Saturday, February 22, 2020

Implementation and Analysis of The Fiscal Cliff contained in the U.S Essay

Implementation and Analysis of The Fiscal Cliff contained in the U.S. Budget Control Act of 2011 - Essay Example Bush had enacted a string of tax cuts during the period of his administration in the United States. The question that is of concern at present is that which of these tax cuts are to extended and or what period. The provisions of the tax cuts reinforced in the years of 2001 and 2003 had been extended until the end of the year 2012 (Levit, 2011, p. 12). These tax cuts considerably reduced the rates of personal income taxes and eliminated the estate tax. It also had created low rates of tax on dividends. Critics of this tax system, mostly the Democrats, held responsible such reduction in taxes for fuelling the federal budget deficit. It has been found that the increase in â€Å"the top two marginal tax rates† (Huang & Marr, 2012) would not adversely affect many small businesses. If the Bush tax cuts are allowed to be extended then it would keep many affluent individuals’ income out of the taxable income zone. For the small businesses to thrive, they require the boost of hi gher sales. It is not likely that small businesses would expand following a tax cut, thereby creating more employment opportunity by hiring more workers, if they do not find a good market for selling their products. Tax cuts on high income brackets are not effective enough to boost economic growth in the long run. Therefore the argument is strong for the expiry of the Bush Tax cuts. From the extension of these tax cuts, it is estimated that almost $1trillion would get added to the deficits over the ten years from 2013 to 2022. Spending Component of the Act – Across-the-Board spending cuts in the Federal government budget â€Å"The Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011† (Saturno & Heniff, 2009, p. 17-5) presents the methods in which the across-the-board cuts in spending would be implemented. The across the board cuts on spending would be triggered if the Joint Committee fails to reach the agreement on deficit reduction. The report has two parts. The first part of the report outlines the method to be followed for the FY2013 and the second part caters to the process to be followed in the period of eight years between FY2014 to FY2021. The procedure planned for the span of the next eight years is quite different from that of the year fiscal 2013. The deficit reduction proposal released by President Obama in April 2011 includes the two components; â€Å"spending cuts and tax reform† (Levit, n.d., p. 4). This proposal includes a â€Å"Debt Failsafe† technique. This incorporates a debt-to-GDP ratio which is to be stabilized by the FY2014 and decline after that year. However, if it is not accomplished, â€Å"across the board spending cuts† (Levit, n.d., p. 4) would automatically be triggered and tax expenditures would also be reduced simultaneously. There would be an approximate cut of nine percent annually in non-defense programs as well as another nine percent in defense programs (Kogan, 2011). For FY2013, the funding for each of the di scretionary programs would be reduced proportionally. In this year the president can allow the military personnel funding to be exempted from the sequestration. Depending on this the cuts in spending on other defense programs would increase. In the fiscal years from 2014 to 2021, in each year there would be â€Å"reductions in the statutory cap on total funding for non-defense discretionary programs† (Kogan, 2011). â€Å"Sequestration† – what does it mean? Sequestration is a process in which certain policy goals of the budget are met or enforced through

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Otto Wagner Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Otto Wagner - Term Paper Example He showed his true genius in his many monumental buildings as well as through outstanding conception and functional designs. Wagner was born on 13th July in the year 1841. The designer’s father died when he was about 5 years old. Otto attended Vienna academy and later, in between 1857-1862, he went to the polytechnic institute of structural design1. Still on his struggle for knowledge he as well attended a visual arts academy with his two friends: Eduard von der null and August Sicard von Sicardburg. Before becoming a renowned architect he was an apprentice especially in the field of visual arts and architecture. He designed several buildings with outstanding unique features but many of his works were never realized. Otto Wagner had two sons Sofia Paupie though these two couples were never married, he adopted these two sons (Mallgrave, 19933, 54). His marriages took place only due to the pressure of his mother therefore he ended up getting married twice. His first wife was Jos ephine Domhart while the second one was Louise Stiffel. He later died in the year 1918 at the age of 77 leaving behind his two wives, three sons and a daughter. In the history of design Otto remains the father of the modern architecture in Vienna. The buildings he designed define the ancient outlook of Vienna at the crack of the twentieth epoch. In the urban planning engineering, Otto is historically remembered as having designed the urban bridges, railway networks, and the well-structured railway stations in the Vienna. His design and architectural work is used as the historical references while looking back to the previous centuries. The movement Otto is linked with is the union of the Australian artists or the Vienna succession. He joined this movement in order to unite both the national and the international artists. The context and the style Otto is associated with is the facade decorations design in the structural designing systems he undertaken. Otto Wagner’s Movement and Style Otto Wagner was a member of the Vienna Secession Group of Artists whose styles were varied with no single style uniting the work of members of the Secession. One of the primary concerns of the Secessionists was to explore the possibility of developing an art movement that would be able to operate outside the confines of academic tradition. Most of the members of the group such as Otto Wagner particularly hoped to create and develop a style that is free from the historical influence. With regard to their architecture, Secessionists preferred to decorate their buildings using linear ornamentation2. With regard to his style, although the early works of Otto Wagner were primarily designed in the already established New-Renaissance style, he gradually shifted his style from New- Renaissance to Art Nouveau as was evidenced by his later architectural designs. Additionally, as an architectural school teacher, Wagner particularly stressed and fused art Nouveau/Secession style to hi s students. Art Nouveau was largely an ornamental artistic design style that flourished between 1890 and 1910 in several parts of the Europe as well as the United States. The style was characterized by the use of long sinuous and organic lines and was employed not only in architectural design but also in jewelry, interior design, posters, glass