International Monetary Fund
Intro:
In July 1944, the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference met
in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, to find a way to rebuild and
stabilize the world economy that had been severely devastated by World
War II. One result of the conference was the founding of the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) through the signing of its Articles
of Agreement by 29 countries.
The stated purposes of the IMF were to create international monetary
cooperation, to stabilize currency exchange rates, to facilitate the
expansion and balanced growth of international trade, and to make the
IMF's general resources temporarily available to its members
experiencing balance of payments difficulties under adequate
safeguards. There were 143 member nations in the IMF in the early
1980's. Most of the Communist countries, including the Soviet Union,
did not join; and, of the Western nations, Switzerland has not
participated (Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia, 1996). However,
there are now 184 members (www.imf.org).
On joining the IMF, each member country contributes a certain sum of
money which is known as a quota subscription, as a sort of credit
union deposit (www.imf.org). The IMF appraises its members' exchange
rate policies within the framework of a comprehensive analysis of the
general economic situation and the policy strategy of each member.
?The IMF fulfills its surveillance responsibilities through: annual
bilateral Article IV consultations with individual countries;
multilateral surveillance twice a year in the context of its World
Economic Outlook (WEO) exercise; and precautionary arrangements,
enhanced surveillance, and program monitoring, which provide a member
with close mon...
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rich and capitalistic region. The IMF?s original goals, for which it
was created, have been met and it is time for true reform and not just
the change of a name or policy.
Work Cited
1. Conditionality. (n.d.). Retrieved Nov. 22, 2005, from
Conditionality Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conditionalities.
2. Engdahl, W. (n.d.). How the imf props up the bankrupt dollar
system. Retrieved Nov. 22, 2005, from How the IMF Props Up the
Bankrupt Dollar System - EES Info Report Web site:
http://ees.net.nz/info/How_the_IMF_Props_Up_the_Bankrupt_Dollar_System.htm.
3. Engler, Y. (2005). Market famines. Retrieved Nov. 22, 2005, from
Znet Africa Web site:
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=2&ItemID=8494.
4. International monetary fund. (n.d.). Retrieved Nov. 22, 2005, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imf.
Mann and Norman J. Ornstein argue that the Legislative branch is the most broken branch of government. Congress was designed by the Framers of the Constitution of the United States to be an independent and powerful party. The Framers wanted the Legislative branch to represent the vast diversity of people of the United States, to deliberate on important issues and policies, and to check and balance the other branches. However, Congress’s role in the American Constitutional System differs from the part it was meant to play. The authors argue that Congress has failed to fill its responsibilities to the people of the United States because of the division of the Democratic and Republican parties, which leaves little room for compromise and negotiation. Members of Congress focus on their own needs and interests, and will travel to far lengths to prove that their political party is the most powerful. Congress has turned a blind eye to the needs of the American people. Congress cannot succeed in getting the United States back on track unless they start to follow the rules dictated by the Framers of the Constitution. A vast series of decisions made by Congress, driven by Congress’s disregard for institutional procedures, its tendency to focus on personal ethics, and the overpowering culture of corruption, led to Congress failing to implement important changes in the United States
Rather than seeking to create an ideal government or reform the world, the members of
This past summer, when I lived and worked in Washington, DC—first as a U.S. Senate Page and then as a Congressional Intern—I gained invaluable experience and insight to the American political system. It is amazing how much one can learn from simply overhearing the conversations of Members of Congress on a daily basis. Working on the floor of the Senate and then in the back rooms of a Congressional office were two entirely different experiences, each teaching me in a distinctive way about how our political system functions. While I most definitely became aware of how bureaucratic and slow our democratic system can be, I also discovered that with a commitment to unity and prosperity for the common good, great feats are attainable through government.
has not achieved its goals, and that in some areas, it has even backfired. Steele
...e results. I believe that this reform would be rational and helpful to the masses especially if a brand new platform were to be built upon research conducted from the previous policies.
These changes did not happen over night. It took time, and even now is still being improved more and more each year. The structure of government has changed and still is being improved each year to, to protect and satisfy the common good of the population.
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Yes, reform is a realistic expectation in the American political process. Our forefathers intentionally left vagaries in the Constitution. They understood that in order to be long-lasting, some rules would nee...
Knoop, A, T, 2011, Recessions and depressions: understanding business cycles, ABC-CLIO, United States of America
To understand the purpose and role of the Federal Reserve System, we must first know the origin of the central bank of the United States. On December 23, 1913 President Woodrow Wilson signed The Federal Reserve Act. The primary purpose of the act was to make sure that a supply of money and credit would be available in the United States to meet banking demands by establishing Federal Reserve Banks which would hold the responsibility of supporting the credit structure during periods of financial strain. Other banks were expected to rely on the Federal Reserve for emergency cash and credit. Government and banking influence would select the management, primarily a board of directors chosen by banks. Supervision would be by the Federal Reserve Board. The intent in 1913 was to create eight to twelve centrally located district Federal Reserve Banks and national banks would be required to keep a part of their reserve with the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve would receive deposits from the government and receive deposits and lend to member banks only. It took almost a year to determine the boundaries of the decided twelve districts and establish the twelve Reserve Banks (one of the four components of the Federal Reserve). Named after the city in which they are located, the twelve Banks are Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas, and San Francisco.
have not come about without criticism on constitutional grounds. Any criticism should take into account the extraordinary recidivism rates found only in the criminal class of the s...
the end the law was still standing. If our leaders are divided we could say that
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(United Nations Children's Fund [UNICF], n.d.)The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is a leading advocate for women and children rights. Founded in 1946 and active in 157 countries and territories around the world. The UNICEF has committed it resources to achieve results for children in five major areas:
Fifty-one countries established the United Nations also known as the UN on October 24, 1945 with the intentions of preserving peace through international cooperation and collective security. Over the years the UN has grown in numbers to include 185 countries, thus making the organization and its family of agencies the largest in an effort to promote world stability. Since 1954 the UN and its organizations have received the Nobel Peace Prize on 5 separate occasions. The first in 1954 awarded to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Geneva, for its assistance to refugees, and finally in 1988 to the United Nations Peace-keeping Forces, for its peace-keeping operations. As you can see, the United Nations efforts have not gone without notice.