Collapse Of The Great Depression - 2285 Words

Abstract Never had the flaws of capitalism been so evident or as devastating as during the decade that followed the outbreak of the Great Depression in 1929. All across the Euro-American heartland of capitalist world, this vaunted economy system seemed to unravel. For the rich it meant contracting stock prices that wiped out paper fortunes almost overnight. On that day that the American stock market initially crashed (October 24, 1929), eleven Wall Street finances committed suicide, some by jumping out of skyscrapers. Banks closed and many more people lost their life savings. Investment dried up, world trade dropped by 62 percent within a few years and businesses contracted when they were unable to sell their products. For ordinary†¦show more content†¦This only deteriorated as businesses would suffer financially and unemployment was at an all the time high. Although President Franklin D. Roosevelt came up with tactics and strategies to lessen the effects of the damage done, the econ omy wouldn’t fully overcome until after 1939 as World War II shifted America. For a little over a decade, businesses would go through financial turmoil and people would have to find other ways to bring in revenue. During the late summer of the 1929, the American economy entered into a recession. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a recession is defined as a period of reduced economic activity. Investors had traded some 16 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange in a single day. That day in history was formally known as â€Å"Black Tuesday†. Those same shares had ended up being worthless with no monetary value. The investors who bought them with borrowed money, suffered an excessive lost. Consumer reliability was gone as spending was nonexistent which resulted in factories being closed down. The lack of consumerism also impacted those who had invested in mass production. The consumers who still felt a need to spend, were forced to use credit cards and ev idently fell into major debt; foreclosures on homes and repossessions climbed rapidly as people tried their best to live again and have that

Infrastructure Free Essays

Is infrastructure a key factor to the growth and stability of the economy? or is it a non-factor and needs not to be maintained and improved to better serve and help improve the economy. Infrastructure in general is the system of transport and communication in a state, region or country. A famous Canadian geographer was once quoted saying, â€Å"†¦ any region which has a well-developed transportation and communication network also enjoys a high degree of economic prosperity†¦ This statement has sparked much controversy between geographers, Politicians, as well as conomists. We will write a custom essay sample on Infrastructure or any similar topic only for you Order Now Question is, is there a link between a well-developed infrastructure and economy prosperity (economy growth)? Without a doubt, there is a direct link. Infrastructure facilitates the basic functions of a society that are necessary to transport resources and people, produce and trade goods, provide essential services and ultimately reduce poverty. The direct link can be understood better by looking at the effects of infrastructure. The drawbacks of poor infrastructure lead to high transport cost especially in landlocked areas, thus the economy gets affected. Employment is low where there is poor infrastructure. Lack of adequate infrastructure perpetuates poverty, because it denies possibilities. Affordability, it is relatively expensive to maintain and build. Due to this factors and the analyses from the department of treasury know is an ideal time to increase our investment because, infrastructure investments have long-term economic benefits and create Jobs in the short run, there is currently a high level of underutilized resources that can be used to improve and expand our infrastructure. The cost of transportation is lowered for American households, there is a strong demand by the public and businesses for dditional transport infrastructure capacity. Long-term economic benefits from infrastructure create Jobs in the short run and this is a crucial and important aspect of growth and economic stability in a country. As much as the infrastructure is important and maintaining it being so expensive, if the economy is not good it is hard to have a developed and well maintained infrastructure system. Research has shown that well-designed infrastructure investments can raise economic growth, productivity, and land values, while also providing significant spillovers to areas such as energy efficiency, public health and manufacturing. Thus to say both infrastructure and economy go hand in hand. They affect each other both negatively and positively. On June 29, 1956 President Dwight Eisenhower signed the federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 â€Å"The national system of interstate and defense highways† according to Eisenhower the purpose of this was to eliminate unsafe roads, inefficient routes, traffic Jams and all of the other things that got in the way of â€Å"speedy, safe transcontinental travel. † for all these reasons the 1956 law declared that the construction of an elaborate expressway system was essential to the national interest and growth of the economy. Todays Interstate System is what our suburban lifestyle and caused the vast proliferation of businesses from HoJos to Holiday Inns. And if you order something online, most likely it’s a truck barreling along an interstate that gets the product to your door. there are a lot of undiscovered materials that we could use not only that we have all the man power and technology we need to build whatever we need to improve our infrastructure Among those who gain employment as a result of additional infrastructure investment, the average unemployment rate has averaged approximately 13 percent over the past 12 months. This is more than one and one- half times the current national unemployment rate. Within the construction sector, which accounts for the majority of direct employment resulting from infrastructure investment, the unemployment rate has averaged 15. 6 percent over the past 12 months. Construction costs and other costs associated with building projects are especially low in the current environment. As a result, the President has taken decisive action to accelerate project permitting and environmental review. In the President’s August 31, 2011, memorandum, he directed the heads of all executive epartments and agencies to: (1) identify and work to expedite permitting and environmental reviews for high-priority infrastructure projects with significant potential for Job creation; and (2) implement new measures designed to improve accountability, transparency, and efficiency through the use of modern information technology. Relevant agencies should monitor the progress of priority projects; coordinate and resolve issues arising during permitting and environmental review; and develop best practices for expediting these decisions that may be instituted on a ider scale, consistent with applicable law. In addition, in this year’s State of the Union address, the President announced his intention to â€Å"sign an executive order clearing away the red tape that slows down too many construction projects. † Investing in transportation infrastructure creates middleclass Jobs. Analysis suggests that 61 percent of the Jobs directly created by investing in infrastructure would be in the construction sector, 12 percent would be in the manufacturing sector, and 7 percent would be in the retail and wholesale trade sectors, for a total of 80 percent in hese three sectors. Nearly 90 percent of the Jobs in these three sectors most affected by infrastructure spending are middleclass Jobs, defined as those paying between the 25th and 75th percentile of the national distribution of wages. The President’s proposal emphasizes transportation choices, including mass transit and high-speed rail, to deliver the greatest long-term benefits to those who need it most: middle-class families. The average American family spends more than $7,600 a year on transportation, which is more than they spend on food and twice what they spend n out-of-pocket health care costs. For 90 percent of Americans, transportation costs absorb one out of every seven dollars of income. This burden is due in large and this calls for better infrastructure and investing more in it to make progress. Multi-modal transportation investments are critical to making sure that American families can travel without wasting time and money stuck in traffic. A more efficient transportation money. Traffic congestion on our roads results in 1. 9 billion gallons of gas wasted per year, and costs drivers over $100 billion in wasted fuel and lost time. More efficient ir traffic control systems would save 3 billion gallons of Jet fuel a year, translating into lower costs for consumers. Finally, new research indicates that Americans who were able to live in housing were able to save $200 per month in lower costs over the past decade. Americans want more transportation investment. After years of underinvestment in our transportation system, Americans’ satisfaction with our public transit system s middling when compared to public satisfaction with highways and public transit systems around the world. the Global competitiveness report for 2012-13, published arlier this month by the world economic forum showed that U. S infrastructure was ranked 7th in 2008, but has dropped to 14 in the world this year. The U. S. score dropped from 6. 10 in 2008 to 5. 7 this year (7 is the top score, and 1 is the worst score). One of the main reasons for the deterioration of U. S. infrastructure in the last five years, a deterioration which is reflected in the drop in ranking, is the economic downturn which began in 2008. Funding for roads, bridges, highways, and other critical infrastructure is largely dependent on state revenues, and as states ook less money in, they were forced to spend less on infrastructure maintenance and improvements. Passing the MAP-21 bill was an accomplishment for a do-little Congress, but serious issues about how to pay for transportation in the future have yet to be resolved. The recent highway bill, MAP-21 replaces SAFETEA-LU, the last long-term federal transportation bill, which expired in 2009 for example, it did not increase spending on transportation, even though lawmakers were aware of the need to do so. The 2009 stimulus package did help shore up some infrastructure, but was not nearly sufficient to meet the countrys needs. How to cite Infrastructure, Papers

The Responsibility of the Cfo free essay sample

The CFO has many major responsibilities which include, but are not limited to, the following; forecasting cash flow and budgeting, hiring and managing a staff of managers, tax planning, due diligence, and financial risk management. The CFO responsibility of forecasting cash flow and budgeting is a model that predicts how the cash of the organization will move in the future. In other terms, it assists with the prediction of how the cash will move and change from one period to the next. The CFO is responsible for forecasting the cash flow which will direct the organization on the true financial strength of the company. By forecasting the cash flow and the organization needs, the CFO is able to prepare the business for the different economic stages while exploring the company’s profitability. The CFO performance of the cash flow forecasting is vital and important to the organization because it values the assets and determines the appropriate budget. We will write a custom essay sample on The Responsibility of the Cfo or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The CFO understands that it is important to have enough cash flow for the organization to operate properly, so the CFO must forecast the correct cash requirement. In my opinion, this may be the most important responsibility the CFO performs because it ensures the organization will continue to run effectively because it has the appropriate cash flow. Another responsibility of the CFO is the ability to hire and manage a staff of managers. The CFO is first responsible for finding the right staff of managers to manage. It must be a staff experienced in the financial area, as well as the operations of the business. After the CFO hires this staff of experienced managers, they must be able to communicate and manage the staff effectively. The CFO understands by properly managing the staff and building relationships the company could retain skillful managers. This is an important and vital responsibility because it helps the company retain good quality employees and save the company money on hiring and training of new employees. Another responsibility of the CFO it the organizations tax planning which the CFO will evaluate the business to find the appropriate tax structure and the best tax savings. The tax planning will allow the CFO to effectively form a plan that would maximize the organizations after-tax cash flows while minimize the tax liability. The CFO should understand that the company would like to pay less taxes and it is the CFO’s responsibility to find deductions that are legal and corporate loopholes to assist with this goal. The CFO will understand the changing tax codes and laws in order to reduce the organizations taxable income. The tax planning responsibility is important because it allows the company to explore areas where they could save on before and after tax savings. The CFO will accomplish this goal by evaluating financial and tax considerations to determine the best method in order to achieve the tax goals. The responsibility of performing Due Diligence is another area the CFO will control. Due Diligence is the process of investigating a person, business opportunity, or an investment. The CFO will perform due diligence in a merger and acquisition situation to verify the information received from the other party. The CFO will confirm that the receiving organization is receiving the exact information stated and all information regarding the other party’s past, current status, and future are in fact correct. When performing due diligence, the CFO is concerned with the financial information of the other party, simply the financial verification. Due Diligence is important and vital to the CFO because it allows the organization to enter into an agreement without surprises and unwanted issues. The last responsibility of the CFO is financial risk management, which covers several risks and is where the CFO is responsible for managing compliance and internal controls. The CFO is responsible in making sure the organization avoids asset risk and avoid any risk from growth. The CFO will use hedging instruments to assist the organization in its coverage against risk such as credit and market risk. This is an important and vital responsibility of the CFO because it allows the CFO to determine risky areas and design a strategy to protect the organization against these risks. The CFO has many major responsibilities including the following discussed above; forecasting cash flow and budgeting, hiring and managing a staff of managers, tax planning, due diligence, and financial risk management. The responsibilities of the CFO are not limited to just financial reporting and bookkeeping. The CFO is now assisting the CEO and others in the daily operations and the decision making responsibility. Every organization is different which will also provide a different responsibility for the CFO. For example, the CFO in a small company may be responsible for the payroll, while the CFO in the large company may not. One thing remains the same in both large and small organizations; the CFO is responsible for the cash flowing in and out of the company.