Costs and Benefits of Inflation Essay

High inflation has many costs: – Inflation erodes the value of money. When future prices are less predictable, sensible spending and saving plans are harder to make. People increasingly fear that their future purchasing power will decline and erode their standard of living. – Inflation encourages investments that are speculative and take advantage of inflation rather than productive investment. It can also create the illusion of temporary financial success while masking fundamental economic problems. – Businesses and households must spend more time, and money, protecting themselves from the effects of rising costs and prices. Businesses, workers, and investors respond to signs of inflation by pushing up prices, wages, and interest rates to protect themselves. This can lead to a â€Å"vicious circle† of rising inflation. – Inflation can mean particular hardship for those whose incomes don’t keep pace with the rising level of prices, especially people on fixed incomes such as senior citizens who are receiving pensions. Low inflation has many benefits: – Consumers and businesses are better able to make long-range plans because they know that their money is not losing its purchasing power year after year. – Interest rates, both in nominal and real terms, are lower, encouraging investment to improve productivity and allowing businesses to prosper without raising prices. – Sustained low inflation is self reinforcing. Businesses and individuals do not react so quickly to short-term price pressures by seeking to raise prices and wages if they are confident that inflation is under long-term control. This contributes to keeping inflation low.

Economic Crisis and Response in the Philippines Essay

The Global Economic Crisis pulled countries down from around the globe to a recession. Wide-ranging declines in many aspects of growth characterize the overall impact it had had on the global scale. Following the Asian economic crisis in 1997, the present global economic crisis imposes new challenges to the Philippines as a developing country. Following are expositions of the macroeconomic impacts of the crisis in the Philippine setting, its implications in the prevalent poverty scenario, and policies and programs undertaken by the government in response to the crisis. Overview of the Global Economic Crisis The 2008 global economic crisis started upon the bursting of the US housing bubble, which was followed by bankruptcies, bailouts, foreclosures, and takeovers of financial institutions and national governments. During a period of housing and credit booms, banks encouraged lending to home owners by a considerably high amount without appropriate level of transparency and financial supervision. As interest rates rose in mid-2007, housing prices dropped extensively, and all institutions that borrowed and invested found themselves suffering significant losses. Financial institutions, insurance companies, and investment houses declared either declared bankruptcies or had to be rescued financially. Economies worldwide slowed during this period and entered to a recession. The crisis, initially financial in nature, has now taken a full-blown economic and global scale affecting every country to the left and to the right of the United States, and wreaking havoc in the level of both industrialize d and developing nations. The Philippine Situation before the Crisis The Philippines has long been undermined with long-term structural problems such that sustainable economic development is yet to be a dream come true. According to the pages of Philippine economic history, the country has been dominated by a sequence of growth spurts, brief and mediocre, followed by shard to very-sharp, severe, and extended downturns—a cycle that came to be known as the boom-bust cycle. As such, economic growth record of the country has been disappointing in comparison with its East Asian counterparts in terms of per capita GDP. What makes matters worse is the seemingly perennial  impoverished state of its inhabitants, that is, in 2007, an absolute poverty incidence of 13.2 percent—higher than Indonesia’s 7.7 and Vietnam’s 8.4 percent—has been recorded, and thus giving further testimony of the unequal distribution of wealth that keeps growth and development a far reach for the Philippines. Macroeconomic Impacts of the Crisis The Philippines, points Professor Diokno of the University of the Philippines, has been affected by the crisis in a decline in three aspects: exports, remittances from overseas Filipino workers, and foreign direct investments. Heavily dependent on electronic and semiconductor exports, the Philippines has seen a downward trend in its export earnings as countries in demand of these exports are now in recession. The recession has also put to risk the jobs in the developed countries which include those where migrant workers are employed. Consequently, OFW remittances decreased and grew a meagre 3.3% in October 2008. Foreign direct investments (FDI) lowered because of investors losing confidence in the financial market. Lower FDIs mean slower economic growth. Impacts of Asset Markets, Financial Sector, and Real Sector The freeze in liquidity in US and European financial markets reversed capital flows to developing countries and induced a rise in the price of risk which entailed a drop in equity prices andexchange rate volatility. However, following the effects of an increase in the foreign currency government bond spread, the Philippine stock market was actually one of the least affected by the crisis with the main index of the stock market dropping only by 24 percent, a relatively low percentage change in comparison to those of other countries across Asia. Similarly, from the period between July 2008 and January 2009, the peso devaluated only by 3 percent which explains why the peso was one of the currencies least affected by the crisis. This minimal effect on the stock market and the Philippine peso can be attributed to the recovery of asset prices across the Asia-Pacific region recovered in early 2009 as foreign portfolio investments surged. Financially, the banking system in the Philippines has been relatively stable, because of reforms that were put in place since Asian financial crisis in 1997. Maintenance of high levels of loan to deposit ratios together with the decline of the ratio  of nonperforming loans to total loans kept profitability of local banking generally high despite the crisis. To the country’s fortune, no meltdowns occurred as during the previous 1997 Asian crisis. Fall in the growth rate of personal consumption and expenditures and fixed investment assail 2008. Personal consumption expenditure, the largest contributor to GDP growth, behaved a downward trend from a sharp drop from 5.8 percent in 2007 to 4.7 percent in 2008, and 3.7 percent in 2009. GDP growth during fourth quarter of 2008 and first quarter of 2009 fell to 1.7 percent, a staggering fall from 5.7 percent average for the three previous years. Furthermore, a contraction of 29.2 percent in the manufacturing sector involving electricity, gas, water, trade and finance services. The service sector also had its share of downturns as growth in the fourth quarter and first quarters of 2008 and 2009, respectively, suffered from a meagre growth of 2.1 percent, a far contrast from the 6.7 percent average from the last three years. However, the Philippines has generally endured the least declines in comparison with other East Asian countries despite recorded declines. For instance, OFW remittances, though at a slower pace, still grew in the first half of 2009. Impact of fiscal deficit and external accounts To counter adverse effects of the crisis, the Philippine government felt the need to increase its expenditures. Apart from government expenditure, of primary concern was the weak revenues generated by the government with fiscal deficit reaching P111.8 billion in the first quarter of 2009 as compared to P25.8 billion in the same period of the previous year. Despite suffering the least in terms of the stock exchange and financial markets among East Asian countries, the Philippines lagged in tax effort in comparison to other nations. Meanwhile, private sector flows in the external account declined and led to a net outflow of $708 million in 2009, a sharp turning away from a net inflow of $507 million in 2008. This eventually led to a fall in stock prices and depreciation or devaluation of the peso. Poverty and Social Impacts Impacts on households and communitiesAn increasing number of the Filipino workforce has become frustrated due to unemployment and low standards of living in the country. Thousands of Filipinos leave the country every day to  seize better income opportunities and promise their children a better and secure future. Moreover, around five million of Filipino children are unable to go to school and are forced to work on the streets or in other various workplaces where they can find some food or other means to fill their appetites. Impacts on wealth and income and its distribution across different social divisions The country was having sound economic indicators before the 2008 economic crisis. Average income per capita was increasing while poverty incidence showed a downward trend. Average income per capita rose by 2% in 2007 and 2008, whereas poverty incidence dropped from 33.0% in 2006 to 31.8% in 2007 and 28.1% in 2008. Output growth plunged in 2009, causing real mean income to fall b y 2.1%, resulting in an upward pressure on poverty incidence (grew by 1.6%). Most hit are households with associations to industry resulting in the average income to drop to levels below that of 2007. Similarly, wage and salary workers were hit significantly. Surprisingly, the poorest 20% did not suffer the same fate they suffered in crises past. Clearly, the global economic crisis put a halt on the highly promising growth trend of the Philippine economy and forced 2 million Filipinos into poverty. Coping strategies i. Finances According to recent studies (2009), close to 22% of the population reduced their spending, 11% used their existing savings for consumption, 5% pawned assets, 2% sold assets, 36% borrowed money and 5% defaulted on debts. ii. Education To reduce spending, households had to risk the quality of education of their children. Some children were transferred from private to public schools, while some were withdrawn from school. Moreover, parents reduced the allowance of the students, and resorted to secondhand uniforms, shoes and books. iii. Health Coping strategies may have negative effects on their long-term health as these affected households commonly resort to self-medication, or shift to seeing doctors in government health centers and hospital. Many households in the urban sector shifted to generic drugs while rural households tended to use herbal medicines. Policy Responses Efforts of poverty alleviation, reduction, eradication The Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) was implemented during  the Ramos Administration and later on continued by the following administrations to help reduce poverty in the country and improve on the economic welfare of the Filipinos. The Ramos Administration (1993–1998) targeted to reduce poverty from 39.2% in 1991 to about 30% by 1998. The Estrada Administration (1999–2004) then targeted to reduce poverty incidence from 32% in 1997 to 25-28% by 2004, while the Arroyo government targeted to reduce poverty to 17% by creating 10 million jobs but this promise was not fulfilled by the administration. As for the current Aquino Administration, the 2011-2016 MTDPD is still being drafted. President Benigno Aquino III has plans to expand the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program from 1 to 2.3 million households, and several long term investments in education and healthcare. Also, last September 2010, Aquino met with US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, duri ng the signing of the $434-million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant in New York. The MCC grant would fund infrastructure and rural development programs in the Philippines to reduce poverty and spur economic growth. Macroeconomic and Social Protection programs To respond to the recent financial crisis, the Philippine government, through the Department of Finance and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), crafted a PhP 330-billion fiscal package, formally known as the Economic Resiliency Plan (ERP). The ERP is geared towards the stimulation of the economy through tax cuts, increased government spending, and public-private sector projects that can also prepare the country for the eventual upturn of the global economy. The implementation of ERP is spearheaded by NEDA with the following specific aims.To ensure sustainable growth, attaining the higher end of the growth rates; To save and create as many jobs as possible; To protect the most vulnerable sectors: the poorest of the poor, returning OFWs, and workers in export industries; To ensure low and stable prices to supports consumer spending; and To enhance competitiveness in preparation for the global rebound. Regional responses Poverty incidence remains to be one of the highest in the region with the  continued low domestic private investment. To overcome legal, political and institutional constraints, regional financial cooperation must be encouraged. The ASEAN+3 financial cooperation can promote further the development of domestic financial markets to facilitate the intermediation of Asian savings within the region, as well as attract foreign investment. Such alternative sources of funding would reduce Asia’s reliance on foreign currency borrowing and along with, the risk exposure of the region to maturity and currency mismatches.Moreover, the Network of East Asian Think Tanks has recently proposed the establishment of the Asia Investment Infrastructure Fund (AIIF) to prioritize the funding of infrastructure projects in the region to support suffering industries. The AIIF, as well as multilateral institutions especially the Asian Development Bank, also promotes greater domestic demand and intra-r egional trade to offset the decline in exports to industrialized countries and narrow the development gap in the region. Prospects for Growth in the Future Poverty reduction for the Philippines in the years to come is promising, bearing in mind where she left off prior to the economic crisis. Nevertheless, it is still a tough challenge. Figures persistently reflect a Philippine poverty reduction campaign that pales in comparison with other ASEAN countries. In addition, a blistering population growth rate sinks more Filipinos below thepoverty threshold placing the country’s laudable long term economic growth under its shadow. Taking into account that the Philippine economy has a significant reliance on remittances from Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), past threats demonstrated the resiliency of the Philippine economy despite external shocks. In spite of the disaster in Japan (3rd largest market for Philippine exports) and the geopolitical tensions in West Asia, the Philippine economy looked unfazed. New York-based Global Source Partners stated, â€Å"The Philippine economy has already proven to be quite resilient in the face of varied external shocks in the past, especially bolstered by a strong external position and capable monetary management. This time should not be much different.† The new administration of President Benigno â€Å"Noynoy† Aquino III faces three key constraints on Philippine growth: Tight fiscal situation due to weak revenue generation Poor infrastructure (i.e. transportation, power, etc.) Pessimism in investment resulting from corruption and political instability Fortunately, the government offers various projects to loosen these restrictions. Data from the quarterly ING Investor Dashboard Survey showed stability in investor confidence for the Philippine economy over the first two quarters of 2010. She even scored a 157 in the third quarter of the same year. This is well on the higher percentiles of the â€Å"optimistic† range and a mere 3 points from the â€Å"very optimistic† level. These figures emerge in the midst of decrepit infrastructure and a lack of efficient institutions. Subsequently, the prospect of the Philippine economy improving into the â€Å"very optimistic† range is very bright. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda declared that the Philippine economic competitiveness score improved from 56.526 the previous year to 63.291 in 2011 (based on The World Competitiveness Yearbook). Lacierda also boasts of infrastructure improvement pr ojects of the Department of Public Works and Highways scheduled to commence within one or two years. He attributes the stepping up of our competitiveness rating to the public-private partnership (PPP) projects next year. These projects raise optimism for the post-crisis economy of the Philippines ————————————————- Fiscal policy of the Philippines From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Fiscal policy refers to the â€Å"measures employed by governments to stabilize the economy, specifically by manipulating the levels and allocations of taxes and government expenditures. Fiscal measures are frequently used in tandem with monetary policy to achieve certain goals.†[1] In the Philippines, this is characterized by continuous and increasing levels of debt and budget deficits, though there have been improvements in the last few years.[2] The Philippine government’s main source of revenue are taxes, with some non-tax revenue also being collected. To finance fiscal deficit and debt, the Philippines relies on both domestic and external sources. Fiscal policy during the Marcos administration was primarily focused on indirect tax collection and on government spending on ecnomic services and infrastructure development. The first Aquino administration inherited a  large fiscal deficit from the previous administration, but managed to reduce fiscal imbalance and improve tax collection through the introduction of the 1986 Tax Reform Program and the value added tax. The Ramos administration experienced budget surpluses due to substantial gains from the massive sale of government assets and strong foreign investment in its early years. However, the implementation of the 1997 Comprehensive Tax Reform Program and the onset of the Asian financial crisis resulted to a deteriorating fiscal position in the succeeding years and administrations. The Estrada administration faced a large fiscal deficit due to the decrease in tax effort and the repayment of the Ramos administration’s debt to contractors and suppliers. During the Arroy o administration, the Expanded Value Added Tax Law was enacted, national debt-to-GDP ratio peaked, and underspending on public infrastructure and other capital expenditures was observed. Contents [hide] * 1 Revenues and Funding * 1.1 Tax Revenue * 1.1.1 Income Taxes * 1.1.2 E-VAT * 1.1.3 Tariffs and Duties * 1.2 Non-Tax Revenue * 1.2.1 The Bureau of Treasury * 1.2.2 Privatization * 1.2.3 PAGCOR * 2 Spending, Debt, and Financing * 2.1 Government Spending and Fiscal Imbalance * 2.2 Financing and Debt * 3 History of Philippine Fiscal Policy * 3.1 Marcos Administration (1981-1985) * 3.2 Aquino Administration (1986-1992) * 3.3 Ramos Administration (1993-1998) * 3.4 Estrada Administration (1999-2000) * 3.5 Arroyo Administration (2002-2009) * 4 References * 5 External links ————————————————- Revenues and Funding[edit source | editbeta] A comparative graph of Revenue and Tax Effort from 2001-2010[3] A comparative graph of Tax and Non-Tax Revenue contribution from 2001-2010[4] The Philippine government generates revenues mainly through personal and income tax collection, but a small portion of non-tax revenue is also collected through fees and licenses, privatization proceeds and income from other government operations and state-owned enterprises. Tax Revenue[edit source | editbeta] Tax collections comprise the biggest percentage of revenue collected. Its biggest contributor is theBureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), followed by the Bureau of Customs (BOC). Tax effort as a percentage of GDP has averaged at roughly 13% for the years 2001-2010.[5] Income Taxes[edit source | editbeta] Income tax is a tax on a person’s income, wages, profits arising from property, practice of profession, conduct of trade or business or any stipulated in the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997 (NIRC), less any deductions granted.[6] Income tax in the Philippines is a progressive tax, as people with higher incomes pay more than people with lower incomes. Personal income tax rates vary as such:[7] Annual Taxable Income| Income Tax Rate| Less than â‚ ±10,000| 5%| Over â‚ ±10,000 but not over â‚ ±30,000| â‚ ±500 + 10% of the excess over â‚ ±10,000| Over â‚ ±30,000 but not over â‚ ±70,000| â‚ ±2,500 + 15% of the excess over â‚ ±30,000| Over â‚ ±70,000 but not over â‚ ±140,000| â‚ ±8,500 + 20% of the excess over â‚ ±70,000| Over â‚ ±140,000 but not over â‚ ±250,000| â‚ ±22,500 + 25% of the excess over â‚ ±140,000| Over â‚ ±250,000 but not over â‚ ±500,000| â‚ ±50,000 + 30% of the excess over â‚ ±250,000| Over â‚ ±500,000| â‚ ±125,000 + 32% of the excess over â‚ ±500,000| The top rate was 35% until 1997, 34% in 1998, 33% in 1999, and 32% since 2000.[7][8] In 2008, Republic Act No. 9504 (passed by  then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) exempted minimum wage earners from paying income taxes.[9] E-VAT[edit source | editbeta] The Expanded Value Added Tax (E-VAT), is a form of sales tax that is imposed on the sale of goods and services and on the import of goods into the Philippines. It is a consumption tax (those who consume more are taxed more) and an indirect tax, which can be passed on to the buyer. The current E-VAT rate is 12% of transactions. Some items which are subject to E-VAT include petroleum, natural gases, indigenous fuels, coals, medical services, legal services, electricity, non-basic commodities, clothing, non-food agricultural products, domestic travel by air and sea.[10] The E-VAT has exemptions which include basic commodities and socially sensitive products. Exemptible from the E-VAT are:[11] 1. Agricultural and marine products in their original state (e.g. vegetables, meat, fish, fruits, eggs and rice), including those which have undergone preservation processes (e.g. freezing, drying, salting, broiling, roasting, smoking or stripping); 2. Educational services rendered by both public a nd private educational institutions; 3. Books, newspapers and magazines; 4. Lease of residential houses not exceeding â‚ ±10,000 monthly; 5. Sale of low-cost house and lot not exceeding â‚ ±2.5 million 6. Sales of persons and establishments earning not more than â‚ ±1.5 million annually. Tariffs and Duties[edit source | editbeta] Second to the BIR in terms of revenue collection, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) imposes tariffs and duties on all items imported into the Philippines. According to Executive Order 206, returning residents, Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW’s) and former Filipino citizens are exempted from paying duties and tariffs.[12] Non-Tax Revenue[edit source | editbeta] Non-tax revenue makes up a small percentage of total government revenue (roughly less than 20%), and consists of collections of fees and licenses, privatization proceeds and income from other state enterprises.[13] The Bureau of Treasury[edit source | editbeta] The Bureau of Treasury (BTr) manages the finances of the government, by attempting to maximize revenue collected and minimize spending. The bulk of non-tax revenues comes from the BTr’s income. Under Executive Order No.449, the BTr collects revenue by issuing, servicing and redeeming government securities, and by controlling the Securities Stabilization Fund (which increases the liquidity and stabilizes the value of government securities[14]) through the purchase and sale of government bills and bonds.[15] Privatization[edit source | editbeta] Privatization in the Philippines occurred in three waves: The first wave in 1986-1987, the second during 1990 and the third stage, which is presently taking place.[16] The government’s Privatization Program is handled by the inter-agency Privatization Council and the Privatization and Management Office, a sub-branch of the Department of Finance.[17] PAGCOR[edit source | editbeta] The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is a government-owned corporation established in 1977 to stop illegal casino operations. PAGCOR is mandated to regulate and license gambling (particularly in casinos), generate revenues for the Philippine government through its own casinos and promote tourism in the country.[18] ————————————————- Spending, Debt, and Financing[edit source | editbeta] A comparative graph of National Revenues and Expenditures from 2001-2010[5] A comparative graph of Domestic and External Sources of Financing from 2001-2010[5] A comparative graph of Total National Debt from 2001-2010[19] Government Spending and Fiscal Imbalance[edit source | editbeta] In 2010, the Philippine Government spent a total of â‚ ±1.5 trillion and earned a total of â‚ ±1.2 trillion from tax and non-tax revenues, thus resulting to a total deficit of â‚ ±314.5 billion.[5] Despite the national deficit of the  Philippines, the Department of Finance reported an average of â‚ ±29.6 billion in Local Government Unit (LGU) surplus, which is mostly due to an improved LGU financial monitoring system which the government implemented in the recent years. Efforts of the monitoring system include â€Å"debt monitoring and creditworthiness monitoring system, effective mobilization of second generation funds (SGF) to promote LGU development, and the implementation of a Land Administration and Management Project (LAMP2) which received a ‘very good’ rating from the World Bank (WB) and Australian Agency for International D evelopment (AusAid).†[20] Microfinance management in the Philippines is improving substantially. In 2009, the Economist Intelligence Unit â€Å"recognized the Philippines as the best in the world in terms of its microfinance regulatory framework.† The DOF-National Credit Council (DOF-NCC) focused on improving the state of local cooperatives by developing a supervision and examination manual, launching advocacies for these cooperatives, and pushing for the Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008. A standardized national strategy for microinsurance and the provisions of grants and technical assistance were formulated.[20] Financing and Debt[edit source | editbeta] Aside from Tax and Non-Tax Revenues, the government makes use of other sources of financing to support its expenses. In 2010, the government borrowed a total net of â‚ ±351.646 billion for financing:[21] | Domestic Sources| External Sources| Gross Financing| â‚ ±489.844 billion| â‚ ±257.357 billion| Less: Repayments/Amortization| â‚ ±271.246 billion| â‚ ±124.309 billion| Net Financing| â‚ ±218.598 billion| â‚ ±133.048 billion| Total Financing| | â‚ ±351.646 billion| External Sources of Financing are:[21] 1. Program and Project Loans – the government offers project loans to external bodies and uses the proceeds to fund domestic projects like infrastructure, agriculture, and other government projects.[20] 2. Credit Facility Loans 3. Zero-coupon Treasury Bills 4. Global Bonds 5. Foreign Currencies Domestic Sources of Financing are[21] 1. Treasury Bonds 2. Facility loans 3. Treasury Bills 4. Bond Exchanges 5. Promissory Notes 6. Term Deposits In 2010, the total outstanding debt of the Philippines reached â‚ ±4.718 trillion: â‚ ±2.718 trillion from outstanding domestic sources and â‚ ±2 trillion from foreign sources. According to the Department of Finance, the country has recently reduced dependency on external sources to minimize the risks caused by changes in the global exchange rates. Efforts to reduce national debt include increasing tax efforts and decreasing government spending. The Philippine government has also entered talks with other economic entities, like the ASEAN Finance Ministers Meeting (AFMM), ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers Meeting (AFMM+3), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and ASEAN Single-Window Technical Working Group (ASW-TWG), in order to strengthen the countries’ and the region’s debt management efforts*.[20] ————————————————- History of Philippine Fiscal Policy[edit source | editbeta] Marcos Administration (1981-1985)[edit source | editbeta] The tax system under the Marcos administration was generally regressive as it was heavily dependent on indirect taxes. Indirect taxes and international trade taxes accounted for about 35% of total tax revenue, while direct taxes only accounted for 25%. Government expenditure for economic services peaked during this period, focusing mainly on infrastructure development, with about 33% of the budget spent on capital outlays. In response to the higher global interest rates and to the depreciation of the peso, the government became increasingly reliant on domestic financing to finance fiscal deficit. The government also started liberalizing tariff policy during this period by enacting the initial Tariff Reform Program, which narrowed the tariff structure from a range of 100%-0% to 50%-10%, and the Import Liberalization Program, which aimed at reducing or eliminating tariffs and realigning indirect taxes.[22][23][24] Aquino Administration (1986-1992)[edit source | editbeta] Faced with problems inherited from the previous administration, the most important of which being the large fiscal deficit heightened by the low tax effort due to a weak tax system, Aquinoenacted the 1986 Tax Reform Program (TRP). The aim of the TRP was to â€Å"simplify the tax system, make revenues more responsive to economic activity, promote horizontal equity and promote growth by correcting existing taxes that impaired business incentives†. One of the major reforms enacted under the program was the introduction of the Value Added Tax (VAT), which was set at 10%. The 1986 tax reform program resulted in reduced fiscal imbalance and higher tax effort in the succeeding years, peaking in 1997, before the enactment of the 1997 Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP). The share of non-tax revenues during this period soared due to the sale of sequestered assets of President Marcos and his cronies (totalling to about â‚ ±20 billion), the initial efforts to deregulate the oil industry and thrust towards the privatization of state enterprises. Public debt servicing and interest payments as a percent of the budget peaked during this period as government focused on making up for the debt incurred by the Marcos administration. Another important reform enacted during the Aquino administration was the passage of the 1991 Local Government Code which enabled fiscal decentralization. This increased the taxing and spending powers to local governments in effect increasing local government resources.[22][24] Ramos Administration (1993-1998)[edit source | editbeta] The Ramos administration had budget surpluses for four of its six years in power. The government benefited from the massive sale of government assets (totalling to about â‚ ±70 billion, the biggest among the administrations) and continued to benefit from the 1986 TRP. The administration invested heavily on the power sector as the country was beset by power outages. The government utilized its emergency powers to fast-track the construction of power projects and established contracts with independent power plants. This period also experienced a real estate boom and strong foreign direct  investment to the country during the early years of the administration, in effect overvaluing the peso. However, with the onset of the Asian financial crisis, the peso depreciated by almost 40%. The Ramos administration relied heavily on external borrowing to finance its fiscal deficit but quickly switched to domestic dependence on the onset of the Asian financial crisis. The administration has b een accused of resorting to â€Å"budget trickery† during the crisis: balancing assets through the sales of assets, building up accounts payable and delaying payment of government premium to social security holders. In 1997, the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP) was enacted. Republic Act (RA) 8184 and RA 8240, which were implemented under the program, were estimated to yield additional taxes of around â‚ ±7.4 billion; however, a decline in tax effort during the succeeding periods was observed after the CTRP was implemented. This was attributed to the unfavorable economic climate created by the Asian fiscal crisis and the poor implementation of the provisions of the reform. A sharp decrease in international trade tax contribution to GDP was also observed as a consequence of the trade liberalization and globalization efforts in the 1990s, more prominently, the establishment of the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) and membership to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). The Ramos administration also provided additional incentives to export-oriented firms, the most prominent among these being RA 7227 which was instrumental to the success of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.[22][23] Estrada Administration (1999-2000)[edit source | editbeta] President Estrada, who assumed office at the height of the Asian financial crisis, faced a large fiscal deficit, which was mainly attributed to the sharp deterioration in the tax effort (as a result of the 1997 CTRP: increased tax incentives, narrowing of VAT base and lowering of tariff walls) and higher interest payments given the sharp depreciation of the peso during the crisis . The administration also had to pay P60 billion worth of accounts payables left unpaid by the Ramos administration to contractors and suppliers. Public spending focused on social services, with spending on basic education reaching its peak. To finance the fiscal deficit, Estrada created a balance between domestic and foreign borrowing.[22][23] Arroyo Administration (2002-2009)[edit source | editbeta] The Arroyo administration’s poor fiscal position was attributed to weakening tax effort (still resulting from the 1997 CTRP) and rising debt servicing costs (due to peso depreciation). Large fiscal deficits and heavy losses for monitored government corporations were observed during this period. National debt-to-GDP ratio reached an all-time high during the Arroyo administration, averaging at 69.2%. Investment in public infrastructure (at only 1.9% of GDP), expenditure for economic services, health spending and education spending all hit an historic-low during the Arroyo administration. The government responded to its poor fiscal position by under-spending in public infrastructure and social overhead capital (education and health care), thus sacrificing the economy’s long-term growth. In 2005, RA 9337 was enacted, the most significant amendments of which were the removal of electricity and petroleum VAT exemptions and the increase in the VAT rate from 10% to 12%

Antigone

Evil not only fascinates people in general, but writers as well. In what ways and with what effect has â€Å"evil† been treated in Antigone? In the play of ‘Antigone’, evil appears in many forms. There is the soldier who is a traitor to his nation; the sister trying to prove her love for her family yet ends up breaking the law; the king who so eagerly tries to stop rule-breakers yet he himself neglects his flesh and blood. Here the difference of the two works is seen: The Earth of Mankind gives the impression that characters of power possess evil, whereas in Antigone, evil can be inside all of these opposing individuals. Polyneices, a soldier who fought against his own nation was to be punished as a traitor by not burying him after his death. When his sister, Antigone, goes against the King’s decree and burry Polyneices, she was also seen as a traitor to her country. However their other sibling, Ismene, who sits at home as Antigone fights for her brother’s right, is also said to have performed a crime of being a traitor to her family. Now something we can see from here is that each and every character involved in the story so far possesses evil. This message is summed up by Sophocles in page 204 of the book, in Ode 1, where it says, ‘O fate of man, working both good and evil! ’ What the writer is trying to convey here is more realistic than what is said in ‘The Earth of Mankind’; both evil and good is naturally inside everyone’s mind.It is one’s choice to do which, but performing a crime is inevitable. Everyone has his or her own ‘evil’ deeds, not only the powerful ones. As seen in my previous explanation on who performs evil deeds in the play of ‘Antigone’, we can see that one evil act leads to another, whereas the chain of good doings ends sooner. Eteocles, who was a soldier and a brother to Antigone, fought bravely for his nation and was buried with honor by the King. Although many respect him for his virtuosity, the play didn’t show that further kindness was done because of him.However, when Polyneices betrays his nation and fought against it, a number of people are forced to perform evil in his affect. Antigone had to break the law in order to give him his right of getting a burial. Ismene, who was too scared to go against the decree, was said to be a traitor to her family, as she didn’t come to assist Antigone in her mission. They then cause Creon to imprison the sisters, punish them, which then cause him to have a fight with his son. Creon then causes death of Haimon, and therefore leads to the suicide of the Queen.On page 243, the messenger says, ‘†¦and her last breath was a curse for their father, the murderer of her sons. ’ A number of misfortunes occur as being the result of one act of evil. The play now gives the effect that evil gives more negative outcomes in comparison to good giving positive results. Here, evil is powerful enough to make such a big impact on its surrounding; bigger than the good. Creon sees Antigone as a traitor to his rules, despite her reasons. Creon imprisoned both Antigone and Ismene for the burial of the nation’s traitor, Polyneices, who is their brother.It is true that Antigone has broken the law, but according to her logic, it is more important to follow the rules of the Gods than the King. She feels that the dead, no matter what they did in their lives, deserve respect and be buried, and that it was her duty to do so as Polyneices’ sister. She didn’t care that she is breaking the decree, and may be punished to die, as long as this task is done. Creon, being a non-believer of the Gods in the beginning, thinks that breaking the law is crime, no matter for what purpose.Polyneices was a traitor and he suffers because of himself, thus no one should help him. On page 211, Creon even said to Antigone, ‘An enemy is an enemy, even dead. ’ There is truth in both arguments, and no one can say what is right. Here, the play depicts that the existence of evil depends on how one views it. ‘Antigone’ treats evil as a subjective topic, where it may be seen as a crime from one point of view, but is actually a good deed from another. No evil deed is done without a reason, and the play shows that one should explore, not only what crime has been done, but also why it was done.

Perspective on the significance of the marea court case in Research Paper

Perspective on the significance of the marea court case in understanding some aspect of the larger world of 17th century Massac - Research Paper Example Regardless of this fact, it is the responsibility of the historian/researcher to accurately depict the situation and not give way to the temptation to only relate the most interesting/salacious aspects of the story due to the fact that these do not help to give the full story and only emphasize the beliefs and actions of those with the most divergent views among the culture/group in question. Although the trials have been mythified and turned into a cultural phenomenon, the fact remains that even though the number of executions were low and the incident was isolated, the prevailing beliefs of that time with relation to how the settlers/Puritan viewed the world in which they lived worked to have a profound effect on how justice was carried out with relation to those supposedly involved in some form or other of conjuring or witchcraft. From the court data as well as the other primary and secondary data that can be analyzed, it is clear that many factors greatly impeded the case against Marea as it relates to her trial for murder of her own newborn infant. As such, the purpose of this analysis is not to provide a firm case for or against her guilt in the situation; that much should be obvious. Instead, the purpose is to carefully review some of the statements made by the deponents with relation to those testified to Marea’s innocence/guilt. ... the ways in which these deponents related the information they had come across, the level to which these influences are exhibited in the testimony provides ample evidence of how information was interpreted, accepted by the court, and acted upon based upon the biases of the individuals responsible for providing such testimony and the jurors beliefs as they related to the understanding and application of this knowledge. As such, the individual depositions contained strong references the beliefs in here say as tantamount to proof. This was so prevalent throughout many of the testimonies that if it were extent in a courtroom of our time it would clearly be disregarding as a clear abrogation of justice. However, to the individuals involved in the case during the sixteenth century such cultural, social, and religious norms were perfectly accepted both in society and within the court as a defining merit of their unique and peculiar society. Such inclusion of here say as a type of circumstan tial evidence is noted in many court cases of the same period.2 The first of these testimonies is that of Thomas Drake. Of all the testimonies, Thomas Drakes is interesting in that it does not make any of the broad sweeping stereotypical judgments that the other deponents make in their testimony. Thomas Drakes testimony can be seen as rambling and inclusive of a lot of unnecessary facts; however, the fact remains that he appears to present the most impartial and non-aligned view of those that were sampled in the testimony that is available to draw inference upon. Although it cannot be asserted definitively, it is interesting to question whether Thomas Drake was originally born in the colonies or was one of the first settlers due to the fact that his age at the time of the testimony puts

Sex, Violence and Transgression Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Sex, Violence and Transgression - Essay Example In some instances, violence occurs in relation to sex. This is mostly in instances of rape and any other sexual harassment (Fausto-Sterling, 2000). This essay will look at sex, violence and transgression with representation of violence from news media and analyze them. The modern culture is obsessed with sex and sexuality while there are still too many social pressures around sex. Some of these pressures are how to wear and what fashion trends to follow, how to raise and school your children and whom to befriend. These pressures affect people since everyone wants to accepted and fit in the society as a unique person. The study of sexuality encompasses an array of social activities, an abundance of behaviors, series and societal topics. Biologically sexuality involves sexual intercourse and contact. It also involves the psychological aspects in relation to medical related concerns. Being the main force conditioning human relationship, sex is essentially political. The construction of a sexual universe is fundamentally linked to the structures of power in any social context. Construction of sexual meaning is a means through which social institutions manage and shape relationships among human beings. Body Today s’ sexual behaviors have increased regardless of age or gender. Our cultures no longer respects sex as a power capable of producing human life instead to many, sex is not taken seriously and is used for the purpose of entertainment. Trivializing sex leads to loss of value in marriage, this degrades women and their families. Use of contraceptives has destroyed the family and society as well. Once divorced from the aspect of reproduction, any type of sexual union can practice marriages legal perquisites. Many girls are giving themselves away to gain things a child craves, and it will be years before they know what they have done to themselves. Once these girls are married for the purpose of having children they came to understand that life is a sacrifi ce, fulfillment was not part of their vocabulary. Sexual activity among youths and under children can bring serious consequences. Unfortunately, the recently long term trend in sexual activity among youth has not been promising (Monro, 2005). The rates of sexual activity have increased. About twenty percent of more males and females are having sex today by 18 than the earlier 1970s. Research shows that most of people who engage in sex are between ages 12 -10. About half of both boys between ages 12 -19 have not had sex. The increase of sexual activities among teenagers has led to an increase in teen birth rate, school drop –out rate and high level of poverty in the society. Adolescents who initiate themselves in these health risk behaviors’ of sexual intercourse and substance abuse such as contraceptives at an early age have poor health in their adult life. These adolescents achieve low in education and do not contribute adequately to society. There is also a big gap o f age difference between young girls and their first sex partners. The younger a girl is during her first sexual intercourse the higher the average age difference between her and sexual partner. This is also related to the number of sex partners she will have in her teenage life. This leads to teenage pregnancy due to lack of proper sex education (Connell, 2002). Non- voluntary and unwanted sex is particularly commonly among very young girls. This becomes a trouble to the

Answers to Cases Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Answers to Cases - Case Study Example The armed force and militias systematically loot several minerals and raw materials including coltan from eastern part of Congo. They utilize this profit for their operation funding. Stakeholder Theory Approach This case study is all about the Coltan conflict in Congo. A particular business firm can address to the views or opinions of several stakeholders linked with a specific issue through stakeholder approach. Stakeholder theory approach helps an organization to manage and control several critical conflicts and issues. There are two kinds of stakeholders, such as non-market stakeholders and market stakeholders. This part of the report will discuss about the contribution of these two categories of stakeholders. In-Market Stakeholders In this specific case; employees, customers and suppliers are considered as the in-market stakeholders. Employees of an organization are considered as the important stakeholders of an organization. It is important for the organizations to maintain heal th and safety standards of the employees. However, this coltan conflict in Congo can force the employees to raise their voice against the management, but several regional and political conflicts are the major reason behind these issues. Customers are the other important stakeholders. High consumption volume and numbers measures the growth and profitability of an organization within this industry. Loot and smuggle of this coltan raw material by the Congo’s militias stopping the global electronic organizations to meet market demand. Supply chain system of Congo is very much complex due to internal regional conflicts of the country. Suppliers can be considered as other major stakeholder within an electronic industry. Local, regional and global traders are trying to maintain effective supply chain despite the impossible sourcing of coltan raw material. Non-Market Stakeholders With respect to the case, communities and government are considered as the non-market stakeholders. Commu nities like NGOs, group of electronic firms, electronic industry citizenship coalition collaboratively tried to develop conflict-free assessment programme to help the global organization to avail conflict free raw materials. On the other hand, role of government of Congo is not impressive since last four decades. They should review and control the conflicts during the starting phase through strict administrative action. However, government and several organizations are collaboratively trying to ban the conflict. Stakeholder Map Coltan conflict in Congo affected the global electronic supply chain. The country was suffering from several regional conflicts after Second World War. Coltan is a key raw material that is utilized in the manufacturing process of several electronic goods. Congo is the major sourcing country of coltan. Militias and armed force of Congo generally loot and smuggle this coltan and make huge profit. Government of the country failed to take strict actions against t hese issues. This conflict affected the supply chain and social life of the workers. Lack of machineries and poor workplace environment can result serious workplace hazard. Looking into these matters, government of Congo and several electronic

The Microchip Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Microchip - Essay Example hip, or chip, is a miniaturized electronic circuit, these circuits consisting in general of semiconductor devices, in addition to unreceptive apparatuses, which has been affected in the exterior of a slight substrate of semiconductor matter. Now a days microchip are employed in approximately in every electronic equipment in employ nowadays and have changed the world of electronics (Gary 2005). A cross integrated circuit is a miniaturized electronic circuit created from small individual semiconductor devices, in addition to passive parts, tied to a substrate or circuit panel (McGlennen, 2001). As silicon microchips turn out to be small and minor with additional and extra information stored on them, they will dictate enhanced chip printing technique-current schemes will not be working inside the subsequent decade or so. Corporations around the globe are discovering a number of next-generation techniques, with tremendous ultraviolet lithography that is also known as EUVL rising as the foremost candidate (Dolnik et al, 2000). Microchips were turned out to be feasible by experimental discoveries which make obvious that semiconductor devices probably carry out the roles of vacuum tubes and this happen in the middle of 20th-century technology progress in semiconductor device fabrication. The combination of big numbers of minute transistors into a little chip was an huge development over the physical assembly of circuits by means of separate electronic components. The microchips mass production ability, dependability, and element approach to circuit blueprint make sure the fast adoption of standardized microchips in place of designs by means of discrete transistors (Marakas 2007). There are two most important advantages of microchips over discrete circuits: price and performance. The cost of the microchip is low for the basis that the chips, with all their parts, are printed as a unit by photolithography and not build one transistor at a time. In addition, a great deal

Evaluation of Dental Education Strategies Essay

Evaluation of Dental Education Strategies - Essay Example This paper stresses that the medical and dental education demanded new teaching – learning methods with more formal instructional design and delivery. In professional education like medical and dental education, the common teaching strategies include that of role model, small or large group interactions, lectures, one to one teaching, brainstorming, computer aided case studies and patient model exercise. Among these methods, for clinical teaching, the preferred teaching methods are role model, one to one instruction, small group discussions and patient model assessment. Based on the survey feedback from students, this case study aims to identify the most effective teaching method. Thus the single major aim of this case study is to find out the best teaching method in dental education – whether is it one to one direct teaching? or is it small group discussion teaching? The article also states that the teaching skills need to be developed by a doctor and he / she should b e a competent teacher. The following personal attributes are quoted for a competent and committed medical teacher by Judy and Carol, commitment to profession, enthusiasm, sensitive to needs of students, inculcating the required professional attitude within the students, developing practical teaching skills, interest in serving as doctor as well as a teacher, openness to peer review and change his or her teaching, ability to implement formal assessment of medical students and trainees.

Evaluate Unilever's financial strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Evaluate Unilever's financial strategy - Essay Example Then the sources of Finance is analysed using Modigliani-Miller Theorem and it reveals that the debt to equity position of the organization is good and has significant impact on its market value. However, the cash position of the company is not stable and requires attention from the management. The Dividend policy of the organization is healthy and looks at wealth maximization of the shareholders. The managers are concerned about the dividend return and regularly review the dividend policies. Moreover, the economic condition is quite unstable and a sluggish growth is expected. In this regards it is recommended that the organization should give attention towards their cash position and should enhance other activities through which their profitability can be enhanced. The organization is also suggested to maintain healthy debt equity ratio, having higher debt may negatively impact their firm value. Introduction The Unilever Group started their operations in 1885 but was not established until 1930 when the business actually joined forces to create the well established business prior to the start of 20th century. The corporate vision of the organization aims towards helping the people in order to look and feel good and get more out of their life. The organization aims to create a sustainable living place and a better future through their services and brands (Unilever, 2013a). The first priority for the organization is their consumers and then comes the employees, communities and the suppliers. The organization aims to fulfil their responsibilities by serving their customers and make their shareholders eventually rewarded. Financial strategy plays a major role in the sustainability of an organization. Financial strategy is a portfolio that includes corporate strategic plans that involves financing decision and optimum investment that helps in attaining the specified objectives. It is an area of managerial policies that determines the financial and investment decisio ns, which in turn leads to the wealth maximization of the shareholders (Hill, 2009). This paper focuses on the financial strategy of the organization and provides recommendation on the basis of that. Corporate Life Cycle The Corporate life cycle can be segregated into four stages through which an organization passes. The four stages are introduction, growth, matured and decline. The introduction stage is the point where the organization first places its product and services in the market for the customers. In this stage it starts capturing the market share. The next stage is the growth stage in which the organization with the best quality product or service is at the top of the competition. The sales increases and the organization spend money in building the brand. The demands of the consumers are at the highest point. The third stage is maturity where the organization has maximised their profit and is operating at a stable place in the market. Here the organization decides whether to withdraw their product or services from the market or to bring some innovation in them such that they remain in the market. The main focus is on the sustainability of the business. The last stage is the decline stage. At this stage the organization has already introduced their new products or next generation product. The

Individual analysis of an organisation of student's choice Assignment

Individual analysis of an organisation of student's choice - Assignment Example Wal-Mart emerged as a global retailing corporation from being a local retailer with the successful implementation of a unique and undisputed supply chain and operations management system within the business. The major characteristics of the operations management of Wal-Mart which have driven the success of the company on a global platform are the unique inventory management systems, non-replicable everyday low pricing strategies, the use of high end technology and integration in the supply chain and a centralized procurement and distribution system. Wal-Mart has become the undisputed leader in the retail segment through the use of the everyday low pricing strategy which has driven high volume of sales and subsequently increased profitability for the company. Wal-Mart is acclaimed for having maintained the highest operating profit margins, inventory turnover and sales per square feet among the retail companies operating in the United States and other countries in the world. The operat ions management of Wal-Mart has played a key role in the popularity of the company and the emergence of the company as the number one retail business among many players in the retail industry. Wal-Mart as a business has both internal and external stakeholders. Both the internal as well as the external stakeholders of the company have much interest in the activities and management of the business. The internal stakeholders of Wal-Mart include the shareholders, the management and the employees of the company. On the other hand, the external stakeholder group comprises of mainly the customers, suppliers, distributors, competitors and the governments of the countries in which the stores of Wal-Mart operate. The most important internal customers are tee employees and the most critical external customers of Wal-Mart are the customers of the business. Wal-Mart is renowned for managing its human resources very well and is currently

Organizational Approaches to studying the human body Essay Example for Free

Organizational Approaches to studying the human body Essay There are seven organizational approaches to studying the human body. The first would be body planes and body directions. The body can be divided up into three sections, front and back, top to bottom, and left to right. The names of those three planes are the coronal, the transverse, and the sagittal planes. When you are studying organs or tissues you could use this approach to make sure the job gets done to the most accurate degree. Looking at the lungs, brains, and joints can be difficult sometimes so in that case you would use the body and planes approach. The body can be studied also according to the body cavity approach and by looking at the major internal organs. Most of the time that you see this approach being used the reasoning is to look deeper into the body and find disease. When conducting a physical exam on someone they may use an approach to identify where your internal organs are placed called the quadrants and regions approach. There are four quadrants, URQ, ULQ, LLQ, and LRQ. There are also nine regions. The nine regions are the right and left hypochondriac, the epigastric region, the right and left lumbar regions and the umbilical region; finally there is the right and left inguinal regions along with the hypogastric regions. This approach works the best when being given a physical exam for school sports or whatever. The next approach that may be used to study the human body would be the anatomy and physiology approach. This approach can be used for studying the structures in the body and how they react to certain things that you may or may not do on a daily basis. This approach is also good for examining and studying cells or the nervous system. Microscopic and macroscopic may sound similar but they are far different. This approach can be best exercised in looking to see how cells combine to make a larger cell. Next on the list is the body systems approach. In this approach you can easily study the circulatory system as well as the respiratory system. The last and final approach that you can study the human body with is the medical specialty approach. In this approach you are able to study the human body for medical use.

Truly Friends In High School Essay Example for Free

Truly Friends In High School Essay High school life is indeed one-of-a-kind experience. Students treasure their best memories throughout their rest life. Students’ emotions were complex when they recall memories of high school life. Memories that contained so many different things, which could let people think about the memories for countless times without any boring feelings. High school moment is the best chance to make friends for students, especially truly friends, which can talk with anything without any doubt. It is also the stage when students started to have new relations with age-mates of both sexes and begin to be mature in mind. Generally speaking, it is the stage where students fall in love for the first time. Love is always an attractive thing among human. Love is precious especially if the feeling is mutual. Love makes people feel enthusiastic, lively and inspired. When students fall in love, everything around them seem to be trivial, students are willing to do anything for the one they love. And most amazing is the first time to hand in hand, to hug, to kiss. Love is beautiful, fascinating, and also harmful. As the same, most students lost their first lover during high school life as well. Because of this, keeping a high school relationship takes a lot of energy and effort. The good thing about this is that we can use the high school love lessons later on in life. Losing lover is one of the reasons why students need truly friends, when split up with a girl or a boy, students need to talk out, truly friends will share the pain, help the upset one go through the hard time.

Globalization Barcelona Renovation

Globalization Barcelona Renovation Although many cities around the world witness the triumphs and failures of globalization in all aspects of life, Barcelona has truly been a success story. Although Barcelona is a dense city confined by the Mediterranean Sea and the mountains, it has grown to be a commercial, industrial and tourism superpower in Europe. The benefits of globalization are apparent in the dynamic metropolitan area of Barcelona, a model used for urban design and renovation of cities throughout the world. Globalization has become an inevitable progression over time, and Barcelona has embraced its ongoing growth by constructively planning for the future. The metropolitan area of Barcelona has become a center for trade, industry, commerce and tourism, with almost four million residents. To prepare for the 1992 Olympic Games held in Barcelona, the city went through drastic transformations in urban development with hopes of becoming one of Europes economic superpowers. Now, Barcelona is becoming an exemplar city for its style and synthesis of urban design and innovation. Projects such as [emailprotected] Barcelona, an efficient infrastructure organization, the refurbishment of city beaches and port areas, the construction of pleasing and practical public spaces, the melting pot of world cultures and other revitalization plans have helped globalize Barcelona and make it the â€Å"capital of the Mediterranean† (Rossi). One project helping Barcelona continue to globalize and expand its knowledge is the [emailprotected] Barcelona innovation district. In the area of Poblenou, a neighborhood that was once occupied entirely by industrial buildings and factories, a complete transformation is underway to recreate 115 blocks of â€Å"modern spaces for the strategic concentration of intensive knowledge-based activities† (â€Å"Presentation†). Two hundred hectares of land in Poblenou will be renovated in order to allow for more living, working and learning spaces. According to the [emailprotected] Barcelona website, 53% of the neighborhood has begun transformation and many new companies are relocating their businesses to the new knowledge hub of the city. â€Å"The [emailprotected] project has likewise been warmly received, according to a research carried out by the University of Barcelona in June 2007, by the business community: 925 firms have already established in the [emailprotected] district or are in the process of building their corporate HQs there. More than 50% of the companies that have moved to the [emailprotected] district since 2001 belong to one of the four strategic [emailprotected] sectors: media, ITC, MedTech or energy† (â€Å"Current State†). The area of Poblenou has a designated â‚ ¬180 million in public investment, which will give the neighborhood access to innovative technology still nonexistent in many other globalizing cities. Green spaces, digital districts and tight-knit communities of buildings are just some of the inventive concepts that are being developed in Poblenou. Once the urban, economic and social renovations have been completed, the neighborhood will be transformed into a modern, unique environment for all aspects of daily life (â€Å"Presentation†). Like the neighborhood of Poblenou, Barcelonas infrastructure is constantly being upgraded and expanded. For example, Plaà §a de les Glà ²ries Catalanes is being completely reconstructed to include an underground train station, which will rival Plaza Cataluà ±a as a popular transportation center in the city. The fundamental structure of Barcelona includes a group of efficient transportation elements, including metro systems, airport expansions, sewage improvements, bus routes, highways and railroads. Barcelona has such a well-organized, logical setup for its infrastructure throughout the city, making the city once again a prototype for urban design which other cities have proposed to duplicate. â€Å"One of Barcelonas more outstanding characteristics is that its port, airport, railroad terminal for goods, highway networks and huge logistics area are all activities set in the same geographical space. This makes Barcelona highly internationalised, occupying a strategic position in t he world-wide transport network, and a key hub for trade with Asia† (Alarcon). The infrastructure in Barcelona is an important benefit of globalization because it organizes transportation to save time and avoid congestion of persons. Unlike other cities, Barcelona has public transportation centers on almost every block, whether it includes buses, metros, ferrocarrils or tunnels. This accessibility is imperative for residents, visitors and all people traveling through Barcelona because the infrastructure is time efficient and uncomplicated. Many other cities around the world would benefit from examining Barcelonas infrastructure design, which is frequently being revamped to keep up with the changes brought about by globalization and the needs of the people. Of all the renovations completed in Barcelona, the restoration of city beaches and the enlargement of port areas have helped increase tourism and turn the eyes of the people back to the sea. Huge additions to the port have been made including: a new bridge to facilitate transportation of trucks carrying cargo, extending piers to allow for more cargo ships to dock, and the destruction of industrial buildings along the beach to once again make the sea an attraction. â€Å"The past 10 years have seen a huge transformation of both port and city, as the municipal government sought to develop Barcelonas holiday and pleasure sailing reputation in tandem with traditional commercial activities. The boom in Barcelonas commercial centres has both invigorated (and itself been further promoted) with the desire to revise the citys maritime traditions† (Alarcon). Port Olympic and the Maremagnum marina are new economic hotspots near the beach, which appeal to both residents and tourists with restaurants, bars, an aquarium and movie theaters. The port, one of Barcelonas most essential places for trade, is in the process of extending its piers to increase the frequency of trade and tourism by building more docking areas for cargo boats and cruise liners. The beaches are one of Barcelonas main attractions, which have been nearly restored to their original beauty without the deterring industrial buildings that once lined the shore. These transformations, which have been underway or completed since 1992, have increased tourism and productivity of trade in Barcelona. Both of these aspects of globalization are extremely important to the city so that it can grow and attract more investors. The innovative additions to the beach and port areas will benefit Barcelonas economy, tourism and their position in the world market. If improving the coastline will help attract more tourists to the beach, improving public spaces, park areas and dilapidated buildings will help attract more residents to the city. Globalization has led Barcelona to realize its confinement between the Mediterranean Sea and the mountains, leaving a highly dense population situated in-between that continues to grow. For that reason, the Barcelona model had planned for inevitable expansion of the city. Instead of spreading further out into the suburbs like most cities, Barcelona began the â€Å"layered multiple use† of land to build vertically opposed to horizontally (Rossi). â€Å"Across the city, parks spread out atop new highway tunnels. Parking lots hide under squares. Seventeenth-century convents are turned into libraries and cultural centers, palaces are transformed into hotels, museums sprout from former textile factories† (Rossi). Every inch of land in Barcelona has a purpose, and the city is praised for its abilit y to find the problems that exist in decaying buildings or empty spaces and repair them to make the area more eye-catching. For example, the area of El Raval was always known for its immigrant population, drug deals and prostitutes. After careful planning by the city to create a rambla in the center, add more squares throughout the neighborhood, and build the Centre de Cultura Contemporà  nia de Barcelona (CCCB), restaurants, businesses and people all want to buy space in El Raval. Besides making Barcelona more beautiful, these ongoing changes have also made the city more well-organized and useful. Cranes and angle cutters can be seen and heard throughout Barcelona, which is just a reminder that the city is working hard to keep Barcelona up-to-date with globalization needs and a constantly growing population. As the population in Barcelona increases, it is easy to see the mix of colors, races and languages that have become commonplace in this international city. For almost a century between 1850 and 1950, Spain was mainly an emigrating nation. Approximately 3.5 million people, especially temporary workers, emigrated to Argentina, Cuba, Uruguay and Brazil. However, in the late 1980s Spain became a country of immigration due to â€Å"the end of guest worker programs, the closing of the borders of traditional receiving countries, such as Germany, Switzerland, and France, the political evolution from authoritarian regimes, their proximity to the sending countries in the Maghreb, and the intense historical and economic bonds between both shores of the Mediterranean† (Ortega Pà ©rez). In 1999, the foreign-born population was 2.09% (89,744 people), but by 2005, the number of foreign inhabitants had increased to 11.13% with 531,040 people (Roca Cladera). Neighborhoods like El Raval are ho me to large numbers of immigrants, especially those from North Africa, Pakistan and Muslim communities. Projects such as the Universal Forum of Cultures, which promote human rights, cultural diversity and peace, have been established to accommodate the melting pot of cultures in the international community. â€Å"In order to promote a culturally diverse society, a series of policies have been deployed to fight the poverty and social exclusion that often go hand in hand with immigration, provide the resources required for the development of different communities in Catalonia, and, above all, encourage intercultural encounters† (Lachmann). Although Barcelona has struggled with racism and discrimination against immigrant communities, globalization has made Spain, and especially Catalonia, a desirable destination for immigrants from around the globe. The city boasts hundreds of restaurants with cuisines from every country, places for prayer for numerous religions, and cultural ce nters for the integration of immigrants. As the world becomes increasingly interconnected due to globalization and the ease of travel, immigration populations will continue to rise. Barcelona has dealt with the inevitable process of globalization by paying attention to details throughout the city, by maintaining what already exists and building what is needed for the future. From protecting the historical significance of a park bench to lining a lackluster street with palm trees, every corner in the city has been touched by globalization and yet still continues to function properly and look good. Barcelonas urban design has been used as a model for city development around the globe, due to its comprehensive planning and meticulous attention to every element of the city. According to architect Lord Richard Rogers, â€Å"Barcelona is the jewel of the crown of urban regeneration† (Rossi). Globalization has been an amazing benefit to Barcelona, because of its ability to keep up with the ever-changing, constantly growing needs of a metropolitan city. As a model for urban development and design, Barcelona has been praised for its ability to keep pace with the process of globalization, by revitalizing areas around the city and integrating them together into one functional community. The intensification of Barcelonas infrastructure development as well as the multi-layered use for expansion has helped the city to globalize, while affectively using every piece of available land for a planned residential development, park, square or office building. Without the benefit of globalization that has changed Barcelonas reputation from a run-down port town to a innovative model for designing and renovating cities, projects such as [emailprotected] Barcelona would be inconceivable and difficult to achieve. Barcelona has become a meeting place for cultures from around the world, as well as an immigration magnet for people from North Africa, South America and other emigrating nations. The new enticement created by port and beach renovations that were completed for the 1992 Olympic Games have increased tourism and turned the eyes of the city back to the Mediterranean Sea. Only time can tell how Barcelona will progress in the international spectrum of globalization, but the modern revitalization of the city has been an immense benefit for Barcelona, its visitors, and its people. Works Cited Alarcon, Jose. â€Å"Barcelonas port goes for massive growth.† International Market News. 01 Mar 2001. Trade Development Council. 6 Dec 2007 . â€Å"Current State.† [emailprotected] Barcelona. 2006. Ajuntament de Barcelona. 6 Dec 2007 . Lachmann, Joseph. â€Å"The Universal Forum of Cultures considers immigration as a source of social enrichment.† 09 Aug 2004. Herald Tribe. 7 Dec 2007 . Muenz, Rainer. â€Å"Europe: Population and Migration in 2005.† Feature Story. June 2006. Migration Policy Institute. 7 Dec 2007 . Ortega Pà ©rez, Nieves. â€Å"Spain: Forging an Immigration Policy.† Country Profiles. Feb 2003. Migration Policy Institute. 10 Dec 2007 . â€Å"Preamble.† Mobility pact. Ajuntament de Barcelona. 6 Dec 2007 . â€Å"Presentation.† [emailprotected] Barcelona. 2006. Ajuntament de Barcelona. 6 Dec 2007 . Roca Cladera, Josep. â€Å"Residential mobility and foreign immigration settlement in the Metropolitan area of Barcelona.† Sixth European Urban and Regional Studies Conference. 7 Dec 2007 . Rossi, Melissa. â€Å"The Barcelona Model.† IES Barcelona. 02 Feb 2004. IES Barcelona. 6 Dec 2007 .

Comparing Two Advertisements :: Adverts, Compare and Contrast

Comparing Advertisements For this comparison I have chosen to compare two car adverts. The first advert I chose was from the car magazine "Autocar" and this is an advert for a Chrysler PT Cruiser. The second advert I chose was from the "Sunday Times" and this is for a Fiat Ulysse. I chose these two adverts because I feel that they will be good compare as they have similarities and differences so there are many things I can comment about. There is a big difference in the sale tactics of the 2 adverts. The Fiat is a soft sell advert because there is no reference to the price of the car or any statistics about the car where as the Chrysler advert displays the price in big numbers at the top of the advert and it also refers to the fuel consumption of the car. This shows that the 2 adverts use different tactics to advertise and sell the car. I think that the target audience for these cars are the same; both of these cars are family cars. Both of the cars are designed to be comfortable and safe, they are not advertised to be fast sports cars or stylish city cars; they are advertised as normal cars. In both of the adverts there is no real reference towards the performance of the car apart from in the Chrysler where there is a reference to the fuel consumption of the car but this backs up the point that the Chrysler is a car for a sensible family person because that is the kind of person who would show interest in the economics of the car. Both of the adverts have main points that they want you to focus on as soon as you look at them, on the Chrysler advert the first thing they want you to focus on is the name of the car and the price which are both in bold font at the top of the page, the Fiat wants you to focus on the name of the car which is written in huge letters diagonally

The pearl Essay -- essays research papers

The Pearl In the novel, The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, we meet Kino, his wife, Juana and their baby, Coyotitio. Kino’s family lives in a grass hut in the poor, fishing village of La Paz, Mexico in the 1920’s. Their lives are disrupted when a vicious scorpion bites Coyotito. The only way that they can get help were they live is to have enough money to pay the local doctor. Kino goes pearl diving and discovers a pearl that is worth â€Å"millions.† It appears that Kino has gone from having nothing to being able to get whatever his dreams desire. But in literature, as in life, things are not always as they appear to be, and the pearl ends up bringing them things that they never expected.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Kino has lived a hard life. He works hard and gets very little out of it. His fa...

The Last Day :: essays papers

The Last Day Confusion raced through her mind. The other life was just an action away. She didn’t want to be here anymore and she was ready to leave. She was tired of always getting hurt; nothing could be worse than the life she was living. Sure, there were people who loved her, but she didn’t love herself enough to stay here. All of the pain would stop with just one or two strokes of the blade against her wrists. Tristyn picks up the phone and dials a number she has dialed everyday for the past two years. â€Å"Hey girl!† Wendy says as she answers the phone. â€Å"Hey.† replies Tristyn. â€Å"I’m gonna have to call you back; I’m on the other line.† â€Å"No, it’s alright. Just one question†¦how do you slit your wrists? Is it sideways or up and down?† â€Å"I did it sideways, but you are supposed to do it up and down on the main artery.† â€Å"Alright, bye.† She hangs up the phone and sits for a minute. Everything would be so much easier if I just weren’t here anymore. I wouldn’t have to see her everyday and know that I can’t have her. Will everyone understand that I had to do this? I hate to hurt people but I just can’t take this pain anymore. I just hope that everyone understands, but at least I won’t be here to hear everyone talking about how stupid I was to take my life. They just don’t understand. Emili walks into the room and looks at the girl she used to love. â€Å"You can’t do this Tristyn! I’ll call the cops right now!† says Emili. â€Å"The cops aren’t going to do *censored* to me! Just go pack your stuff and leave me alone!! You don’t care anyway!† Tristyn shouts. All Tristyn can do is lay on the couch and cry. She prays that her mom can understand why she had to do this. She doubts that she will. Tristyn lies on the tan nubuck leather couch her mom bought her and reflects on her life and all that has happened to lead her to this low point. Tristyn had always been given all the things she ever wanted or needed. Her mom had always made sure that she never did without. Tristyn hoped that her mom did not blame herself for any of this. There was no one to blame but herself, she knew that, for getting pulled in once again, only to be hurt for the final time.

A Game of Thrones Chapter Fifty-eight

Eddard The straw on the floor stank of urine. There was no window, no bed, not even a slop bucket. He remembered walls of pale red stone festooned with patches of nitre, a grey door of splintered wood, four inches thick and studded with iron. He had seen them, briefly, a quick glimpse as they shoved him inside. Once the door had slammed shut, he had seen no more. The dark was absolute. He had as well been blind. Or dead. Buried with his king. â€Å"Ah, Robert,† he murmured as his groping hand touched a cold stone wall, his leg throbbing with every motion. He remembered the jest the king had shared in the crypts of Winterfell, as the Kings of Winter looked on with cold stone eyes. The king eats, Robert had said, and the Hand takes the shit. How he had laughed. Yet he had gotten it wrong. The king dies, Ned Stark thought, and the Hand is buried. The dungeon was under the Red Keep, deeper than he dared imagine. He remembered the old stories about Maegor the Cruel, who murdered all the masons who labored on his castle, so they might never reveal its secrets. He damned them all: Littlefinger, Janos Slynt and his gold cloaks, the queen, the Kingslayer, Pycelle and Varys and Ser Barristan, even Lord Renly, Robert's own blood, who had run when he was needed most. Yet in the end he blamed himself. â€Å"Fool,† he cried to the darkness, â€Å"thrice-damned blind fool.† Cersei Lannister's face seemed to float before him in the darkness. Her hair was full of sunlight, but there was mockery in her smile. â€Å"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die,† she whispered. Ned had played and lost, and his men had paid the price of his folly with their life's blood. When he thought of his daughters, he would have wept gladly, but the tears would not come. Even now, he was a Stark of Winterfell, and his grief and his rage froze hard inside him. When he kept very still, his leg did not hurt so much, so he did his best to lie unmoving. For how long he could not say. There was no sun and no moon. He could not see to mark the walls. Ned closed his eyes and opened them; it made no difference. He slept and woke and slept again. He did not know which was more painful, the waking or the sleeping. When he slept, he dreamed: dark disturbing dreams of blood and broken promises. When he woke, there was nothing to do but think, and his waking thoughts were worse than nightmares. The thought of Cat was as painful as a bed of nettles. He wondered where she was, what she was doing. He wondered whether he would ever see her again. Hours turned to days, or so it seemed. He could feel a dull ache in his shattered leg, an itch beneath the plaster. When he touched his thigh, the flesh was hot to his fingers. The only sound was his breathing. After a time, he began to talk aloud, just to hear a voice. He made plans to keep himself sane, built castles of hope in the dark. Robert's brothers were out in the world, raising armies at Dragonstone and Storm's End. Alyn and Harwin would return to King's Landing with the rest of his household guard once they had dealt with Ser Gregor. Catelyn would raise the north when the word reached her, and the lords of river and mountain and Vale would join her. He found himself thinking of Robert more and more. He saw the king as he had been in the flower of his youth, tall and handsome, his great antlered helm on his head, his warhammer in hand, sitting his horse like a horned god. He heard his laughter in the dark, saw his eyes, blue and clear as mountain lakes. â€Å"Look at us, Ned,† Robert said. â€Å"Gods, how did we come to this? You here, and me killed by a pig. We won a throne together . . . â€Å" I failed you, Robert, Ned thought. He could not say the words. I lied to you, hid the truth. I let them kill you. The king heard him. â€Å"You stiff-necked fool,† he muttered, â€Å"too proud to listen. Can you eat pride, Stark? Will honor shield your children?† Cracks ran down his face, fissures opening in the flesh, and he reached up and ripped the mask away. It was not Robert at all; it was Littlefinger, grinning, mocking him. When he opened his mouth to speak, his lies turned to pale grey moths and took wing. Ned was half-asleep when the footsteps came down the hall. At first he thought he dreamt them; it had been so long since he had heard anything but the sound of his own voice. Ned was feverish by then, his leg a dull agony, his lips parched and cracked. When the heavy wooden door creaked open, the sudden light was painful to his eyes. A gaoler thrust a jug at him. The clay was cool and beaded with moisture. Ned grasped it with both hands and gulped eagerly. Water ran from his mouth and dripped down through his beard. He drank until he thought he would be sick. â€Å"How long . . . ?† he asked weakly when he could drink no more. The gaoler was a scarecrow of a man with a rat's face and frayed beard, clad in a mail shirt and a leather half cape. â€Å"No talking,† he said as he wrenched the jug from Ned's hands. â€Å"Please,† Ned said, â€Å"my daughters . . . † The door crashed shut. He blinked as the light vanished, lowered his head to his chest, and curled up on the straw. It no longer stank of urine and shit. It no longer smelled at all. He could no longer tell the difference between waking and sleeping. The memory came creeping upon him in the darkness, as vivid as a dream. It was the year of false spring, and he was eighteen again, down from the Eyrie to the tourney at Harrenhal. He could see the deep green of the grass, and smell the pollen on the wind. Warm days and cool nights and the sweet taste of wine. He remembered Brandon's laughter, and Robert's berserk valor in the melee, the way he laughed as he unhorsed men left and right. He remembered Jaime Lannister, a golden youth in scaled white armor, kneeling on the grass in front of the king's pavilion and making his vows to protect and defend King Aerys. Afterward, Ser Oswell Whent helped Jaime to his feet, and the White Bull himself, Lord Commander Ser Gerold Hightower, fastened the snowy cloak of the Kingsguard about his shoulders. All six White Swords were there to welcome their newest brother. Yet when the jousting began, the day belonged to Rhaegar Targaryen. The crown prince wore the armor he would die in: gleaming black plate with the three-headed dragon of his House wrought in rubies on the breast. A plume of scarlet silk streamed behind him when he rode, and it seemed no lance could touch him. Brandon fell to him, and Bronze Yohn Royce, and even the splendid Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning. Robert had been jesting with Jon and old Lord Hunter as the prince circled the field after unhorsing Ser Barristan in the final tilt to claim the champion's crown. Ned remembered the moment when all the smiles died, when Prince Rhaegar Targaryen urged his horse past his own wife, the Dornish princess Elia Martell, to lay the queen of beauty's laurel in Lyanna's lap. He could see it still: a crown of winter roses, blue as frost. Ned Stark reached out his hand to grasp the flowery crown, but beneath the pale blue petals the thorns lay hidden. He felt them clawing at his skin, sharp and cruel, saw the slow trickle of blood run down his fingers, and woke, trembling, in the dark. Promise me, Ned, his sister had whispered from her bed of blood. She had loved the scent of winter roses. â€Å"Gods save me,† Ned wept. â€Å"I am going mad.† The gods did not deign to answer. Each time the turnkey brought him water, he told himself another day had passed. At first he would beg the man for some word of his daughters and the world beyond his cell. Grunts and kicks were his only replies. Later, when the stomach cramps began, he begged for food instead. It made no matter; he was not fed. Perhaps the Lannisters meant for him to starve to death. â€Å"No,† he told himself. If Cersei had wanted him dead, he would have been cut down in the throne room with his men. She wanted him alive. Weak, desperate, yet alive. Catelyn held her brother; she dare not kill him or the Imp's life would be forfeit as well. From outside his cell came the rattle of iron chains. As the door creaked open, Ned put a hand to the damp wall and pushed himself toward the light. The glare of a torch made him squint. â€Å"Food,† he croaked. â€Å"Wine,† a voice answered. It was not the rat-faced man; this gaoler was stouter, shorter, though he wore the same leather half cape and spiked steel cap. â€Å"Drink, Lord Eddard.† He thrust a wineskin into Ned's hands. The voice was strangely familiar, yet it took Ned Stark a moment to place it. â€Å"Varys?† he said groggily when it came. He touched the man's face. â€Å"I'm not . . . not dreaming this. You're here.† The eunuch's plump cheeks were covered with a dark stubble of beard. Ned felt the coarse hair with his fingers. Varys had transformed himself into a grizzled turnkey, reeking of sweat and sour wine. â€Å"How did you . . . what sort of magician are you?† â€Å"A thirsty one,† Varys said. â€Å"Drink, my lord.† Ned's hands fumbled at the skin. â€Å"Is this the same poison they gave Robert?† â€Å"You wrong me,† Varys said sadly. â€Å"Truly, no one loves a eunuch. Give me the skin.† He drank, a trickle of red leaking from the corner of his plump mouth. â€Å"Not the equal of the vintage you offered me the night of the tourney, but no more poisonous than most,† he concluded, wiping his lips. â€Å"Here.† Ned tried a swallow. â€Å"Dregs.† He felt as though he were about to bring the wine back up. â€Å"All men must swallow the sour with the sweet. High lords and eunuchs alike. Your hour has come, my lord.† â€Å"My daughters . . . â€Å" â€Å"The younger girl escaped Ser Meryn and fled,† Varys told him. â€Å"I have not been able to find her. Nor have the Lannisters. A kindness, there. Our new king loves her not. Your older girl is still betrothed to Joffrey. Cersei keeps her close. She came to court a few days ago to plead that you be spared. A pity you couldn't have been there, you would have been touched.† He leaned forward intently. â€Å"I trust you realize that you are a dead man, Lord Eddard?† â€Å"The queen will not kill me,† Ned said. His head swam; the wine was strong, and it had been too long since he'd eaten. â€Å"Cat . . . Cat holds her brother . . . â€Å" â€Å"The wrong brother,† Varys sighed. â€Å"And lost to her, in any case. She let the Imp slip through her fingers. I expect he is dead by now, somewhere in the Mountains of the Moon.† â€Å"If that is true, slit my throat and have done with it.† He was dizzy from the wine, tired and heartsick. â€Å"Your blood is the last thing I desire.† Ned frowned. â€Å"When they slaughtered my guard, you stood beside the queen and watched, and said not a word.† â€Å"And would again. I seem to recall that I was unarmed, unarmored, and surrounded by Lannister swords.† The eunuch looked at him curiously, tilting his head. â€Å"When I was a young boy, before I was cut, I traveled with a troupe of mummers through the Free Cities. They taught me that each man has a role to play, in life as well as mummery. So it is at court. The King's Justice must be fearsome, the master of coin must be frugal, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard must be valiant . . . and the master of whisperers must be sly and obsequious and without scruple. A courageous informer would be as useless as a cowardly knight.† He took the wineskin back and drank. Ned studied the eunuch's face, searching for truth beneath the mummer's scars and false stubble. He tried some more wine. This time it went down easier. â€Å"Can you free me from this pit?† â€Å"I could . . . but will I? No. Questions would be asked, and the answers would lead back to me.† Ned had expected no more. â€Å"You are blunt.† â€Å"A eunuch has no honor, and a spider does not enjoy the luxury of scruples, my lord.† â€Å"Would you at least consent to carry a message out for me?† â€Å"That would depend on the message. I will gladly provide you with paper and ink, if you like. And when you have written what you will, I will take the letter and read it, and deliver it or not, as best serves my own ends.† â€Å"Your own ends. What ends are those, Lord Varys?† â€Å"Peace,† Varys replied without hesitation. â€Å"If there was one soul in King's Landing who was truly desperate to keep Robert Baratheon alive, it was me.† He sighed. â€Å"For fifteen years I protected him from his enemies, but I could not protect him from his friends. What strange fit of madness led you to tell the queen that you had learned the truth of Joffrey's birth?† â€Å"The madness of mercy,† Ned admitted. â€Å"Ah,† said Varys. â€Å"To be sure. You are an honest and honorable man, Lord Eddard. Ofttimes I forget that. I have met so few of them in my life.† He glanced around the cell. â€Å"When I see what honesty and honor have won you, I understand why.† Ned Stark laid his head back against the damp stone wall and closed his eyes. His leg was throbbing. â€Å"The king's wine . . . did you question Lancel?† â€Å"Oh, indeed. Cersei gave him the wineskins, and told him it was Robert's favorite vintage.† The eunuch shrugged. â€Å"A hunter lives a perilous life. If the boar had not done for Robert, it would have been a fall from a horse, the bite of a wood adder, an arrow gone astray . . . the forest is the abbatoir of the gods. It was not wine that killed the king. It was your mercy.† Ned had feared as much. â€Å"Gods forgive me.† â€Å"If there are gods,† Varys said, â€Å"I expect they will. The queen would not have waited long in any case. Robert was becoming unruly, and she needed to be rid of him to free her hands to deal with his brothers. They are quite a pair, Stannis and Renly. The iron gauntlet and the silk glove.† He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. â€Å"You have been foolish, my lord. You ought to have heeded Littlefinger when he urged you to support Joffrey's succession.† â€Å"How . . . how could you know of that?† Varys smiled. â€Å"I know, that's all that need concern you. I also know that on the morrow the queen will pay you a visit.† Slowly Ned raised his eyes. â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Cersei is frightened of you, my lord . . . but she has other enemies she fears even more. Her beloved Jaime is fighting the river lords even now. Lysa Arryn sits in the Eyrie, ringed in stone and steel, and there is no love lost between her and the queen. In Dorne, the Martells still brood on the murder of Princess Elia and her babes. And now your son marches down the Neck with a northern host at his back.† â€Å"Robb is only a boy,† Ned said, aghast. â€Å"A boy with an army,† Varys said. â€Å"Yet only a boy, as you say. The king's brothers are the ones giving Cersei sleepless nights . . . Lord Stannis in particular. His claim is the true one, he is known for his prowess as a battle commander, and he is utterly without mercy. There is no creature on earth half so terrifying as a truly just man. No one knows what Stannis has been doing on Dragonstone, but I will wager you that he's gathered more swords than seashells. So here is Cersei's nightmare: while her father and brother spend their power battling Starks and Tullys, Lord Stannis will land, proclaim himself king, and lop off her son's curly blond head . . . and her own in the bargain, though I truly believe she cares more about the boy.† â€Å"Stannis Baratheon is Robert's true heir,† Ned said. â€Å"The throne is his by rights. I would welcome his ascent.† Varys tsked. â€Å"Cersei will not want to hear that, I promise you. Stannis may win the throne, but only your rotting head will remain to cheer unless you guard that tongue of yours. Sansa begged so sweetly, it would be a shame if you threw it all away. You are being given your life back, if you'll take it. Cersei is no fool. She knows a tame wolf is of more use than a dead one.† â€Å"You want me to serve the woman who murdered my king, butchered my men, and crippled my son?† Ned's voice was thick with disbelief. â€Å"I want you to serve the realm,† Varys said. â€Å"Tell the queen that you will confess your vile treason, command your son to lay down his sword, and proclaim Joffrey as the true heir. Offer to denounce Stannis and Renly as faithless usurpers. Our green-eyed lioness knows you are a man of honor. If you will give her the peace she needs and the time to deal with Stannis, and pledge to carry her secret to your grave, I believe she will allow you to take the black and live out the rest of your days on the Wall, with your brother and that baseborn son of yours.† The thought of Jon filled Ned with a sense of shame, and a sorrow too deep for words. If only he could see the boy again, sit and talk with him . . . pain shot through his broken leg, beneath the filthy grey plaster of his cast. He winced, his fingers opening and closing helplessly. â€Å"Is this your own scheme,† he gasped out at Varys, â€Å"or are you in league with Littlefinger?† That seemed to amuse the eunuch. â€Å"I would sooner wed the Black Goat of Qohor. Littlefinger is the second most devious man in the Seven Kingdoms. Oh, I feed him choice whispers, sufficient so that he thinks I am his . . . just as I allow Cersei to believe I am hers.† â€Å"And just as you let me believe that you were mine. Tell me, Lord Varys, who do you truly serve?† Varys smiled thinly. â€Å"Why, the realm, my good lord, how ever could you doubt that? I swear it by my lost manhood. I serve the realm, and the realm needs peace.† He finished the last swallow of wine, and tossed the empty skin aside. â€Å"So what is your answer, Lord Eddard? Give me your word that you'll tell the queen what she wants to hear when she comes calling.† â€Å"If I did, my word would be as hollow as an empty suit of armor. My life is not so precious to me as that.† â€Å"Pity.† The eunuch stood. â€Å"And your daughter's life, my lord? How precious is that?† A chill pierced Ned's heart. â€Å"My daughter . . . â€Å" â€Å"Surely you did not think I'd forgotten about your sweet innocent, my lord? The queen most certainly has not.† â€Å"No,† Ned pleaded, his voice cracking. â€Å"Varys, gods have mercy, do as you like with me, but leave my daughter out of your schemes. Sansa's no more than a child.† â€Å"Rhaenys was a child too. Prince Rhaegar's daughter. A precious little thing, younger than your girls. She had a small black kitten she called Balerion, did you know? I always wondered what happened to him. Rhaenys liked to pretend he was the true Balerion, the Black Dread of old, but I imagine the Lannisters taught her the difference between a kitten and a dragon quick enough, the day they broke down her door.† Varys gave a long weary sigh, the sigh of a man who carried all the sadness of the world in a sack upon his shoulders. â€Å"The High Septon once told me that as we sin, so do we suffer. If that's true, Lord Eddard, tell me . . . why is it always the innocents who suffer most, when you high lords play your game of thrones? Ponder it, if you would, while you wait upon the queen. And spare a thought for this as well: The next visitor who calls on you could bring you bread and cheese and the milk of the poppy for your pain . . . or he could bring you Sansa's head. â€Å"The choice, my dear lord Hand, is entirely yours.†