The aging problem of China

The aging problem of China Introduction Today, China is a hot item in the media because of its fast growing economy. Some people are even afraid of this because they think it is a threat to our own economy. This because of the differences in the political and economical system of china compared to our political and economical systems. The Peoples Republic of China, also known as China, was established in 1949. Its land covers a large part of centre Asia. In the 1950s, its population was estimated at around 30 percent of the total global population (Naughton, 2007). Because of this huge amount of people, the Chinese government came up with a plan to put a hold to this growing population. They set a law which prohibited each family to have more than one child, the so-called One-Child Policy. The population of China today is relatively young, with a low dependency rate. This is favorable for economic growth (Naughton, 2007). In the future this will lead to an imbalance of the population. This because each working citizen has two elder (parents), this means a working class which is far too small on the total population. Every year, the number of elderly people in China rises with approximately three percent. A way to describe this is calling this a Four-Two-One problem. Which means one child has to take care of two parents and four grand parents (Vandendriessche, 2008). The research question which I will try to answer is the following: How is china going to handle the aging problem of the population? To answer this question, I divided this question into several sub-question, namely: How has this aging problem risen? What are the difficulties which china is facing because of this problem? How do the Chinese old people deal with their longevity financially? Motivation of the subject: The subject of Chinese economy is interesting to me because I have little faith in the current economic system of the western society. I believe this economic system based on debts, is not what we would like in the future. And China is one of the few economies which is growing at the moment, despite the current Financial Crisis. Chinas economy will expand 7.2 percent in 2009 from a year earlier. (Bloomberg.com, 2009) But because many economists say capitalism is the best economic system at the moment, I am surprised to see that China does not apply this system. The reason the subject of the aging of Chinas population is important to the economy, is that will one of the greatest pitfalls in Chinas economic and societies future. A disproportionate ration of the population will retire in the future, therefore a much smaller group of working people will have to keep the society up and running. Is this possible, or are there many problems which China will have to face in the future? And if there will be problems, is China able to prevent or solve them? This is interesting because of the large number of citizens of China. This cannot be compared with any other country in the world, because it will happen on a much larger scale as for instance in the Netherlands. Methodology: First I will try to adumbrate an image of how the situation has developed to the state in which it is at this moment. With this image, certain problems will arise from this. I will try to give a broader view on these problems. These problems, when not solved, will have an impact on the economic environment of China. This I would like to formulate in the third chapter. Finally I am going to investigate whether these, in the future, elder people still have the means to survive on their own, or how the Chinese government is going to assist them with this. This with some kind of pension fund or will the Chinese government terugvallen on the social responsibility of family. With these sub-answers I would like to give an answer to the main question. How China is going to handle the problem of the aging of the population. The data which I need I will get from articles from the Chinese Economic Review, data from the Chinese Bureau of Statistics, Chinese Data Centre and the Chinese Statistical Yearbook. Furthermore I will search for books on the Chinese economy and the history of the Chinese economy and society. Structure The first chapter is about the introduction of the problem and each factor contributing will be explained. In chapter two I am going to give a literature review on five of the interesting papers I have found. Then I will try to find answers to the sub question of my problem statement. These will each cover a chapter. Chapter three: How has this aging problem risen? Chapter four: What are the difficulties which china is facing because of this problem? Chapter five: How do the Chinese old people deal with their longevity financially? After this I will draw a conclusion based on the previous chapters. With this I will try to give an answer to the main question. Chapter 2 Literature Review Population and economic development Gale Johnson tries to answer the question, what would happen to fertility and population growth if the present population policy were changed to one that emphasized family planning and permitted families to have the number of children that they wished? It seems reasonable to project that there would be an increase in fertility. This would be very small in urban areas and relatively small in higher income rural areas. There would be increased fertility in the lower income rural areas, but it seems unlikely that after two decades or so it could be more than ten percent. There is evidence to support the following changes in social and economic policies: Significantly improve the quality of rural secondary schools and increase the percentage of girls attending. Create an attractive pension program for rural areas. Give farm people the ownership or permanent rights to the use of the land they farm or, failing that, enforce the policy of no reallocation of farm land on the basis of demographic changes. Change policies and institutions so that families could migrate from rural to urban areas. Which would lead to adaption of the fertility patterns of urban areas, leading to decline in fertility. I believe the largest impact on the fertility rate, when present policy towards this is changed, will be in the poorer regions of the rural areas. But I do not think all changes give will work. The improvement of educational quality and increasing the percentage of girls will be the one of the most important measures to be taken. This will give an re-allocation of human capital. With this re-allocation, people will get other jobs and therefore a need for many children to work on the farms will decrease. Pension funds are in my opinion essential in order for elderly citizens of China to get by financially. This because the life expectancy rate is increasing. The right of ownership is a viewpoint which will be very sensitive. This because China still has a communistic government. But when pension funds are not one of the future measures which will be taken, this is one of the other options for Chinese citizens to make enough money in order to cope with their longevity financially. Sources of Chinas economic growth 1952-1999: incorporating human capital accumulation Wang and Yao, find that first, the accumulation of human capital in China, as measured by the average years of schooling in population aged 15-64 years, was quite rapid and it contributed significantly to growth and welfare. However, the rate of growth of human capital declined in the reform period in 1978-1999 and its contribution to GDP growth was smaller compared to the pre-reform period. In the industrial countries, the contributions to growth by the factor input have declined and the growth of TFP has become the driving force. In China, the potential to further increase factor inputs is limited especially after one considers the rapidly aging population, a decling labor force in the future, and the constraints in natural resources. China has to rely more on productivity growth. Futher productivity growth would depend very much on two factors: First whether or not China can improve allocative efficiency by continuing reforms in the state and financial sectors and by increasing regional integration, allowing freer factor mobility across sectoral devides, such as rural-urban and state- nonstate, and second whether or not China is able to transform itself from an imitation based economy to an innovation based knowledge economy and continue its progress in industrial upgrading. I agree with Wang and Yao on the fact that productivity has to grow in China. But in order to do this China has to open up more to other countries. Otherwise this would take too long. China is in need for knowledge, this can be seen in the imitation based economy. When China would have the knowledge, they would invent these products themselves. Chinas economic environment has its limitations to grow, this because of their ownership laws. China does not have to change into a Capitalistic society, but I think it does have to loosen up in order to cope with the problems it faces. Pension reform in China: preparing for the future According to Loraine West, a combination of pension plans, including defined benefit and defined contribution, are replacing the former single defined benefit plan. The specifics of each plan, including indexation for inflation, and the combination of plans available to workers vary across regions. By focusing only on the urban labor force, which presently comprises just 27 percent of Chinas total labor force, the reformed old age security system is unlikely to address the issue of growing rural-urban inequality. The proliferation of regional and industry-based pools diminishes the potential benefits of pooling, such as risk sharing, lower administrative costs, and enhanced labor mobility, and also makes it more difficult to achieve the goal of a national level pool. The key objectives of the new pension system is to move away from a pay-as-you-go system to partial funding in preparation of the aging of the population. However, to have a successful pension system in the future, the financing burden has to be shared by employees, employers and the government rather than being borne exclusively by the individual work unit. In the short run, it is critical that regulations and supervision catch up with the new system. In the long term, expansion of coverage and benefit adjustments need to be considered. I agree it will be hard to implement a new old age security system in China. However, I believe it will be key to implement a system which is the same in every part of China. Otherwise the differences between rural and urban areas will only expand, and thus create an even higher burden on the economy than it is at this moment. This will be difficult to fulfill because which groups have to contribute the most. This might even call for a similar system as in the Netherlands, where the government guarantees a minimal pension wage and where the rest is contributed by the companies and working force. How can China solve its old age security problem? The interaction between pension, soe and financial market reform. According to Estelle James, she suggests a plan which sets up individual accounts for each worker, with funds that are productively invested. This is similar to reforms that have been sweeping Latin America, Eastern Europe and are now being considered in the United States. Besides making the system more fiscally sustainable and avoiding peak contribution rates, prefunding can be used to increase saving that is committed for long term investments and pension funds can be used as engines to financial market development and corporate governance. This can be done with two mandatory pillars; one publically managed and tax or pay-as-you-go financed, the other privately managed, with the object of building and managing retirement savings. This to avoid high payroll taxes as the populations age, thereby making the system more sustainable, and to increase national savings that are committed to the long term. However, the part of the economy that is growing most rapidly, in part because it faces low taxes, liabilities and regulations, would suddenly be hit with a heavy legacy of the past. The challenge for China is to find a way to implement a more funded system, that includes decentralized competitive management of the funds, quickly, before coverage increases become a social necessity and makes the transition more difficult. Here I have the same critique as on the previous literature, namely about the rural and urban separation. When the pension system first only reforms the urban part and later expands its coverage towards the rural area, the cost will only increase more and more. But it will be complicated to implement a new system immediately for the entire country, this because it will give a huge burden on the current working class. Chapter 3: The history of China. The year 1949 can be viewed as the First major divide in Chinese history. Before this year, no rapid growth ever occurred in Chinese economy. This was completely different after 1949, when rapid growth was considerably normal. The government is also drastically different after 1949. In 1950 a new law was introduced which stated that: Parents have the duty to raise their children well and the children in their turn have the duty to support their parents. This was a good way for the Chinese government at that time, to not be directly responsible for the attendance of the elder citizens. This was an indication of the change from a harmonious civilization towards a more individualistic civilization. During the fifties, a five-guarantee program had launched for the rural areas. This program mend support from the government for elder who had no offspring or other people who took care of them in the form of food, clothing, shelter, medical care and a funeral. (Naughton, 2007) in 1951, the Chinese government came up with the act Labour Insurance Regulations of the Peoples Republic of China. These first pension regulations where only for citizens working at state enterprises. This mend that all employees of such enterprise have to give three percent of their salary to a mutual fund within this company, and when they reached the age of sixty and they had worked for more than twenty years they would receive a pension. (Frazier, 2004) This reality, this resulted in a relatively low percentage of people who received a pension, because until 1971 nobody could reach this twenty years of work experience. At the end of the seventies, two major new regulations were introduced. First in 1978 where China opened their borders a tiny bit for foreign companies to do business with Chinese companies, but still under heavy oversight by the Chinese government. This also led towards a higher independency of the state enterprises. These where allowed to keep their profit. But also the responsibility of pensions was now entirely for these companies. It was now also allowed for Chinese citizens to start up their own company. (KNAG, 2007) However, these new private owned companies were not able to give the same pension security as these former state enterprises. Therefore the Chinese government came up with a new experiment of pension funding in 1982. They tried to create pension funds not just per company, but pension funds for an entire city to create a higher safety net. These funds were filled by employees working in this city on a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) basis. This means the pensions which are cu rrently paid, are funded by the taxes and contributions from the working people at the same moment. That means there are no assets being set aside. The rural area did not benefit from all these regulations. Because of this new kind of economy, the rural areas decentralized. This took a lot of security away for the elder in these areas, because they were still dependant on the help of family. The second regulation introduced in the late seventies was the One-Child Policy. This because the government of China began to see the great threat of the exponentially growing population. This phenomena I will explain in the next chapter. In the years 1991 and 1995 the government tried to reform the current PAYG system by creating a multi pillar system. (Vandendriessche, 2008) This system contained three pillars which all contributed to one overall pension fund. The first pillar was the basic pension for every employee of a company funded by the state. The second pillar was a individual fund which was filled during the years of work of each person. Frazier calls this Defined Contribution. The third pillar is optional, and is an additional payment made to the pension fund to increase the pension received later in the employees lives. But even with this new reformed pension funding, it is far from ideal. Chapter 4: How has this aging problem risen? Aging of population (also known as demographic aging, and population aging) is a summary term for shifts in the age distribution of a population toward older ages. Which is a direct consequence of the ongoing global fertility transition (decline) and of mortality decline at older ages. (Gavrilov and Heuveline,2003) These two factors can both be seen in the statistical yearbook of China. (Appendix 1) One of the factors, the mortality rate decline at older ages (See Appendix 1F), can be explained mainly by a better health care; more knowledge of the human body and better medicine (especially anti biotic). The New Rural Co-operative Medical Care System (NRCMCS) is an new project set up in the year two-thousand-five to improve the health care sector in China, especially to make it affordable for the rural area. (China daily, 2005) This NRCMCS covers around eighty percent of the total cost of the hospitals. Under the new policy, the central government, local governments, and individual farmers each invest 10 yuan (US$1.23) per year to establish a medical insurance account. The money accumulated is then used to fund hospital treatment. (China daily, 2005) Thought this initiative, many Chinese citizens are now covered for their medical insurance. Around eighty percent of all Chinese citizens living in the rural areas have signed up, which are approximately 685 million people. The second factor, the fertility rate is harder to explain. Deliberately decreasing the fertility rate has been an issue of the Chinese government since 1971. In 1970, the total fertility rate was 5.8. At the time of 1978, the fertility rate has decreased with fifty percent to 2.7. This due to the policy known as wan-xi-shao, meaning later marriages, longer spacing between children, and fewer children in total. Through 1979 the probability of a couple having a second child, given that they had already given birth to a first child, was 95 percent (Feeney and Yu, 1987). Chinas leaders where still worried because chinas baby-boomers where now reaching marriage age. These baby boomers where born in the years before this wan-xi-shao policy because of the Great Leap Forward. Chinas leaders thought these group of people would have to many children and this would outgrow the population carrying capacity. The One-Child policy was established as a law in 1980 by the former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. He implemented this law to limit the birth rate of China. This policy was instantly controversial because of it was strictly enhanced in the first years. There was for example a policy for mandatory insertion of intrauterine devices for women with one child and sterilization for couples with two or more children. At 1984, resistance (both nationally and internationally) has risen to a crucial level. The Chinese government relinquished these strict policies and the overall law loosened up. This mend for example that regional governments, especially in rural areas, a policy which allowed couples to have a second child when their first child was a girl. In more urban areas the One-Child Policy was maintained more strictly. But not only due to the one-child policy fertility rates has gone down. There are significant similarities between China and other surrounding Asian countries in their fertility rates. (See Appendix 1E) However, this has not the same reason is these countries. In some countries, notably Japan and Korea, the low birth rate may be partly attributable to rising job opportunities and earning power for women. But that is not the case in Taiwan, Singapore or Hong Kong, where women have excellent work opportunities and access to low-paid domestic help from Southeast Asia. There is a reluctance to marry, particularly among the better educated women, as well as a preference for few, if any, children. (Bowring, 2007) But because the Great Leap Forward in China, their fertility rate has risen in the years between 1955 and 1970. This in contrast with the other Asian countries shown in this graph (See Appendix 1E). Chapter 5: What are the difficulties which china is facing because of this problem? The most obvious problem China will face is the increasing group of elder people. According to Estelle James, In 1990 only nine percent of Chinas population was over the age of 65, bu by 2030 this proportion will more than double, to twenty-two percent. This means that more than a quarter of the elder people of the entire world will live in China by 2030. As you can see in Appendix the dependency ratio of elderly people in rural areas will be approximately 0.34 in 2030, and 0.18 in urban areas. Zeng et al. (2008) suggest that, if urbanization reaches 75%, the dependency ratio is likely to continue to rise rapidly in rural areas and may exceed 0.6 by 2050, versus just over 0.3 in urban areas. With such a high dependency ratio, a high contribution rate is required from working people to cover the current bill. The second problem is the gender imbalance in China. There is a huge surplus of men. At this moment there is are thirty-two million more Chinese boys than girls under the age of twenty. (NYTimes, 2009) These surplus of boys are known in China as guang guan. Together with the fact that not everyone will marry or have a child when the sex-ratio is normal, there will be a lot of elderly in the future who do not have children to support them and must rely on some sort of pension. Lin Jiang believes there will be almost four million elderly citizens in the rural area by 2030 who do not have a single child. The third problem is that the growth of the working age population will drop off quickly and reach zero growth after 2015. (see appendix) He calculated this because of The persistence of fertility and mortality rates combines with the existing structure of the population to produce predictable patterns of change of the labor force. Also According to Naughton, The labor market is just now absorbing the last huge birth cohort (the baby boom echo born in the late 1980s) The GDP rate per capita (appendix 2) is still increasing. However the rate of increasing is declining in the last two years. This in accordance with the future growth/ decline of the working age population a conclusion can be drawn that the growth of GDP rate per capita will also decline, not taken into account the growth of the economy. Therefore it is important to stimulate this growth of economy. This has to be reacted on in order to stop the rising burden on the currently employed after 2015, because of the change in population structure. Chapter 6: How do the Chinese old people deal with their longevity financially? It is difficult to ascertain exactly how other countries have financed the transition because of the fungibility of money and the ambiguity of the counterfactual. Most reforming countries in Latin America and Eastern Europe have utilized parametric changes that downsized bloated benefit obligations, to reduce the IPD and the financing gap. Beyond that, the following revenue sources appear to be common: Keeping part of the system PAYG, so contributions continue flowing into the PAYG pillaras in Poland, Hungary, Uruguay and Sweden; Raising revenues from contributions by increasing the payroll tax or the compliance rate-an add-on was used in OECD countries and most other countries are trying to decrease evasion; Using other special revenue sources such as a lottery or a value added tax (Argentina); Using general revenues or social security surpluses that are available at the municipal, provincial or state level (Chile); Applying proceeds from the sale of SOE assets to cover pension liabilities (assetdebt swaps)-SOE and pension reform were linked in Peru, Bolivia and Poland; Borrowing in the short run and repaying with the surplus that the system would run in the longer run, as the individual accounts take on a greater portion of the total pension responsibility (most countries have used this method to smooth the burden of transition costs over many cohorts). Most of these methods would be appropriate for China. China is now using proceeds from a national lottery, a tax on interest income and, as already discussed, direct allocations from the MOF. We concentrate here on a source that has just been tapped proceeds from the sale of state assets-and another source that is essential but has yet to be seriously addressedbenefit reduction. These two sources, between them, could cover much of the transition costs. References: Homan, T. R. (2009, June 18). World Bank Raises China 2009 Growth Forecast to 7.2%. Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087sid=aoNG311GdSSk Naughton, B. (2007). The Chinese Economy: Transitions and growth. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England Vandendriessche, A. (2008) Hoe worden ouderen verzorgd in China? The Netherlands Frazier, M.W., After Pension Reform: Navigating the Third Rail in China, Studies in Comparative International Development 39:2 (2004), p. 48. Feeney, G., and Jingyuan Yu (1987) Period Parity Progression Measures of Fertility in China. Population Studies, 41(1): 77-102 Statistical yearbook of china Bureau of statistics Zeng, Y., Z. Wang, J. Leiwen and D. Gu (2008), Projection of Family Households and Elderly Living Arrangement in the Context of Rapid Population Aging in China, GENUS. Wang Feng (2005). Can China Afford to Continue Its One-Child Policy? AsiaPacific Issues, No. 77, March. Honolulu: East-West Center. Bowring, P. (2007) How Asians can have more babies. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/18/opinion/18iht-edbowring.1.5768104.html?_r=1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_health_in_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/02/content_489869.htm Knag, 2007 : http://www.geografie.nl/index.php?id=640tx_ttnews[swords]=giscHash=2f4cd4ee67tx_ttnews[tt_news]=611tx_ttnews[backPid]=502 King, Frank H. (1911). Farmers of Forty Centuries. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press. Maddison, Angus (1998). Chinese Economic Performance in the Long Run. Paris: Development Centre of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Perkins, Dwight (1967). Government as an Obstacle to Industrialization: The Case of Nineteenth-Century China. Journal of Economic History, 27(4):478-92. Riskin, Carl (1975). Surplus and Stagnation in Modern China. In Dwight Perkins, ed., Chinas Modern Economy in Historical Perspective, 49-84. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Wang, Gabe T. (1999). Chinas Population: Problems, Thoughts and Policies, 6, 28-29, 38-39. Aldershot: Ashgate. http://www.chinability.com/GDP.htm ONeill, B. and S. Scherbov (2006), Interpreting UN Urbanization Projections Using a Multi-state Model, Interim Report IR-06-012. (NYTIMES, 2009) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/11/world/asia/11china.html

French and Italian Films Essay

The EU Directive has â€Å"put forth the greatest effort to fend off what it has termed â€Å"American cultural imperialism.. † 14 France is the strongest implementor of this directive that it currently requires utmost 40% of films shown in in the country are of non-European origin. The country is also lobbying for other fellow member states to enact the same quota rules. Even the ex-president Chirac had made his opinion regarding this quota system stating that â€Å"he does not want to see European culture obliterized by American Culture† 15 and it is believed that the entertainment media are not very advantageous in terms of integration but an instrument threatening both national and cultural sovereignty. To prove the French strong views on proper film/cinea values, it has banned Paths of Glory in 1957 claiming that this film was â€Å"a slanderous attack to French Honor. † 16 For Italian films, even during the fascist regime, the film was not utilized as a propaganda device. This is according to Ricci stating that the regime even unified Italy through the elimination of markers of class and regional difference happening in the country during that time through the circulation â€Å"of terms for an imaginary national identity†. 17 Italian film is viewed as an â€Å"integral part†18 of the country’s politics. Actually, the censorship board was established, more to regulate films civic and politically related contents than that of sexually or morally intruging contents. The Tangentopoli scandal in 1992 had delegitimised Italian politicians in the eyes of the public but even prior this scandal, government corruption were already depicted in films such as the 1989 Il Portaborse (The Footman) of Luchetti. Moreover, this was also the period when the trend in production have focused on â€Å"historical fictions† 19 with emphasis on Italy’s history and even depicting the own history of cinema implying that television does not have good impact on the film industry such as the Cinema Paradiso. Currently, Italian government provide fundings for films they promote including various assistance from the Direzione Generale per il Cinema (Directorate General Cinema) giving out funds to deserving producers of films promoting the Italian/European culture outside of Italy (promozione all’estero) and for film d’essai (independent/art films) 20 Aside from these fundings, there is also the European Ivestment Bank (EIB) funding film productions in order to compete with the penetrating Hollywood films, not only in Italy but all over the region 21 It is obvious what the European countries want when it comes to film release and promotion: not so much of Hollywood films, protection of cultural values, protection of viewers, promotion of culture and competing with the American in film production and obviously in the market and in profits. IV. Conclusion Films are important weapons for those who may have control as to its regulation and release to public. Films may be used to promote a certain cause or to discourage certain acts. Moreover, when producing a film, various factors must be put into consideration. Among these factors are the current trend and interest or demand of the viewing public (especially for commercial films) and more importantly, the rules that govern over these films. These rules are, more often than not, imposed by regulatory bodies, either private or by the government to assess and classify, as well as control the release and approval of the films shown in an area or market. In European nations, various strategies are employed to promote the film industry. These involve funding of deserving film production and promotion on European values. One strong factor that makes Europe unite when film issues are being talked about is the influence and the challenge that Hollywood films cause to the European nations and European market. American films are viewed as mostly culturally damaging for Europeans as well as penetrating the industry’s market leaving losses to European film producers. In this regard, European nations have looked for some measures in protecting their culture as well as securing its market through the EU Directive, as well as through national regulations, limiting Hollywood and other foreign films shown in European nations. End Notes 1Ricci, S. Cinema and fascism, Italian Film and Society, 1922-1943, UC Regents,UC Press,2008 retrieved 31 May 2008,< http://www. ucpress. edu/books/pages/10916/10916. ch01. pdf >. 2 Rinaman, K, French Film Quotas and Cultural Protectionism, Case Number 332, 1996, American Education, retrieved 31 May 2008, .

Why I Choose a Career of Medical Transcripionist

There is a wide range of job opportunities available to practically anyone in the US. One particular occupation is a Medical Transcriptionist, a career I have been inspired to strive for. There are a number of reasons why I desire to become a Medical Transcriptionist. One reason is that I spend a large amount of time in front of the computer. I continue to maintain a 70-80 WPM typing, and I would honestly love to gain money from typing. I also would like to contribute to making sure medical processes go smoothly by creating concise, clear documents. My friend recommended medical transcription to me, and I began to research it. I wanted to pursue a Medical Transcription certificate or degree to increase my chances to get some sort of transcriptionist or clerical job. The most beneficial advantage for working as a MT is the flexible hours and availability to work anywhere, like at home. Although that may be the largest advantage to most, there is a reason for me to be able to work at home. As my spouse in IT job, most of the time we are travelling from one city to another. Due to this frequent travels and switching of places I am not able to concentrate on my job. Also I have my children to look after and concentrate and also I want to be a support for my husband so that we can take acre of the loans and other needs of the family in a more efficient way. Also we are living here in another country far away from ours and we are not able to frequently visit our family back there due to financial constraints. With this flexibility, I will be able to afford money and time to visit them. Penn Foster is a great MT course choice for many different reasons. I have searched long and wide for medical transcription schools and found many, including US Career Institute, Allied Medical School, and Career Step, all of which ranges from $1200-$1800! The cheap pricing (and high quality) of Penn Foster is a great motivation to consider this class over others. In addition, the courses will give me a great overview to how each medical practice works, allowing documents to be written smoothly. In addition, Penn Foster allows me to take the course at my own pace and also in the comfort of my home. This educational program also offers services to student. I feel like I have confidence that I can do my best with Penn Foster by my side. In the future, I hope to achieve the MT education needed to be granted a job as a transcriptionist. I believe taking this class will give me a much better understanding with medical disciplines and the works. Penn Foster really seems like the best opportunity I can pursue to achieve that job placement!

Employment Is the Key to Reducing Recidivism Essay

Employment is the key to reducing recidivism Derrick G. Patrick COM/150 November 09, 2012 Dr. David Willis Employment is the Key to reducing recidivism Individuals returning from incarceration each year live in virtually every zip code in the country. Most ex-offenders have every intention of becoming productive, tax paying citizens, and no intention of returning to the penal system. However ex-offenders are largely on their own when returning to our communities. They are often estranged from families and friends, and are increasingly faced with tremendous challenges upon their release. Most are simply unprepared for the challenges they will encounter in the attempt to restore normalcy to their lives – finding a†¦show more content†¦To do so, ex-offenders need coaching on job search techniques specific to their needs and circumstances.† (Anderson, D. 2008) One could argue that those with a criminal history aren’t that big a deal, that they don’t make up enough of the population to matter, however, â€Å"sixty-five million Americans—or one in four adults—have a criminal record. But employers—including major companies like Bank of America, Omni Hotel, and Dominos Pizza—routinely post job ads on Craigslist that explicitly exclude such applicants, according to a new report conducted by the National Employment Law Center (NELP), a labor-affiliated advocacy group.† (Roth, 2011) So to have the opinion that these people don’t matter, is equivalent to dismissing one quarter of the population. The only alternative for them is public assistance or returning to crime, either way it puts an extra burden and added strain to everyone else. The practice of not hiring those with criminal records has become widespread and almost the norm in today’s economic times. â€Å"Many employers use outside companies that specialize in background checks—a fast-growing industry—to help screen out applicants with criminal records. A 2009 investigation by the state of New York found that RadioShack, working with the background check firm ChoicePoint, created a system that asked applicants Have you been convicted of a felony in the past 7 years? andShow MoreRelatedThe Effect of Rehabilitation and the Rate of Recidivism1727 Words   |  7 Pagesreleased prisoners are re-arrested and one-half are re-incarcerated within three years of release from prison. Rates of recidivism rise to approximately 75%-85% of released prisoners are likely to be re-arrested within a decade of release. Successful rehabilitation is vital when releasing an inmate into the community as it produces a significant reduction in criminal recidiv ism. The purpose of incarceration is to protect the public and punish as well as rehabilitate the criminal. It is designed toRead MoreLong Term Effects Of Reentry Programs On Reducing Juvenile Recidivism Essay943 Words   |  4 Pages Long-term Effects of Reentry Programs On   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reducing Juvenile Recidivism   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By: Tiffany Gilliam La Salle University PHLT 752: Capstone I Introduction Nearly, 5% of the world s population is represented by the United who possesses 25% of the world s prisoners (Liptak, 2008). Approximately 2.2 million prisoners are awaiting pre-trial and 1.6 million post-trial inmates are incarcerated in city, state, and federal prisonsRead MoreHigh Prevalence Rates Of Crime1023 Words   |  5 Pagesfacilitate the recovery of young individuals who have committed crimes or who’ve been involved in any unacceptable conduct (Hess, 2009). Recidivism which is defined as the tendency by individuals to relapse into a previous criminal behavior forms the subject of this essay. The essay examines measures that may be adopted to reduce the instances of youth recidivism. Revamped Correctional Institutions Such institutions as prisons are intended to serveRead MoreIncarceration Of The United States3014 Words   |  13 Pagespresence of recidivism. With our ever growing incarceration rates and the cost of housing individual offenders averaging $22,000 a criminal justice agenda. Recidivism refers to a person s relapse into criminal behavior resulting in rearrests, reconviction or return to prison with or without a new sentence during a three-year period following the prisoner s release (National Institute of Justice.) Many programs have been implemented in our prison system to help reduce the recidivism rates. ProgramsRead MoreLength Of Treatment Analysis875 Words   |  4 Pages(high-risk offenders low-risk offenders) who were followed-up on at the 12 and 30 month mark after they were assessed for treatment. The length of treatment, not the classification risk of the offender, was found to be a significant variable of recidivism as those who received a longer length of treatment we re less likely to be re-arrested Evans et al. (2011). Because not all offenders are guaranteed treatment, in some circumstances there is no length of prison-based treatment. In order to continueRead MoreIndividual And Family Structured Therapy Models Essay1246 Words   |  5 Pagesindividual therapy, the client has the counselors undivided attention. This in return allows the counselor to focus specifically on the clients concerns. As we’ve explored already, individual therapy has proven to be an effective technique in reducing recidivism. One form of psychotherapy used by the criminal justice system is cognitive behavioral therapy. As mentioned previously, cognitive behavioral therapy assumes that most people can become conscious of their own thoughts and behaviors and thereforeRead MoreLaw And Order Of The Justice System1253 Words   |  6 Pagesfor mandatory minimums and superfluously guarantee punishment can be eliminated. Moving beyond the justice system to a more re habilitative approach that can provide offenders with tools and resources need for reentry; hence, that will lower the recidivism rate in the United States. What is rehabilitation? â€Å"Rehabilitation is a planned intervention that is intended to change offenders for the better (Worrall, 2015). The goal of rehabilitation rest on the perception that individuals can be treatedRead MoreComparing Civilizations And Societies Function On Numerous Principles1183 Words   |  5 Pagesmember of society. The greatest chance as society has at reducing recidivism is to educate offenders and provide them skill sets that will assist them in reintegration, thus reducing the likelihood of recidivism and reducing the crime rate over time. State prison and county jail inmates who receive general education and vocational training are significantly less likely to return to prison after release and are more likely to find employment than peers who do not receive such opportunities. ResearchersRead MoreShould Prison Offenders Be Offenders?1980 Words   |  8 Pagesto the employment process and have trouble obtaining jobs; however employing them could greatly reduce the recidivism rate. A common misconception about ex-offenders is that releasing them from incarceration allows them to partake in criminal activities again and become recidivists, however, they are much more likely to do this if they cannot find sufficient employment; a key way to reduce this rate of recidivism is by employing them. According to a newspaper article about reducing recidivism, a keyRead MoreRehabilitation Will Reduce Crime1246 Words   |  5 Pagesrenter society. The U.S correctional system is a quite controversial subject that leads to questio ns such as how does our correctional system punish offenders? How does our correctional system rehabilitate offenders? Which method is more effective in reducing crime punishment or rehabilitation? Our correctional system has several ways to punish and rehabilitate offenders. The correctional system punishes offenders by sentencing them to serve time in jail or prison. Others forms of punishment include