Effects of Government Price Ceilings

Effects of Government Price Ceilings Markets, International Trade, Government Donna Green Governments have stepped in and set minimum and maximum prices ever since they have had control over the populace. Just in the United States alone, governments have predetermined the price of gasoline, added rent control to housing in New York City, and even fixed a minimum on unskilled labors wages. However, sometimes governments may tend to go past simply establishing price floors and price ceilings, and attempt to take over the prices of the general markets. This was done throughout World War I and World War II, as well as during the Korean War in the United States. The attraction of controlling prices is logical. These types of controls offer an assurance of protecting those that might be specifically hard-pressed to endure an increase to prices. Nevertheless, by doing so, the governments may sometimes fall short in shielding consumers and at the same time damage others. In the first scenario we are faced with the government setting a price ceiling on gasoline. Price ceilings are created to prevent prices of a product from exceeding a set maximum. However, if this is not done with the utmost caution, and the price in which the ceiling is set is below the equilibrium, it can create a drastic shortage of the product. As seen in the graph below, in order to maintain an even flow between price and demand, the government would have needed to set a price ceiling of no less than approximately $50/barrel to avoid shortages back in June of 2012. For example, 1973 and1979, the United States set a price ceiling on gasoline, which was below the equilibrium (Rockoff, 2008). This caused sellers to sale gas on a first-come-first-served basis, which also caused many consumers to have to wait in extensive lines to acquire gasoline as well as creating shortages. This is just one obvious example of the kind of chaos that can be created from the government setting a price ceiling on the gasoline market. That being said, a price ceiling can be a good thing at times. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina was on its way to impact the southeast United States coast. As impact was determined and warnings went out, many convenient stores significantly raised their gasoline prices overnight. This is known as price gauging. It is against the law, and a price ceiling is one way of preventing these types of circumstances from taking place and abusing consumers. These laws also apply to the other end of the spectrum to protect the populace. There is also a flip side to price ceilings where the government may set a minimum price. In the second scenario we have the government setting a minimum wage for unskilled laborers also called minimum wage. This is called a price floor. In 1992 a survey of economists was published asking them about general controls. With the statement made, â€Å"Wage-price controls are a useful policy option in the control of Inflation,† there were only 8.4% who agreed, there were 17.7% who agreed with qualifications, but the majority of 73.9% disagreed (Alston et al. 1992, p. 204). The price floor on wages could causeunemployment levels to rise, although they do increase the overall income of laborers in the regulated markets. As we see in the chart below, minimum wage versus the job market is inelastic, meaning that as minimum wage rises, the amount of employed laborers falls, increasing unemployment rates. Do to inflation, minimum wage does need to be adjusted to a degree, however, that d egree is a very sensitive one, and governments must take this into consideration. Price ceilings floors, however, are not the only issues that can significantly affect the economic market. Governments also have to deal with international trade. International Trade is the trading of services and products between at least two countries. Mankiw states ‘all countries can benefit from trading one another because trade allows each country to specialize in doing what it does best, ’ (Mankiw, 2013). This simply means that international trade is based upon the foundation that each country alone is not able to produce everything they need with the resources at their disposal and stay inside a minimum cost and quality range. The households benefit by having the ability to attain the best products at the lowest prices. Countries benefit because they can focus their resources in producing extra of the products which have a more comparative advantage and trading the overflow for those products they are short on. Also countries exporting earn foreign exchange which helps with obligations towards international debt, and can even increase appreciation of their currency. Th e owners of the exported products also get an advantage by increasing the prices in-line with global pricing, which is normally higher than the domestic prices. There are also losses to international trading that can occur. For one, this trading creates a dependency on other countries which can become an issue under circumstances such as political disagreements or even war. For instance, almost every country imports oil from countries like OPEC and Venezuela (Mankiw, 2013). If even one of these two countries were to stop exporting oil, much of the world would be at a standstill in less than a month because of these dependencies. There are other issues that can also affect importing and exporting with other countries such as tariffs, which is a fee that is assessed on imports. This can be done in several different ways, but the most common is the ‘specific tariff,’ which is a simple per unit charge. Governments may do this to help increase revenue or to protect domestic markets and industries from the competition from foreigners (Investopedia, 2013). This charge must be paid by the exporting country to the importing country. However, this can also lead to trade wars, as the other countries may start to add tariffs themselves to all of their imports. The WTO (World Trade Organization) is in place to ensure avoidance of just such issues being exaggerated. We can see how a tariff plays a role of increasing the price of imported goods in the graph below. It is important to understand that tariffs are not the only taxes that can affect the price of products and services. Governments tax most everything with the exception of groceries. For example, taxes on gasoline are one of the hottest debated among economists. There have been numerous studies exploring the effects of a range of gasoline taxes and how they might affect supply and demand (Picker, 2013). The bulk of the revenue generated from gasoline tax is placed in the Highway Trust Fund. Debates started in the early 2000’s over the use of gasoline taxes to create revenue (Ferguson, 2007). There are those policymakers who believe that the tax should be reduced or even suspended all together. Mankiw reasons that an increase in the gasoline tax, even by just one dollar, would produce $100 billion revenue in the first year (Mankiw, 2006). This money could be used to start paying off on the deficient; however, some policymakers fear that it will just increase government spending. Therefore, the efficiency of the revenue is dependent upon how the government uses the funds. Also, taxes make the t otal price per gallon go up for consumers, who, as we have seen in the past, may look to alternative means of travel to save the cash, which will actually cause revenues to decrease as the demand for gasoline decreases (shown in the chart below). There are many different factors that can influence and affect the economic structure of the country. From price ceilings to price floors, along with federal taxes and tariffs on imports, every aspect of economics has its advantages and disadvantages. It is up to the households, firms, governments, and countries to work together to keep the economy flourishing with growth. References Alston, R. M., Kearl, J. R. Vaughan, M. B.. (1992). â€Å"Is There a Consensus Among Economists in the 1990’s?†American Economic Review82: 203–209. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2117401?uid=3739600uid=2uid=4uid=3739256sid=21103270803147 Ferguson, J. (2007). â€Å"Should the US increase the Federal Gas Tax?†Major Themes in Economics. Retrieved from http://business.uni.edu/economics/Themes/ferguson.pdf Investopedia. (2013). Tariff. Retrieved on January 14, 2014 from: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/tariff.asp Mankiw, N. G. (2013) Principles of Economics[VitalSouce bookshelf version]. Retrieved from http://digitalbookshelf.southuniversity.edu/books/9781133890805/id/ch09 Mankiw, N. G. (2006), â€Å"Raise the Gas Tax,† Wall Street Journal, A12. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB116131055641498552 Picker, L. (2013).The Effect of Gasoline Taxes on Work Effort. Retrieved from http://www.nber.org/digest/jul04/w10330.html Rockoff, H. (2008).Price Controls. Retrieved from http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/PriceControls.html

Pros and Cons of Ethical Theories

Ethical Theories- Pros and Cons Katherine Bryson ETH/316 October 15, 2012 Mark Cobia Ethical Theories- Pros and Cons The similarities between the virtue theory, the utilitarianism theory and deontological theory are that they all support good and responsibility. Virtue theory not only concentrates on how an individual acts but also what a person should strive to be, for example a religious figure may personify perfection when in the public when they really should strive for that perfection at all times. The deontological theory states that people â€Å"have a moral obligation to follow certain principles. I liken this to the Ten Commandments, rules or principles that we all are expected to follow. â€Å"The utilitarian theories, as supported by John Stuart Mill, call for generating the greatest aggregate good for the greatest number of people. One major benefit of such theories is that they take consequences into account. They seek specifically to promote the human good as a whole. They also provide guidance for behavior, enabling people to know what qualifies as the moral choice. † I will again use the religious area as an example because to me this is what the religious leaders do.They preach to the multitudes to be good and do good and they also offer guidance. The differences between virtue theory, utilitarian and decontological are that â€Å"virtue ethics cannot generate specific rules to guide behavior. † Under the utilitarian theory â€Å"only total human good or happiness matters. † Deontological theories â€Å"do not always clarify how to rank duties. † I lived in a very small community where everyone knew everyone and we all thought we were living the life of good moral standards and values, until one day I saw a very prominent member of the community, enter an establishment that everyone knew was a hangout for drug users.This person was there for a long time and when they came out you could tell they were under the influ ence. Now according to the deontology theory it was my obligation to report this person to the proper authorities, but I fell short because it meant the demise of a family.References Ridley, Aaron. 1998. Beginning Bioethics. New York: St. Martin’s Press http://www. bio. davidson. edu/people/kabernd/Indep/carainbow/Theories. htm http://www. ehow. com/info_8404891_pros-cons-ethical-theories. html

Human Sexual Behavior - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 1 Words: 343 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/09/19 Category People Essay Type Argumentative essay Level High school Tags: Sex Essay Did you like this example? A guest speaker from Southwestern College was talking about sex. This is not about sex education; the speaker was talking about sexuality and violence. Theres different way of having sex which are Good Sex, Sloppy Sex, Bad Sex, Regretted Sex, and Sexual Violence. Sexual Violence does not belong in the continuum because it contains rape which is a choice. Rape is someone taking advantage of another person sexually. Sexual assault can be verbal, physical, visual, or anything that forces a person to join in unwanted sexual contact or attention. Unwelcome sexual behavior has been a serious problem in our society for many years. People need to focus more on this problem, because a lot of men still don’t take it seriously, it happens, because they don’t know the real definition of sexual harassment. Alcohol is often a contributing factor in sexual assault especially when people are drinking, they may be unintentionally increase their chances of being sexually assau lted, as alcohol dulls our senses and our judgment. A perpetrator may even buy a person drinks to make them an easier victim. May people believe that the college life should be known as party schools. Downsides to the heavy drinking/drug use on todays campuses, colleges are taking an increasingly dim view of excessive drinking or binge drinking which is a major public health issue. Also, this increases sexual assault crimes such as rape, date rape and deaths. Though, many cultures have other vocabulary words for men and women according to the before and after sex chart. It has always been an issue for men to accept that females like to have fun here and there as much as they do. When a man gets around with the ladies, he’s considered to be a ladies’ man or to be more like a Pimp. When females get around with guys she is called a â€Å"slut† or any trashy names. This is why man gets all the positive feedback while the women still gets all the negative feedb acks after getting laid or having sex. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Human Sexual Behavior" essay for you Create order

Aristotle on Friendship - 1069 Words

In book eight of Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle defines the three types of friendships that exist in the Greek word philia (a broader definition of friendship than one might think), which are based off usefulness, pleasure, or goodness, the three reasons for liking something: friendships of utility, friendships of pleasure and complete friendships. In the beginning, Aristotle says that friendship is a virtue or at least involves virtue. It is necessary to life, since no one would choose to live without friends even if he had all other material goods. Friendships serve as a refuge in times of misfortune, it helps prevent the young from making error, helps the old in their weakness, helps those in the prime of life to perform noble actions and holds cities together. Parents have a natural friendship with their children, and to a certain degree those who are similar. When men are friends, there is no need of justice, but when even if men are just, friendship is still necessary; and the j ustice that is most just seems to belong to friendship. Friendship takes time. Aristotle distinguishes between what he believes to be a genuine friendship and two other forms: one based on mutual usefulness, the other on pleasure. These two forms only last if there is utility and pleasure, whereas a complete friendship does not dissolve. One of the friendships Aristotle describes is the friendship of utility. In this type of friendship, a person will often use someone else to help themselvesShow MoreRelatedAristotle And Aristotle On Friendship1480 Words   |  6 Pageswork The Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle addresses the question: what is the good life? Aristotle acknowledges that the generally accepted notion of the human good is happiness or, alternatively put, eudaimonia. The difficulty surrounding the age old question, and the topic that Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics primarily addresses, is not what we call the human good, but rather how happiness is defined and what con tributes to a good, eudaimonic, flourishing life. Aristotle writes that happiness is anRead MoreAristotle on Friendship Essay1134 Words   |  5 PagesAristotle on Friendship We are social creatures. We surround ourselves with other human beings, our friends. It is in our nature. We are constantly trying to broaden the circumference of our circle of friends. Aristotle understood the importance of friendship, books VIII and IX of the Nicomachean Ethics deal solely with this topic. A modern day definition of a friend can be defined as â€Å"one joined to another in intimacy and mutual benevolence independently of sexual or family love†. (OxfordRead MoreAristotle on Friendship Essay610 Words   |  3 PagesAristotle On Friendship Philosophical Ethics December 6, 1995 Friendship is undoubtedly one of the most important elements in the books of Aristotles ethical principles. Aristotle takes the idea of friendship to a serious degree. He categorizes them into three groups or types of friendships. This report will attempt to define each type of friendship as well as identify the role of friendship in a society. Aristotle considers friendship to be a necessity to live. HeRead MoreEssay Aristotle On Friendship1333 Words   |  6 PagesAristotle wrote on many subjects in his lifetime but one of the virtues that he examines more extensively is friendship. Aristotle believes that there are three different kinds of friendship: utility, pleasure, and virtuous friendships. He also argues that a real friendship should be highly valued because it is a complete virtue and he believes it to be greater than honor and justice. Aristotle suggests that human’s love of utility and pleasure is the only reason why the first two types of friendshipsRead MoreAristotle s Views On Friendship890 Words   |  4 PagesAccording to Aristotle s views on friendships he believes that friendship is necessary to live a good life, inspires us to be virtuous, and is a kind of love. Aristotle also believes friendships help people predispose their character and keeps the youth away from errors. Additionally frien dship gives support during weakness and helps people be generous and know when they need help. Aristotle views that there are three kinds of friendships, pleasure, utility, and perfect friendships. Pleasure friendshipsRead MoreAristotle s Portrayal Of Friendship1708 Words   |  7 Pagesvirtuous character. While in Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle s depiction of friendship is a lively one, they show affection and their own virtuous character translates to our own. In contrast, Seneca s On The Shortness Of Life suggests that we should seek friends of virtue with the dead because they possess the ability to always be with us and guide us with their own knowledge of life. While Aristotle and Seneca would rather choose one form of friendship over the other, we can denounce the notion thatRead MoreFriendship Between Aristotle And Nietzsche1461 Words   |  6 Pagesthings that everyone shares. One common thing is friendship. Almost everyone Earth has experienced friendship and love whether it was a positive or negative experience. Aristotle and Nietzsche both have views on love and friendship, but have some very clear differences. This paper will show what consists of friendship to Aristotle, a rebuttal from Nietzsche, and how Aristotle’s beliefs can show and prove otherwise. Both philosophers believe that friendship is necessary in human life but both break downRead MoreAristotle s Theory Of Friendship1415 Words   |  6 Pageswould choose a friendless existence on condition of having all the other things in the world (Aristotle).† Humans are social beings, social beyond any other creature in the world. Human interaction is a must for survival. It is in our nature. Aristotle understood this, he even had his own analysis of friendship. In the Nicomachean Ethics written by Aristotle, books VIII and IX are based off of friendship. Today, the definition of a friend is, â€Å"A person with whom one has a bond of mutual affectionRead MoreAristotle s Types Of Friendship2060 Words   |  9 PagesAccording to Aristotle, one can experience three different types of friendship. The first type is a friend who is used for utilitarian purposes. Aristotle, however, quickly dismisses this type. As an example, Aristotle explains that one could never be friends w ith wine; while wine is satisfying to the person drinking the wine, no person ever wishes wine good fortune (Aristotle, 32). In order for a relationship between two people to be considered a friendship, one must want good things for the personRead MoreAristotle s Views On Friendship1357 Words   |  6 Pagesthat Aristotle attaches importance to friendship within his ethical reflections. It suffices to recall that the Nicomachean Ethics, the most representative of the ethical works of Aristotle, contains two complete books, books VIII and IX, dedicated to friendship. This means that the theme of friendship is given a much wider space than other fundamental ethical issues. However, this breadth in his explanations is not something casual, but rather responds to Aristotle’s belief that friendship is something