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Legislative Critique of the Maritime Transportation Security Act 2002 and the S.A.F.E. Port Act of 2006.
There are two significant pieces of legislation that impact maritime security in the United States. These include the Maritime Transportation Security Act 2002 and the S.A.F.E. Port Act of 2006.
For this assignment, you are to conduct a graduate level Legislative Critique of these two pieces of legislation. To do this critique perform the following steps:
. Obtain a copy of the piece of legislation to be examined. (MTSA and S.A.F.E. Port Act of 2006)
2. Collect and analyze news media reports on the legislation.
3. Collect and analyze any other critiques of the legislation. (i.e. Think tanks, academics, etc)
4. Collect and analyze available witness testimony with regard to the legislation.
To compose a legislative critique students should compose an analysis based upon the following points:
• Provide a brief legislative history of the Bills. (No more that 500 words – USE WORD ECONOMY)!
• Determine if the Bills focus was introduced in the past under a different name and/or format. If so, evaluate why the legislation was discarded.
• Summarize the main points of each bill in your own words (but supported by citation as appropriate)
• Evaluate and categorize the strengths and weaknesses of the individual legislation, then compared against each other.
• Conclude with a final assessment of both pieces of legislation including SPECIFIC recommendations that could be considered to enhance the security framework that has been established.
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Slavery during the constitutional convention History Essay Admission Essay
INSTRUCTIONS:
How did the question of slavery emerge as a national issue by the time of the Revolution and the Constitutional Convention. Ultimately, how did the Constitution deal with the question of slavery? Do you find this to be an effective solution? Why/why not?
The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia met between May and September of 1787 to address the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation. The United States Constitution that emerged from the convention established a federal government with more specific powers, including those related to conducting relations with foreign governments.
Under the reformed federal system, many of the responsibilities for foreign affairs fell under the authority of an executive branch, although important powers, such as treaty ratification, remained the responsibility of the legislative branch. After the necessary number of state ratifications, the Constitution came into effect in 1789 and has served as the basis of the United States Government ever since.
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Analysis of Gun Free Zones
Abstract
A gun-free zone is an area within or around a school or places where only the police and military have access to weapons. Historical occurrences have brought into perspective the safety of people in areas categorized as gun free zones. These areas are presumed safe environments and people are not allowed to bring guns or other weapons.
The gun-free school act was passed in 1990 by the United States Congress to protect people within and around learning institutions from any possibility of violence associated with firearms. Before adopting this law, violent behaviors were common in schools; however, the implementation of the act in 1990 has not been effective to curtail firearm-related violence in places where guns are not allowed.
Introduction
The mass shooting in public places regarded as safe has generated so much heat. In 1984 for instance, a security officer killed twenty one people at McDonalds, while in 1999, two assailants killed thirteen students at Columbine High School before committing suicide. These places were regarded as safe since they are open to the public, military installation and as such firearms are prohibited. It has been speculated that to control such mass killings, it is necessary to enforce restrictive regulations that make it increasingly impossible to get firearms (Lenn, 2014).
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This led states to enact controversial regulations allowing Citizens to Carry Concealed Weapon (CCW) license. CCW holders are permitted to carry guns in public areas but prohibited from using in gun-free zones such as learning institutions, athletic events, parking zones, casinos, hospitals, among others. The penalty for breaching gun-free zone act differs across various states. While it is an offense that leads to the lose of the permit in some states, the license can be suspended for several years in others. The paper evaluates the history of gun free zones in the US.
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History or origin of when 1st established.
A Gun-Free Zone Act is a law enacted by the federal government of the United States to prohibit citizens from carrying or using firearms in areas that earmarked as public places such as learning institution, hospitals, stadiums, cinema halls, parking zones, casinos and so forth. The gun-free zone was initiated in October 1990 by Joseph Biden and became law in November 1990 as section 1702 of the Crime Control Act.
Additionally, the gun-free zone law empowers all school districts to implement policies to ensure that educators and students are safe from not only guns but also risky weapons. Due to the success of the drug-free zone, some local districts have implemented gun-free zones in learning institutions. In most cases, zero tolerance reforms associated with severe sanctions such as the expulsion of learners found with guns or other weapons were adopted.
The gun-free zone has been a success in various states including Washington, California, Pennsylvanian, and Missouri. Subsequently, the National School Safety Center, health facilities, and public areas regard gun-free zone as an efficient approach to curbing violence as well as preventing criminal activities (Cheng & Hockstra, 2012).
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Why we have them
Gun control is a serious issue in virtually every area of America, and developing a course of action to guarantee the safety issues and constitution rights is not an easy task. Nonetheless, in the framework of community safety, gun-free zones are fundamental segments of any legislative efforts to leverage competing interests in the gun control discussion. Gun-free zones are critical when it comes to striking a balance in firearms policy which assures individuals of their safety to function without drastically trampling firearm ownership rights.
While it may sound unbelievable to ignore that gun-associated violence has happened in selected gun-free zones previously, allowing this outlier to discredit this issue of policy would be equally outrageous because gun-free zones, similar to the weapons-associated parameter, is required to manage the usual expectable facets of firearm possession in any given region. While dangerous incidences of gun assaults, or lawless actions, cannot be genuinely thwarted by any laws, however, gun-free-zones help assure a sense of safety for all of a place of non-extreme conditions (Lenn, 2014).
Some people hold the view that codes of practice such as gun-free zones orchestrated to formulate an assurance of security are not worth undermining gun possession rights, it is precisely the safety of this sense of security that makes such designations critical for the community. Gun-free-zones are mainly implemented by public institutions, as such, it becomes intricate for some people to argue with the declaration that students feel safe and secure while in schools.
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In particular institutions, firearms are only prohibited in dwelling dens as well as dining halls. However those with CCW permits are in position to carry their weapons around campuses so long as they have the required documentations. Of course, gun-free zones should be implemented within higher learning institutions because gun prohibition does to include classrooms at the moment.
A streamlined sense of protection must be the basic component of creating an effective environment for learning (Kingsbury et al. 2007). Such regulations on possession of guns are aimed at ensuring the safety of every citizen while pursuing learning. Much as some may consider law enforcement as repressive and persecution, the truth of the matter is that gun-free law can help guarantee the safety of students and educators on school grounds, and buildings.
Tempering the degree of constitutional freedom like those secured by the Second Amendment is challenging though gun-free zones present a strategy to provide the required balance between owners and those who do not own guns. Possession of firearms has statistically demonstrated the danger of public areas based on the perspective of ownership. Moreover, while the constitutional freedom may not be denied, there is the need for reasonable security in public places like schools, for those who choose not carry firearms.
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Issues with them, good and bad
The Congress has tried to overlook the significance of gun-free zones in schools across the US as informed by the Second Amendmend. Nonetheless, the impact of this law on gun owners is minimal. Apparently, anti-gun supporters have failed to ensure gun prohibition since they believe it has minimal effects. On the other hand, gun owners cry foul on any legislation limiting their rights. However, the Second Amendment alleges that individual’s right to carry or own firearms will not be violated.
Much as supporters of Second Amendments believe that gun-free zone has minimal impact, they discount its significance by forecasting that it’s likely to be pronounced unconstitutional by the court. Consequently, Republicans believe that the court will support the gun-free zone.
Some of the issues associated with the gun-free zones include;
Sweeping legislation
The gun-free zone creates an area that is approximately half mile weapon free around each school in the US. Individuals carrying firearms within such areas may face imprisonment of five years unless they have met the government’s intended exception to the law, which treats citizens’ liberties as privileges and not rights (Malcom & Rosenthal, 2011).
Constitutional issues
Individuals who depend on courts to protect them from federal gun legislation by asserting that gun-free zones are illegal may be in problems. In fact, federal courts and the Second Amendment are not allies. Likewise, several experts and Republicans believe that the amendments are mainly a basis for curing constitutional flaws that contributed to the rejection of a safe school act by the court. In particular, the gun-free zones influence interstate as well as international business. The amendments have no consequence on the execution of the illegal 1990 law.
Sections of the Second Amendment think that the changes would not change the illegal 1990 law. On the other hand, Republicans on the Committee of House Judiciary allege that it does. By and large, no one knows what is likely to happen. While it is possible for the court to overturn the regulation, it would subject gun owners to repressive gun prohibitions never experienced in history (Lott, 2003).
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Weapon ownership and homeschoolers
The gun-free zones prohibit weapons within half a mile or 1,000 feet around public or private learning institutions. In this scenario, learning institution represents a school that offers either elementary or secondary education. Contrary to the allegations of the Committee of House Judiciary, several states understand that home schools provide elementary or secondary education, with the motive of exempting these learners from compulsory attendance provisions of state regulation.
The gun-free zones fail to recognize state regulation especially if home schools are private schools. Of course, home schools are not open to, purposed to or managed by the public.
Exemptions for real weapon owners
The widely known “hunter-exemption” is only applicable when the school administration permits the hunter to cross their property, particularly when the gun is not loaded. Where the hunter is required to cross 60 school areas, he would be required to check with all the schools- or be in danger of felon if he fails to qualify for other exemptions.
Weapon owner registration; under gun-free zones, Carry Concealed Weapon (CCW) holders living in states required to undergo a background assessment before issuance of the permit. This implies that holders in states such as Alabama are not exempted since state regulations mandate background checks. Force people to register as gun owners before carrying loaded firearms in their cars. Whereas some weapon owners have registered their names in order to carry guns, the majority have kept their names from government records.
The states of Pennsylvania and Virginia newspapers publish CWW holders’ names, which can be abused. Before gun-free zones, motorists in various states were legally transferring loaded weapons for self-protection without necessarily getting CCW. For instance, the state of Vermont permits individuals to carry concealed weapons, but according to the federal regulation of gun-free zones, all law-abiding in all states must be aware.
Those who initially transfer loaded arms will be denied the rights to carry guns on school ground, unless allowed under other exemptions. Transport exemption will permit motorists to move unloaded guns in locked boxes if they do not have CCW license. Additionally, unloaded firearm stored in a compartment for self-defense can subject the gun owner to 5-year incarceration. This also applies even if the individual transferring the gun is an off-duty law enforcement officer.
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While Colorado and Virginia states must be aware in permitting motorists to carry guns in the passenger compartment, conflict emerges when the motorist is within 1,000 feet of the school (Drysdale, Modzeleski & Simons, 2010). Much as it is required that individuals living in gun-free zones are not automatically subjected to surrender their firearms, it is illegal for them to carry the gun to the car that is parked outside the house. Consequently, private car exemption is only applicable to private property and not school grounds. Home schools cannot be exempted because they are under gun-free zones according to US state regulation.
Comparable regulations
Some states have enacted laws, but they are inadequate compared to federal statutes and fail to develop significant gun-free zones. For example, Indiana does not allow weapons on school grounds, building or functions. Since the federal law is forcing states to implement the restrictive regulation is a new development that demonstrates sensitive issues of the gun-free zones.
Besides, states like Massachusetts disallows the carrying of guns in schools while New York and Colorado among others does not restrict. This has been significantly less abusive compared to interpreting anti-firearms laws. Even though the only impact of gun-free zones is its remarkable development; it is a bad regulation. Anti-gun supporters passed this law as they believed state law dismissed it in history books.
Statistics/ are they effective…why and why not.
Previous studies indicate that gun free zones are not effective. For example, mass shooting can take place anywhere including gun-free-zones. According to Malcolm & Rosenthal (2011) in 62 shootings for about three decades, there were zero cases of the shooter targeting a region due to gun prohibition. Also, in roughly 56 mass shooting in 2009 to 2013, not more than a quarter took place in gun-free zones.
Therefore, neither the goal nor the areas of a mass shooter have anything to do with gun-free zones.On the contrary, statistics demonstrate that the shooter intentions are consistently associated with the basis of their protests and predispositions; workplaces, religious and learning institutions among others. About 12 of the 62 shooting occur in learning institutions, and in one, the shooter has a direct connection with the targeted school.
Moreover, 12 of the 62 shootings in workplaces involved dissatisfied workers complaining against the employers. Again, 57 percent of shots target a previous or current intimate partner. These figures significantly challenge the notion that shooters evenly target, vulnerable, wealthy neighborhoods to increase the number; rather they rely on intentions directed linked to their previous occurrences of behavior.
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Roughly 36 mass shootings commit suicide next to the crime site, while seven commit suicide by participating in shootouts with police officers (Malcom & Rosenthal, 2011). This therefore shows that mass killers are controlled by the prospects of gun-free zones. Rather than guns preventing crimes they worsen the case by thwarting law enforcers while enhancing the danger of killing innocent civilians as a result of inaccurate marksmanship. It is important to note that gun regulations can change the whole nation into gun-free zones.
Consequently, it could be clear that mass killers, offered their seemingly death-maximizing technique, to kill many innocent individuals. Rather, the opposite is true, for instance before the gun-free zone was implemented in Australia, there were roughly 13 mass killings 17 years later there was none. Firearm homicide and suicide have increased while current rate of decline. As such, it is not right to compare these statistics with gun supporter‘s recommendation that mass killers are attracted to gun-free zones (Lenn, 2014).
Schools are not sources of homicide
Gun-free zones are also not effective since they do not draw shooters, but instead lead to a remarkable number of juvenile homicides. For instance, juvenile homicides in learning institutions are below 2% while less than 1% of non-fatal firearm crimes take place in schools (Lott, 2003). The number of mass deaths in the US between 1980 and 2006 was roughly 32,000 annually compared to about 297 individuals murdered in schools in 1980.
This corresponds to approximately nine deaths yearly in schools. In essence, gun advocates suggest that educators and security officers carry guns to prevent exceptionally unlikely scenarios, a strategy that lacks proof and can enhance the probability of gun related deaths in gun-free zones. Much as there is inadequate evidence to substantiate the effectiveness of gun-free zones, previous studies show that the presence of armed security officers in schools results in the early criminalization of Latino as well as Black men (Drysdale, Modzeleski & Simons, 2010).
Armed guards in schools make quick arrests, fast-tracking these learners in the criminal justice system leads to adverse effect on the academic performance. On the other hand, gun-free areas are effective and purposes to prevent people from not only using but also carrying guns in certain areas by imposing high fines. These activities can be implemented in other areas of the society.
Similarly, learning institutions and law enforcement officers believe that gun-free zones are effective in protecting areas frequented by students and teachers when schools are in session. As such, designated places should be marked special signs and publicized across the society. Also, increased sanctions, especially in learning institutions where gun-free zones has been implemented, have also put in place gun education and antiviolence initiatives to highlight to the students that carrying guns to school is not safe and not accepted.
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Conclusion
Gun free zones are safe surroundings such as school compounds or counties where only certain members of society have access to firearms. Such may include the law enforcement personnel and the military. And yet, history demonstrates that offenders with the craving to commit mass killings have always maneuvered the way out to execute mass homicides. Removing the danger of a stable response presents not only open but also non-confrontational persons to commit the atrocious act. For instance, people hold the view that because learning institutions are gun free zone they are safe. Nonetheless, one of the fiercest criminal activities took place on a serene campus.
References
Cheng, C., & Hockstra, M. (2012,). Does Strengthening Self-Defense Law Deter Crimes or Escalate Violence? Retrieved from Texas A &M University Department of Economics: http://econweb.tamu.edu/mhoekstra/castle_doctrine.pdf
Drysdale, D., Modzeleski, W., and Simons, A. (2010). Campus Attacks: Targeted Violence Affecting Institutions of Higher Education. U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, U.S. Department of Education, and Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice. Washington, D.C.
Johnson, P. (2012). Gun control: Will campus carry get boost from Virginia Tech ruling? The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved February, 2nd, 2015 from http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2012/0315.
Kingsbury, A., Brush, S., Green, E., & Schulte, B. (2007). Toward a Safer Campus. U.S. News & World Report, 142(15), 48-52.
Lenn, L. E. (2014). What are gun free zones and are they safe? Journal of Legal Issues and Cases in Business Volume 3.
Lott, J. (2003). The bias against guns: why almost everything you’ve heard about gun control is wrong. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing
Malcolm, J., & Rosenthal, L. (2011). Colloquy Debate: McDonald v. Chicago: Which Standard of Scrutiny Should Apply to Gun Control Laws? Northwestern University School of Law Review
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The Sarbanes-Oxley act
The Sarbanes-Oxley act was given a node by the congress. The decision to bring this law into action was to protect the individuals who had interest in various firms from being duped. The congress was afraid of situations where shareholders and other citizens lost act was The Sarbanes-Oxley act was developed to help in reducing the mis-use of investors by fraudulent firms. This act was put into action to ensure that all those who invest do not fall prey of those fraudulent persons. It became evident to the authorities that many investors were being harassed by the several fraudsters who had entered the sector.
The governance principles of regulatory compliance requirements related to Sarbanes-Oxley Act
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is based on several regulatory compliance requirements. The compliance requirements have been put in place to ensure that the act is well understood by ll the users. The users are presented with such guidelines to ensure that they do not stray from what the act advocates for. One of the regulatory compliance requirements gives guidelines on disclosure controls. The section that hands the control of disclosures is 302.
This section advocates that all liable officers should ensure that they state their role on coming up and maintaining internal control in a firm. Secondly, this section guides on how all responsible officers should indicate that the firm’s information has been passed to the relevant stakeholders. This section also provides that all responsible officers should carry out analysis a of firm’s internal controls before making their reports.
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The other governance principle of regulatory compliance requirements related to Sarbanes-Oxley is improper influence on conduct of audits. This guideline is under section 303 of the Sarbanes Act. This section of the Sarbanes-Oxley act was aimed at ensuring that the accountants and auditors did their job in the recommended manner. This means that the auditors were supposed to start shedding the bad professional habits that used to make shareholders lose their investments in companies.
According to the Sarbanes-Oxley act, the accountants were supposed to ensure that the reports produced were as the true and fair view in a company. This means that the accountants were supposed to report business operations as they truly were. Regarding auditors, the Sarbanes-Oxley act stated that the auditors were supposed to ensure that their opinions are not compromised.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes act is the other regulatory guideline. This section states that the management should be able to produce a report that explains the level of internal controls in an organisation. This section is usually titled as the Sarbanes-Oxley act, section 404; the assessment of internal controls. Just like the requirement in section 302 for all signing officers to state their role in internal controls, section 404 stipulates that the management should state its responsibility when it comes to the internal controls of an organisation.
Under this section of the act, the management should be able to give a report that shows their assessment of the internal controls for all fiscal years.
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The role of the SEC and how Sarbanes-Oxley affected the agency
SEC refers to Securities and Exchange Commission. According to Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto, (2014), this is an agency in the United States f America which deals with companies whose shares are to be taken over by new owners. This commission ensures that there exists a smooth transition whenever there are takeovers of organisations. The smooth transition is usually aimed at ensuring that nobody ends up becoming aggrieved in the process of takeover. Basically, the introduction of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was an added advantage to the SEC. This is because it brought about legislation that strengthened the policies SEC.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act strengthened the enforcement of securities fraud and helped in the implementation of accounting reform. This was as a result of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act stating it clearly how all the officers in an organisation should be held liable regarding their actions. The guidelines brought about by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act have made all the professionals in audit and accountancy upholds high levels of integrity towards their work (Greg, 2015). The act has also made the management of organisations be in the forefront in ensuring that all the stakeholders are taken care of; most of all the shareholders.
Conclusion
Investors should always be protected by the authorities. This is why the congress came up with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act which was aimed at offering such protection. All the professional bodies should be able to monitor its members. This monitoring will be able to identify the rogue members and remove them from their recognition. This will be a move that will take all professionals towards discipline that protects corporate and the shareholders. It is advisable for the authorities to keep on improving the guidelines and principles that this act is based on.
This will be able to tighten any loose ends that might start developing as the targeted individuals discover new tricks. The review of the guidelines and principles will enable the act capture contemporary issues related to business operations and securities in general. According to Thompson (2014), shareholder protection strategies should always be incorporated in all legislation during reviews.
References
Greg, F. (2015). “America Robbed Blind.” Wizard Academy Press.
Kohn, S., Kohn, M. & Colapinto, D. (2014). Whistleblower Law: A Guide to Legal Protections for Corporate Employees. Praeger Publishers.
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Retaliation
Critical Legal Thinking Case Study
In this case, Miriam Regalado files a sex discrimination charge against North American Stainless (NAS). Her fiancé Eric Thompson is later fired and proceeds to file a charge against NAS for alleged third party retaliation. He claims that he was fired in retaliation because his fiancée had filed a case against the company.
The U.S. District Court and the U.S Court of Appeal rule that Thompson is not protected by Title VII as third party claims are not permitted. The U.S. Supreme Court however rules in his favor, stating that Thompson is protected under Title VII and that employers should not perform actions aimed at dissuading a worker from filing or supporting a discrimination charge.
Retaliation claims are allowed under Title VII in a bid to protect employees from unlawful termination, based on an action that is protected by federal law. This also includes third party retaliation which encompasses protection of a close friend, colleague, relative, partner or other relation from termination for being associated with the person in question.
The law recognizes that an employer may terminate an individual related to the affected person as a form of ‘punishment’ and in a bid to dissuade them from making a claim or supporting discrimination charge and thus seeks to protect such individuals. The absence of such a law would make employees susceptible to unlawful termination for being involved in activities that are protected under the law such as filing for discrimination or supporting violation of such endeavors. Employee relations would also be at risk of termination without any fault. (Nacua, 2006).
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North American Stainless was unethical in its decision to fire Thompson and he should not have been fired just because Regalado was his fiancé. The case however does not clearly state the reason for Thompson’s dismissal, leading to a question of whether he may have been fired for a different reason other than retaliation.
This case sets precedence for increased possibility of employers being sued for retaliation following firing other relations such as girlfriends, boyfriends, co-workers, relatives and friends. The decision by the Supreme Court makes it clear that an individual can file a retaliation claim if he is fired due to activities, protected under the law, that a person they are related to is involved in.
On the other hand, the possibility of being sued may decrease because employers are now more aware of the risk of retaliation based on this case. It therefore means that they would be more cautious when dismissing staff.
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This paper intends to discuss the making of policies by politicians. A politician is a term used to refer to individuals engaged in the long-term political practice (Arendt, & Marquart, 2015). Notably, most politicians are endowed with a certain political vision and have various political skills. Furthermore, as a politician, one is expected to be a member of a specific political party within a particular country.
Markedly, politicians often have a great impact on the development of social history (Arendt, & Marquart, 2015). To efficiently discuss the making of policies by Politicians, this paper considers politics in the United States. The politicians in consideration are Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Barrack Hussein Obama.
Generally, politicians are engaged in politics with the aim of upholding different ideas, for the country and the people (Arendt, & Marquart, 2015). Mostly, the motivation of politicians in politics is focused on the well-being of the world, upholding of peace and increasing economic development. Notably, many politicians have considerable achievements in politics.
The achievements by politicians can be termed as pillars of the country, or influential models for future generations (Arendt, & Marquart, 2015). Most successful politicians are usually highly skilled in government management matters. Furthermore, highly skilled politicians have a significant influence in promoting national well-being and overall interests of their citizens.
Accordingly, all politicians represent different classes or political forces. Furthermore, politicians are the political subjects that hold the core power (Arendt, & Marquart, 2015). Thus, politicians are engaged in social activities along with political activities as the dominant personalities. Dominance in social activities places politicians at the center of political activity. Hence, every move of a politician becomes news (Arendt, & Marquart, 2015).
For instance, the state of health of the head of state will attract the world’s attention. Notably, since politicians hold the core of power, their decisions mostly lead to a major impact on the nation. This implies to both political leaders and chief executives and legislative leaders. As the core of political power, politicians must deal with all aspects of people in order to achieve their goals and policies. The main interest of politicians is how to achieve their goals and policies. Since politicians are coordinators to how activities are done, exercise their own political interests.
To competently illustrate the role of politicians in making of policies, this paper will major its discussion on public policies. Public policies play a major role in determining the distribution and use of public resources in diverse parts of the world (Maclennan, 1980). Consequently, the process of policy formulation involves the interaction of numerous political forces. Notably, policy formulation develops from a combination of primary factors such as economic status of a country, cultural values held by the society within a specific country and known facts about the existence of a problem in a given country.
Outstandingly, the combination of economic status, cultural values and knowledge of facts regarding the existence of a problem leads to political interplay, which gives politicians a central role in the process of policy formulation. As the process of policy formulation takes shape many areas that require the attention of political players emerge. These areas include legal framework requirement, allocation of funds and participation of the general public.
Ultimately, political players find themselves at the center of policy formulation. Consequently, the central argument in the paper will be that policy formulation is not only done by fact and rationality alone, but also involves the interplay of political intrudes.
This paper will therefore, analyze the influence of politics from three perspectives. The first perspective is Political personality. The second perspective is the political role, while the third perspective is the difference of the role of political individuality in different systems. The first perspective, which is political personality, deals with psychological analysis.
Psychological analysis makes an analysis from the perspective of individual personality, political personality, and the basic political personality type. The second perspective, which is political role, discusses the meaning of three terms, political role, political personality and political role of interaction. The third perspective, which is the difference of the role of political individuality in different systems, analyzes the politician’s personality psychological characteristics and political behavior and the politician’s personality tendencies and political behavior.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Politics;Politics refers to an activity by which people make, amend and preserve various governing rules which administer how they live. Additionally, politics is an art of the government to control public affairs and oversee distribution of resources (Maita, 2009).
Political system; Political refers to systema system via which interactions and values are authoritatively apportioned to society. Political systems exist by continually allocating orders and enforcing them. Moreover, a political system is a persistent pattern governing human relationships that involve rules, power, and authority (Maitah, 2009).
Policy; Policy refers to a course of action that a government follows with the goal of dealing with problems and issues in a country or state. A policy is based on laws and regulations.
Legislature; Legislature refers toa body of the government that makes policies through a particular set of guidelines.
Factors and parties influencing policy formulation
When talking about democratic politics, the term refers to an open, fair, transparent, free and equal citizenship politics. Therefore, democratic politics requires extensive and active participation of citizens. Additionally, democratic politics also acknowledges the need for political personality from traditional to modern changes (Jensen, & Wu, 2016).
Based on the theory of individuality and governance, this paper analyzes the influence of political leaders, on the political behavior and political system within a country. Moreover, the paper analyzes the role of different political systems in promotion of the process of political democratization, through providing a theoretical reference.
Notably, due to the attention accorded to politicians by the media, people miss interpret politicians to be the government. However, it is important to note that, agendas which are politically articulated get transformation to reality, through bureaucratic systems. In many countries, bureaucracies form the main systems of exercising government control over peoples’ daily lives.
Apart from politicians and bureaucracies, interest groups are also involved in policy formulation (Zeng, 2015). For instance, in the United States of America, interests groups play an influential role in making of policies. Interest groups gather American citizens, who demonstrate similar concerns, as the ones presented by the specific interest group. When gathered, interest groups and American citizens match to the offices of the concerned officials to present their concerns.
Therefore, interest groups are efficient mechanisms used by citizens of the United States of America in presenting their views, current needs or ideas to the elected officials. Additionally, different interest groups specialize on different concerns (Thompson, & Cook, 2014). The existence and ease of performance of activities of interest groups is encouraged by the decentralization of power in the politics of the United States.
Notably, in the United States, political power is allocated to states and different localities. The decentralization of political power in the United States, explains why the political system of United States is referred as a federal system. Generally, politicians are involved in formulating policies, which are short-term while interest groups focus on long-term policies.
Another party which is interested in policy formulation is the scientists. Scientists influence the formulation of policies based on a mutual understanding, recognition of nature and uncertainty magnitude. Therefore, scientists tend to exercise cautiousness and be conservative. Moreover, scientists are always doubtful of results and the conclusions they make. Hence, scientists use evidence and in-depth analysis in advocating for policy formulation. Consequently, policies are aimed at guiding actions that are directed to achieving any desired outcome.
Outstandingly, mass media also plays an influential role in the formulation of policies. Notably, mass media affects the social context of any policies developed (Zeng, 2015). The media is involved in making citizens aware of how proposed or made policies will impact their lives. Moreover, the government is also able to gain feedback from its citizens, regarding proposed or made policies. Thus, mass media presents a link between policy makers and potential policy making process influencers (Tombs, 2016).
Notably, in any liberal democracy, the media is mandated the role of critically scrutinizing the government in its affairs. Thus, the public is able to hold the government accountable for its actions. However, in democratic processes if the media acts politically powerful, the close link they maintain with corporate economies leads to questioning of the credibility of the media in investigating government activities. Just as the mass media, other parties involved in the formulation of policies are the Non Government Organizations.
Mostly, Non Government Organizations conduct humanitarian activities. Thus, Non Government Organizations are interested in suggestion of policies, drafting of policies and implementation of policies. Notably, recently, Non Government Organizations have recently ventured into the political life, through acting as pressure groups. For instance, the famous anti-slavery movement gave birth to the convention for anti-slavery.
However, Non Government Organizations, mostly operate in a specific country since their actions are purely motivated by situations and conditions that the locals go through. Therefore, interests of Non Government Organizations are narrowly defined (Jensen, & Wu, 2016). Consequently, Non Government Organizations will focus on advocating for implementation of policies that favor their interests.
However, the difference between politicians and Non Government Organizations, in advocating for policies that favor their interests is that, politicians have short-term interests, which favor the period between two elections (Thompson, & Cook, 2014). Conversely, Non Government Organizations have long-term interests, which favor easy running of their activities in a country.
References
Cannan, J. (2013). A Legislative History of the Affordable Care Act: How Legislative Procedure Shapes Legislative History. Law Library Journal, 105 (2), 2013-7.
Indeed, quality healthcare provision remains one of the most fundamental rights of any citizens in a country. The success of better healthcare provision is based upon strong policies and legislations both at the state level and federal government. Currently, the expensive nature of healthcare in the United States is attributed to the devolved manner in which it is regulated where the federal government has ceded the primary responsibility of provision of care to state governments expect for the oversight of healthcare agencies that fall under the federal government.
It is these state departments that regulate several aspects of medical care for instance the licensing providers of healthcare, the approval of medical and pharmaceutical products (Blumenthal, 2012). The concern is whether healthcare which is at the heart of betterment of life in the society should be left to the individual states and their own autonomy or to the federal government which enjoys sufficient financial and oversight over a country’s general welfare.
Healthcare policy change
Federal government’s distinct control and oversight over national issues is one of the most important areas of concern, with healthcare at the forefront in the discussions that involve devolution. States are considered as laboratories and tinkerers that help to come up with ideas to find solutions for problems that face a country as a whole. Patel & Rushefsky, (2014) argue that they are more close to the people than the national government and are more attuned to the problems that face the citizens.
However, they are without doubt faced with a plethora of challenges in terms of controlling the healthcare system. In my opinion, one such challenge is insufficient staff and structures in place to take on the burden of exchanging new bills that help cover most citizens. States are often faced with powerful lobbyists, cartels and drug interest control groups that always want to benefit at the consumers expense.
This has led to corruption which impedes the provision of healthcare. Another challenge is the States lack control over privet insurers and autonomy from the federal laws (Obama, 2016). They face a challenge in navigating federal laws and benefit plans of employees hence lack the power to deal with healthcare insurance companies and employees (Groves et al., 2013). This has led to a problem in cost control and access to Medicare.
A transfer to a more controlled federal system that enjoys funding and is devoid of cartel control is critical to a better healthcare system. I therefore will introduce a federal reform policy that aims to seize the initiative from states when it comes to healthcare.
The bill: Transfer of healthcare to the Federal government Act
I will introduce this bill through a federal legislator who has been in the forefront in advocating for the transfer of healthcare to the federal government. The legislator is a member of my state who I voted for and has in the past associated himself with nursing organizations that work towards improving healthcare. The main champions for my bill are like minded legislators and civil society advocates from nursing organizations.
These champions are the backbone for both public awareness campaigns and education to citizens on importance of better healthcare. The first process in policy change is the formulation of the bill with the legislators and its adoption by those to champion for the bill especially lobbying during its legislation process. The lobbying will involve persuasive arguments on the benefits that outweigh the challenges. Once the legislation of the policy change has been passed it must be implemented.
Plans for implementation and next steps after passage
Once the bill is passed it must be implemented by the federal government by presidential ascent and the statute becomes law. Nursing organizations and federal agencies like Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality will help come up with procedures and standards for measuring compliance (Emanuel et al., 2012). Successful implementation of this bill will depend on compliance by states and coordination of stakeholders in healthcare. The final step in the bill taking effect is the process of evaluating how well my policy is implemented and is put into action. This is done by the federal government by assessing the cost benefit ratio of healthcare to citizens.
Conclusion
Transferring of healthcare from the State to Federal government as outlined in my bill, and its successful implementation require strong partnerships between the private sector, state and federal government. The primary role of this bill is delivery of high quality healthcare devoid of selfish interests; unfairness and inefficiency by states in the market that ensure affordable healthcare systems are easily accessible.
Emanuel, E., Tanden, N., Altman, S., Armstrong, S., Berwick, D., de Brantes, F., … & Daschle, T. (2012). A systemic approach to containing health care spending. New England Journal of Medicine, 367(10), 949-954.
Groves, P., Kayyali, B., Knott, D., & Van Kuiken, S. (2013). The ‘big data’revolution in healthcare. McKinsey Quarterly, 2.
Obama, B. (2016). United States health care reform: progress to date and next steps. Jama, 316(5), 525-532.
Patel, K., & Rushefsky, M. E. (2014). Healthcare Politics and Policy in America. Public Integrity, 17(1), 94-96.
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Development of a health care policy is one of the ways through which developing nations can be influenced to take actions that promote public health and reduce mortality rates, especially in countries where health inequality is a common problem. The Nature of health policy developed largely depends on specific health care problems that exist in a country at any given time.
Furthermore, one has to consider various social determinants of health in a country before developing and implementing a health policy (Kumar and Preetha, 2012). According to Kumar and Preetha (2012), social factors such as demographic patterns, political and economic changes, cultural issues, and learning environments are believed to influence health situations of many countries around the world.
A health policy that is aimed at reducing health inequality can be effective in promoting public health, and can greatly be supported by a country whose health is negatively impacted by disparities in health care. This paper explores the concept of health policy development and implementation about health inequality while giving special consideration to Malawi.
Health Care Policy: Rationale for Selecting Malawi
Malawi has been chosen for this case study because it is one of the world’s developing countries whose public health is negatively impacted by health inequality and lack of health policy to guide proper health care delivery. According to Daire and Khalil (2015), failure to access primary health care is one of the causes of high death rates among children aged below five years in Malawi.
Daire and Khalil (2015) further assert that health care for socio-economic barriers largely face Children in Malawi that policy makers in the health sector must address to promote positive child health in the country. Children who are born to low-income families in Malawi are highly likely to experience limited access to health care as compared to those who come from wealthy families. The main reason for the high infant mortality rates among low-income families in Malawi is a lack of primary health care policy.
According to Makaula, Bloch, and Muula et al., (2012) and Ustrup, Ngwira, and Fischer, et al., (2014), Malawi continues to experience low life expectancy because it currently lacks a primary health care policy to guide health care access among poor families with children aged below 5 years. Now, Malawi utilizes the Essential Health Package (EHP) program to implement primary health care.
This has impacted negatively on health care access among poor households and a significant reduction in life expectancy in the country. In this regard, Malawi is one of the developing countries that are experiencing high rates of infant deaths due to lack of primary health care policy and would; therefore, attract the attention of health policy makers (Daire and Khalil, 2015).
Social Determinants of Health in Malawi and Why they should be Addressed
There are two major social determinants of health in Malawi that need to be addressed. According to Kumar and Preetha, (2012), social determinants of health refer to factors in the social setting that influence the ability of a country’s population to obtain care at any given time. Examples of social determinants of health include socio-economic factors, family patterns, cultural beliefs and attitudes, learning environments, and demographic patterns.
In Malawi, the two social determinants of health that should concern policy makers are; economic affordability and geographic accessibility of health care facilities. These two social determinants are highly rampant among residents of rural Malawi. Rural populations in Malawi cannot access quality health care due to limited finances and high concentration of health care facilities in urban areas (Ustrup, Ngwira, and Fischer, et al., 2014).
In a study conducted by Ustrup, Ngwira, and Fischer, et al., (2014), the researchers have found that health care facilities are mainly located in urban Malawi, and this makes households based in rural Malawi to travel to the urban areas to seek for care. Ideally, rural Malawi does not only lack adequate health care facilities, but it also has poor roads that make it difficult for occupants to reach urban areas.
The long travel time coupled with high costs of transport prevent children from low-income families from receiving quality care, hence the observed high infant mortality rates in the country (Makaula, Bloch, and Muula, et al., 2012). Furthermore, variation in economic affordability among affluent and low-income families determines the nature of care that these two groups of populations can receive in Malawi.
Families in rural Malawi with either small or lack of basic income are faced with the challenge of obtaining care for their children as opposed to those in wealthy regions with high basic income. For this reason, limited economic affordability among residents of rural Malawi presents significant economic burden which prevents families from obtaining quality care for their children (Ustrup, Ngwira, and Fischer, et al., 2014; & Makaula, Bloch, and Muula, et al., 2012).
There is a great need to address social determinants of health about economic affordability and geographic accessibility of health care facilities to increase access to care for families in rural Malawi. As Daire and Khalil (2015) explain, one of the ways through which health inequality in Malawi can be solved is by addressing those factors that hinder citizens from accessing health care.
It is only by addressing these social determinants of health that Malawi will be able to reduce infant mortality and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Health care accessibility in Malawi will greatly be improved if the ability of low-income families to meet health care costs and to access health care facilities is enhanced (Daire and Khalil, 2015).
Potential Public Issues that might be encountered
Two major public issues may be faced in Malawi in an attempt to influence health policy development in the country. The possible general issues that may be encountered are related to the level of cultural awareness and health literacy among the country’s population. Health literacy refers to the ability of individuals to comprehend basic health information and their capacity to utilize it in decision-making.
High health literacy is directly related to improved health outcomes while limited health literacy is associated with poor public health. According to Smith-Greenway (2015), high infant mortality rates in Malawi are largely attributed to limited health literacy among low-income families in rural areas. Residents of rural Malawi rarely receive health education, and the public sector has not initiated any programs in those areas to keep citizens informed about health.
Also, the majority of households in rural Malawi can only speak their local language, and they do not understand any information presented to them in pure English (Smith-Greenway, 2015). Lack of public health education and proper communication of public health information are the primary causes of limited health literacy in Malawi. Consequently, limited health literacy may impede successful development and implementation of health policy in Malawi (Ustrup, Ngwira, and Fischer, et al., 2014).
The other public issue that may be encountered during health policy development and implementation in Malawi is the level of cultural awareness among the country’s population. According to Daire and Khalil (2015), cultural knowledge in a country determines the possibility with which a new policy can be developed and implemented. In this regard, it becomes difficult to implement a health policy that goes against the cultural beliefs and values of a country’s population.
As Reiney, Watkins, Ryman, Sandhu, Bo, and Benerjee, (2011) explain, low cultural awareness is a big problem in Malawi because it negatively affects health utilization among the country’s population. Specifically, cultural beliefs and values of the country’s population largely influence the patterns of health utilization in the country in the sense that, health underutilization is common in rural Malawi where occupants do not believe in care that is being offered by health care organizations. Ideally, low cultural awareness among rural populations in Malawi may prevent successful implementation of health policy in the country (Ustrup, Ngwira, and Fischer, et al., 2014).
Relationship Between Health Inequality and Life Expectancy in Malawi
There is an inverse relationship between health inequality and life expectancy in Malawi. In this regard, high disparities in health are associated with low life expectancy while low disparities in health are related to high life expectancy in Malawi. Life expectancy is low when infant mortality rate is high while life expectancy is high when infant mortality rate is low (Deurzen, Oorschot, and Ingen, 2014).
According to the World Health Organization report of 2017, health disparity in Malawi is significantly higher than that of Japan. Furthermore, an infant born in Malawi is highly likely to die at the age of 47 while a child born in Japan will probably die at the age of 87. Therefore, when health inequality is high in Malawi, life expectancy in the country is significantly low, especially among the rural populations (World Health Organization, 2012).
The inverse relationship between health inequality and life expectancy among poor populations is supported by research evidence. In a study conducted by Deurzen, Oorschot and Ingen (2014) the researchers have found that the rate of infant mortality is higher among the poor than among the rich populations. Therefore, a policy that can reduce health inequality will help to reduce infant mortality rate and eventually raise life expectancy (Deurzen, Oorschot, and Ingen, 2014).
Current Efforts in Malawi to Reduce Health Inequalities
The government of Malawi has worked hard to reduce health inequalities in the country with the aim of reducing infant mortality rates that occur among its rural populations. These efforts are geared towards addressing two major social determinants of health: economic affordability and geographic accessibility of health care facilities. As Ustrup, Ngwira, and Fischer, et. al., (2014) explain, governments can increase geographic accessibility of health care facilities by constructing additional organizations in rural areas.
Between 2003 and 2010, the Government of Malawi constructed a total of 39 health centers in the rural areas. This has helped its rural populations to access health care and to save time and money that could have been spent in traveling to the urban areas to seek for health care. Additionally, Malawi has taken appropriate actions to mitigate financial barrier among its rural populations by increasing their ability to meet health care cost.
In the year 2010, the Government of Malawi signed an agreement with facilities that operate under the Christian Health Association of Malawi (CHAM) to allow free health care services for mothers and children. With free access to child and maternal health care services, Malawi has been able to record a decrease in infant mortality rate with a slight increase in life expectancy (Ustrup, Ngwira, and Fischer, et. al., 2014).
Health Policy
The best health policy to address health inequality in Malawi would be that which will get the support of the country’s population, considering the fact that residents of rural Malawi have limited health literacy and do not have trust in the care offered by health care organizations (Makaula, Bloch, and Muula, et al., 2012).
An example of a policy that might be developed to reduce health inequality in Malawi is the creation of a National Development and Social Fund to support programs that facilitate construction of health care facilities in the rural areas, while at the same time meeting the health care costs of mothers and children who reside in rural Malawi.
The Government of Malawi should set aside funds to facilitate implementation of this policy to ensure that both rural and urban populations have equal access to health care. Successful implementation of this policy will result in a reduction in infant mortality rates among the poor populations in Malawi, which will eventually translate into high life expectancy in the country (Ustrup, Ngwira, and Fischer, et. al., 2014; Dairen and Khalil, 2015).
References
Daire, J. & Khalil, D. (2015). Analysis of maternal and child health policies in Malawi: The methodological perspective. Malawi Medical Journal, 27(4): 135-139.
Deurzen, I. V., Oorschot, W. V. & Ingen, E. (2014). The link between inequality and population health in low and middle-income countries: Policy myth or social reality? PLoS ONE, 9(12): e115109. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0115109
Kumar, S. & Preetha, G. S. (2012). Health promotion: An effective tool for global health. Indian Journal of Community Medicine, 37(1): 5-12. doi: 10.4103/0970-0218.94009
Makaula, P., Bloch, P…..& Muula, A. S. (2012). Primary health care in rural Malawi: A qualitative assessment exploring the relevance of the community-directed interventions approach. BMC Health Services Research, 12: 328. doi: 10.1186/1472-6963-12-328
Reiney, J. J., Watkins, M., Ryman, T. K., Sandhu, P., Bo, A. & Benerjee, K. (2011). Reasons related to non-vaccination and under-vaccination of children in low and middle-income countries: Findings for a systematic review of the published literature, 1999-2009. Vaccine, 29(46): 8215-8221. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2011.08.096
Smith-Greenway, E. (2015). Are literacy skills associated with young adults’ health in Africa: Evidence from Malawi. Social Science and Medicine, 127: 124-133. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.07.036.
Ustrup, M., Ngwira, B…& Fischer, T. (2014). Potential barriers to healthcare in Malawi for under-five children with a cough and fever: A national household survey. Journal of Health Population and Nutrition, 32 (1): 68-78.
