Bill Clinton as One of the Most Prolific American Presidents - Coursework Example

BILL CLINTON Bill Clinton was one of the most prolific American Presidents in recent History. The status that the ‘Clinton’ now enjoys in US politics is largely due to the success of Bill Clinton as a President. President Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe III on 19 August 1946 in Hope, Arkansas. His father had died in an automobile accident three months before he was born and he was adopted by his stepfather, Roger Clinton, from whom the Clinton name is derived. In Hot Springs, Clinton attended St. Johns Catholic Elementary School, Ramble Elementary School, and Hot Springs High School - where he was an active student leader, avid reader, and musician. He was in the chorus and played the tenor saxophone, winning first chair in the state bands saxophone section. With the aid of scholarships, Clinton attended the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., receiving a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (B.S.F.S.) degree in 1968. He spent the summer before his senior year working as an intern for Arkansas Senator J. William Fulbright. While in college he became a brother of Alpha Phi Omega and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He is a member of Kappa Kappa Psis National Honorary Band Fraternity. He won a Rhodes scholarship to University College, Oxford where his chosen topic was Government. After Oxford, Clinton attended Yale Law School and obtained a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree in 1973. It was here that he met his future wife, Hillary Rodham and the two married in 1975. Their only child Chelsea was born in 1980. Bill Clinton became the governor of Arkansas in 1978. Clinton was inaugurated as the 42nd President of the United States on January 20, 1993. His term would last from then onwards to January 20, 2001. When President Clinton took office in 1993, America was facing one of its largest budget deficits in history. Unemployment was high, Health care was in a state of crisis and so were the Welfare Systems. In his first term, Clinton cut the annual deficits in half, laying the groundwork for growth, lower unemployment and inflation. He proposed a very ambitious bill to provide health insurance to all Americans, which however, was defeated due to the intense lobbying of health insurers. Bill Clinton presided over an era that saw urban crime rates plummet. His administration consistently supported increased penalties and additional prison construction. The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 provided state and municipal governments with $30 billion to add 100,000 new police officers, to build more prisons, and to employ more prison guards, as well as funding for crime prevention programs. His administration saw the beginnings of a national dialogue on race and the appointment of many minorities to high positions. He appointed women to the highest positions in government, including for the first time Secretary of State and the Attorney general. On the international front, Clinton worked to secure peace agreements between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland and between Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East. The Dayton accords were born when Clinton decided to attack Bosnian Serbs. He instrumental in forging a pact allowing the Eastern European nations to join NATO without antagonizing Russia. Twenty years after the end of the Vietnam War, he established diplomatic relations with the communist government of Vietnam. The relationship with China continued to improve while the North Korean Nuclear Missile program was halted after intense negotiations. Clinton presided over one of the longest periods of economic expansion in the 20th century, with low rates of interest, inflation, and unemployment and high rates of economic growth. Both the Dow Jones and the NASDAQ reached unprecedented heights during this time. All in all it was an economic spring season with the general standard of living high and rising. In 1998 and 1999, the debt held by the public was reduced by $140 billion putting money back into the hands of the people. 22.2 million New jobs were created altogether in his tenure, Unemployment fell from 7.5 % to 4 % and poverty rate fell from 15.1 % to 12.7%. As a consequence, In February 2000, the United States entered the 107th consecutive month of economic expansion -- the longest economic expansion in history. THE RIGHT TO FILE A LAW SUIT Fairness is the foundation upon which social living is based. That is to say that Justice is supreme in any democratic society. Most constitutions across the world have separated the judiciary from the legislature in order to maintain the neutrality of the law. Every country has a number of laws that govern all the aspects of its social, economic, cultural and political life. These laws are vital for the survival of the nation and any breach must be immediately punished. The safety and security that we now take for granted in many cities is entirely due to the presence of effective judicial systems that ensure that any act of crime is penalized. The first and foremost benefit that the common man derives from lawsuits (not necessarily of his involvement) is that it reinforces his trust in the democratic system. The belief that all his grievances would be appropriately redressed is the prime requirement for the sustainment of any constitutional system. Also, even when there are no specific laws to direct a particular event, the courts can pass judgments which have the effect of a law. The modern American Tort law was developed when the government failed to pass enough legislative measures to address the concerns of the common man of the industrial era. It is perhaps due to the complicated nature of the legal system and the awareness of the power of the judiciary that the number of cases that are simply an abuse of the law has been on the rise. People have developed a belief that the courts are the ultimate solution for any disputes. Recently, a retired judge sued his drycleaners a hefty 57 million dollars for having misplaced his pants. Most often these are trivial incidents that could be settled out of the court that are dragged into prolonged legal battles. The fist and the most prominent negative effects that these lawsuit abuses have on the common man is terms of the money and resources that are consume. Trivial lawsuits such as the pants case above can drag on for weeks costing the common man who has to pay for these through his taxes. The time spent on these issues by the judges could have been devoted to more pressing matters thus resulting in a loss of productivity. Most often, these lawsuits are simply meant to extract personal vengeance from the accused. The dry cleaner in our example had to close three of their shops as they faced massive fallout in their customer base after the trial. The strain, money spent and the time consumed by these lawsuit abuses can have a devastating effect on an average person. It has been suggested that a rapidly increasing rate of litigation has caused problems in the recruitment and retention of obstetricians, and has also caused practitioners to practice defensively. The recent surge in the rates of malpractice premiums has been attributed to the size of the monetary awards from these cases. . Capping non-economic damage awards in medical malpractice cases is often proposed as a means to limit the burden of litigation, lower malpractice premiums, reduce overall health care costs, deter “defensive medicine” practices by physicians, and lower the incentives for frivolous or unjustified lawsuits and stem rising health care costs. California established a $250,000 cap on damages for pain and suffering in 1975 after medical malpractice insurance rates skyrocketed. The caps are necessary to stem a rising tide of frivolous lawsuits that are driving up malpractice premiums. In other states, doctors pay double or triple the premiums of their California colleagues. ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION Illegal immigration has become a very important issue in all developed countries and the United States in particular. Actual research has shown that many of our concerns regarding illegal immigrants are not based on facts. Immigrants, both legal and illegal do not raise the rate of crime in the United States and native born Americans are five times more likely to be incarcerated than immigrants. A new report by a panel at the National Research Council has concluded that immigration benefits the U.S. economy overall and has little negative effect on the income and job opportunities of most native-born Americans. Immigration creates an increased supply of labour which benefits the economy overall. , the majority of immigrants pay taxes and add revenue for some services -- such as national defense and interest on the federal debt -- for which they do not impose costs. Also, there is an element of cultural amalgamation that is introduced into the American society as a result of immigration which aids in our cultural development. However, unchecked immigration, or simply illegal immigration is not without its demerits. The poverty rate for immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18) is two-thirds higher than that of natives and their children, 17.6 percent versus 10.6 percent. Immigrants and their minor children now account for almost one in four persons living in poverty. Increased immigration has a negative effect on the environment States (and by extension, its energy, water and other resources), especially as the level of economic development of the United means that the impact of a larger population is greater than what would be experienced in other countries. Many illegal immigrants are trapped in vicious smuggling and human trafficking gangs.. The racially and culturally segregated nature of the American society today can be in some part be traced to the vast inflow of immigrants from different parts of the world. Various governmental measures have been passed from time to time which have been aimed at minimizing illegal immigration. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 addressed the issue of unauthorized immigration. It sought to enhance enforcement and to create new pathways to legal immigration. Sanctions were imposed on employers who knowingly hired or recruited unauthorized aliens. The illegal Immigration Reform and Responsibility Act of 1996 introduced a variety of new methods designed to deter and punish illegal immigration, including new restrictions on judicial review of INS decisions, limitations on the ability of immigrants to bring class action suits, and measures designed to minimize document fraud. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and, in doing so, restructured the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), the agency formerly responsible for immigration services, border enforcement, and border inspections. Noncriminal, unauthorized aliens attempting entry may be offered voluntary departure in lieu of formal removal. Aliens who are allowed to depart voluntarily must admit that they were in the country illegally and agree to a witnessed departure, but they are not barred from seeking legal admission at a later time. The question of whether illegal immigrants should be given legal work status has been discussed many times. Most Americans not believe that immigrants take away their jobs but only the jobs that they do not want. Opinion polls by major news services have also found that the Anti – Immigrant sentiments are highest when the general unemployment rate in the nation is high and vice versa. The bush administration recently proposed a plan to grant millions of illegal aliens guest worker status and the opportunity to become citizens. The main advantage of this is that many positions in the lower strata of the society that are generally not preferred by Native Americans but are essential nevertheless would be then filled. Also, illegal immigrants are the greatest threat to themselves. Major Human trafficking and prostitution groups today are comprised of illegal immigrants. If they are given a legal standing in the society, then we would be making life much safer for them as well as us. BIPARTISAN AMERICA The Democratic Party is committed to assisting the poor by favoring a higher minimum age supplemented by provisions for regular increments. Democrats generally support a more progressive tax structure to provide more services and reduce injustice. Currently they have proposed reversing those tax cuts the Bush administration gave to the wealthiest Americans while wishing to keep in place those given to the middle class. Democrats generally support more government spending on social services while spending less on the military. Following the War on Terror, they have called for a complete reformation of the intelligence community internationally and locally to improve homeland security. They have also called for the strengthening of the military by adding new soldiers and equipment as well as the improvement in their pay and benefits. Democrats believe in progressive, guaranteed social security schemes that have ensured that seniors and people with disabilities receive a benefit not subject to the whims of the market or the economy. They are thus opposed to privatization of social security and the raising of the retirement age. The National Republican party generally supports lower taxes, balanced budgets including a Balanced Budget Amendment to the US Constitution, and limited government in most economic areas allowing for more economic freedom. They are staunch believers in the laissez-faire system of economic administration. They favor a free-market, policies supporting business, economic liberalism, and fiscal conservatism. Republicans support giving government grants to faith-based and other private charitable organizations to supplant welfare spending as they believer that the private sector is more efficient in helping the poor than the government. They have pledged to advance homeland security by committing to renewed Biodefense strategies and by ensuring greater cooperation between the FBI and the law enforcement officials. Regarding homeland security, the Republican Party believes in giving predominance to the choice of the people themselves. They are of the opinion that taxes should not be unduly increased and that the forces of supply and demand must be given a free reign in the market. When I register myself to vote, I am most likely to enroll in the Democratic Party as I find their policies and general agenda to my liking and beliefs. In particular, the Party is strongly committed to the protection of the environment. The Democratic belief is that the health of families and the strength of the economy depend on stewardship of the environment. Democrats have promised to fight to strengthen the laws that ensure people have clean air to breathe and clean water to drink. They also promise to make sure that these laws are enforced. They feel that a sensible energy policy is the key to a strong economy, national security, and a clean environment. Most Republicans however, believe that strict environmental standards hurt businesses and therefore support reductions in environmental regulations based on the principle of laissez-faire economics. Also, the Democratic Party believes that all women should have access to birth control, and supports public funding of contraception for poor women. The Democratic Party, in its national platforms since 1992, has called for abortion to be "safe, legal and rare" — namely, keeping it legal by rejecting laws that allow governmental interference in abortion decisions, and reducing the number of abortions by promoting both knowledge of reproduction and contraception, and incentives for adoption. Many members of the Republican Party however have expressed their strong opposition to Abortion in all forms. Given the current position of women in society and the multiple roles that they have to undertake, I do believe that abortion is not without its merits. Due to these and other reasons my inclination is firmly towards the Democratic Party as of now. A governing structure that has no political parties is not feasible in my analysis. Political parties are permanent entities while candidates are its shifting components. If there are no political parties, the elected members have no responsibility towards anyone. On the other hand, a political party has its image to keep and can eliminate any member whom they consider is a liability to them. The greatest difficulty would come in the selection of the president and other cabinet members. There can be no conclusive primaries in such a setting and anybody can stand as a presidential candidate. No one would garner a clear majority and a person having won the largest number of individual votes might have not had more than 50% of the total electorate. This would lead to the rule of the minority over the majority thereby defeating the very purpose of the American Democracy. A positive aspect might be that people would vote for a candidate based on his actual abilities and agenda rather than his party loyalty. This can create a pool of talented senators committed to regional development but with fragmented national sentiments. The resulting chaos would make passing of any legislation extremely complex with debates raging for days. THE UNITED STUDENTS WORLD ASSEMBLY Preamble The united Students World Assembly is an organization created with the intention of improving interaction between students from all over the world and to enhance cooperation among them. Though the organization is mainly to be composed of students from all over the world, individual organizations with parallel agendas are also allowed entry. The USWA aspires to serve as a forum to discuss education related topics and to express the opinion of students all across the world on all issues of their concern. Through mutual exchange of ideas and other joint ventures, we aim to sensitize the student community to other cultures and societies. Organizational structure To be able to work together, USWA has created an organizational structure which facilitates the flow of ideas and enables the development of activities. The administration of the USWA consists of an Executive Committee under the supervision of an assembly. The Assemble and the Executive Committee may delegate tasks to task forces. A more detailed description of the Assembly, Executive Committee and the councils is listed below: Depending on the strength of student membership, a number of geographical constituencies are to be first created. The General Assembly holds the highest authority within the organization. It is composed of two members from each constituency. The Assembly… 1. Decides on all issues of Policy 2. Establishes the rules to be followed within the organization 3. Changes the Statutes 4. Elects the President, The Vice President and the Council Coordinators. The Executive Committee has five members: The President, The Vice President, The Constituents Council Administrator, The secretary and The Treasurer. The executive committee… 1. Submits proposals to the assembly, including a proposal for the budget 2. Executes the decisions taken by the assembly 3. Conducts the general business of the organization 4. Supervises the expenditure of money in accordance with the budget 5. Serves as the public face of the organization The internet serves as the medium for all major activities including applying for membership, using the various USWA services, participation in decision making, execution, etc. The USWA website contains many discussion forums that serve as a platform for the free exchange of ideas. In addition, a grand session will be held every year in different places, the venue of which will be decided by the General Assembly. The USWA has no domicile in any particular country and English is to be the official language of the organization. The member of the executive committee shall first propose his idea regarding any amendment to an existing rule or a new rule in a relevant online discussion forum. All members of the organization are free to express their views through this panel. This ensures that all members are given a chance to participate in the governing process. At the end of six days of discussion, the panel moderators objectively categorize the pros and cons of the new rule and a draft is submitted to the executive committee. The Committee decides on the scope of the law; depending on which it can ask for an online poll to judge the general acceptance of the reform or it can simply direct it towards the General Assembly. If more than 80% of the total members have attended the poll and it has been rejected by more than 60% of them, then the motion is considered defeated. Otherwise, the general Assembly votes on the legislation. The general Assembly is advised to rely heavily on the opinions generated in the discussion forums while the law is debated. In particular, every concern raised in the draft proposal of the moderating panel has to be addressed. Once the general assembly accepts the resolution, it then becomes a binding legislation on all members. Students of the modern age must not only be academically competent but should also be culturally competent. Cultural competence is an issue that faces all students who aspire to be fully fledged global professionals. The USWA has made this one of its prime concerns. We have made numerous provisions for students to engage in team activities that foster inter cultural dependencies and encourage interaction with students belonging to other societies and communities. Most often, the communication between different cultures are restrained by subtle verbal and non verbal barriers which can only be understood through experience. Summer and winter schools have been developed that selects its candidates from all across the world. The students are asked to produce creative solutions to pressing real world problems through tea effort. This brings out the leadership abilities in students rooted in tolerance for and acceptance of opposing points of view. References William J Clinton, the White House, Retrieved on 15 Aug 2008, http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/bc42.html Webb, Marion, San Diego Business Journal, 2001 Molly Galvin, “Overall U.S. Economy Gains From Immigration, but Its Costly to Some States and Localities”, The National Academies Read More