Poicy paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Poicy - Research Paper Example Like alcohol, the exclusion that took place in the early 1920s was meant to get rid of various types of substances which were in the society. The prohibition did not seem to work and it has failed in the last few years. The failures associated with this prohibition have been most noticeable, due to the fact that today so many lives are being wasted and not to mention opportunities. It is now obvious that when it comes to determining what works well for people seems to be less straightforward. However, there are excellent examples from most states in the world indicating that there are more opportunities that can be used for improving policy implementation. History of Drug Policy Drugs in the US started surfacing in the 1800’s (Higate, Hughes, and Lart, 2006). Opium became widely known after the Civil War. The next drug to become popular was,cocaine in the late 1800’s. Coca an element in cocaine was mostly used as an ingredient in health remedies. The discovery of Morphi ne came a while later, in the year 1906 and was solely used as a medicinal component (Menzel, 2000). In the early 1900’s, there was a heightened knowledge that the psychotropic drugs had a great potential of causing addiction. Towards the end of 19th century, the abuse of cocaine and opium had reached worrying proportions. The Local governments actively began the prohibition of opium importation and dens. In 1906, the food and drug act was enacted. The act required that all doctors should accurately and clearly label medicines that they used. Drugs were now seen as a threat and no longer the remedies for illness. In 1914, the Harrison Narcotics act was enacted. This was Americas first Policy on drugs. It staunchly restricted the production and sale of a number of controlled substances. Under this act, doctors had the ability to administer to patients and the drugs acquired by drug addicts were secured through registered doctors (Lowinson, 2005). At the time, drug addiction wa s perceived as a medical problem and not an illegal activity. However in 1919, Americas Supreme Court made a harsh ruling against the treatment of drug addicts as a legal form of treatment. This drug policy mainly targeted physicians. In 1930, Harry J. Anslinger was chosen to head the Federal Bureau of Narcotics which had been created by the Treasury Department. He was the head of this agency until 1962. During his time in power, drugs were highly criminalized. In 1951, the Boggs Act was enacted. Under this act, penalties for the use of Marijuana were drastically increased. In 1956, the Narcotics Control Act was created. This is believed to be the most punitive anti-narcotics law ever enacted. Propaganda was widely used as a preventative measure by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. The bureau created horror stories relating to drugs and drug use. Marijuana for instance was said to bring about and fueled sex crimes. In 1966, due to an alarming increase drug use and abuse, the Narcotic s Addict Rehabilitation Act was enacted, by Johnsons Administration. This act listed narcotic addiction as a form of mental illness. This particular act however, had no major impact on fighting drug usage

The Effects of Baby Boomers Retiring Will Have on the Economy Research Paper

The Effects of Baby Boomers Retiring Will Have on the Economy - Research Paper Example At each stage, of its life cycle, the baby boom generation has changed the market for many products, altered the demand for public services, as well as the nature of the labor force. This paper delves into the effects the baby boomers’ retiring will have on the economy of the United States over the next 20 years. Introduction In the world’s history, baby boomers (who represent 28% of all the United States’ adult population) have been one of the most productive generations. This generation took advantage of subsidized scholarships and school loans from the government, which enabled them to get proper education, which in turn helped them to secure high paying jobs in all sectors of the US economy with tremendous added gains from globalization and newer technologies (Talbott, 2010). Social scientists, analysts, and policymakers have developed a great interest regarding the effects of the retirement of baby boomers on the economy of the US and the nation at large. Th e year 2005 marked the commencement of the exodus of baby boomers from the labor force. Since then, every seven seconds, a baby boomer attains the retirement age of sixty years, and this process will continue for the next twenty years. These retirements foreshadow a diminution of workplace knowledge as well as knowledge-based experience at a time when such experience and knowledge are more and more vital to the economy of the US as well as to the organizations that comprise it (Beazley, Boenich, and Harden, 2002). Estimates by the Employment Policy Foundation indicate that with baby boomers reaching the age of retirement, by the year 2012, businesses will experience a severe shortage of six million employees, and this number will increase to thirty-five million employees by the year 2030. Slower workforce growth implies that there will be slower rate of growth of the economy, and consequently, the living standards of everybody in the nation will be lower. Essentially, the baby boom generation’s retirement threatens to limit the potential of the economy of the United States, reducing the speed limit on how fast it can grow. Economists projects a considerable decline in the growth of the US economy to 2.2% by the year 2015, compared with a typical growth of about 3.2% during the last forty years (The special committee on aging, 2007). According to Gordon (2005), over the next next twenty years, a great number of baby boomers, roughly seventy million baby boomers, some highly skilled, will start leaving the job market of the United States of America gradually, with only forty million employees coming in. Following this retirement, skill shortages throughout the whole economy will get to critical levels. Woodruff (2011) points out that reports from the Pew Research Center indicate that for the next twenty years, over ten thousand baby boomers will be retiring daily. This retirement will have a remarkable effect on everybody and on all measures of the United States’ economic output (Talbott, 2010). For instance, it will lead to a slowdown of about 0.5% in the growth rate of in the workforce every year from its average 1.6% per annum since 1950-2007. The decline in the growth of the workforce in the United States is an indication that the nation’s labor supply may be inadequate to sustain the standards of living (Jarvik, 1980). The special committee on aging (2007) reports the fact that the aging and retirement of baby boomers will have potential impacts on the economy of th