Helping the Less Fortunate Members of Society :: Personal Narrative Essay Example

Helping the Less Fortunate Members of Society Over the past five years I have participated in an organization called "Group Workcamps" through the St. Helena's / St. Mary's Parish. This experience has helped me to grow greatly personally and spiritually. Every year, a group from the church goes out to a small community to repair homes of the elderly, disabled or less fortunate. By participating in this group over the past five years, I have learned many traits including leadership, respect and empathy, as well as building wonderful friendships with others all over the country. Besides these, I have also learned valuable skills such as carpentry, budgeting, planning, and public speaking. The Workcamp year begins in mid August, when the group for the year assembles for the first time. This is an introductory meeting for the new members and a recap of the previous year for the veterans. At this time we decide where to go the following summer, figure out what we will do for fund-raisers, and how much money we will need to raise over the next 10 to 12 months based upon how many people will be going. Over the course of the next year or so, it is the responsibility of everyone involved to assist in the raising of the $6,000 or so that will be needed for us to pay for travel expenses, and have some left over in case of an emergency. In order for all of this to come together, everyone needs to take some responsibility in acquiring donations and sponsorships. Every member of our group needs to bring in at least $300 in personal sponsorships. However, since there are usually only around ten of us going, the other $3,000 doesn't just come out of nowhere. We rise before the sun to prepare pancakes for a breakfast in the church hall after Mass. We stand along Route 4 in a drizzling rain trying to convince people to let us wash their cars. We build bird feeders for fun and profit in a frigid shop. We spend sweltering June afternoons in the church parking lot nailing shingles to the roof of a shed we will sell. We present a slide show of last year's Workcamp to the congregation and request donations. After a retreat and send-off Mass, the real test of our friendship begins.

Illegal Immigration: Too Large a Burden on America

Illegal Immigration: Too Large a Burden on America â€Å"Households headed by illegal aliens imposed more than 26. 3 billion dollars in costs on the federal government†¦and paid only 16 billion dollars in taxes, creating a net fiscal deficit of almost 10. 4 billion dollars, or two thousand seven hundred dollars per illegal household† (Miller 1). Some people would argue that immigrants come to America to take jobs that no one else will do, but the illegal immigrants are in fact draining social services and stealing free health care benefits.In addition, immigrants pay little or no taxes to benefit the social services and health care providers that they drain. By doing so, the American tax payers must take on the high price of the American government turning a blind eye to the illegal immigrants rushing in. Yes, illegal immigrants take not so pleasant jobs, but it’s not worth the high price of social services and health care they impose. Although legalized immigratio n is what this country was founded on in the 1700’s, in modern day America many feel it is becoming too large a burden on the American tax payers to stop the influx of illegal immigrants to the United States.The problem of immigration can be solved if we place more restrictions on who is allowed in to our country, and let more able bodied, skilled workers in instead of letting every sob story have priority. Paul Hina, author of Illegal Immigration ( Contemporary Issues Companion), states that due to â€Å"illegal immigration and because U. S. immigration policy slants toward admitting relatives rather than immigrants with needed workplace skills, our immigration system literally imports poverty† (Hina 2).So instead of benefiting America with skilled workers, uneducated, poor immigrants are admitted and given full benefits of the social services they don’t deserve. Rachel Alexander, lawyer and coeditor of IntellectualConservatives. com, argues â€Å"illegal immi gration is a major problem in the United States because illegal immigrants pay no taxes yet consume welfare resources at the tax payers’ expense†¦Border security has not stemmed the tide of illegal immigrants, so the government should focus instead on depriving them of social aid so that they will not be disinclined to sneak in to the country† (Haugen 1).Providing illegal immigrants with social aid is wrong, because not only should they not be in our country, they are supported here by citizens’ tax dollars. The social services of this country is one of the reasons immigrants rush over here in the first place, so if we place more restrictions on who can receive social aid, they won’t be so encouraged to hop the border. The massive amounts of immigrants who enter this country illegally make American citizens suffer economically and physically.Jamuna Carroll, author of many young adult books, stresses â€Å"how can we ask working families of California – many of whom have taken out sizable loans to finance their children’s education and many of whom will never be able to afford to send their children to college – to subsidize the education of those who should not be in our country at all? † (Carroll 2). Citizens in some states are now obligated to pay taxes to help illegal immigrants pay less for the same college education.It is unfair to provide immigrants who are here illegally, with discounts to public colleges and held as a priority over American citizens, who are burdened with taxes that pay for their discounts, in fact, the immigrants should not even be able to attend public colleges since they are breaking the law by being here, and colleges shouldn’t grant acceptance to them. Carroll further suggests â€Å"no one needs a college degree to sustain health and welfare and education is not a human right, as some of the proponents of this goofy attitude about tuition subsidies for illegals su ggest† (Carroll 2).Education is not an inalienable right. Nowhere in the constitution does it state education is an essential and necessary right the government must provide all who live within the borders. California should not enforce this view on their state residents because illegal immigrants should not benefit from education discounts when California citizens have to pay the hefty bill. Also by placing more restrictions on social aid programs, the tax payers won’t be so burdened with useless taxes to pay for illegal aliens, who don’t provide any benefits to the country.The United States should make educated skilled workers a priority in the immigration policy and place more restrictions on social aid to solve the immigration crisis. Lori Newman, writer for the Greenhaven Press, reminds us, â€Å"every legal immigrant before 1924 was examined for infectious diseases upon arrival and tested for tuberculosis. Anyone infected was shipped back to their country of origin†¦today†¦illegal aliens simply cross our borders medically unexamined, hiding in their bodies any number of diseases’ (Newman 3). In 1924, only the healthiest and most educated could be admitted ntrance in to America, the land of opportunities, now the poorest and least educated immigrants with innumerable amounts of diseases flood into our country every day. Those with diseases once rare in our country infect and burden the American health care system. The United States should enforce more restrictions on social and the immigration policy so we can stop these diseases from infecting our people. America should stop trying to enforce rights that do not exist on people who should not be in our country and pay more attention to those dying because of the people who bring the diseases in illegally.Many Americans agree the United States needs to stop trying to provide for illegal immigrants within our borders and focus on legal citizens who give back to the coun try through taxes. Statistics show â€Å"approximately 480,000 family-based immigrants and 140,000 employment based immigrants, as well as around 80,000 refugees and 20,000 immigrants seeking asylum† come in every year and stay because they are given health care, welfare and discounts on colleges with no costs to them (Haugen 1). Tax paying Americans are suffering while illegal aliens are given health care and welfare.The government needs to crack down on social services and help their fellow countrymen rather than uneducated and poor immigrants from which American reaps no benefits. Immigrants are what America was founded on, but citizens express that today they come in and take advantage of what America has to offer instead of those who first came to our country, ready to work and provide for their country. America needs to realize they can’t help everyone who asks, there is simply not enough resources or money, especially in these discouraging economic times. Help t hose who give America, not those who take advantage. Works Cited Carroll, Jamuna. Subsidizing college Tuition for Illegal Immigrants is Unfair. † Opposing Views Resource Center. Gale. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. Haugen, David. â€Å"Illegal Immigrants Should be Stopped From Draining Public Services. † Opposing Views Resource Center. Gale. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. Hina, Paul. â€Å"Illegal Immigrants Are Abusing the Public Health System. † Opposing Views Resource Center. Gale. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. Miller, Debra. â€Å"Illegal Immigrants Create a Drain on the U. S. Government. † Opposing Views Resource Center. Gale. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. Newman, Lori. â€Å"Illegal Immigrants Threaten U. S. Health Care. † Opposing ViewsResource Center. Gale. Web. 20 Oct. 2010.

Economy in Tibet

Economy Since the democratic reform in 1959, and especially since the adoption of the reform and opening-up policy in 1978, Tibet has witnessed remarkable economic development. The Tibetan economy is dominated by subsistence agriculture. The Tibetan yak still plays an important role in Tibetan life. Yaks still promote the best way to plow fields in Tibet. The Tibetan economy is dominated by subsistence agriculture.Due to limited arable land, the primary occupation of the Tibetan Plateau is raising livestock, such as sheep, cattle, goats, camels, yaks, horses and some crops such as barley, buckwheat, wheat, potatoes, and assorted fruits and vegetables. Development Zone The State Council approved Tibet Lhasa Economic and Technological Development Zone as a state-level development zone in 2001. It is located in the western suburbs of Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region. It is a flat zone, ideal for construction services , and it has the natural conditions for good drainage .Source: http://www. starmass. com/china_review/provincial_overview/tibet_demographic_economy. htm Tibet demographic analysis and economy overview The service sector plays an important role in Tibet’s economy growth. This is because in 2007, more than half (55%) of the provincial GDP is derived from the service industries. Tourism plays a crucial role to the province’s economic growth. Newly emerging service sectors such as modern commerce, tourism, posts and telecommunications, catering, cultural entertainment and information technology have also been developing rapidly.The construction sector contributes 21% to the provincial GDP, agricultural sector 16% and manufacturing contributes the least- 8% to the total GDP GDP While traditional agricultural work and animal husbandry continue to lead the area's economy, in 2005 the tertiary sector contributed more than half of its GDP growth, the first time it surpassed the area's primary industry. Rich reserves of natural res ources and raw materials have yet to lead to the creation of a strong secondary sector, due in large part to the province's inhospitable terrain, low population density, an underdeveloped infrastructure and the high cost of extractionTibet's GDP in 2008 reached 39. 6 billion Yuan. The Chinese government says that it exempts Tibet from all taxation and provides 90% of Tibet's government expenditure. Critics say that the central government is stripping Tibetan resources and neglecting the welfare of Tibetan people. Tibet's economy has grown on average 15% per year from 2000 to 2006. http://news. xinhuanet. com/english/2009-03/30/content_11098888. htm Report on economic and social development of Tibet www. chinaview. cn 2009-03-30 10:22:48 Source: http://www. starmass. com/china_review/provincial_overview/tibet_demographic_economy. tm Tibet demographic analysis and economy overview The GDP per capita reached 13. 861 Yuan in 2008 for the first time in Tibet's history. GDP reached 39,5 b illion Yuan in 2008. In the first six months of 2008, economic growth in Tibet was halved after the Lhasa riots (a series of riots, protests, and demonstrations that started in the capital of Lhasa and spread to other Tibetan areas and a number of monasteries including outside the Tibet Autonomous Region. The violence was mostly directed at Han and Hui civilians). The Lhasa riots led to a slump in tourism and consumption.In recent years, due to increased interest in Tibetan Buddhism, tourism has become an increasingly important sector, and is actively promoted by the authorities. (Philipois) China has invested 310  billion yuan (about 45. 6  billion U. S. dollars) in Tibet since 2001. Industry There was no modern industry or infrastructure before the 1950s With some adjustments, the value of industrial output rose again in the late 1980s. Moreover, as in the rest of China, the ownership structure of industrial enterprises in the TAR also experienced a major change.In 2007, for a â€Å"gross industrial output value† totalling 5,044 million yuan, 33,1  % came from state enterprises, 5. 6  % from collectively-owned enterprises and 61. 3  % from â€Å"others† (private companies, joint ventures and foreign companies). Thus, private enterprise is now the main source of growth in industrial production. Commerce (traditional handicrafts, carpets etc) tourism, catering, leisure and other industries that had never been heard of in old Tibet, are now booming as the primary industries in the region. Prospects for Growth and DevelopmentAlthough Tibet's society and economy were affected by the March14 Incident in 2008, the impact on most local industries was limited, except for temporary difficulties for tourism in Tibet. In the next few years, Tibet's economy is expected to maintain sound and rapid development in virtue of favorable factors such as increasing investment and transfer payments from the central government, rising income level of farmer s and herdsmen, and burgeoning consumption by local residents. Slides (Philips, just in case you want to use this map†¦ I think it`s a good one)Slide 1: Economy in Tibet Democratic reform in 1959 and reform and opening-up policy in 1978: remarkable economic development in Tibet. Traditionally dominated by subsistence agriculture. Due to limited arable land, the primary occupation of the Tibetan Plateau is raising livestock, such as sheep, cattle, goats, camels, yaks, horses and some crops such as barley, buckwheat, wheat, potatoes, and assorted fruits and vegetables. Slide 2: Yaks still promote the best way to plow fields in Tibet. Slide 3: Development ZoneThe State Council approved Tibet Lhasa Economic and Technological Development Zone as a state-level development zone in 2001. Location: in the western suburbs of Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Flat zone Construction services Natural conditions for good drainage. Slide 4: Tibet`s GDP Industry: no modern ind ustry or infrastructure before the 1950s With some adjustments, the value of industrial output rose again in the late 1980s. Nowadays private enterprise is the main source of growth in industrial production.Newly emerging service sectors: modern commerce, tourism, posts and telecommunications, catering, cultural entertainment and information technology have also been developing rapidly. Tourism: essential for the economic growth. Source: http://www. starmass. com/china_review/provincial_overview/tibet_demographic_economy. htm – Tibet demographic analysis and economy overview Slide 5: Economic Growth and GDP Tibet's GDP in 2008 reached 39. 6 billion Yuan. Tibet's economy has grown on average 15% per year from 2000 to 2008. In the first six months of 2008, economic growth in Tibet was negatively affected by Lhasa riots.Source: http://news. xinhuanet. com/english/2009-03/30/content_11098888. htm – Report on economic and social development of Tibet Slide 6 China has invest ed 310  billion yuan (about 45. 6  billion U. S. dollars) in Tibet since 2001. The GDP per capita reached 15. 000 Yuan in 2009. Source: http://www. starmass. com/china_review/provincial_overview/tibet_demographic_economy. htm – Tibet demographic analysis and economy overview I COULDN`T FIND ANY GOOD VIDEOS†¦ http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=_xkzjvx7SzE;feature=related