Dividend Tax Cut Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dividend Tax Cut - Essay Example It was believed that in doing this, the overall U.S. economy would profit because investors would be encouraged and more open to invest in companies. "The tax-cut package enacted in 2003 reduced to 15 percent the top tax rate on long-term capital gains and corporate dividends" (Mintz 108). While this is a significant decrease, many citizens were led astray as to who would actually be benefiting from the package because the Bush administration pointed out that almost half of all American households held some form of stock. "What this statistic ignores, however, is that nearly two-fifths of this stock is held in retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s and IRAs. This distinction is crucial, because capital gains and dividend income accruing inside these retirement accounts is not subject to taxation, and thus would not receive a tax benefit from the reduction in the tax rates on capital gains and dividend income" (Amromin 38). Therefore, the actual amount of citizens benefiting from this plan is significantly lower than what the American public was led to believe. Only the wealthiest of stock holders benefit from dividend income. Accor ding to the Tax Policy Center fifty four percent of all dividend income goes to households who make over one million dollars per year and the remaining goes to households that make over two hundred thousand. When looking at the big picture, these households only make up three percent of the country's population. "In contrast, only 11 percent of capital gains and dividend income goes to the 86 percent of households with incomes of less than $100,000. Only 4 percent of this income flows to the 64 percent of households that have income of less than $50,000" (Amromin 39). While this information proves that the wealthy are benefiting from the dividend tax cuts, the remaining majority if the population continues to pay a tax on their dividends. Another negative side affect to the passing of this tax cut package are the affects it will have on different private bond companies and charity organizations. "The stock dividend exclusion will hurt municipal and state bonds, it will reduce the attractiveness of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit amounting to 40,000 affordable housing units lost, and it will harm the marketability of the Historic Preservation Tax Credit, the New Markets Tax Credit and mortgage revenue bonds" (Cohen). In financially strapped cities throughout the country, many are turning to philanthropic foundations to substitute for the loss of government funds. "Many charities believe that the plan for the stock dividend exclusion is bad public policy in terms of equity and fairness in our tax system, and bad for charity and philanthropy" (Cohen). As for the corporations themselves, economic studies have shown that a decrease in taxes does not ultimately play any kind of role in whether corporations decide to pay out higher dividends. Many citizens are concerned that instead of issuing dividends to their shareholders, corporations will substitute "dividend payments for share repurchases, an alternative method of payout that boosts the price of the company's stock for shareholders" (Friedman). Like these "share repurchases", many companies who say they have undertaken the dividend policies have morphed them into one time offers, or special dividends

Wooden Bat or Metal Bat Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Wooden Bat or Metal Bat - Essay Example Using a wooden bat or a metal one has always been a controversial issue for baseball players. Wooden versus metal bat debate is not new for baseball fans who love to discuss what kind of bat is suitable for a bigger hit. This paper compares and contrasts the two types of bats. Wooden bats are heavier than metal because they are solid. Metal bats are hollow from within. Wooden bats require more effort to sway than metal oness. They also have a smaller sweet spot (Zumerchik 52) due to which the hit remains within range. Metal bats are lighter because of larger sweet spot which makes the hit swing higher. Wooden bats are safer than metal because the exit speed of the ball from a wooden bat is much slower. Thus, the ball comes off with slow speed, which is good, for it reduces the danger of injury if another player or pitcher hits the ball. Metal bats, as they are lighter, can easily get tossed away to injure another player. A wooden bat, due to its solid mass, does not compress when the ball hits it. But when the ball hits a metal bat, it causes the latter to compress which has a negative effect on the exit speed of the ball, though the exit speed is enhanced by the center of gravity being placed near the handle. In wooden bats, there is no issue of compression. To conclude, wooden bats are heavier, safer, and are affordable in price. Metal counterparts provide larger hit zone, are lighter and easy to handle. Major League Baseball makes the players use wooden bats due to their certain advantages over metal equivalents.

The Corporate Analysis Pret A Manger Marketing Essay

The Corporate Analysis Pret A Manger Marketing Essay Introduction 1.1 Background The name of Prà ªt à   Manger sandwich shop roughly translates to ready to eat. This name embodies the restaurants aim of providing healthy alternatives to fast food. Co-founders and college friends Sinclair Beecham and Julian Metcalfe wanted to provide the United Kingdom with healthy on-the-go sandwiches, without compromising the nutritious content of the food. Upon forming this resolve, Beecham and Metcalfe borrowed their capital of  £17,000 from a bank, and opened their first Pret deli on Victoria Street in 1986. At the start of their venture, the two friends lacked employees, and they personally prepared each item. Twenty-four years after the launching of Pret, the company has perfected its formula for success, and has opened several branches outside of the United Kingdom. The aims and objectives of founders Beecham and Metcalfe was to have proper sandwiches without any additives, chemicals, and preservatives. Each store only stocks natural ingredients, and the sandwiches are made on each stores kitchens in the morning. Each sandwich is packed in cardboard containers, ensuring consumers of the foods quality and freshness. The days leftovers would be distributed to charities catering to the noble cause of providing food for the homeless. From its initial launch of 1986, there are more than 200 Pret shops throughout the world. In 2000, the company opened its first branch in New York, and commenced on having another food shop called Itsu, which are sushi restaurants in the UK, during 1997. By 2001, McDonalds was attracted to the speed Pret is establishing itself as a dominant player in the fast food industry, and bought 33% of the companys stake for fifty million pounds. By 2002, Pret opened outlets in Asia, with the blessings of political standing from McDonalds. The last milestone in Prets current timeline is that by March 2004, the company ceased their ventures in Japan, after incurring losses over eighteen months of testing the market. After the companys losses in their Asian ventures, Pret re-organized itself into a better, more stable company in terms of closing shops that were making more debts than profits, and reducing their workforce. This happened from 2002 to 2003. After closing the shops that were not making money and reducing the workforce to a number of people which would be just as effective, Pret is right on track, and was targeting to have twenty new stores in the UK in 2005. Currently there are more than 2,200 Pret employees worldwide. During the year 2004, Pret A Manger was dubbed as the fourth largest company in the United Kingdoms  £3.5 billion sandwich bar market. In terms of the branded coffee bar sector, Pret took the sixth place from the  £1 billion market share. Lastly, Pret has thousands of customers, and has the consumers vote for cleanliness and food quality. Overall the brand started from one small store in the streets of London, and has grown as one of the leading sandwich stores in the UK. Chapter 2 Information Gathering All forms of available media were used by the author to gather ample information for this paper. A thorough contextual analysis was done with all gathered snippets of published materials such as magazines, journals, encyclopedias, newspapers, pamphlets, and books. The author also used the literature found in Pret A Mangers wrapping, wherein they provided recipes for their food in the packaging of their sandwiches. Aside from published materials, the author investigated all available resources in the public domain such as the Internet. The Internet yielded very crucial information, especially for those renowned websites which provided reviews, overviews, and customer narratives regarding Pret A Manger and other sandwich stores in London. The author also used Pret A Mangers official website to provide an accurate representation of the company within this report, since it is important that the company is not misled in this analysis. Other websites were used as long as they provided pertinent information for this paper. Yet the information gathering would be incomplete if the author only used contextual analysis to relieve the history of Pret A Manger. Due to this, the author personally frequented Pret stores in London, in order to observe the attitude and relationship of the serving staff, management, and crew towards customers. This attitude and rapport was compared to the actions and relationships with Subways, since Pret A Manger and Subway are the two leading competitors in the sandwich market. By frequenting the two stores, the author was able to establish the differences in service, as well as what probable threats and disadvantages Pret A Manger is prone to. Along with casual conversations with fellow diners, the author is able to see what should be done in order to ensure that consumers would continue to utilize Pret over other stores. Chapter 3 Analysis Discussion 3.1 PESTLE Analysis A. Political When McDonalds bought 33% of Pret A Mangers stakes, it brought about a huge windfall of investments for Pret A Manger. Since McDonalds is one of the biggest fast food chains worldwide, other people acknowledged McDos interest in Pret as equals to generating more profit. After all, if a powerhouse such as McDonalds would be interested in a little sandwich shop in the United Kingdom, then they might have missed something about that sandwich shop. The simple of act of McDonalds buying a non-controlling stake in the company generated more political power for Pret than never before. A few years after the sale, Pret was able to open at least twenty shops in the United States and Hong Kong. Prets political power could be said to have began in McDonalds interest, and was fueled by the success Pret attained due to its many accomplishment. Throughout the years, the image of Pret A Manger as a leading sandwich retail store is unblemished to this very day. B. Economic The brand Pret A Manger continues to flourish and to supply stable work opportunities in these economically disturbing times. In 1992, six short years after the first store in Victoria was opened, three more shops were opened and the brand continues to grow. The sandwich store Pret a Manger was followed by Itsu, a sushi bar which is renowned in London and the United Kingdom. Ten years after the Itsu was launched, there are more than a dozen Itsu stores established both in New York, United States, and London. Though the brand hit a standstill when they were forced to recall and to call their stores in Japan as losses, even the founders acknowledged that the speed with which they have expanded were too fast for development. Instead of producing service and products which were supposed to be unrivaled anywhere else, the company was intent on building more and more shops in different locations. Because of this, the plan backfired, and they have to gather their remaining assets and convert them to other sources of income. It is also worth mentioning that there are those who believe that once a business has entered the mainstream of the business industry, which is in Manhattan, New York, then that company would be labeled as one in the big league. By having branches in Manhattan, Pret was able to demonstrate to the world its power as a big player in the sandwich industry. C. Socio-Cultural Pret asserts itself as having its own attitude and outlook, as well as image for all consumers. Most of Prets customers are familiar with the Pret attitude, which is an environment friendly service coupled with enthusiastic, over-eager staff. Its identity as a healthy-food provider exceeds all expectations as it obviously embodies this ideal in everyday standards. The food are created fresh daily, all excess would be given to the homeless, and even the packaging is made up of recycled cardboard paper. There are no preservatives at all: only fresh, pure food to be enjoyed by those who enjoy healthy lifestyles. This nature-loving attitude is also emphasized in Pret A Mangers website. Its Sustainability tab mentions how the company aims to provide clean, healthy food for all customers so that all might get the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. Even their delivery cabs conserve energy in the form of using green energy sources during delivery. In-house recycling is highly encouraged, and once a customer walks into the store, he or she will immediately understand what the Prets commitment to nature is all about. D. Technological Like other major companies, Pret has embraced technology and utilized it for their own advancement. Such is the blessing of e-HRM, which enables workers to produce more output in lesser time. With Pret, they have used technology to keep track of their in-house resources, stocks, list of groceries to buy, and other things. The company uses it to check their employee resources, delegations, tasks, and leaves. They log into a system from any Pret store branch, and can check their leave credits, file leaves and offsets, and other personal details. E. Legal Though Prets unyielding commitment to preserving nature goes untarnished, the company is not free of intrigue. There was an incident wherein a former KGB agent was poisoned while dining in an Itsu Restaurant. The branch at Picadilly, London, had to be closed, yet autopsy report and other investigations have proven that the source of poison was not in the store, and the agent contacted the poison before entering the restaurant. Aside from this incident, there are also other reports wherein people filed cases against the sandwich empire, as is inevitable in a popular brand. Yet Pret has faced each one of them, and has managed to keep its slate clear of any negative connotations about the brand. F. Ethical There is no ethical discrimination and other ethical dilemmas involved in Pret A Manger. It is an honest store which aims to provide quality service, and accepts applicants of all people of all races. This as much is mentioned in the portfolio of Pret A Manger, as they welcome applicants from all people, regardless of their ethnic backgrounds, color of their skins, genders, and other factors. 3.2 Business Analysis SWOT Analysis Figure 1 Pret A Manger SWOT Analysis The figure below would determine Pret A Mangers SWOT analysis: A. Strengths  · Established name there are many Pret A Manger stores throughout the United Kingdom. Along with Itsu, these stores are visible, and easily accessible to all potential customers. Also, Pret has twenty-four years of experience as a famed sandwich maker. Their name is synonymous to healthy sandwiches, and they have also established themselves as a major contributor in the sandwich market.  · Many loyal followers there are thousands of loyal customers who rely on Pret to feed them during breaks and snacks. Since they can get food in a speedy manner, most business people would prefer to eat at Prets.  · Aim to be a healthy food chain is unique and is attractive to many people in this golden era of lifestyle awareness, most people are investing in their health. Due to this, Prets healthy and environment-friendly approach to service is greatly embraced by the people. B. Weaknesses  · Too many stores sharing the same items since each store would individually prepare its sandwiches and products for the day, there are instances wherein what a customer might want may not be available in the store. Since there are too many stores sharing the same items, each store lost its unique characteristics to entice new customers.  · Some would say that the prices are too high for a sandwich customers have said that they would prefer if the sandwiches are made cheaper. Then again, with the quality of service, as well as the health benefits given by the store, it is no wonder that the prices are high. C. Opportunities  · Expansion plans in other countries by placing Pret in mainstream competition, the world would be able to understand that Pret is a brand that is clamoring to be known. The quality of their sandwiches and products would precede them.  · Since there are many followers, it would be easier to know what consumers want, and how to retain these wants to keep the customers loyal to Pret. D. Threats  · By entering the mainstream competition in New York and other countries, Pret A Manger has established its force. However, it is open for comparison to other prestigious brands, such as Subway Sandwiches, which are rampant in the United States. Though Pret has twenty stores in Manhattan alone, Subway has dominated the sandwich scheme in the United States, and is available in all states for the customers. Chapter 4 Conclusion and Recommendation As was clearly portrayed in this paper, Pret A Manger is an established, reputable company with many followers throughout the world. Its brand of loving nature and providing healthy food to all consumers makes is stand out in this world wherein fast food is in demand. Pret is able to provide speedy service, without the saturated fat, and cholesterol served by other organizations. Prets strengths could be said to lie in this image and identity. Since people are already sold to the idea of perfect sandwiches which are healthy and delectable, more and more consumers are lining up at Pret stores. Furthermore, since the brand is using recycled paper, and is supporting charities and the poor by providing them with food, and recycling, those who are nature buffs and who feel a deep sense of environmentalism would flock to the stores. The author strongly believes that the threats faced by Pret A Manger could be handled well, since it was already proven before that the company could continue with its production despite losses, as was the case when they lost huge investments in Japan. However, since people at the store were complaining of the prices, there must be a better alternative to selling the sandwiches without lowering the quality. The author recommends that the store conduct sales and other promos in order to entice new customers to try their products. Since it is also a misconception that all Pret products are expensive, they should be able to bring about new customers by showing them that each product is accurately priced. Once new customers would see how much effort, patience, and top quality materials were used in order to give them their orders, they would realize that the prices, once one compares them to other sandwich stores, are not ridiculously expensive. Lastly, throughout the company analysis, it was established how much people appreciate Pret A Manger, as was evident by the number of stores which were made in order to cater to the needs of all citizens. Having Pret littered around the country and the world makes it accessible for all consumers and customers. Once Pret is able to entice new customers, and convince them that their prices are not extravagant, then the author strongly believes that Pret would be able to trump the competition which is in Subway sandwiches. Pret would be able to claim the number one spot as the most dominant contributor in the sandwich market.

China’s One Child Policy Violates Human Rights Essay -- Human Rights V

Although there are many facets of human rights being abused and violated every day, the Chinese would mention their fight for reproductive rights as one of the first and foremost in their mind. In 1979, the Chinese government passed the One-Child Policy in an attempt to control the growth of their population. While this may have been a grand idea in theory, in reality this policy violates the human right to form a family. By limiting the amount of children a Chinese couple is allowed to produce, this policy is effectively forcing abortion, sterilization and is taking away the Chinese family’s right to make their own choices. The policy was created in 1979 and set a strong limit of one child per family. However, modern-day China is currently working off of a change proposed in 1984, which changed the policy to work off of a 1.5-child per couple. This change allowed some families to have another child, but only if their first born was a female. Most provinces have also allowed rural couples to have another child a few years after the birth of their first. This relaxed policy also permitted minority couples to have two or more children in an effort to increase diversity. Unfortunately, most of these amendments to the policies affect only the rural citizens of China, and provide little benefit to the urban residents. This being said, there is an issue of fairness when it comes to the rural vs. urban families. In Jiali Li and Rosemary Santana Cooney’s article, â€Å"Son Preference and the One-Child Policy in China 1979-1988,† we learn of the different types of familial registration, and how that impacts the policy. The two types of registration depend on the location of your residency. Chinese families with Type I registrat... ..."China Sticking With One-Child Policy ." The New York Times, March 11, 2008, World section. Web 3 May 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/world/asia/11china.html?_r=2 Yi, Zeng. "Population and Development Review." Options for Fertility Policy Transition in China, 215-46. Population council, 2007. Web 10 May 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25434606 Yuan Tien "Population Studies, Vol. 18, No. 3." Sterilization, Oral Contraception, and Population Control in China, 215-35. Population Investigation Committee, 1965. Web 3 May 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2173285 Zhang, Junsen & Sturm, Roland. "Population Research and Policy Review, Vol. 13, No. 1." When Do Couples Sign the One-Child Certificate in Urban China?, 69-81. Springer in cooperation with the Southern Demographic Association, 1994. Web 7 May 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40229690

Poetry Analysis Between Taylor Swift and William Blake

‘What connections did you find between poems studied this year and what links can you make between the world of your poets and your world? ’ Love and the breakdown of love or relationships is a theme explored in many poems. The songs Long Live by Taylor Swift and the poems The Sick Rose and The Garden of Love by William Blake all question and explore the theme of love. The song, Long Live, by Taylor Swift, was written in 2010. At first listening to the song, we hear a fun, buoyant song about love, friendship and loss.However, careful analysis reveals a complex piece of poetry that relies on its strong imagery and upbeat tune to convey strong meaning to the audience. Essentially, the song is about love or friendship and the loss of it. These themes are made known to the listener throughout the whole song. However, even though Swift is talking about the loss of love or friendship she does not sing about it in a sad, grim sort of way. She sings about it in a reminiscing way , saying that ‘I had the time of my life with you’ and she sings about all the idiosyncrasies she enjoyed throughout the relationship, rather than looking at the regret of lost love.Swift uses several poetic techniques to convey the message of the song to the listeners. She powerfully uses techniques such as repetition and rhyme. Repetition is used throughout the song. ‘Long live The walls we crashed through All the kingdom lights shined Just for me and you. ’ The word ‘remember’ is also repeated throughout the song. This word is significant as it shows the audience that although the song sounds happy and is upbeat, Swift is actually reminiscing about memories and the feeling of love which have now passed and are now gone. Rhyme is used to create rhythm throughout the song. The rhyming throughout the song is consistent.In the second and third stanza Swift uses a rhyme scheme of ‘ABCB’; ‘We were the kings and the queens And th ey read off our names The night you danced like you knew Our lives would never be the same’ With other parts of the song such as in; ‘I said, â€Å"Remember this moment† In the back of my mind The time we stood with our shaking hands The crowds in stands went wild’ Sight rhyme is used frequently used by Swift. The use of the words ‘mind’ and ‘wild’ in the second stanza highlight this technique. Like Taylor Swift’s song Long Live, William Blake’s poem The Sick Rose is also about the breakdown of love and about how love has fled.The Sick Rose is from a collection of his poems known as Poems of Experience that were published in 1794. Blake tells the story of a rose and how a worm came and slowly destroyed it. The rose and the worm in this poem are both used as metaphors to convey the actual meaning of the poem to the reader. The rose is a metaphor for love where the worm is a metaphor for something such as jealousy or i nfidelity that destroyed the relationship. The rose and the worm are both used as strong, contrasting images. We associate the picture of a rose with love and beauty where a worm is seen as disgusting and as some sort of infestation.These two powerful images are keys to the vitality of Blake’s message. Blake also uses a strict rhyme scheme of ‘ABCB’ throughout the poem; ‘O Rose, thou art sick! The invisible worm That flies in the night, In the howling storm,’ The Garden of Love, also written by William Blake and contained in his collection, Poems of Experience, is also a poem about loss. Like both Long Live and The sick Rose, The Garden of Love talks about the loss of something beautiful, in this case it is the loss of a garden he used to play in called The Garden of Love. Blake tells the story of how he has gone back to The Garden of Love but everything had changed.Instead of the green grass he used to play on stood a chapel and where flowers should have been growing were instead tombstones. Blake also uses strong contrasting images in this poem with the flowers and tombstones. Flowers are seen as beautiful and happy where gravestones are seen as the exact opposite, ugly and grim. These two powerful images are important to get across Blake’s message to the audience of losing something so beautiful. The Garden of Love also follows a strict rhyme scheme of ‘ABCB’; ‘I went to the Garden of Love, And saw what I never had seen: A Chapel was built in the midst,Where I used to play on the green’ The last stanza however, does not follow this rhyme scheme. Instead Blake uses internal rhyme in the last line with the words ‘briers’ and ‘desires’; ‘And binding with briers my joys and desires’ The three pieces of poetry are all connected through their meaning of the loss of something. Unlike Blake, Swift sings about the loss of love in as experiential. Instead of looki ng at the breakdown of the relationship in a depressed manner, she instead sings about it in a cheerful way about the positive things that happened throughout the relationship.Swift and Blake both use the technique of sight rhyme in their poems. Swift uses it with the words ‘mind’ and ‘wild’ and Blake with ‘storm’ and ‘worm’ in The Sick Rose and ‘love’ and ‘bore’ in The Garden of Love. Even though Taylor Swift and William Blake lived centuries apart, they both talked about loss in similar ways. Both poets use strong rhythms and images to convey the message of the poems. Above all else, the three poems are connected through their meaning of loss which is a part of life everyone experiences. Word Count: 987

College Inc Essay

After watching the documentary College Inc, I have come to the realization that colleges are not at all as they seem. Many colleges are a for-profit college which is institutions being operated by profit-seeking business. This video was pretty much about for-profit schools tuition being more than community college tuition. It was also about the lengths that for-profit schools will go to get as many people to enroll there and get the funds necessary to keep the college alive. The video also included the many for-profit colleges had so many people enroll and knew that, they were coercing kids and business executives to invest in there college. One thing I found very interesting was the fact that they are charging people more to take online classes, then to actually be in a class. I also found it interesting that most students are actually taking online classes which is a good idea especially, if they can not take actual classes or if they have a job that that takes up there time during the day/night. A second fact or observation I found interesting was this has been going on for how long and they are just now telling people about it. These profit schools are only profiting money, but the department of education is finally seeing what is going on with colleges. The government’s role in this scam is that they are aware of what’s going on but are not really doing anything, other than giving the colleges money to stay afloat. The colleges are in fear of losing there grants/funds because the department doesn’t see a growth in education and people finding jobs after they graduate. The colleges are telling kids what they want to hear, if you apply to so and so you will get tour diploma in no-time and find a job soon after. They way colleges are run like a business is the way people advertise and say what they can learn/ earn from the business they are in. What interests me as a business law student was that its in writing colleges have to do anything to get students to sign up and get started with classes. I do understand that for-profit colleges are putting pressure on there employees to get as many students enrolled in there school, or else they are the ones that are losing in the end. Another interest to me is that community colleges are very underrated, many people go to community college because they are not sure what they want to do in life or, they are working to provide for there families and themselves. Most community colleges are under funded so the expectations of the school are rising and the funds are going down each year, leading to perform with limited resources. One other interest to me is the fact that the colleges paint a picture perfect life when you get your diploma, but they do not tell you the enormous debt they leave you in when your done with there college. On the other hand I do believe that people should know what they are in for when signing up to a for-profit college, your are paying an arm and a leg for an education and then you are in debt for many years. In my opinion I believe in going to a community college is a good choice for at least a year or two. I believe this because if you don’t know what you want to do or you want to stay close to home, you can do that with a community college. You save a little more by going to a community college especially if you are trying to go part-time because you work, you can go to school but also save money incase you want to go to a four-year college. In closing after viewing the documentary College Inc, I have come to the conclusion that colleges are not as they seem. They will say anything to get students to enroll and then leave them to dry when they can not get a job after they graduate, and left with over a thousand dollars in debt.