Orange County Essay Example for Free

Orange County Essay After California passed a proposition limiting revenue generated from local property taxes, pressure was put on local governments to raise enough money to fund services. Orange County, like many others in the US, attempted to raise revenue without increasing taxes. Their treasurer, Robert L. Citron, decided to get involved with a high risk high reward product. He chose to invest in derivatives and gamble with public money. Because interest rates were low at the time, Citrons portfolio was returning at an average rate of 8. 52%. This was 5% higher than what the state of California was earning. Orange County was enjoying the benefits of their treasures investments. In 1994, 35% of the countys revenue was from the portfolios returns. The county continued to increase earnings and therefore no one looked into Citrons practices. He did inform the Board of Supervisors that the value of the county’s portfolio depended on interest rates remaining stable or decreasing. So when interest rates rose, the value of the portfolio diminished, eventually leading to bankruptcy. In December 1994, Orange County announced a loss of $1. 6 billion, the most significant loss recorded by a local government investment pool. This also displayed the negative side of the high risk investments made by Citron who was gambling with a $7. 5 billion portfolio made up of players such as cities, school, water works, and regional transportation. [1] There were many factors that led to the bankruptcy of Orange County. A Board of Supervisors member stated that there was a lack of oversight (not an accountable system) and failure of disclosure to investors. Citron also never met with the investment oversight committee that did exist, and as treasurer he had control over Orange County and their trust. Many have questioned if Citron was ever qualified to hold his position in office. Some even blame the state government. Originally they used to fund local governments, but when they started taking back they were taking $6. 5 million more than they were giving them. Before the county declared bankruptcy, an investor; First Boston, was selling its collateral because they saw that the countys portfolio was declining. This was a hint that problems were around the corner because soon many investors would realize this and pull out. In response, bankruptcy was declared so that the funds would freeze and banks would not be able to liquidate the collateral. Another responsible party was Merrill Lynch, the countys financial advisor. The purpose they serve is to protect the interests of the county. They did warn Citron about the volatility of the investments however they still bought him the same funds and underwrote a bond issue for $600 million. The warning was only sent to Citron and not to the Board of Supervisors. A lawsuit was filed in 1995 against Merrill Lynch by Orange County. [2] Besides the power he held over the county, another reason for the bankruptcy was Citrons use of leveraging. As a leveraged fund, it could borrow money to increase its securities portfolio. Citron was able to leverage $7. 57 billion into $20. 5 billion. In essence, when the investment produces a high return rate, the stockholders will have a very high rate of return. On the other hand, if the investment produces a low return rate, the stockholders will have a very low return. They also used longer term maturities which makes it more sensitive to changing interest rates. So there is a high leverage risk as well as interest rate risk. [3] Duration is interest rate sensitivity and because Citrons portfolio depended on interest rates it is a good measure. Because the portfolio used median term maturities over short term maturities to increase their return, the duration increased. In December 1994 the duration was 2. 74 years. With the leverage ratio at 2. 73, the actual portfolio duration was 7. 4 (2. 74*2. 73). When the interest rates rose in 1994, the estimated loss using duration was $1. 85 million, a little more than the actual amount. interest rates went up about 3. 5 and 5 year bond yield was 5%) VaR could also have been used to find some risks of the portfolio. VaR is a statistical technique used to measure and quantify the level of financial risk within a firm or investment portfolio over a specific time frame. Value at risk is used by risk managers in order to measure and control the level of risk which the firm undertakes. The risk managers job is to ensure that risks are not taken beyond the level at which the firm can absorb the losses of a probable worst outcome. investopedia definition) The portfolio was sensitive to interest rates so a change in the rate can be used in 3 simulation methods and the only impactive factor. Using a historical simulation approach, the VaR equals $1. 24 billion. This is lower then the actual value but it is also using past prices to determine the future. In the delta normal method VaR is calculated as $1. 21 billion. This is a little less accurate then the historical method. The best way in theory to calculate Var would be using the Monte Carlo Simulation. However in this situation it treats the portfolio as one asset and equals about $1 billion. Because none of these prove to be reliable enough, a exponentially weighted moving average can be used to improve the accuracy of VaR. What it does it give more weight to recent data then older data. [4] As a result of the bankruptcy many unfortunate consequences arose. Of course there was the $1. 6 billion in debt that needed to be re-payed to investors. Additionally the lawsuit against Merrill Lynch was draining funds from the community with no promising chance of recovery. The once perfect rating that Orange County held was now downgraded to a default rating by Standard Poor. There were also many political consequences regarding the county and county officials. If the risk of the portfolio was taken into consideration by the appropriate parties, the entire situation could have been avoided. Unfortunately the power to stop Citron was in the hands of Merrill Lynch who did not take the appropriate action. The County also failed to monitor and assess the deal which puts several more people at blame for the bankruptcy.

History of Andersonville Prison Essay -- Andersonville Prison Civil Wa

History of Andersonville Prison When one turns on the television today they are made witness to all the crimes that are present in society. It is impossible to sit through thirty-five minutes of news without anger and rage becoming aroused. This is because society is bothered by infinitesimal paraphernalia. Society also believes in human rights and punishment for those who violate such rights. Yet what constitutes humanity? Ever sit there and watch the news and wonder just how far humanity reaches? When is it time to say this is a human rights violation? Every wonder when someone’s morals and ethics begin to effect their ability to do their job? Ever wonder why in every news story the â€Å"bad guy† always become caught? Ever wonder how many people on death row might not be guilt? Some of them could have even been used as scapegoats. Yet how does one become a scapegoat? Could someone out there have that much hatred and anger to blame one person for the faults of many? Is the need for blame significant ? Does desire lead to more hatred and evil? What does it feel like to be blamed for something that might not be wrong, and to be put on trial knowing that the jury wants to blame someone? In society and in the United States since its founding, there has been a need to place blame. Imagine how the person being blamed would feel. Henry Wirz did not have to image it; he lived through it and died for it. Someone is always to be blamed, even if they were just following orders. Orders which can only go so far until humanity takes effect. Henry Wirz was used as a scapegoat for war crimes committed during the Civil War at Andersonville Prison, however that does not justify his acts or make him an American hero. Ever take a midnight train to Georgia? No, well ever drive through Georgia? When driving through Georgia on State Road 49, there is a little town called Andersonville that is very easy to miss. To many it is just another town. Yet this town has its own trail. The Andersonville Trail is a small brown dirt road that leads visitors to the Andersonville National Historic Site (Roberts xi). This National Historic Site looks like a â€Å"well- tended† national cemetery. On closer examination, this cemetery is nothing like Arlington (Roberts xi). â€Å"In this national cemetery, the marble headstones are so close together, they almost touch. The markers appear to be one long head... ... Confederacy should face the truth as did Eliza Frances Andrews, who wrote of Andersonville: â€Å"it is horrible, and a blot on the fair name of our Confederacy† (Futch 122). That is exactly it, Andersonville was a blot on the Confederacy not on just Wirz, yet Wirz was blamed. Does this seam fair? Hardly. What happened at Andersonville was a repercussion of the Confederacy’s inability, not on the inability of Henry Wirz. Bibliography Denny, Robert. Civil War Prisons and Escapes. New York, New York: Sterling Publishing Company, 1993. Futch, Ovid. History of Andersonville Prison. Indiantown, Florida: University of Florida Press, 1968. Hillstrom, Kevin. American Civil War Biographies. Michigan: The Gale Group, 2000 Levitt, Saul. The Andersonville Trial. New York, New York: Random House, 1960. Murphy, Richard. The Nation Reunited. Canada: Time-Life Books, Inc. 1987 Roberts, Edward. Andersonville Journey. Shippensburg, PA: Burd Street Press, 1998 Robertson, James: Tenting Tonight: A Soldier’s Life. Canada: The Time-Life, Inc. 1984. Shaw, William B., et al. A Photographic History of the Civil War. Six Volumes. New York, New York: The Blue and Grey Press, 1987.

The Sociological Context Of Healthcare Health And Social Care Essay

Ethnicity is a socially constructed term that refers to people sing themselves as different from another type of people in footings of hereditary background, faith, linguistic communication, civilization and where they originate from geographically. Harmonizing to Dyson ( 2005 ) , minority cultural groups are perceived to hold a different civilization or national tradition as compared to the bulk of the population. This explains that different cultural groups co-exist in England and the remainder of the UK. Harmonizing to Taylor and Field ( 2003 ) , this includes people of Afro- Caribbean descent, Africans and Asians merely to advert a few. Taylor and Field ( 2003, pg 72 ) suggest that being cultural agencies, â€Å" †¦ to be seen as a belongings of being black or Asiatic and in the minority†¦ † On the other manus, the bulk white population consists of the mainstream white British society that is dominant in the whole population. Furthermore, harmonizing to the Disea se Control Priorities Project ( 2006 ) , wellness position is a term used to mention to all countries of the wellness of persons in a state and the whole population ; and it includes disablements, mortality hazards and diseases. Therefore, harmonizing to statistics and statements by wellness specializers, sociologists and the media in Britain have ever argued that there is clear grounds of difference in the wellness position of minority cultural groups and the bulk white population. Some wellness sociologists argue that minority cultural groups in Britain and the UK tend to hold a less desirable and worse wellness position compared to the bulk white population due to several factors. Taylor and Field ( 2003 ) argue that racial favoritism undermines the wellness of minority cultural groups whether direct or indirect therefore impacting the people ‘s right to an first-class wellness service. Furthermore, they argue that due to the widening spread in mortality between the upper category and the working category has lead to ill wellness amongst cultural minority communities ; which hence has lead to the differences in wellness positions. Naidoo and Wills ( 2001 ) gave an illustration of institutional racism whereby slow reactions by health care professionals to cultural minority wellness have lead to less reding and testing for instances like reaping hook cell upset and thalassemia. Nazroo ( 1997a, cited in Culley and Dyson, 2001, pg 39 ) , argues that â€Å" †¦ the wellness positions of minority cultural groups in the UK appear, by and large talking, to be worse than the wellness position of the white populations†¦ † . This is a general statement that minority cultural groups are more challenged in footings of wellness compared to the bulk white group. Here, they have concluded from detecting forms in deceases and the causes amongst the population. Harmonizing to Culley and Dyson ( 2001 ) , they have observed forms in cultural factors, background, genetic sciences handiness of wellness services and economic factors. Harmonizing to the 1991 Census ( Culley and Dyson, 2001 ) the worse decease rates were for those persons born outside the UK. Marmot et Al ( 1984 ) published consequences of a survey which had been conducted between 1970 and 1978, on cultural minorities who died aged over twenty old ages in Britain and found out that all cultural mi norities born outside Britain had a higher decease rate runing from mere accidents to tuberculosis compared to the bulk white population. In physical wellness, statistical grounds indicates that persons born in the Caribbean tend to hold lower decease rates as a consequence of lung malignant neoplastic disease, whilst Indian persons besides have high decease hazards due to lung malignant neoplastic disease ; in comparing to Irish and Scots persons who have had high decease hazards from bosom disease and lung malignant neoplastic disease. Taylor and Field ( 2003 ) argued that Asiatic groups tend to hold higher rates of bosom disease and diabetes compared to the bulk white population. They besides observed that the Black groups tend to hold higher rates of high blood force per unit area, diabetes and shot compared to the bulk white population. Sproston and Mindell ( 2006 ) found out from the 2004 Health Survey for England consequences that Indian male childs in Britain have a higher frequence of extended unwellness compared to the misss and other cultural minority groups. In support of consequences from a wellness study, Nazroo ( 1997a ) explained that minority cultural groups indicated well high degrees of self-reported ailment wellness compared to the white population ; particularly those of Pakistani/ Bangladeshi and Caribbean descent. They all reported worse bosom wellness and instances of diabetes compared to their white opposite numbers. In relation to mental wellness instances, Karlsen et Al ( 2005 ) argued that higher rates of treated mental wellness jobs ( schizophrenic disorder ) have been reported for cultural minorities particularly black groups compared to their white opposite numbers. Morgan et Al ( 2004 ) found out that immature black African and Caribbean work forces tend to acquire more constabularies invasion and fewer hospitalization, household intercession and rehabilitation taking to long periods of psychotic agony compared to any other societal group. Reasons from these sociologists were that: Afro Caribbean male childs have been labelled as violent and threatening by head-shrinkers so the minute they approach them for aid, they are already viewed as excessively disturbed upon first presentation at the GP ( physicians ‘ ) . Surveies besides indicated a higher standard mortality rate ( SMR ) amongst Caribbean ; with work forces making 176, whilst 210 for adult females for mental health-related jo bs. However, these statistics did non include the Irish minority. Concentrating on mental wellness, harmonizing to Culley and Dyson ( 2001 ) , surveies have shown a high prevalence of persons from African and Afro-Caribbean descent to be three to five times more likely than Whites to be diagnosed with schizophrenic disorder ( Bagley, 1971 ; Littlewood and Lipsedge, 1988 ) . Cochrane and Bal ( 1989 ) observed that these consequences apply more to immature African and Afro Caribbean work forces who largely were born in Britain. Nazroo ( 1997b ) observed the Fourth National Survey of Ethnic Minorities and found out that Caribbean young persons enduring from mental wellness jobs yearly amounted to fourteen per 1000 compared to the Whites ‘ eight per 1000. This brings out a decision that a greater per centum of cultural minorities had a worse wellness position compared to the white bulk. Furthermore, harmonizing to Balarajan and Botting ( 1989 ) , the pre-birth mortality rates in Britain are higher amongst cultural minority adult females in comparing to babes of British born female parents. They found out that there were 16 deceases per one 1000 live for babes belonging to Pakistani female parents between 1986 and 1988 ; compared to nine for babies belonging to British Born female parents. This is another ground why the wellness position of minority cultural groups is worse than that of the bulk white population. Another ground for the difference in wellness position between these two societal groups is lifestyle. Surveies indicate that persons in a manual societal category, or who tend to make blue-collar manual labor ( working category ) have a higher mortality rate compared to white neckband or non-manual societal categories ( Phillimore et Al, 1994 ) . This besides means that persons in the working category have higher ego reported unwellnesss compared to those i n the non-manual societal category ( white neckband occupations, e.g managerial and high paying occupations ) . Harmonizing to Platt ( 2007 ) , poorness and want is known to be prevailing amongst cultural minority groups compared to the remainder of the population. Groups that suffer most include Africans, Afro – Caribbean persons, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Indians and Chinese. Such want ends up taking to hapless life conditions, deficiency of nutrient, wellness commissariats finally taking to ill wellness ; hence this confirms the worse wellness position of cultural minorities compared to the bulk white population ( National Statistics, 2006 ) . However, although the wellness position of cultural minorities seems to be much worse than that of the bulk white population, â€Å" †¦ the life anticipation of both work forces and adult females has improved throughout the twentieth Century†¦ † ( Clarke, 2001, pg 130 ) . Besides, harmonizing to Taylor and Field ( 2003 ) , nowadays cultural minority communities ( African, Asiatic and Indian ) seem to hold similar degrees of health care proviso, if non better, compared to the bulk white population. Decision: Although to a higher extent there are more grounds for the difference in the wellness statuses amongst cultural minorities and white bulk, the new thoughts today, if implemented good, could assist cut down the difference. The differences in wellness positions between cultural minority groups and the bulk white groups in Britain is clearly an issue. Pierson ( 2002 ) argued that socio-inequality in health care could be reduced by bettering the health care proviso for cultural minority groups ; hence finally, acquiring rid of the differences in the wellness positions of both societal groups ( cultural minorities and white bulk ) . Pierson ( 2002 ) suggested that antidiscrimination policies could be implemented through increasing the public assistance and benefits for the disadvantaged ; and, including the less privileged cultural minority groups in determination devising. This would assist better the health care from everyone ‘s point of position, from every societal category.

The Great Divorce - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1920 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2019/06/24 Category Psychology Essay Level High school Tags: Divorce Essay Did you like this example? In the beginning of the book CS Lewis is giving a brief set up to what the book will be about and what we can expect as readers. He makes it very clear to us that this is all a fantasy before we continue into the first chapter. To continue, in the first chapter the storyteller begins to describe a bus stop and who he sees around him. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Great Divorce" essay for you Create order The people are angry, and a Big man and a Small man get into a fight because the small man is complaining about the people he sees while the big man tells him to shut his mouth and punches him right in the face. The small man exits the line and the bus arrives. The storyteller describes it as stunning and bright while also driven by a driver that only has one hand on the wheel. The people were boarding the bus in a frenzy for no apparent reason, because the bus was only half full when the storyteller got on last. The storyteller then sits on the bus next to a man, which he calls, Tousle-Headed Poet. One of the most important things that the poet says to the storyteller is that most people do not actually ride the bus because they would much rather prefer to go to grey town. Then suddenly the storyteller notices that they are flying in the bus and can see grey town below him. Now in Chapter 2 the poet is telling the storyteller, his life story and what he has gone through in his lifetime. He also confessed to the storyteller that at the beginning of the war he was briefly a communist but then later rejected it. He was in a horrible relationship with a woman and came to his final straw when she was greedy with money and jumped in front of a train. He tells the storyteller that ever since he has jumped in front of the train he has spent his time in grey town. As the bus is still in the air a random fight breaks out between all of the passengers with knives and guns. Then all of the sudden it ends instantly, leaving the storyteller untouched. Now, he is sitting next to a different man who is intelligent man. The intelligent man describes grey town to the storyteller as a place where there are always new people coming in and as soon as they do they tend to fight and brawl. When you arrive at grey town you start at the civic center and you want to eventually m ake your way to the bus stop. The intelligent man says that it can take millions of years to go from the civic center to the bus stop. Some rather famous people have drifted past the bus stop which include Napoleon, Julius Caesar, and Genghis Kahn. The intelligent man describes how he wishes he could tell people to go forth to the bus stop instead of drifting away. Then he tells the storyteller that he is going to try to pick up some things, so he can sell them to the people in grey town to make some sort of profit. Now in Chapter 3, the bus finally comes to a stop and people then exit the bus. The area around them is a nearby river with trees and grass on the ground. The storyteller was said to have expressed, I had a sense of being in a larger space, perhaps maybe even a larger sort of space, than I have ever known before (27). This place seemed so vast and infinite to the storyteller. He then comes across a daisy that he tries to pick from the ground. He is bending the stem and trying to twist it and it was as hard as a rock. He described it as hard as a diamond. He then tries to pick up a leaf nearby it and it would not budge. Just the effort of trying to pick the daisy and the leaf left him out of breath. Then the storyteller notices that he is completely see-through and that he is a phantom. So is everyone who wandered out of the bus. A woman cried she couldnt handle it and ran back on to the transportation. The big man who looks like a ghost asked the driver when they were all going to he ad back to grey town and the driver explains, Stay as long as you please (29). Just upon out in the distance they all see a mountain range and then closer by the river they see bodies of people who were naked and called spirits. In Chapter 4, the Big Ghost notices a spirit that he knows from his past and remembers him as Len. He then becomes very angry at Len and reminds him he is a murderer and he killed a man named Jack. Len explains in the book after he was accused of murder, Of course I did. It is all right now' All right is it? All right for you, you mean. But what about the poor chap himself, laying cold and dead? But he isnt. I have told you, you will meet him soon. He sent you his love' (33). The big ghost was envious and confused that Len is in heaven and gets to be free while the big ghost has to spend his time in grey town. The big ghost says that he has always been good and that he doesnt deserve to be in this situation. Len confused, tells the him of his sins and he gets to be upset and says he will never take advice from a murderer. In Chapter 5, the storyteller is approached by two lions which he quickly tries to escape until he then came across a spirit conversing with a larger ghost. The ghost was asking the spirit about a man named Dick which is the spirits father. The ghost explains that he is in grey town and rejects the idea of there being a heaven and hell. The spirit asks him to try to have him, believe in him, so he can then move past grey town. Dick believes that grey town is hell plain and simple. The large ghost asks for Dick to go to the mountain to see the face of god and for him to repent his sins. Then after he listens to this conversation he comes up with a novel idea that maybe he could walk on water. So, the storyteller then steps onto the water and in fact was walking on it. It became very difficult though, since the water was moving and he found it to be more difficult than he ever thought. In Chapter 6, the storyteller is still walking on water and then suddenly is right by a waterfall. He notices the intelligent man he sat next to, on the bus or now known as Ikey. He is in the bushes trying to pick up apples and other items and is finding them to be very heavy. Out of nowhere a large and stern voice came calling out and called Ikey a fool and to put them down. The waterfall, then turned out to be an angel in disguise and made its way over to Ikey. The angel explained to Ikey that apples have no place in hell and that he should enjoy them here. Ikey disobeyed and decided that he was going to continue to the bus anyways. In Chapter 7, Ikey is still traveling to the bus with the apples stuffed in his pockets. The big angel referred to as Water Giant doesnt try to stop him. The storyteller then comes across all over the world and doesnt think that the true sights in the world are worth seeing at all. He describes them as a bunch of advertisements run by some sort of corporation. He also described hell as a huge disappointment. As the Hard-Bitten ghost was leaving, he warned the storyteller that it is going to rain soon. The rain will be like bullets which upset the storyteller and left him to be sad and worried. In Chapter 8, the storyteller was upset with the Hard-bitten ghost for telling him that the rain my really injure him. The storyteller goes off to the river and sulks about how the spirits dont look after the ghosts the way he wants them to. He finds that they have their own agenda of things to do that doesnt include them. The storyteller still saddened by the future rain, tries to find some shelter. On his way through the woods, he comes across a female ghost and a spirit in a heated argument over her not wanting to travel up to the mountain. The spirit is insisting that she does in order to receive her body. She gets upset and says she will not. The text explains, A herd of unicorns came thundering through the glades (63) This must have been merely out of pure disappointment of her insisting to not travel upward to the mountain to repent. Reflection What I found most interesting about grey town or hell, was that all who enter start at the civic center and have to find their way to the bus stop. What makes this so compelling for me to think about is that according to the Poet, it takes millions of years to reach the bus stop. That may be for the agony of time you have to think with just yourself about all of your sins that you have committed. Then by the time you reach the bus stop you can make the decision to repent the sins you have committed and go off to heaven or get back on the bus and return to hell. What CS Lewis I think wanted the readers to take away from grey town is that it is not a fiery and satanic place. It is a sad and depressing place where people who sinned are angry and alone. They are left to think about what they have done. It is almost an internal battle with just you and the millions of years you have to contemplate what you have done. Some questions I have that I did not get clarity from the text is how do you end up getting the luxury of going on the bus? How do you know where to find the bus stop? What inhibits you from getting to the bus stop in Genghis Kahn, Julius Caesar, and Napoleons case? After reading this text I have learned a great deal of what the after life is like in CS Lewiss mind. It is nothing like I would have ever imagined and was quite hard to understand at first read. But after more deep analyzing I have come to the conclusion that when you go to grey town you have to think long and hard about what you have done to land in a place like that. Then, after thorough contemplation you have the opportunity to go to the bus. When you make it to the destination you should travel up the mountain, see the face of God, and repent your sins so then you can enter eternal happiness of heaven. I imagine this book is going to make it quite a feat to get to heaven, but I think it would be. Overall, so far this book is a little confusing, but I really enjoyed reading CS Lewiss perspective on all of these unknowns.