RE: Should teenagers be tired as adults?

Sarah, I agree with your blog Should a teenage be tried as adult? I understand what you’re saying about crimes and teenager, but I honestly feel it does depend on the crime but also, the criminal justice system should give teenagers who commit heinous crimes the same punishments it bestows upon older offenders. Only then can justice truly be served and society protected from dangerous individuals

For example, you stated a case about Barry Loukaitis and his “mood swing killing spree”, I couldn’t agree more with that case that he should be tried as adult. That’s murder, of course. It doesn’t matter what age he is he killed three people! It’s also pretty rare now that you see people over the age of 15 tried as juveniles because the crimes they commit are so mature and disturbing that they simply can’t be tried as juveniles anymore. On the other hand, kids that steal and commit minor crimes should be tried as a teenager. Sarah makes an excellent point when you says, “A number of minors who commit crimes such as rape, robbery, assault, murder and attempted murder are exempt from being tried in a criminal trial purely because of their age.  As a result, many do not fear getting caught in the act of breaking the law.” That pretty much sums everything up, she’s right! Being easy on those individuals isn’t going to help us at all. 

The government IS responsible for letting those individuals walk without even a scratch. All in all, Sarah’s blog was well put together she made her points very vivid using a lot of logical appeal (facts) to support her strong statements about teenagers being tried as adults. 

Healthcare, YES!

I believe that before we (the people that support universal healthcare) try to convince the national government to adopt universal health care, we HAVE to convince our fellow citizens and official holders to adopt universal healthcare. By convincing our fellow citizens and official holders we will have a bigger support group. How? By explaining to them the many problems with not having universal healthcare.

There are many suffering and ill people at the moment and we we’re not doing anything about it, which is said. In face, the number of uninsured U.S residents has grown to over 45 million. The adoption of a universal healthcare system should be in consideration by our national government now, but it’s not. It is time for the people that support universal healthcare to step up and convince the government that a universal healthcare system will benefit millions of people. Today there are many new sicknesses and diseases that are occurring; the negligence of the government on universal healthcare is becoming a major problem to our society. What’s going to happen when kids are sick, and there parents can’t bring them to the doctor and get medicine because it’s too expensive?

I think that we can eliminate wasteful inefficiencies such as duplicate paper work, claim approval, etc.—our current healthcare system generates too much overhead. Instead of doctors maintaining their own record-keeping system, a universal health care plan would allow us to build one centralized system making it easier for people when at the hospital.  Most importantly, medical professional can concentrate on healing the patient rather than on insurance procedures. A simplified universal health system would allow doctors, nurses, and other medical professions to simply focus on doing what's best for the patient because medicine is a complex enough subject as it is.

Healthcare has expanded in many different countries, so why doesn’t the “greatest” countries have it? Health care should not be a luxury. I believe that EVERYONE needs to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and you should too. It’s time for the government to work on making things better for their country and its citizens starting with their health and well-being.

RE: Universal Health Care...Why not?!

Looking through the blogs, I came across Sarah Nguyen's satisfying blog about universal healthcare. Sarah, I completely agree with you that the government should adopt universal healthcare. Healthcare has been one of the major problems in the United States. If the government was to provide America with healthcare it will help many of the sick and diseased people. There are 45 million people without a form of healthcare. Image how much that would benefit us as a nation. People now a days need to keep healthy for various reasons, most important to work and support there loved ones. Sarah makes an excellent point when stating, “Universal health care is now expanding in a lot of countries. Why do so many other countries have universal healthcare? They do it because it saves more lives and solves greater issues than how much they will be paying for their taxes.” I absolutely agree with that. Basically, the government spends massive amounts of money on project that are useless to many Americans, so why know invest in a project that could save millions of lives? 


I think it’s absolutely sad to live in one of the “greatest” countries without health. As stated in Sarah’s blog, even President Barack Obama believes that a universal health care system should be executed, the President says, “We have the ideas, we have the resources, and we will have universal health care in this country by the end of the next president’s first term.” Many people argue and complain about high tax rates; however, Americans today spend extensive amounts of money on all kinds of things. For example, luxury cars, luxury hotels, gigantic mansions, the list is endless. So, why can’t we spend money on a project that could save millions of lives? It is crucial for the government to adopt universal health.

History will soon repeat itself. Lets hope not!

The economy is falling slowly, and the government is still spending massive amounts of money on programs that we don’t need. For example, the F-35 aircraft program that the United States is currently working on is costing 1.3 trillion dollars. The development of these fleets cost 1.3 trillion dollars not including the cost of maintaining over a period of years. The government has to stop wasteful spending! Instead of being set back 1.3 trillion dollars on an aircraft that has no use right now. We could’ve invested that money towards programs, such as education, a better healthcare system, and the military. Investing in these programs will be more beneficial to America in the future.

In the past, it was wars and the Great Depression that contributed to rapid but temporary increases in the national debt. Today, it’s the F-35 aircraft program, making improper payments, and spending annually maintaining unused or vacant federal properties (the list is endless). I believe that the government’s careless spending could round us up in another depression, and that’s the last thing America needs.

If the government continues it’s excessive spending habits, there is a possible chance our taxes with skyrocket. Look at the situation like this; government spending requires costly financing. Our government cannot spend money without first taking that money from “someone”. That “someone” is we, the public.

In my opinion, the government cannot tax the public enough to pay off America’s debts. Even if they started taxing everyone ridiculously high tax rates; everyone will probably move to Canadian (hah).

America is said to be one of the greatest countries ever. However, I can’t say the same about the government. I honestly believe our government can’t handle situations tossed at them. In addition, I also believe that bankrupt will be around the corner if the government continues it’s boundless spending on counterproductive programs. So, if the government ever goes bankrupt, we’ll (the public) be in an extremely tough situation (not that we’re not in a tough situation already… hah).

Banks.. Banks and more Banks..

It’s crazy to actually think about the “superior” banks (Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and etc.) charging its customers each month to use their own money. The crazy part is… These “superior” banks are only charging their middle and lower class customers. I’m not sure, but doesn’t it feel like the government is starting to care less about the middle and lower class of society? Honestly, they probably never cared. In my opinion, the whole situation is ridiculous.

Due to the issue of banks charging its customers fee for using debt cards consumers have begun to react leaving their current banks and moving to small banks or credit unions. Thursday September 29, 2011 to be exact, Bank of American said that “it planned to start charging customers a $5 monthly free when they use their debit cards for any kind of purchases. Wells Fargo and Chase are following in the footsteps of the nations biggest bank (Bank of America) “testing” $3 monthly debit card fees. After all this, banks (mainly Chase) are still exploring a number of other fee increases for online banking. Bank of America’s debt fee is the steepest applying the new debit card fees to anyone who uses the card to make recurring payments like gym fees or cable bills. I believe banks charging its customers will change how people will use their debit cards. It will limit people’s abilities to pay certain bills or fees.

 Next, I believe that it will make it more complicated for those who do everything (shop, bills, and etc.) online due to that fact that many people don't want to get charged an extra $3 or $5. According to the Federal Reserve, it cost banks 4 cents to process each card transaction. Banks made a 1,000 percent profit per transaction. Now they make a 500 percent profit due to the Durbin Amendment; An amendment that is out to fix debt fees which banks charge for transactions. However, 500 percent profit is not enough for banks they want more. President Barack Obama states, "This is exactly why we need somebody whose sole job it is to prevent this kind of stuff from happening. … You can stop it because if you say to the banks, ‘You don’t have some inherent right just to – you know, get a certain amount of profit. If your customers – are being mistreated. That you have to treat them fairly and transparently." Basically, President Obama does not support banks charging it's customers fees, and he believes that banks should be more caring to their customers. 


At least the public has some kind of that "support". Consequently, the affects of this issue can show our society how greedy many banks are. Just like the government, they (Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and etc.) also don’t care about us. So why should we care about them?

Wasteful spending at its max!

Ever spent money on something that was over price? However, you knew you had to buy it cause you couldn't get it anywhere else at the moment. That place just cheated you, huh? Well, that's how the Justice Department is... The editorial board makes an creditable argument, and provides hard facts about how the Justice Department held or participated in 1,832 conference [costing] $121 million. Even tho the Justice Department holds worthy covering topics [like] drug enforcement and violence against women; they however, hold these conference in a luxury hotel. That's not even the kicker; the prices they charge for there food is ridiculous. Muffins range at $16 dollars not including tax and tip. Tip for buying a muffin? I know... Oh, and cookies, and brownies that you can get for $2-3 dollars at a store are $10 each. The list is endless. Check out the link to see some of the other ridiculous prices. It'll blow your mind!
Besides the over price foods and beverage, the cost of 10 Justice Department conference range at $4.4 million, [the] food and beverage costing another whooping $490,000 dollars. The Justice Department is spending massive amounts of money just to "talk" about topics that seem to still occur in our society. Ever wonder how an $600 toilet, or $400 dollar hammer looks? Take a trip to the Pentagon and check it out. The government chooses to spend money beneficing themselves. Why not cut down on the government waste and use that money for more beneficial purpose? Hands down, the government (Justice Department) is greed. Wouldn't you agree? I agree that this is the kind of behavior by public officials that deepens public cynicism about government spending [putting] embarrassment to the Obama adminstration who is trying to stop the wasteful spending by the Justice Department. The is no "justice" in a $16 dollar muffins, and $32 dollar popcorn.  The question is; just how good does a $16 dollar muffin taste?

Are you serious?! This is crazy!

"U.S. Poverty Rate, at 15 Percent, Is the Highest Since 1993!" That's crazy! What has the world come to...? Every year our society encounter many new problems. However, every year our society lacks to care more about what is going on.
     Joblessness is the driving force pushing many Americans into poverty. Poverty rates have gone up increasingly. In 2001 the poverty rate was at 11.7 percent, today the poverty rate has up itself to 15.1 percent! 3.4 percent increase you might think isn't that much, but it is! President Obama gears up to pass a jobs bill. This bill is supposedly going to create more jobs for Americans to help lower the poverty rate. I think not, this bill will only cause more problems! Ron Haskins, co-director of the Center on Children and Families believes that "this is one more piece of bad news on the economy". Haskins states, "This will be another cross to bear by the administration". Basically, Haskins is saying, we already have enough problems why pile more on top of each other. This article uses logical appeal to catch the attentions of us readers. The article asserts that median annual income for a male full-time, year-round in 1973 is $1,350 dollars more than the median annual income for a male full-time, year-round today. "The median, full-time male worker has made no progress on average" - Professor Danziger.
     This article can be a reference to how the our society is going to be in the future. If you're a worker, be careful, keep your job. Don't slip under the poverty line, because once you're jobless you will be for a long period of time.