Credit Scores are a Fair Measure to Help Lenders Estimate Potential Essay

Credit Scores are a Fair Measure to Help Lenders Estimate Potential Risks - Essay Example To simplify their customers’ analytical process, mathematical algorithm can be used by different bureaus to provide a score that customers can use to rapidly assess an individual’s likelihood to repay a certain debt, if the frequency by which other individuals in such situations default in meeting their obligations is given. This means that credit bureaus have to create several credit scores for many individuals. Credit scores that are over 700 are pretty good, and most of them go up to 800 (consumer Reports, 2005). The most widely used method of calculating credit score is FICO, though there are many other methods. It is normally used by mortgage lenders, who use risk-based system to find out the possibility of a borrower to default financial obligations to mortgage lenders. It is important that each individual is always aware of his credit score so that you can work towards improving it. Individuals are therefore advised by consumer welfare advocates to review their r eports of credit at least once every year, so as to ensure their accuracy, and hence increase chances of their credit qualifications (consumer Reports, 2005). ... It offers the best measure of credit risk without individual discrimination in terms of age, sex, gender race or occupation. Credit score is calculated using different data that is found in your credit report. The data is then grouped into five different categories, each with a percentage reflecting the importance in the determination of your score. They are categorized as payment history, amounts owed, credit history length, new credit and other types of credit used as 35%, 30%, 15% 10%, and 10% respectively. All these scores play a vital role in the formula, which then determines your credit score. Credit scores help lenders to estimate the potential risk of giving credit to individuals. Credit reports and scores can affect an individual during tough economic times. Furthermore, it plays an important part in determining an individual’s financial well-being. Credit scores are used by lenders to determine who to give a loan, at what rate of interest, and the credit limit. Acco rding to consumer Reports, (2005), the three major bureaus of credit: Equifax, Trans-union, and Experian, that calculate FICO scores based on data collected from credit card companies and banks. How Credit Scores and Reports are Used Lenders like credit card companies and banks use scores of credit in evaluating potential risks that may be posed by lending money, as well as mitigating losses that result from bad debts. They determine loan qualification, interest rate, and credit limits that lenders may accrue the consumers. It is a trusted system of authorizing the accessibility of credit among individuals. Since it is not limited to banks only, other organizations like insurance companies, government

Affirmitive Action Essay -- essays research papers

The Facts   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson issues an Executive Order 11246 requiring federal contractors to â€Å"take affirmative action† to ensure that they do not engage in discriminatory practices against workers because of race creed, color, or national origin. Two years later gender was added to the list. Affirmative action is the practice, usually by institutions or employment in government and business, of giving preference to racial minorities and women. The politics were originally developed to correct decades of discrimination and to give disadvantaged minorities a boost. The diversity of our current society as opposed to that of 50 years ago seems to indicate the programs have been a success. Now, many think the policies are no longer needed and that they led to more problems than they solve.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One particular kind of affirmative action is racial quotas, or deciding on a specific number or percentage of members of a given minority group that a company or institution had to accept. These racial quotas improved diversity to some degree, but was considered too crude by many people. Now affirmative action usually involves involves using race, gender, socioeconomic background, and/or sexual orientation status as a positive factor in hiring or admissions decisions. Supporters   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  George E. Curry, a strong supporter of affirmative action (AA) knew it would happen when anti-affirmative action supporters would begin to poke fun at the decision made by the Supreme Court on the University of Michigan landmark case. A group of Conservative students at Roger William University in Rhode Island is offering a Whites-only scholarship valued at only $250 each. In addition to Whites-only scholarship, other attempts at humor include so-called affirmative action bake sales. At Southern Methodist University in Dallas, for example, Young Conservatives of Texas offered cookies at different prices. White males were charged $1 for each cookie, white women were charged 75 cents for each cookie, Hispanics were charged 50 cent and African Americans 25 cents. Similar bakes sale were held at Columbia University, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Texas, Northwestern University, the University of Michigan and the University of Indiana.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A ... ...till present discrimination today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  But at the same time, minority students in top colleges are disproportionately from middle and upper-middle class backgrounds, this it true for white college students as well. AA does not cure all of America’s social ills, but it can help eliminate the gaps between the average incomes and educations levels of different races. I think AA should be applied to not only race but economic background as well. I think the current system is out dated on both ends of the argument. However since we will never live in a colorblind society, I believe that there should be monitors to make sure that all admission and hiring is done on the up and up. No discrimination and no reverse discrimination. Curry, G. E. (2004, March 1) Affirmative Action War Still Rages   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Retrieved June 25, 2004   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Http://georgecurry.com/columns/index1.shtml?id=1078378827 Connerly, W (2002, May 12) Ward Connerly and the American Civil Rights Institute Retrieved June 25, 2004  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.mediatransparency.org/people/ward_connerly.htm

Debate Essay

The thesis of our case is that birthright citizenship puts unfair burden on certain people in the world to take care of less fortunate. It is ironic that both the birthright citizenship and equal protection guarantees appear in the Fourteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution. Arguably, birthright citizenship contradicts the notion of normative equality and arguably equal protection under the laws. Thus, birthright citizenship should be abolished. Our first contention is that birthright citizenship causes two primary problems. First, it strains welfare programs. Second, it permits a never-ending chain of citizenship eligibility. Jon Feere, who has a B. A. from the University of California, Davis, and a J. D. from American University, and is a Policy Analyst for the Center for Immigration Studies, wrote in an article entitled, â€Å"Birthright Citizenship in the United States: A Global Comparison† in August 20101: The two citizenship benefits that have drawn the most attention in the birthright citizenship debate are, first, food assistance and other welfare benefits to which a family of illegal aliens would not otherwise have access, and second, the ability of the child when he grows up to legalize his parents, and also to bring into the United States his foreign-born spouse and any foreign-born siblings. The sponsored spouse can, in turn, sponsor her own foreign-born parents and siblings, and the siblings can, in turn, sponsor their own foreign-born spouses, and so on, generating a irtually never-ending and always-expanding migration chain. 2nd contention†¦Birthright citizenship turns efforts to employ migrant workers into policies exploding the number of US citizens. Jon Feere, B. A. from the University of California, Davis; J. D. from American University, Policy Analyst for the Center for Immigration Studies, â€Å"Birthright Citizenship in the United States: A Global Comparison† August 2010, http://www. cis. org/birthright-citizenship The issue of birthright citizenship for the children of aliens who have not been admitted for permanent residence cannot be resolved in isolation from other immigration issues. For example, politicians on both sides of the aisle regularly call for an increase in temporary workers, but the economic and social impact of children born to these workers while they are in the United States is never part of the discussion. Under any large-scale guest worker program, it is likely that tens of thousands of children would be born on U. S. soil. If the guest worker does not depart when his work visa expires, he becomes an illegal alien and is subject to deportation. But immigration authorities cannot deport the guest worker’s citizen child along with the overstaying guest worker. The result is that the guest worker makes the case for indefinite stay based on the principle of â€Å"keeping families together† — an argument that is often successful at stopping an alien’s deportation. Because of birthright citizenship, what started as a policy to bring in laborers on a temporary basis can become yet another channel for permanent immigration? This is one of the reasons why some have said that â€Å"there is often nothing more permanent than a temporary worker. † Abolishing birthright citizenship would not require a constitutional amendment. Jon Feere, B. A. rom the University of California, Davis; J. D. from American University, Policy Analyst for the Center for Immigration Studies, â€Å"Birthright Citizenship in the United States: A Global Comparison† August 2010, http://www. cis. org/birthright-citizenship Extending 14th Amendment birthright citizenship to any class of persons is a momentous matter because it confers very valu able benefits and imposes very serious obligations on children who have no say in the matter and it also has long-lasting and important effects on the size and composition of the U. S. population. The executive branch’s current practice of extending birthright citizenship to nonresident aliens has never been authorized by any statute or any court decision. The legislative record left by drafters of the 14th Amendment shows that they were primarily concerned about conferring citizenship on freed slaves. While the Supreme Court has settled the matter as it applies to permanent resident aliens, it has yet to decide the matter as it applies to aliens whose presence in the United States is temporary or unlawful. As a result, Americans are justifiably upset with a policy that has become standard practice without their approval. Because the legislative history is not decisive and there is no Supreme Court precedent, serious legal scholars and eminent jurists have argued that Congress should uses its inherent authority to define the scope of birthright citizenship. Congress can use the hearing process to promote a calm, informed, and serious discussion on the wisdom and legality of granting automatic U. S. citizenship to the children of â€Å"birth tourists,† illegal aliens, and other categories of foreign visitors who are taking advantage of a clause in the 14th Amendment that was primarily aimed at helping an entirely different class of persons.

Exploring Domestic Abuse in the US

Over the past 25 years, the National Institute of Justice has worked to educate the public and policymakers about the widespread problem of domestic violence in the US. Because of the increased exposure, there has been more public awareness and policies and laws have been instituted, resulting in a decrease of 30% in domestic abuse. In an effort to learn more about domestic violence and the effect of the policies designed to help combat it, the NIJ has sponsored a series of studies over the years. Conclusions of the Studies The results of the research have been two-fold, by first identifying the top causes and risk factors surrounding domestic violence and then by taking an in-depth look at how and if the policies designed to combat it are actually helping. As a result of the research it was determined that some of the policies, such as removing firearms in homes where there is domestic violence, offering increased assistance and counseling to the victims, and prosecuting the violent abusers, have helped women get away from violent partners and decreased the number of domestic violence incidents over the years. What was also revealed was that some of the policies may not be working and in fact, could be detrimental to the victims. Intervention, for example, sometimes has an adverse effect and can actually endanger the victims because of an increase in retaliatory behavior by the abusers. It was also determined that those domestic abusers who are considered to be chronically aggressive will continue to be abusive no matter what type of intervention is given including arrest. By identifying the major risk factors and causes of domestic violence, the NIJ can focus their efforts where it most needed and modify policies that are found to be ineffective or detrimental. Major Risk Factors and Causes of Domestic Violence Researchers found that the following situations either put people at greater risk of being a victim of intimate partner violence  or were the actual causes of domestic violence. Early Parenthood Women who became mothers at the age of 21 or under are twice more likely to become victims of domestic violence than women who became mothers at an older age. Men who have fathered children by age 21 were more than three times as likely to be abusers as men who were not fathers at that age. Because of this link to abuse, it is estimated that 1 in 15 children is exposed to domestic abuse at home. Problem Drinkers Males who have severe drinking problems are at a greater risk for lethal and violent domestic behavior. More than two-thirds of the offenders who commit or attempt homicide used alcohol, drugs, or both during the incident. Less than one-fourth of the victims used alcohol and/or drugs. Severe Poverty Severe poverty and the stress that comes with it increase the risk of domestic violence. According to studies, households with less income have higher incidents of domestic violence reported. In addition, the reductions in aid to families with children are also associated with an increase in domestic violence. Unemployment Domestic violence has been linked to unemployment in two major ways. One study found that women who are victims of domestic violence have a more difficult time finding employment. Another study found that women who receive aid for themselves and their children were less stable in their jobs. Mental and Emotional Distress Women who experience severe domestic violence face overwhelming mental and emotional distress. Almost half of the women suffer from major depression, 24% suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder, and 31% from anxiety. No Warning A womans attempt to leave their partner was the number one factor in 45% of the women murdered by their partners. One in five women killed or severely injured by their partner had no warning. The fatal or life-threatening incident was the first physical violence they had experienced from their partner. How Widespread Is Domestic Violence? Statistics from select studies sponsored by the National Institute of Justice shows how large a problem domestic violence is in the US. Every year approximately 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are physically assaulted by their partners.Women are significantly more likely than men to be injured during an intimate partner assault (39 percent compared with 24.8 percent).Out of all women murdered in the US each year, 40-50% were murdered by their intimate partners. In 70-80% of the homicides that occurred during incidents of domestic violence, no matter which partner was killed, the man physically abused the woman before the murder.Sexual assault or forced sex occurs in approximately 40-45% of the relationships where there is domestic abuse.Among those surveyed, the lifetime occurrence of domestic violence for women age 18 and older was nearly 25% and 7.6% for men. In 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began the National Intimate and Sexual Violence Surveillance program to gather and distribute additional information for each state about the frequency of domestic violence, sexual violence, and stalking. The results of a 2010 survey conducted by the NISVS showed that on average, 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in the US. Annually that equals more than 12 million women and men. These findings emphasize the need for continued work in the development of strategies for prevention and in bringing effective help to those in need.