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Tyler Sanders

1.  I think that the author’s purpose of writing this article is to imform people of what some younger kids are thinking about themselves at earlier and earlier ages.  They are thinking too much about the way they look at 10 or 11.  People are actually spending money to have their child’s picture retouched because they are ashamed of the way they look.

2.  I think that the intended audience of this writing are parents.  They need to see that some children are getting to obbsesive about their looks.  It says that retouching was always meant for problems like a bump or a scrape, but now it is used more often for less severe things.

          I am glad that many football associations are buying the new helmets that are being created to decrease concussions.  I feel that this is a growing problem and am glad that they are taking action against it.  Many people have had to stop playing football because of a concussion injury.  They are putting themselves at risk of getting hurt.  If the new helmets do decrease the amount of concussions that happen, then many people will avoid injury and be able to play longer without being put at risk of getting a concussion.  The helmet has improved so much from the older days to now drastically.  Hopefully, these helmets will cause even less.

Tyler Sanders

1.  Is it a good use of money and resources to investigate, prosecute, and imprison people like Mr. Norris?  Is he a criminal for improperly filing paperwork?

  I believe that it is not a good use of money and resources to investigate, prosecute, and imprison people like Mr. Norris.  If he was to accidentally not fill out the paperwork, then he shouldn’t be penalized to two years in federal prison.  He should be fined a fee or something that is less severe than two years in prison.

2.  According to the author, why should the fedral government be ashamed of these two cases — and others like them?  Do you agree? Explain.

  The federal government should be ashamed of these two cases because they sentenced these two people to two years of prison for not filing the paperwork correctly which could be an honest mistake that anyone could make. Anybody could file paperwork incorrectly by accident.  It is a common mistake that anybody could make.

Tyler Sanders

     The Cash for Clunkers program was not a successful program.  It cost about $3,000,000,000 of taxpayer’s money, which is way more than what they earned from the actual Cash for Clunkers.  The government ended up paying about $24,000 each for those 125,000 additional vehicle sales.  According to Edmund’s.com, we would have made more money in the month of October without Cash for Clunkers than with Cash for Clunkers.  The government basically paid more money to create this program than they actually earned from Cash for Clunkers.  The Cash for Clunkers program was actually beneficial to the people that bought cars from the program.  The people that bought from them got a more fuel-efficient car then what they traded in.  How was the program supposed to earn money from the people getting better cars for less fuel-efficient cars?  They were only losing more than what they earned.

Tyler Sanders

1.  Why is the government upset about this report?

The government is upset about this report because it states that the average rebate was $4,000.  But the overwhelming majority of sales would have taken place anyway at some time in the last half of 2009, according to Edmunds.com.  That means that the government ended up spending about $24,000 each for those 125,000 additional vehicle sales.  Edmunds.com states that without Cash for Clunkers, October’s sales increase would be even higher.  I would be upset if I was the government because the government lost a lot of money because of the Cash for Clunkers program.  Plus, if October’s sales are going to be higher anyways, the Cash for Clunkers program should not have started.

2.  If Edmund’s analysis is correct, was the Cash for Clunkers proram a good use of taxpayer money?

If Edmund is right, then the Cash for Clunkers program was not a good use of taxpayers money.  Edmund says that October’s sales would have been higher even if the Cash for Clunkers program didn’t happen.  If that’s true, then the Cash for Clunkers program was a waste of money and a waste of time.  They basically paid more money to loss money from the Cash for Clunkers program.  $3,000,000,000 was spent on the Cash for Clunkers program.  That money could have been used for even better things and instead it was spent on the Cash for Clunkers program.  They lost more money than they earned during the Cash for Clunkers program.

Tyler Sanders

  I believe that health insurance should be like auto insurance.  I think that the people that take advantange of equal payments should be charged more than the people who rarely need the insurance.  People who need the insurance more than others should be charged more.  The people that don’t usually need the insurance should not have to pay the same amount that the people who take advantage of the insurance pay.  They should be charged based on how much of the insurance is needed for that person.  If the person is needing the insurance more than another person, they should be charged more than them.  If someone doesn’t need the insurance as much, than they shouldn’t have to pay the same amount than a person that abuses having the insurance.  It is unfair that people should have to pay the same amount of money for insurance as everybody else.

Tyler Sanders

1.  Why is it considered acceptble to charge higher prices for people who do not meet certain health targets but not acceptale to charge higher prices for people who already have a disease?

People with diseases are at a disadvantange because they may have the option of working out or eating the right things.  They may not be able to meet certain goals that are set.  It is considered to be acceptable to charge higher prices for people who don’t have diseases.  They believe that they should be able to meet certain goals because there is no disadvantage like having a disease to worry about.  They believe that it is no problem for themto meet the goals that they set.

2.  Should insurance companies be limited in how much they can vary prices based in health status? Why/why not?

Yes. I think that insurance companies should be limited to how much they can vary prices based on health status.  I believe that there should be a limit to how much they charge.  I think that they should have a certain limit as to the goal that they set for workers.

3.  From the article: Should health insurance be like auto insurance, in which good drivers earn discounts and reckless ones pay a price, thereby encouraging better habits?  Or should it be a safety net in which the young and healthy support the old and sick with the understanding that youth and good health are transitory?  Explain.

I believe that health insurance should be like auto insurance.  People who are healthy and don’t abuse the system should not have to pay the same premiums as the people who make health care costs go up.

This article discusses an exciting new concept that will take us closer to saving energy and the environment.  The University of Texas at Arlington has installed a new green roof which will reduce energy costs.  Not only does the green roof have lower maintainance costs, it basically pays for itself while saving the environment.  Because this is such a new concept, it may take many years for the idea to become popular.  Not only that, but with time, scientists will discover new ways to make it even more efficient or more affordable and that will help it to eventually catch on.  The fact that it uses native plants and recycles rainwater for irrigation makes it very low maintainance and cost efficient, and with it using light shells to reduce the electric load during the day, it saves a lot of energy.   I think it’s a cool way to not only help the environment and save money, but also uses up space that would’ve just been wasted anyway.

1.  Why do people put off spending during a recession?

People put off spendig during a recession because they are afraid of losing their job.  During a recession, businesses sometimes have to downsize, meaning that some people may get fired.  People get nervous about spending money when they are unsure about the future of their carrer.

2.  Why does Alan Blinder consider such a stimulus ineffective if it is only “pulling up” spending by one month?  “We knew i would spur sales, and it did — in a fast and furious way.”

Blinder said that the threee billion dollar incentive program was a waste because it only pulled up spending by one month.  He thought that a one year or two year program would have made more sense and would have helped the economy more.

Tyler Sanders

There is much debate over whether the government’s “Cash for Clunkers” incentive program was a success or not.  This federal program cost the government three billion dollars and was designed to boost the economy and increase auto sales in general.  Nearly 700,000 cars were sold and each new carbuyer was offered up to $4,500 to trade in an older car for a newer, more fuel-efficient model.  The program was also designed to decrease greenhouse-gas emissions and the demand for oil.  All critics will agree that auto sales skyrocketed in August, but there is still much debate over how effective the program was.  Because it only lasted one month, some say that all it did was cause people to purchase vehicles sooner than they would have.  Sales in September dropped back to the lower levels as soon as the program ended.  Supporters of the program say that it was a huge success, both economically and environmentally.  The long-term effects of this program remain to be seen.  Perhaps the only thing this expensive program did is to instill confidence that the recession will end soon.

1.  What is the difference between taking care of a friend’s child and operating a day care?

  I think that the diference between taking care of a friend’s child and operating a day care is that taking care of a friend’s child is something that a person volunteers to do for that friend.  They are not trying to make a profit from taking care of a child.  They are simply helping their friend take care of their child when they cannot or when they are going somewhere and don’t want to have to worry about their child while they are their.  Operating a day care is a way to make money by taking care of someones child.  It is not something that a person volunterally does.  It is something that may require the parent of their child to pay.  The person that runs the day care is working for money.  They usually don’t have any close connections with any of the children they encounter.

2.  How does the law affect working women?

This law can have a big impact on working women.  If women do not have the time to take care of their children during the time period that they are at work, then they mostly rely on others to look after their child while they are gone.  They ask other mom’s to look after their child while they are gone which can cause some serious problems as shown in the article.

Why did I join the blogging challenge?

I joined this blogging challenge to better my blogging skills and to get a better sense of how to blog.

Do you want to take part in the commenting section more than the better blogger section? Why?

As of now I would rather take part in the better blogging section more than the commenting section.  I feel that I need a better sense of how to blog very well.

What do I hope some of the activities include?

I hope that the activites include fun and helpful things that I could use to make my blog better.

What do I hope to get out of the challenge by the end of the ten weeks?

I hope that I can get a better sense on how to blog and to have a good experience doing so.

I will accept almost any comments that are beneficial to my blog or any comments that may include questions that I can answer.  I will not care if anyone sends me comments about my improper grammar because I hardly ever have any grammar or spelling errors.

  I believe that Lisa Snyder was just doing a good deed for her friends who needed someone to watch their children.  I do not believe that she was trying to run a day care center in any way.  It was just a nice gesture that she was doing for her friends.  I think that you do have to be careful about how much time the kids spend with another parent but she did not think of it in a negative way.  She felt she was just helping friends in need of someone.  Instead, the government’s law stated that she was spending too much time with the other children.  I think that the law that exists about this should be reduced in some ways.  Their are still parents who must work full time and can’t take the time to care for their child on work days.  They would either send their child to a day care or ask a friend to watch them for her.  However, if the parent spends too much time taking care of the other parent’s child, it can be classified as a day care.  Even though she felt that she was just doing a good deed, I think that she should be careful about how much time she spends with them.

Tyler Sanders

1.  How will green roofs help the environment and what do you think it will take for it to catch on in more places?

The green roof will help the environment by conserving energy.  By using light shells, it will reduce the amount of electricity needed for the building.  The green roof will basically pay for itself over its lifetime because it will last longer than a traditional roof and will save energy costs.  Because it uses native plants and reuses rainwater for irrigation, it will not cost a lot to maintain either.  Although it is used in Europe and even in New York, it is not very popular yet in the United States, probably because it is still such a new concept and all of the questions about it haven’t yet been answered.   I think that once people see the benefits of using this type of roof to not only save money, but to also help the environment, the idea will certainly catch on. 

2.  I am not meaning as extreme, but what can our class do to reduce our carbon footprint?

I think it is everyone’s responsibility to try to conserve energy and help the environment.  Our school is pretty good about recycling, but we can always do more to help.  We need to try to conserve the amount of paper used in the school.  There is a lot of waste by both students and teachers.  We can all be more observant about turning off electrical appliances when they are not being used, but these are the obvious strategies.  We could, as a school, come up with a school-wide project of trying to raise money to install solar panels for lighting or something like that.

Tyler Sanders

There is a lot of technology being created today.  There will be more technology the next day.  Technology is growing at a very fast rate.  By the next few years, we will have a new kind of XBOX or a new kind of iPhone and the next generation will overpass the next.  As stated, the technological generation will overpass the next at a faster rate than what it already is.  I taught my parents to text and that suprised me that something that was never new to me was very new to them.  They have told  me about having THE phone that you carry around. There were no cell phones or computers that you could just stick in your pocket.

Tyler Sanders

1.  Would the digester have been a good investmnt even without the government subsidy?  Explain.

  I think that the digester would still be a good investment for people even without the government subsidy.  I believe that the digester was a very successful invention that would help farm owners and other people that owned cows gain energy and save money.  It was a very useful way to gain energy without having to pay the high prices of the normal taxes.

2.  How can we tell if alternative energy sources such as this are better than more traditional energy sources?

We can tell that this is a better source because it comes from environmental resources.  It is created from cow manure which is a easy thing to get.  Plus, they have found a way to reduce the smell of the bad smelling cow manure.  It has helped many farms with not having to pay the taxes.