Ronald Reagan's Presidency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Ronald Reagan's Presidency - Essay Example Finally, he came to his economic belief system through his own study of the free market (278). Reagan's transition from Democrat to Republic and his later adoption as a symbol of conservative republicanism will be discussed in this essay through a critical analysis of his economic policy and position on Social Security reform. President Reagan's economic policy was broadly set in a speech he gave as a candidate on 9 September 1980. In it, he outlined a program based on a rejection of Keynesian economics. He supported cuts in the marginal tax rate and reductions in business taxes. He argued for the elimination of wasteful government spending and for a balanced budget (Hogan 1990a, 218). So when the economic package was revealed to public, its central themes should have surprised no one: tax cuts, reductions in the rate of growth of government spending, deregulation and the slow, stable growth of the money supply (Hogan 1990a, 222; Busch 2005, 29). The tax cuts, which were important to Reagan (due to his personal experiences with taxation) specified a 10% rate reduction for three consecutive years, cuts in business taxes, the elimination of bracket creep (the process by which inflation pushes income earners into higher tax brackets even though their income has not increased enough in "real" dollars to warra nt such a raise), capital gains tax reductions, lower estate and gift taxes and the faster depreciation on business investments (Schaller 1992, 42). The Reagan tax cuts were favored by the public as most people would prefer to retain more of their income, and by many members who wanted to take some credit. It also presented the public with an image of induced economic growth that was painless in comparison to strict budget balancing and economic controls (Hogan 1990b, 147). Reagan's Fiscal Year (FY) 1982 budget projected federal spending at $659.5 billion with a deficit of $45 billion. It included non-defense reductions of around $41.4 billion and an additional $200 billion is cuts over the next three years. A balanced budget was forecast for 1984. Marginal tax rates would be cut from a range from 14% to 70% to one between 10% and 50%. Many social programs would be shifted to the states (Sloan 1999, 115-116; Schaller 1992, 42). His alterations were in the conservative tradition. Government's domestic spending would be cut coinciding with a cut in its major source of revenue. This would act as a constraint against further unchecked growth. A budget victory was also a necessary prerequisite for the upcoming tax cuts; since Reagan wanted lower taxes, he would first need to address the budget. The budget battle took place over two phases. The first phase involved a Democratic alternative to the Reagan plan that was similar to the president's but different in some major ways. It involved a single year tax cut and increases in spending reductions (Hogan 1990b, 147). Reagan was not willing to trade his three year tax cuts for increased spending cuts, so a short battle in the House resulted. The winner, the administration backed mandated spending reductions on over 200 domestic programs by over $136 billion between FY 1982-1984. The entire program was put into a single bill, which meant all reductions would be considered together and decided by one vote on the floor (148). Reagan's

Improve service operations in public service institution a 'X' Company Essay

Improve service operations in public service institution a 'X' Company - Essay Example Focus was also given on quality management and important areas under this were discussed. Certain tools for quality management were also analysed. This was concluded by stressing the importance of quality in the highly competitive business environment existing toady. Introduction: Quality is something every consumer is conscious about. But it cannot be said about manufacturers or service producers. But in a highly competitive environment, maintaining quality has become the buzzword and is now something that cannot be ignored. "The birth of total quality in the United States came as a direct response to the quality revolution in Japan following World War II. (Basic Concepts). The concept of quality in a public service organisation still has not caught up in the same level as found in privately owned ones, though this trend is changing. "Only recently has the quest for quality come to the fore in public enterprises." (Delaunay p.199). As you all know that this is a newly formed company engaged in supplying food to the children public school and have been directed to increase efficiency and decrease costs of the meal provided. This report is an analyses of the problems in quality management faced by the company and the present situation after the implementation of the suggestions provided for improvement Quality can be improved in three major categories namely quality measurement, quality diagnosis and quality improvement. It was in these areas that focus was given to improve the quality of the service provided by the company. The company has two main divisions, namely the food procurement division and the transport division for delivering food to the schools. The company is supplying food to five schools with a total strength of 2500 children. It also has supporting departments like accounting, payroll and maintenance. The transportation department is also made use of by the procurement department to purchase food items for the purpose of distribution to schools. There are about 5 trucks and 10 smaller delivery vans owned by the company. The maintenance department was created to cut down costs of repairs and maintenance by giving the vehicles to private workshops. Description of the current situation: The company works under budget constraints and increasing costs in inputs without increasing budget allocation had forced us to take up quality management programs. Moreover the company's procurement policies are not cost effective. Purchases like groceries, vegetables and meat are purchased as and when required from wholesalers and sometimes retailers without trying to identify the good quality merchandise at the cheapest price available. The main problem is that even though the exact quantity to be supplied each month was known, no steps were being taken to buy them in bulk thereby saving in prices. Also no attempts were being made to purchase fresh produce like meat and vegetables from farmers and other producers themselves an arbitrary purchasing policy has caused transportation costs to raise because of the higher number of trips made by the company vehicles. Even though there is a purchase manger and department no directives have been recei ved by the company for an agreement with wholesalers to supply the required items on a contract basis. No clear cut policy, as to how purchases are to be made did not exist then. Both the above factors were the main reason why