Ryan Taylor Holmes - TAMUG

Blog

2009-10-20T18:28:00.001-07:00

This week I read an article entitled Can the Future be Built in America?: Inside the U.S. Manufacturing Crisis from the magazine BusinessWeek. Pete Engardio wrote this article and it discusses manufacturing in the United States of America. The main issue in the article is that the United States is decreasing in large-scale high-tech manufacturing production. However, it appears that smarter tax policies, low-cost loans, and special industrial zones may increase manufacturing production again. Many manufacturers would prefer to keep their market in the United States, however, due to the current economic situation; they believe that they will experience more success in other countries due to financial realities. Many other nations have much lower taxes than the United States and more generous government incentives. It is also much easier for manufacturers to raise cheap funding in other areas of the world because, in the United States, private investors frown upon manufacturing and it is nearly impossible to attain any bank lending. Most manufacturers that are capable of starting a new manufacturing “renaissance” in America are moving to other countries for business because they find it nearly impossible to achieve scale in the United States. Many of these manufacturers are creating new products which will be very troublesome to the United States because those products will be credited with being developed in other areas of the world. Unless the United States can resurrect its manufacturing base, good-paying jobs will continue to prevail in other areas of the world.

Blog Oct. 18

2009-10-18T12:33:00.002-07:00

This week I read an article from The Dallas Morning News called Hello Again, 10,000 in the Wall Street section. The main issue of the articles is, a year after falling below 10,000, the Dow Jones industrial average passes that milestone again. The last time the Dow saw the number 10,000, they were headed in the wrong direction in the middle of the financial crisis which affected the nation so negatively. The Dow recovered about 3,450 points since bottoming out during the recession. However, along with many other well known, major stock indexes, the Dow is still a former shadow of itself, a long way from whole. The Dow is still approximately 4,000 points off its record high and the market is still down about 30 percent from its high. The Dow gained 144.80 points to end at 10,015.86, while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index rose 18.83 points to 1,092.02, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 32.34 points to 2,172.23. Most of the major stock indexes have rebounded 50 percent or more since early March and continued to increase throughout the summer and even into early autumn as the economy became more stable and companies began seeing higher profits and an increase in revenue as well.

Blog Entry Sunday

2009-10-18T12:33:00.001-07:00

This week, I read an article entitled Why Health Insurers are Winning by Chad Terhune and Keith Epstein from the BusinessWeek magazine. This article discusses how many different industries and companies are preparing to profit from health reform. Most insurance companies such as UnitedHealth Group, Aetna, and WellPoint will be the likely victors after the fight over health reform. Even smaller insurance companies will become more profitable in the future as well. Health reform very well may come with a $1 trillion price tag over the next decade, which will most likely complicate matters for many large employers. The main issue is this situation is ensuring that whatever overhaul Congress passes this year will help rather than hurt insurance companies. Big insurance companies have lately brought their focus to what they believe is their main, central challenge: shaping the views of moderate Democrats. The industry has already accomplished its first goal of curbing (and possibly even blocking) new publicly administered insurance programs that may attain market share from business-dominating corporations. UnitedHealth has distinguished itself by more deftly and aggressively feeding sophisticated pricing and data to congressional staff members. Many representatives, Republican or Democrat, who are making negotiations on health reform, have been welcoming input from UnitedHealth. Representative Mike Ross, an Arkansas Democrat who leads the Blue Dogs’ negotiations on health reform stated, “If United(Health) has something to offer cutting costs, we should consider it…we need more examples that work, and everything should be on the table.” The several bills currently pending in Congress would guarantee access to health coverage for Americans nation-wide.

Oct. 11- Blog

2009-10-11T13:45:00.003-07:00

This week I read an article entitled “The Lost Generation” by Peter Coy in BusinessWeek. The article discusses how young people are becoming victims of the current job crisis in American culture. The job crisis is affecting not only the economy, but young people’s lives as well. Unemployment today affects young people by causing them to not be able to get jobs out of college. Many people who have recently graduated during the recession have been unable to find jobs or work. For these people, who are just starting their own careers, the damage will continue to affect, creating a “lost generation.” Many people believe that the government must act now in order to put an end to the unemployment which is now so prevalent throughout the country. Some people believe that companies should continue hiring young people even while they lay off others. Job training will most likely become more popular because young people undergoing job training are more likely to get jobs than those people who are not undergoing training. In order to tackle the job crisis for good, I believe the most urgent priority is to prevent unskilled dropouts from losing touch with the workforce.

Oct. 4 - Blog

2009-10-11T13:45:00.001-07:00

This week I read an article called “Why Business Fears the Public Option” by Jane Sasseen and Catherine Arnst in BusinessWeek. This article discusses how executives believe that health-care providers will begin to charge patients higher rates in private plans. Many executives believe that the United States of America government has not funded enough money for health programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. They believe that this is the reason for hospitals to increase rates for private plans which many American patients with private insurance are paying for. The hospitals charge these patients to make up for the losses they experience otherwise. Some companies are even warning that they are willing to follow a public insurance option that would do away with private insurers and lead to a nationalized U.S. health care system. Many economists still hold the belief that businesses are still overstating what they believe the level of cost shifting to be. Others highly believe that hospitals and other similar providers are not engaged in cost shifting nearly as much as they are engaged in price discrimination. However, hospitals with the most market power will continue to charge private insurers large amounts of money.

Sunday, October 11 - Blog

2009-10-11T12:30:00.001-07:00

Indigenous Peoples Essay

2009-10-11T11:15:00.000-07:00

Indigenous people and groups have been increasingly been granted and recognized in their rights and independence in regards to their history, culture and rights within their respective countries. The natural result of this new freedom and recognition is the concept of cultural nationalism where there are those within these groups that have legally and morally asserted rights to their history and culture and anything related to their culture. Although it is understandable for these groups to assert their newly granted rights, the assertion of some of these groups that they own all use, reference and scholarly discussion of their culture is contrary to the freedom of expression that in large part is the reason that the plight of such groups was discussed and exposed in related publications and discussions. In response to such cultural nationalism, there are various rights that scholars must acknowledge and comply in their review and discussion of such cultures. First, there are legal intellectual property rights that must be recognized just as any group’s or business’ intellectual property rights. The existing legal system should provide guidelines for the scholars. Second, this movement should not result in a financial requirement for a scholar to study, review and assert opinions in regards to such cultures. Consequently, although scholars should comply with appropriate legal restrictions and treat such cultural nationalism assertions with respect, this movement should not result in loss of scholar’s freedom of expression which may include a differing opinion then what the leaders of a culture may assert.

Worldviews Essay

2009-10-11T11:14:00.000-07:00

Although it appears intuitive to quickly agree with the common claim that people with differing world views perceive reality differently, upon reflection it becomes apparent that this hypothesis does not withstand an intensive review. For example, the statement itself assumes a fact that has not been proven. What is reality? A reality in itself is an individual perception of physicals events. Is it warm or cold when the temperature is thirty-two degrees? The answer is that it is neither and either warm or cold. Thus, the reality of thirty-two degrees cannot be used to test perceptions of differing perceptions as a result of differing world views. There is no real way to observe differing perceptions of reality when the reality itself is not constant or mathematical. Although an extreme example, this fact situation does illustrate that you cannot define your analysis with an assumption that is not proven to be true. Also, unfortunately many anthropologists judge those that they deem as unfortunate to be more predictable in their behavior. These scientists appear to equate a lack of resources to be a lack of free will and thus predictable in their behavior. The missing element in their analysis is free will and there are many instances that show this reality. First, a religious believer knows that man was created with free will so that each individual can make a personal decision as to their beliefs. This free will is a common trait with all individuals from any place with any economic status. There are terrorists all over the world that act a suicide bomber due to their religious beliefs that they adopted from their free will. These terrorists are from rich and poor families and from industrialized and very rural areas. The reality of their terror choice is from their free will choice and not from what clothes they wear or what is their source of news information. Second, although it is popular to talk about the good and evil in people, the instances of good and evil take place in all portions of the world with differing climates, technologies and relative wealth. The reality of good and evil is apparent in equal portions all over the world varying only in opportunity and punishment. Third, the search for personal freedom is a global desire that is evident in China, Iran, Iraq, Africa and the United States. The only difference in these desires is the perceived reality of the form or type of such freedom. In conclusion, although it may appear to be common sense to believe that those with differing world views perceive reality differently, upon further review it becomes more apparent that there are only perceived realities that when compared with those individuals of differing world influences actually result in as many common behaviors.

Autobiography 2

2009-09-14T10:24:00.000-07:00

My name is Ryan Taylor Holmes and I am a wakeboarder from Rockwall, Texas who attends Texas A&M University at Galveston. I attended high school at Rockwall Heath High School and graduated with a 4.1 GPA. I am now majoring in Maritime Studies at A&M Galveston and I hope to learn about the ocean in any and every way I possibly can. After I graduate from A&M Galveston, I plan on attending either Yale or Harvard Law School to become a lawyer. My goals for my freshman year at Galveston are to attain the highest GPA possible and to prepare myself for law school. I would also like to continue wakeboarding and film more wakeboarding sessions.