education which can result in loss of tradition but most importantly our identity. The sacrifices we make shape our identity by how we are viewed by not only our peers but also the world, and this shows where we belong in society. By Daniel Paunkoski of 10J