Why Would We Vote on a Tuesday? Blog Stage 8

Voting Day is something that I believe needs to be addressed and rearranged. Heather wrote a post called “Voting on Weekends” that I fully agree with. On November 7th 2017, I was unable to vote due to my very busy tuesday work load. In the mid 1800’s, the United States when the law for voting day to be placed on a tuesday was passed, the U.S was best described as an agrarian society. It makes sense that back then farmers needed more time to get to a voting station. Tuesday was established as election day for religious reasons as well. It did not interfere with the Biblical Sabbath or with market day which typically took place on Wednesdays in most towns. The problem is that we aren’t all religious farmers anymore! I agree that voting on tuesday is very random. There are many random laws that are completely illogical in context to the 21st century. A law should be passed for voting day to be moved to a more convenient day (like a holiday as was mentioned) or at least extended to last for longer than just a short one-day period.

Should Governments Help Pay for College? Blog Stage 7

“Should governments help pay for college?”— This is a controversial topic in both education and our economics. With the prices of higher education now, most adults who are returning to college would leap at the opportunity of a government-subsidized education. However, students fresh out of high school typically don’t recognize the benefits of government-financed classes and expenses. 

The topic of free education is sensitive amongst many in the U.S. for a number of reasons; Education is the only way to maintain a technological and developmental advantage over other nations. The United States has managed to maintain its reputation as the most innovative nation to date. What better way to maintain the American dream then to have a technologically wealthy nation. Higher education equals higher salaries and more opportunities. If the government were to pay for the nation’s higher education, the most prominent issue is where the government would acquire their funding from. The average cost of higher education is $87,000 to $115,000 for four years at a state university. Graduate programs will increase the cost and these figures are based on 2006 estimates; each year the cost continues to rise.

I believe that the government should offset the cost of college. While taxpayers would carry the burden in the beginning, government support of a college education will help to eventually eliminate the need for welfare in our nation. It can also help reduce the levels of family or class-related poverty and lessen street causing domestic abuse. Children of college graduates typically attend college. The average family cannot afford the crazy rising costs of college unless the parents themselves are college graduates. The topic of whether or not the government should pay for its citizens higher education is a very controversial topic with no simple solution. Regardless of my questions concerning finance, I do believe that the government should pay for our education.

Blog Stage 6; Comment on a Colleagues Work 1

Gabrielle wrote her blog stage 5 on the legalization of...marijuana. Often, many people write claims on their blogs that they do not care to support with evidence and I think that the contrary is very well done in this article. I agree entirely that marijuana should be legalized to help our state’s and nation’s economic growth. To continue to support our claims on why the plant should be legalized nationwide, in 2013 a A Gallup poll released revealing that for the first time in history, Americans are more in favor of legalizing marijuana than criminalizing it. Now, 58 percent of Americans are in favor allowing the plant to be legal. Prohibition doesn’t control the use of marijuana in the United States. States under prohibition gain nothing from it. The states spend their money, time, and resources enforcing it to no end. The states that have legalized marijuana have already acquired over $200 million in combined tax revenue compared to the other 46 states. The states are saving money in the police departments, courts, other essential agencies that are bothered with marijuana prosecutions.  

So many people may think having a large amount of THC in your body will lead to death, but that isn’t possible. Since marijuana has been around, not one single account of death from overdose of marijuana has been recorded or accounted for. Meanwhile in 2010, about 39,000 people died from drug overdoses. Sixty percent of those overdoses were related to prescription drugs. In that same year about 26,000 people died from alcohol related causes. So if cigarettes and alcohol are a higher health risk, then why isn’t marijuana legal as well?

In this article, you mention that one of the United State’s biggest national issues is the lack of jobs available in our country. I 100% agree that we would benefit economically from the increase in demand of labor and the marijuana industry in itself. If 81,000 new jobs have been created in california alone, there is no telling how much the U.S could flourish if all states legalized it for medical and recreational usage.