Monday, December 30, 2019

The Chicken Tax Origins and Impact

The Chicken Tax  is a 25% trade tariff (tax) originally imposed on brandy, dextrin, potato starch, and light trucks imported into the United States from other countries. Intended to restrict the importation of those goods, the Chicken Tax was imposed by President Lyndon Johnson in 1963 as a response to a similar tariff placed by West Germany and France on chicken meat imported from the United States. Key Takeaways The â€Å"Chicken Tax† is a 25% tariff (tax) imposed on foreign-made light trucks and vans imported into the United States.The Chicken Tax was imposed by President Lyndon Johnson in 1963.The Chicken Tax was a response to a similar tariff imposed by West Germany and France on chicken meat imported from the United States.The Chicken Tax is intended to protect the U.S, automakers from foreign competition.Cold War tensions thwarted diplomatic attempts to prevent the Chicken Tax.Major automakers have used loopholes to circumvent the Chicken Tax. While the Chicken Tax tariff on brandy, dextrin, and potato starch was lifted years ago, the tariff on imported light trucks and cargo vans remains in place in an effort to protect U.S. automakers from foreign competition. As a result, major automakers have devised imaginative methods to circumvent the tax. Origins of the  Chicken War With fears of atomic Armageddon from the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 still at a fever pitch, the negotiations and diplomacy of the â€Å"Chicken War† played out during the height of worldwide Cold War tensions. The history of the Chicken Tax  began in the late 1950s. With the agricultural production of many European countries still recovering from World War II, chicken was scarce and expensive, especially in Germany. At the same time, in the United States, a rapid post-War development of new industrial farming methods led to a huge increase chicken production. With availability at an all-time high, the price of chicken in U.S. markets dropped to near all-time lows. Once considered a delicacy, chicken became a staple of the American diet, with enough left over to allow excess U.S. chicken be exported to Europe. U.S. producers were eager to export chicken, and European consumers were eager to buy it. Time Magazine  reported that during 1961, consumption of U.S. chicken in West Germany alone had increased by 23 percent. When European governments began to accuse the U.S. of trying to force their local chicken producers out of business by cornering the market for the meat, the â€Å"Chicken War† began. The Creation of the Chicken Tax In late 1961, Germany and France, among other European countries, imposed stiff tariffs and price controls on chicken imported from the United States. By early 1962, U.S. chicken producers complained that their sales were dropping by at least 25% because of the European tariffs. Throughout 1963, diplomats from the U.S. and Europe tried, but failed, to reach a chicken trade agreement. Inevitably, the festering animosities and fears of the Cold War began to influence the politics of chicken. At one point, highly-respected Senator William Fullbright interjected an impassioned address about â€Å"trade sanctions on U.S. chicken† during a NATO debate on nuclear disarmament, finally threatening to withdraw U.S. troop support from NATO nations over the issue. In his memoirs, German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer recalled that half of his Cold War correspondence with U.S. President John F. Kennedy had been about chicken, rather than a potential nuclear holocaust. In January 1964, after Chicken War diplomacy failed, President Johnson imposed a 25% tariff — almost 10 times higher than the average U.S. tariff — on chicken. And, thus, the Chicken Tax was born. Enter the U.S. Auto Industry At the same time, the U.S. auto industry was suffering its own trade crisis due to competition from growingly popular foreign cars and trucks. During the early 1960s, sales of Volkswagens surged as America’s love affair with the iconic VW â€Å"Bug† coupe and Type 2 van shifted into overdrive. By 1963, the situation got so bad that Walter Reuther, president of the United Automobile Workers Union (U.A.W.), threatened a strike that would have halted all U.S. auto production just before the 1964 presidential election. Running for reelection and aware of the influence the U.A.W. had in Congress and in the minds of voters, President Johnson looked for a way to persuade Reuther’s union not to strike and to support his â€Å"Great Society† civil rights agenda. Johnson succeeded on both counts by agreeing to include light trucks in the Chicken Tax. While U.S. tariffs on other Chicken Tax items have since been rescinded, lobbying efforts by the U.A.W. have kept the tariff on light trucks and utility vans alive. As a result, American-made trucks still dominate sales in the U.S., and some very desirable trucks, like the high-end Australian-made Volkswagen Amorak,  are not sold in the United States. Driving Around the Chicken Tax Even in international trade, where there’s a will — and a profit — there’s a way. Major  automakers have used loopholes in the Chicken Tax law to circumvent the tariff. In 1972, Ford and Chevrolet — two of the main American automakers the Chicken Tax was intended to protect — discovered the so-called â€Å"chassis cab† loophole. This loophole  allowed foreign-made light trucks equipped with a passenger compartment, but without a cargo bed or box, to be exported to the U.S. with a 4% tariff, rather than the full 25% tariff. Once in the United States, the cargo bed or box could be installed so tha the finished vehicle sold as a light truck. Until President Jimmy Carter closed the â€Å"chassis cab† loophole in 1980, Ford and Chevrolet used the loophole to import their popular Japanese-made Courier and LUV compact pickup trucks. Today, Ford imports its  Transit Connect vans, which are built in Turkey, into the U.S. The vans arrive fully configured with rear seats as â€Å"passenger vehicles,† which are not subject to the tariff. Once at a Ford warehouse outside Baltimore, Maryland, the rear seats and other interior parts are stripped and the vans can be shipped out as cargo delivery vans to Ford dealers in the U.S. In another example, German automaker Mercedes-Benz ships all the unassembled parts of its Sprinter utility vans to a small â€Å"kit assembly building† in South Carolina where American workers, employed by Charleston, SC Mercedes-Benz Vans, LLC, reassemble the parts, thus producing vans â€Å"made in America.†Ã‚   President Trump Praises the Chicken Tax On November 28, 2018, President Donald Trump, embroiled in his own trade war with China, alluded to the Chicken Tax suggesting that if similar tariffs had been placed on more foreign-made vehicles, American automobile giant General Motors would not have needed to close plants in the United States. â€Å"The reason that the small truck business in the US is such a go to favorite is that, for many years, Tariffs of 25% have been put on small trucks coming into our country,† Trump tweeted. â€Å"It is called the chicken tax. If we did that with cars coming in, many more cars would be built here [...] and G.M. would not be closing their plants in Ohio, Michigan Maryland. Get smart Congress. Also, the countries that send us cars have taken advantage of the U.S. for decades. The President has great power on this issue - Because of the G.M. event, it is being studied now!† The president’s tweet came after GM announced plans this week to cut 14,000 jobs and shut five facilities in North America. GM said the cuts were needed to prepare the company for a future of driverless and electric vehicles, and in response to a consumer preference shift away from sedans in favor of trucks and SUVs.

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Memory Is The Diary That We All Carry About With Us

Oscar Wilde said that Memory... is the diary that we all carry about with us. Every page of our diary filled with a series of memories, but we wouldn t make a perfectly diary. Sometimes we lost pictures in the diary, sometimes we miss spell words; just like memories will become vague and pass out of mind. The process of memory includes Encoding, Storage, and Retrieval; those three parts correlate and restrict each other. Memory storage is a step encompasses how information is retained over time (Laura, 2013). As two of the systems involved in memory storage short-term memory (STM) and the long-term memory (LTM) and play an important role when people recalling specific memory. The paper will discuss both STM and LTM based on the textbook, then compare and contrast the information on the textbook, to discuss memory psychologically. There are several resources include this paper, although each resource explains and discusses different significant title, but relevant to the information process in memory. The resources focus on the reason of memory failure in order to explore the method to improve STM and long term memory. Those resources are discovered in psychology database and intimately relate to the topic. When you want to retain a phone number without paper and pen, people most likely will either grouping number into chunk or rehearse the information constantly or visualize in your mind. This is relying on what is known as STM also called scratch-pad memory, thatShow MoreRelatedMemory Isa Constructive and Dynmaic System Rather Thana Passive Mechanism for Recording External Information. Evaluate This Claim, Making Reference to Research Findings1669 Words   |  7 PagesMemory is a constructive and dynamic system rather than a passive mechanism for recording external information. Evaluate this claim, making reference to research findings. In order to evaluate this claim it is necessary to look at some of the research that has been carried out on memory. Most of the relevant research findings support the theory that memory is indeed a constructive and dynamic system but how much of what we store in our memory is down to active and conscious energy and how muchRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of The Death Of The Moth And On Keeping A Notebook 1427 Words   |  6 Pages unlike a diary, the notebook contains fragments of the past, that only carry emotional significance at the time it was written down. They are not memories, but rather notes which had some meaning at the time, and they are not supposed to make sense. She writes in paragraph 9, â€Å"†¦We are not talking here about the kind of notebook that is patently for public consumption, a structural conceit for binding together a series of graceful pensees; we are talking about something private, about bits of theRead MoreSacrifice by Fire Essay890 Words   |  4 PagesSacrifice by fire. The pleading children, the debilitating elderly, and the cynical women all have the same look of fear when they hear the word â€Å"Holocaust.† Approximately six million brave Jews were brutally murdered during the dreadful era of the Holocaust. These Jews were ordinary humans who hadn’t committed a crime, hadn’t encouraged any riots and hadn’t leveled any threats. They were citizens of their home countries who had the capability of contributing several intellectual achievements toRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1407 Words   |  6 PagesThings They Carried,† author Tim O’Brien tells us not directly of the soldiers of Vietnam, or the situations they find themselves in, but about the things they carry on their shoulders and in their pockets. These â€Å"things† identify the characters and bring them to life.   I find that to be true as the author unfolds the stories about war and the uncomm on things one carries in to war both inadvertently and on purpose.  Ã‚  Ã‚  As it was noted: Stories about war – especially today – usually emphasize heroismRead MoreThe Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian `` By Sherman Alexie1001 Words   |  5 Pagesmotherland Armenia, meanwhile our nation was going through huge dramatic changes after the great earthquake and war with Azerbaijan. Furthermore the poor economy and inflation destroyed numerous people hopes and future. In the novel, â€Å"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian†, by Sherman Alexie, Arnold Spirit is also known as Junior describes his life challenges of poverty living on Spokane reservation. Like Arnold, as I begin to compare him going through hardship and finding out true place in theRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien Essay1646 Words   |  7 PagesAmerica in world history, besides the recent war in Afghanistan. Many Vietnam veterans have written books and novels a bout their experiences, however, Tim O’Brien, an American who was drafted into the Vietnam war and an American writer, has written numerous books about his war experiences. In particular, Tim O’Brien’s novel The Things They Carried, tells all his experiences in detail about the war, what it was like, and his friends he made because of the war. He reflects his feelings through war storiesRead MoreThe Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian By Sherman Alexie1085 Words   |  5 Pagesmotherland Armenia, meanwhile our nation was going through huge dramatic changes after the great earthquake and war with Azerbaijan. Furthermore the poor economy and inflation destroyed numerous people hopes and future. In the novel, â€Å"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian†, by Sherman Alexie, Arnold Spirit is also known as Junior describes his life challenges of poverty living on Spokane reservation. The people on the reservation are trapped in a prison of po verty. They are imprisoned there dueRead MoreMany people believe that the worst part of remembrance is all the pain that comes with it. But what1300 Words   |  6 Pagesremembrance is all the pain that comes with it. But what actually causes all the suffering is loneliness. Memories, thoughts and ideas all have to be shared in order to understand them better, or to let go of them. In this essay I will be looking at 6 poems: â€Å"Piano† by D.H. Lawrence, â€Å"Poem at 39† by Alice Walker, â€Å"Stop All The Clocks† by Auden, â€Å"War Photographer† by Carol Ann Duffy, â€Å"Praise Song† by Grace Nichols and finally â€Å"Digging† by Seamus Heaney and how they present their memories. In â€Å"Poem atRead MoreAnalysis Of A Survivor s Tale 1557 Words   |  7 PagesAt its very core Maus is, as the title states, â€Å"a survivor’s tale.† By the very nature of being the tale of a survivor, this story carries with it the baggage of memories. The memories of Vladek bring forth survivor’s guilt and a need to place blame. This all ties in to one of the central themes of Maus: the implications of recounting memories. These implications affect Vladek in various ways as he recounts his tale of survival to Art. In recounting this tale, Art shares in his father’s baggage toRead MoreDescriptive Essay About Home1176 Words   |  5 Pagesrealized that the place I lived was not my home, that home was in fact more than what the words in the dictionary say. When I was younger, I lived in the Philippines, my backyard were the rice fields and I would always play hide and seek with all my friends behind the trees. But there was one tree I can never forget--- it was a big guayacan tree that grew on a little hill. It was a very old tree and I loved how it blossomed yellow flowers. Whenever the wind blew, its beautiful golden petals

Friday, December 13, 2019

Walking and Word Swag Free Essays

Got Swag? 1. What is â€Å"swag†? Being a commonly used word in the 21st century, â€Å"swag† has arisen from song lyrics and populated through postages on popular online websites such as â€Å"Facebook†, â€Å"Twitter†, and â€Å"Tumblr†. It has stemmed from the word â€Å"swagger†, which is a noun that means a very confident and typically arrogant or aggressive manner. We will write a custom essay sample on Walking and Word Swag or any similar topic only for you Order Now This manifestation of the word â€Å"swag† has caused most teenagers to use this term to define themselves. Swag is utilized as a noun to describe a person’s mannerisms as â€Å"cool† when compared to the ordinary layperson. In the contemporary society, a key judgment of one’s character is whether their actions contain swag or not. Swag can be defined either negatively or positively through judgment of everyday actions such as walking, talking, and self-appearance. 2. As aforementioned, the way a person walks or talks may show whether they have swag or not. Someone who would be considered to have swag would walk in a confident and self-assured manner. Key characteristics of such a person’s walking habits are having a straight posture, meticulous foot placing, and a subtle arm sway. In addition to walking habits, smooth-talking teenagers are believed to show swag by the way they speak. For example, a guy can smooth-talk and flirt with a girl to persuade her on a date with him. On the other hand, a girl can talk with swag by conveying a more confident tone. She can assertively talk about her unique qualities (e. g. her curvy body) as a sign of swag. Aside from being able to â€Å"walk the walk† and â€Å"talk the talk†, having a unique fashion sense also differentiates the layperson from one who has swag. 3. The appearance, grooming, and outfits of people may or may not indicate that they have swag. Regarding clothes, swag is gauged by one’s sense of style. The median used for this gauge is the dressing habits of many celebrities in the music industry. For instance, outfits like adjustable snapback hats, Jordan sneakers, varsity leather jackets, or sweatshirts by the label Obey are types of swag clothing. Celebrities such as rappers, Soulja Boy, Tyga, and as well as singer, Justin Bieber, wear swag type of clothing. The iconic status of celebrities influences people to dress like them. Conversely, there are many people who see the style swag in a negative manner. People such as myself do not like to dress that certain style and would rather dress in a more formal style. For example, my style of clothes would be considered GQ or Gentlemen Quality-like, which comes from a fashion magazine style regarding formal clothes. My GQ style is different from the swag style because it consists of classy clothes such as polo shirts, button downs, ties, and suits. The style dichotomy between GQ and swag shows how different types of people can have opposing opinions on the use of the word swag. 4. My opinion of the word is in a negative connotation but others use the word as a compliment. Teenagers use swag in their everyday lives to describe their activities. For examples some teenagers consider swag as sexual activity, buying the newest swag style clothes or doing what they believe is â€Å"cool†. Everyone has different opinions of what action is considered â€Å"cool† or not. As a result, many people have the opinion that swag is an unprofessional word with unnecessary and meaningless content. The different views of the word show two different opinions. 5. A personal story involving the word swag involved one of my achievements on the dance floor of a party. My friend George and I were always partying on the weekends and were invited to a private high school party. On the night of the party, I got the chance to dance with one of the best looking girls there. As I was dancing, I saw George point at me and heard him say, â€Å"Now that is swag† to another girl standing next to him. George was indicating that I had swag because I was dancing with a beautiful girl. After my dance, I told him to not label anything I do as swag. The reason why I said this stems from my non-conforming personality. I told him that I view swag has a negative description and would prefer not to change my opinions about it. . The slang word swag is common in this new generation. Therefore, the use of the word is more popular among teenagers. Having swag or what is considered to be swag is simply a word for people to describe what they believe to be as â€Å"cool†. As portrayed in the narrative, telling a person they have swag may even be taken offensi vely; especially if that individual does not believe in the society – defined definition of the word. Conclusively, the different aspects of walking, talking, and style can be gauged as a negative or positive outlook on swag based on one’s personal opinions. How to cite Walking and Word Swag, Essay examples

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Desert Storm Essay Example For Students

Desert Storm Essay OutlineThe Second Persian Gulf War began August 2nd 1990, with the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and ended March 3rd 1991 with the expulsion of Iraqi forces from Kuwait. There are three main reasons why Iraq invaded Kuwait. The main reason was that the small country of Kuwait was filled with oilrigs that Iraq claimed were taking Iraqi oil. Second, the Iraqis believed that Kuwait was a part of Iraq, causing many confrontations between the two countries. Finally, the Iraqis were angry about the First Persian Gulf War, in which they were defeated by Iran and its allies and received little help from Kuwait, whom the Iraqis thought of as an ally. The war itself began because Saddam Hussein, the leader of the Iraqi government, decided that the rest of the world would not defend Kuwait. So, on August 2nd, 1990 the Iraqi military invaded Kuwait and within days had the small country under control. Soon after this, the United States, along with the rest of the U.N. demanded that Hussein withdraw his forces. When he refused, the U.N. began to deploy troops into Saudi Arabia to plan a military strike on Iraq. On February 23rd the U.N. launched the ground war with over 3,000 tanks and 2,500 aircraft. Soon after, control of Kuwait had been regained and thousands of Iraqi soldiers had given up. Then, on March 3rd, 1991, Iraq accepted the terms of the cease-fire and the war was over. The effects of the war were many, for example the defeat of Iraq inspired Kurdish and Shiite rebellions within Iraq, weakening its already devastated military. Also, the economic and trade sanctions begun during the war continue to the present day, contribu ting to severe economic hardship in Iraq.