Policymaking in US Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Policymaking in US Government - Essay Example Stephan, Citizen Democracy: Political Activists in a Cynical Age ) The agenda setting relates to whether showing disrespect to a national symbol is a criminal act or is an act envisaging free expression. As a national policy, National Flags are sacred symbols to be respected by all citizens both in word and spirit. Apparently, Gregory Lee ( Joey ) Johnson thought otherwise and utilized this form of expression to express his criticism for the American Administration. He was charged with 3 others for conspiring in, if not burning, the flag, and was sentenced to I year in jail and fine of $2000 by a jury in Dallas Country Criminal Court. Upon his appeal, the Texas Court of Appeals in Dallas rejected his plea that flag burning was an expression guaranteed by the US Constituition. However, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals held that the Texas Venerated Objects Laws had been utilized in order to stifle Johnson’s right to free expression. This set off a trail of similar bizarre incidents and in one case, the school of the Art Institute of Chicago invited guests to step on the flag to sign the Guest Book. This triggered off severe indictment and legislation in which the Chicago City Council banned placing flags in the floor. The Texas vs. Johnson case became a landmark one when the Supreme Court exonerated him of charges of desecration of the flag, adjudicating that it was a symbol of public protest and an Act of free Expression. Views regarding the question of Flag protection are divided among the Liberal and the Conservatives. While the Conservatives favor its protection the liberals think otherwise. The Flag Protection Amendment was sent several times for approval, but despite support, it failed to achieve the necessary supermajority for its enactment. In a free country, people have the right to do acts or say things, which are disagreeable to the majority of people, but it is a right Guaranteed to them by the

A Report on Reasons why Governments Prefer Financial Systems featuring Essay

A Report on Reasons why Governments Prefer Financial Systems featuring Fixed - Essay Example On the other hand, a floating rate of exchange is the one that is moving and received currency depends on exchange time.To maintain their local exchange rate, central banks of European Union members bought and sold their own currency in foreign exchange markets, and in return, they acquired their pegged currency. For example, if the value of a single local unit currency is US$4, the central bank ensures that those dollars can be supplied in market by the country. High foreign reserve levels are required so as to maintain the rates (Eichengreen & Ricardo, 1999). High foreign reserve levels also ensure that there is good money supply thus preventing inflation/ deflation. An exchange rate refers to the rate at which one currency is exchanged for another. Therefore, it is the value of a country’s currency in terms of another. From 1870 to 1914, the global exchange rate was fixed. During that time, currency was likened to gold, implying that a local currency’s value was set at a fixed exchange rate that was determined in terms of gold ounces, that is, the gold standard (Eichengreen & Ricardo, 1999). This allowed free capital mobility and global stability in trade and currencies. The gold standard was abandoned when World War II started, but the end of the Second World War, the Breton Woods conference sought for efforts to stabilize the global economy and increasing global trade by establishing basic regulations and rules that governed international exchange. This led to the establishment of International Monetary Fund (IMF) for foreign trade promotion and monetary stability maintenance of countries and hence of the global economy. It was agreed that the exchange rate would be fixed, in terms of the US dollars, which was then pegged to gold (US$35 per ounce) (Obstfeld & Kenneth, 1995). This means that a currency’s value was directly converted in terms of its value to the US dollar. For example, to buy a euro, the Euros had to be converted into US dollars, and then into gold value. This peg was maintained till 1971, US dollar could not hold the pegged rate value of US$ 35per gold ounce. Since then, many governments adopted the floating rate system and attempts of returning to gold like a peg together with a global peg were completely abandoned. Why Governments Prefer Fixed/ Pegged Exchange Rates Governments prefer fixed exchange rates because they ensure economic stability, especially in current developing nations, where a country can decide to fix its currency in order to stabilize the atmosphere thus ensuring foreign investment. This is because a peg gives the investors their investment value, thus relieving them from fluctuation worries unlike under a float (Calvo, 2002). A pegged currency also helps in lowering inflation rates and generating demand, which further increases a currency’s stability confidence. However, fixed regimes can cause serious financial crises because it is hard to maintain a peg in the long r un. This was experienced in 1995 in Mexico, 1997 in Asia and Russia. Therefore, the governments could not meet the demands of a high value for their currencies to the peg resulting into overvaluing of their currencies. With panic and speculations, investors quickly removed their money out of these countries, and convert it to foreign currencies before the local currency was devalued against the peg. Eventually, foreign currencies became depleted. In Mexico, the government devalued the peso by 29.98%. Eventually, in Thailand, the government eventually allowed floating of