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Calendar Time Management for Working Students Really Is A Necessity

plannerfranklin — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:28:51 +0000

At last you are now in college! Only a few more years and the career you have been dreaming to achieve for years is already within your grasp.

However, the path is not easy and wreath with beds of roses. Lack of financial means to pay for your tuition, books and other necessary expenses can be an aspect to make your college student life miserable. Of course, you can get a part time job to and support yourself, but it will be precious time away from your studies.

You need accomplish also other college activities in successfully finishing your course. Notwithstanding old and new friends which will surely invite you to social events.

Well then, you need to hone up your time management skills and draw up a time management calendar. Having a Calendar of your activities will help you get through the difficulty of balancing your time between study and work, extra-curricular and social activities with friends.

More and more State Universities and Community Colleges are aware of the fact that college students have to work in order to survive and finance their college education. Because of this insight, these schools adjust their class schedules to meet every students needs.

However, administrators and advisors in the office find a hard time of scheduling and managing classes for working college students. This is because there are too many people to schedule and manage and few people to draw up the class schedules.

College working students like you who practice effective time management strategies can be a big help. You can assist university and community colleges administrators in drawing up class schedules that are effective for working students. Professionals at college need your definite schedules so that they can draw up a fair enough class schedules.

You can work out by yourself an efficient time management schedule, which takes into consideration your studies, and part time job schedules. In the end, with an effective time student calendar time management plan, you also save money.

Here is a great method of setting up your calendar of time management schedule:

1. First off, you must have a semester calendar. Universities and other colleges provide students with blank semester calendars. You can obtain one through online or create one according to your own liking.

2. In the semester calendars, enter your class schedules, project due dates, registration dates and other important dates. These important dates may come from your class syllabi and the school timetables provided in their brochures and announcements. Enter each date as you find them into your semester calendar.

Set up your own due dates for each phase of a big project, like term papers and projects. You can also add personal commitments to social and personal events

Maintaining a semester calendar as your time management method will give you a view of what commitments you need to fulfill. It will help you plan before a given schedule. This way, you will avoid last minute disasters.

3. You can also set up a weekly planner. There are available weekly planners provided by institutions you can obtain them online or get them at the registration office during enrollment. If you want to, you can also buy or create your own.

In the weekly planner, you need to enter your regular class schedule and other obligations on a weekly basis, like work, club or church meetings and assembly.

Make it a point that you insert ample time for review and reading before and following each class lecture you attend.

Take note of it in your planner. If you are wondering the enough time to put in for a review, have a general rule to plan two hours of study for each hour a lecture transpired.

Plan your regular time off from work and school. Enter bed and wake up times in your planner. Meanwhile, for projects, exams and other personal commitments, leave off blank slots

4. Tally out your weekly planner and semester calendar every Friday night or late afternoon. This will enable you to check out the things you have accomplished for that week and adjust on the activities that you still need to do for the following week.

Incorporating these other commitments can be done by placing them in the blank time schedule you have on your weekly planner. Then add new items you are committed in for the incoming week. Enter new things and schedules as new obligations, commitments and engagements come up.

You can have your weekly planner to check out before saying your affirmation to a commitment or engagement. If you find you have a previous entry on the said date and time, then it is best to turn down the invitation early on.

5. Every night create a daily “action list” for the following day. Use your weekly and semester calendar to do this. You can even put in categories to set your priorities straight.

Having a calendar for effective time management will reveal its importance when you reach your goals. The main purpose of maintaining it is that it will help remind you of the key goals you have set forth to achieve.

Get Gentle Services beyond Compare with Event Management Company

plannerfranklin — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 11:29:06 +0000

Organizing a party, tradeshow, seminar, conference and exhibition requires much planning and arrangements to make it successful and memorable. These are the events that cannot be arranged within a few hours. You need help from an event management company to make it successful and memorable. In fact, events like fashion shows, sports, music, award ceremonies, cultural gatherings, etc have become the elementary augmentation drivers in the event management sector because event management companies endow you with skillful administration from beginning to end.

Talking of this industry, it started with the multinationals poured into the global market more than three decades ago. Today, with the changing of time and technology, online event management systems is very much preferred. This is because, by taking the help of an online event management company, you can plan your event easily, sale your ticket and manage the entire event to make it successful. It doesn’t matter, your event is big or small, event management companies do all the planning necessary for any type of function. Moreover, professional of your select company consult with you about your needs and wishes regarding the event you plan. These companies also offer online event management services and software as well.

Only you have to place your order by describing the event type and budget. Online event management service providers also keep detailed records of event locations as well as surveys of viewer opinions. An online event management company handles all types of events such as seminars, business meetings, product launching, exhibitions, conferences, trade shows and weddings. Moreover, they also provide budget settlement, event concept development, support, marketing and advertising as well as public relations. These companies with the help of professional planners manage your events and make it successful from start to finish.

An event management company can also assist in setting up trade shows to publicize your line of work and any product and service that harmonizes with your company profile. However, the task of an event management company is a difficult one because it needs good management skills and presence of mind and above all patience. Today, New Year parties and promotional operations are also managed by an event management company.

Rockstar Tips For Processing E-mail

plannerfranklin — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 08:39:06 +0000

When interviewing some of today’s top practicing programmers for my new book, “Secrets of the Rockstar Programmers”, one of the most frequently cited key skills is having a great system for managing incoming information. In today’s information workplace e-mail is the conduit through which lots of that information flows. This article shares a few things I’ve learned from the rockstars in the book, as well as providing an insight into the system I currently use for email.

Much has been written about managing e-mail, some of it even mentions the important link between e-mail mastery and its parent skill: time management. Rather than rehash old content I recommend you keep that link in mind when reading content on this topic. In my opinion, any system that doesn’t link these two skills together is not worth learning about.

Before we begin, I want to give a quick shout out to two bright lights of prior art on this subject. Mark Hurst wrote an article back in 2002 about the subject which compared the act of managing e-mail with the classic arcade video game Tapper. Being a classic video game enthusiast, I LOVED the analogy and also loved the article. Mark has expanded the article into a book: Bit Literacy. I hope to interview Mark Hurst for the next edition of the Rockstar project and I plan to read his book. The other bright light I’ve found is Merlin Mann whose famous “Inbox Zero” talk is a web phenomenon even more popular than Rickrolling. Merlin’s easygoing manner also makes his content a pleasure to watch and read.

I’m old school, through and through. For time management, I use an old fashioned Franklin-Covey planner, and do the full system, “big rocks” and all. It works for me, but it is a bit short of being fun to use, which Merlin points out is a desirable attribute for an e-mail management (and time management) system. For e-mail, I’m equally old school. I use XEmacs VM mode combined with fetchmail, procmail and mairix for my email client (aka Mail User Agent or MUA if you want to be pedantic (which I often do)). Fetchmail is a simple IMAP client that sucks my email down to /var/mail/edburns, the way God intended. Procmail is a rule based filtering program that takes the mail and filters it to folders. This is how I deal with SPAM. Mairix is an email indexing and searching utility I learned about from rockstar programmer Adrian Colyer, Chapter 2 in the book. That’s the software stack. Here’s how I use it to get the job done.

One of the things Merlin leaves out of his 58 Minute Google Tech Talk on Inbox Zero is how to prioritize the reading of the email in your INBOX which you will reduce to zero. My old boss and college crony Tony Ng shared a prioritization scheme with me that works for me and I’ll share it with you.

0. Filter mailing lists straight into folders so they never end up in

your INBOX.

1. Process emails with URGENT: or ACTION: in the subject.

2. Process emails from people in your “list of important people.” This is somewhat like a whitelist, but not specific to spam filtering.

3. Process emails sent directly to you, either in the To: or CC: list.

4. Process emails received in the last 24 hours.

5. Process emails received in the last week.

XEmacs VM has a nice feature called “virtual folders” that allows one to use regular expressions to put a view on top of your INBOX, only showing those messages that match the regular expression. I have virtual folders that implement steps 1 – 5, and I use Procmail to implement step 0.

Even with all this, I still don’t have an empty INBOX, but at least I can get replies back quickly. Don’t lose hope, just do your best!

Tools For Effective Time Management

plannerfranklin — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 02:56:23 +0000

Throughout the course of history human being has sought to augment new methods to record, track and make better use of time. From the invention of the sundial to the introduction of the contemporary calendar, the need to responsibly comprehend and deal or manage time has been a concern to people, both in their professional and personal lives, for thousands of years.

Contemporary methods of time management incorporate a number of methods of recording time, to help a person recognize barriers to the effective use of time. Long and short term goal setting is stressed. The term time management also applies to any number of methods which may be applied to help an individual organize and prioritize the goals to be accomplished.

Popular methods of time management exercised in the 21st century include the Parento Analysis, the Posec method, and Time Boxing, among a myriad of other methods. Each method proposes its own quaint system to help the person user manage time in a more orderly and productive fashion.

Tools utilized in time management may include either traditional (basic) or digital resources, such as planners, organizers, andor calendars. In addition, goal setting outlines and specific formulas, which include several ways for prioritizing and organizing goals, are also used to assist in the effective time management.

Time management techniques may also assist ipeople in pinpointing and eliminating habits that interfere or serve as a barrier for the productive use of time.

At the same time, many methods provide insight into the development of new and better habits, which increase the rate of performance, and the ability of the individual to achieve goals on a regular basis.

3 Simple Tools For Time Management

There are no hard and fast rules or methodology about what tools you must own, if you are going to embark on a mission to develop your time management skills. The following simple tools, however, are inexpensive, and can definitely help make the process of tracking, planning and organizing your time easier and less burdensome.

Time Monitor Journal is a resource that comes in both the digital and traditional varieties. It is very useful in helping you to monitor and record your own use of time, in order to determine key areas for change.

Planner, it is available in digital and traditional formats, planners are effective for recording goals, making notes, keeping track of appointments and more. A planner is a must have to help you stay organized and always on target, when working toward your goals.

Organizer is useful for planning a specific project, or managing a number of projects all at the same time. Digital and traditional versions of project organizers are put in place to help you stay on top of the job.

Hire Corporate Event Planner to Reduce Your Stress Related to Event Planning

plannerfranklin — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:09:34 +0000

Are you planning a corporate event? Planning is a tedious and frustrated task that requires lots of concentration on each and every aspect of event. Corporate events are different from celebration or any other event. You have your business partner and clients in your event so you don’t want make any bad impact in their mind. Therefore, it requires proper management as this is corporate event and you don’t want to go anything wrong in your special event. For this purpose everything should go properly. In order to manage your event properly, you should a professional event planner. Event planners organize your event properly with all the arrangements in order to make your event memorable.

Why to hire a corporate event planner

It is quite difficult to make all the arrangements on the time and as per the event needs. There are various factors that you need to arrange such as venue, caterer, decoration, etc. A corporate event planner can arrange all the things on the preferred time. They can easily find perfect venue for your special event that you never thought of. They have contacts with various venue owners so that it is simple for them to avail a perfect venue. They have sufficient staff and support in order to decorate your venue and to avail caterer for your special event. Only corporate event planners can understand the requirements of corporate event. Although corporate event planners specialize in large, extravagant events, they can also effectively plan small meetings and everything else that fits in between.

How event planners can make your event successful

By using the service of corporate event planners, you can make your event successful as well as memorable. A perfect corporate event planner has years of experience and a solid background in planning all types of events, with a focus on corporate events. They will reduce your stress related to event and make all the desire arrangements timely.

It is quite difficult to plan a corporate event but to hire an event planner in this situation is a perfect solution. Before hiring any event planner you should ask their services and their cost. There are numerous corporate event planners which are available on the Internet. You can easily find them and study their details and hire right one for your event.

NYC venue guide can help you in finding right corporate event planner and wedding planner for your event in order to make your event successful and memorable.

Beginners Learn about Buying a PDA._

plannerfranklin — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:18:57 +0000

Are you considering the purchase of your very first PDA? If so, what should you look for? How much should you spend? What features should you get?

Before making the final decision to purchase a PDA, have you thoroughly researched what they can do, and if you really need one or are you just intrigued by having a new gadget like your friends? Let’s start with this question. One of the first and still major uses for a PDA is an appointment book or calendar. If you are currently using an appointment book like a Franklin Planner, the PDA can certainly replace this. One advantage of a PDA over an appointment book is that changes don’t require constant erasing and re-writing. A PDA is usually backed up on your PC, so there is always a back up.

A new PDA does not have to be purchased every year like a Franklin Planner, so in the long run it will be cheaper. This plus the previous mentioned advantages may be enough to make the switch. Of course there are many other features and uses for a PDA besides an appointment book, among which are:

Address book

Calculator

Internet Access

Notes and document management

Games

GPS

Given that you are ready to go forward with the purchase, your choice of a PDA model will depend on what you need it for-what you want it to do. Following are some of the important considerations:

Memory – If you plan to use your PDA for storing large documents and other reference works, then you’ll need the corresponding amount of memory. Also check to see if the memory can be expanded. You’ll need to consider the other software that you might want to run on your PDA.

Size – All the features do you no good if you don’t bother to bring the PDA with you due to its bulky size.

Input Options – If you plan on using the PDA to take notes with, a compact external keyboard is essential. The built in stylus input is designed for small amounts of data only.

Battery Life – Again, dictated by your specific needs.

Finding the best place to purchase your PDA can be done easily with online shopping portals. Ebay of course always has offers. One thing to consider for a PDA is a buyer’s protection plan that is offered by many local retailers. Normally these ends up costing more than they are worth, but just one drop of your PDA onto a hard surface can destroy it. If you are buying a high end PDA and will be running around with it daily, a buyers protection plan may be worthwhile.

Did you find this article useful? For more useful tips and hints, points to ponder and keep in mind, techniques, and insights pertaining to Internet Business, do please browse for more information at our websites.

http://www.allhottips.com

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Washinghton D.C

plannerfranklin — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 02:57:35 +0000

I            INTRODUCTION

Washington, D.C., city and district, capital of the United States of America. The city of Washington has the same boundaries as the District of Columbia (D.C.), a federal territory established in 1790 as the site of the new nation’s permanent capital. Named after the first U.S. president, George Washington, the city has served since 1800 as the seat of federal government. It is also the heart of a dynamic metropolitan region. During the 20th century, the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area grew rapidly as the responsibilities of national government increased, both at home and throughout the world.

The city is located at the confluence of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers and is flanked on the north, east, and southeast by Maryland and on the southwest by Virginia. Although the city has retained some aspects of its Southern origin, it has assumed a much more cosmopolitan character. At the same time, the city struggles with social and economic disparity, and a number of its residential neighborhoods suffer from poverty and crime. Washington’s climate is hot and humid in the summer and cold and damp in the winter. The average daily temperature range is -3° C (27° F) to 8° C (46° F) in January and 22° C (72° F) to 31° C (88° F) in July. The city averages 98 cm (39 in) of precipitation per year.

II       WASHINGTON AND ITS METROPOLITAN AREA

A         The Outline of the City

Designated to serve as the permanent seat of the federal government beginning in 1800, the District of Columbia was named for Christopher Columbus. It was created from land ceded by the states of Virginia and Maryland, and it incorporated the existing seaport towns of Alexandria, Virginia, and Georgetown, Maryland. The district was originally 259 sq km (100 sq mi), or 10 miles square, as established under the Residence Act of 1790. The central town site was laid out by French architect Pierre Charles L’Enfant in 1791. The remaining land was an open area stretching north to the border with Maryland. It was designated as Washington County. In 1846 Congress returned that portion of the federal district that had originally been ceded by Virginia.

In 1871 the cities of Washington and Georgetown were consolidated with Washington County to become Washington, D.C., making the city, the county, and the federal district one and the same. Washington, D.C. has a total area of 176 sq km (68 sq mi), and the Washington metropolitan region—which in addition to Washington, D.C., contains 24 counties in the surrounding states of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia—has a total area of 17,920 sq km (6920 sq mi).

In his plan for the city of Washington, L’Enfant attempted to represent symbolically the new United States and its republican government. He gave prominence to each of what were then the primary elements of government—the executive and the legislative branches. He also featured the states in giving their names to broad diagonal avenues. These he arranged both according to geography and to each state’s prominence in the nation-building process. Massachusetts, Virginia, and especially Pennsylvania, with its associations both with the Declaration of Independence and the signing of the Constitution, gained the most prominence. Avenues named after other states with prominent roles in ratifying the Constitution, notably Delaware and New Jersey, intersected at the Capitol. Also, L’Enfant hoped that the intersection of diagonal avenues with the city’s straight grid of numbered and lettered streets would provide squares where each state would locate facilities, thereby giving them the same symbolic importance in the capital city that they held in the federal system.

B         Patterns of Settlement and Development

Initially Washington was slow to develop the dense pattern of settlement characteristic of cities. By the 20th century, however, Washington had filled its open spaces and dominated the surrounding area, which remained largely rural. This pattern changed after World War II (1939-1945), as the city lost population to the suburbs of Virginia and Maryland. While the federal presence remained concentrated in Washington, it also expanded considerably to the suburbs. At the same time, new private business—the fastest-growing source of regional employment—concentrated almost exclusively in the areas outside the city.

While the metropolitan area expanded outward, it did not do so randomly. Growth tended to follow the location of federal facilities outside the city and the development of major transportation routes. During World War II, the construction of the Pentagon as the headquarters of the Department of Defense spurred development nearby on the Virginia side of the Potomac River. Growth was also stimulated by other key facilities, notably the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Langley, Virginia; and the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), the National Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Science and Technology), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) , all in Maryland.

C         Public Buildings

Washington is home to many famous and interesting public buildings and monuments. Many of these are associated with the federal government. The Capitol of the United States is located on a hill rising 27 meters (88 feet) above the Potomac and consists of two wings that branch from a central rotunda. The north wing is occupied by the Senate, and the south wing by the House of Representatives. The rotunda is crowned by an immense dome, topped with a statue of a woman representing Freedom. East of the Capitol is the Supreme Court Building, with its portico modeled after a Greek temple. North of the Capitol, at the end of Delaware Avenue, stands massive Union Station, now a retail center as well as a train station that has long been a hub of the city.

From the Capitol, Pennsylvania Avenue runs slightly northwest and Constitution Avenue runs directly west. Between 6th and 15th streets NW the two avenues form an area known as the Federal Triangle. Within this triangle are concentrated a number of government buildings, including those of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the departments of Justice and Commerce. Also in the triangle is the National Archives Building, which contains the original drafts of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights.

Just north of the triangle, on Tenth Street NW, is the J. Edgar Hoover Building, the headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). On the block north of the Hoover building, also on Tenth Street, is Ford’s Theatre, where President Abraham Lincoln was shot in 1865, and across the street is the Petersen House, where he died. Together they make up Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site.

Northwest of the triangle, at 16th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, is the oldest federal building in Washington, the White House, official residence of the U.S. president. The mansion’s foundations were laid in 1792, and every president except George Washington has occupied it. Tours are conducted daily through the most-famous ground-floor and first-floor rooms, such as the East Room, the Blue Room, and the State Dining Room.

Flanking the White House are the Treasury Department Building to the east and the Executive Office Building to the west. Across the street is Blair House, the official guest house for visiting heads of state and other dignitaries. Blair House, built in 1824, served as a temporary executive mansion for President Harry S. Truman and his family from 1948 to 1952, while the interior of the White House was being extensively reconstructed.

North of the White House is Lafayette Square, with a statue of General Andrew Jackson made from a melted-down cannon captured by Jackson during the War of 1812. West of the White House, at New York Avenue and 18th Street NW, is one of Washington’s oldest landmarks, the Octagon. Completed in 1801, the Octagon houses a museum dedicated to architecture and the early history of Washington, and is also home to the American Architectural Foundation. It was one of the first residential structures built according to L’Enfant’s plan. During the War of 1812, British troops set fire to the White House, destroying its interior. President James Madison and his family lived in the Octagon while the White House was being rebuilt.

South of the Federal Triangle is the Mall, a narrow park stretching roughly 1.6 km (1 mi) from the Capitol to the Washington Monument. Although the Mall officially ends at 14th Street, landscaped greenery extends to the Potomac. The Washington Monument, whose marble shaft dominates the skyline, stands 169 meters (555 feet) high near the center of this parkland. The interior of the monument is hollow, and visitors may either climb its 898 steps or ride its elevator 150 meters (500 feet) for a magnificent view. A height restriction law enacted by Congress in 1899 ensures that no private structure in Washington, D.C., will extend higher than the monument or the Capitol.

Beyond the monument in West Potomac Park, still in a straight line from the Capitol, is the massive Lincoln Memorial. This monument’s 36 columns represent the 36 states in the Union at the time of Lincoln’s death in 1865. Its interior contains a great stone seated figure of Lincoln carved by sculptor Daniel Chester French. Nearby, the Arlington Memorial Bridge spans the Potomac and connects the Lincoln Memorial with Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Located at the cemetery are the Tomb of the Unknowns; the Arlington House, home of Confederate general Robert E. Lee; and, on the slope directly below that, the grave of President John F. Kennedy.

Close to the Lincoln Memorial is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. This memorial commemorates the American men and women who died during the Vietnam War (1959-1975). Southeast of the Lincoln Memorial is the Tidal Basin, framed by Washington’s famous Japanese cherry trees. The government of Japan gave the cherry trees to the United States in 1912. Reflected in the water of the Tidal Basin is the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. This circular, colonnaded marble memorial contains a bronze standing figure of Thomas Jefferson by sculptor Rudolph Evans. Roughly halfway between the Jefferson Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial is the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, which opened in 1997.

D         Neighborhoods

The once-premier neighborhoods near early federal activity, notably Georgetown, Foggy Bottom, and Capitol Hill, all declined over time. Although they were rediscovered and restored in the second half of the 20th century, in the interim newer communities became popular. In the mid-19th century streetcars began to offer easy commutes to areas outside the city core. At this time, Anacostia’s Uniontown section, where abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass settled after the American Civil War (1861-1865), and LeDroit Park, near Howard University, developed as Washington’s first suburbs.

In the early 20th century, Mount Pleasant, a few miles north of the White House, became popular. With the availability of automobiles, first Cleveland Park and subsequently Wesley Heights and American University Park emerged as preferred residential destinations. Just above the old downtown, the area known as Shaw emerged as the most prominent black section of the city. The concentration of theaters and other social activities there gave U Street the nickname of Black Broadway. Somewhat further above the old city, the Adams Morgan section emerged in the 1960s as one of Washington’s most diverse neighborhoods, with large populations of Latin American and Caribbean immigrants.

Over the years, the suburbs outside the city have grown rapidly. In addition to older areas such as Arlington, Virginia, and Chevy Chase, Maryland, new suburban office and retail complexes have emerged at Tyson’s Corner and Pentagon City in Virginia and Freedom Plaza in Maryland.

III   POPULATION

Washington, D.C., grew slowly from the time of its origins until the Civil War. Its founders expected it to emerge as a great city because of its favored trading site along the Potomac River. However, the city proved incapable of fully exploiting its opportunities—due to, among other things, a lack of federal funding for development—and it lagged behind other major port cities along the eastern seaboard. Washington’s population boomed during the Civil War, rising from a modest population of 61,122 in 1860 to 109,199 only a decade later. During the first half of the 20th century, the federal presence in the city expanded, and population grew with it, reaching a peak of more than 800,000 in 1950.

The city’s population dropped thereafter, as it lost residents to the suburbs. Nearly 69 percent of the metropolitan population lived in Washington in 1940; by 1960 that number had fallen to 37 percent, and to less than 16 percent in 1996. In 1998 the population of the city was 523,124. In contrast, the population of the metropolitan area in 1996 was estimated at 4,563,000.

Partly because the District of Columbia was originally formed from slaveholding states, the national capital has always had a significant black presence, approximately 25 percent of the population from its origins until World War II. After the war, many white families relocated to the suburbs, and the city’s demography changed. In 1957 Washington became the first major city in America with a black majority. Between 1950 and 1960 Washington’s black presence grew by nearly 50 percent, from 280,803 to 411,737, while the white population declined by one third.

Until recently the great majority of the black population was located inside the city. But like an earlier generation of whites, the black middle class began to leave the city and move to the suburbs. In 1990, when the city’s population was 606,900, blacks constituted about 66 percent, compared with about 30 percent white. Hispanics, who may be of any race, constituted about 5 percent of the population. The city had about 400,000 black residents; however, just the two surrounding counties of Prince George’s, Maryland, and Fairfax, Virginia, contained a combined population of about 430,000 black residents.

During the early 19th century, Washington lacked the industrial base that drew immigrants to other cities, and so the population retained its largely native-born character. In the late 19th century, small Italian and Eastern European Jewish communities formed, creating their own churches and synagogues and associated ethnic institutions. Many descendents of these immigrants left the city for the suburbs in the 1950s, along with much of the rest of the white population. While the Italian Roman Catholic Church, Holy Rosary, still functions near Union Station, few of its parishioners still live in the city. Most of the early synagogues near downtown have left, replaced by black Protestant congregations.

A small Chinese community formed in Washington in the late 19th century. Originally concentrated downtown along Pennsylvania Avenue, Chinatown moved several blocks north to make way for completion of the Federal Triangle office complex in the 1930s. Chinatown still exists along H Street NW, but only about a third of Washington’s 3000 Chinese listed in the 1990 census live in that area. An additional 37,000 Chinese live in surrounding suburbs. In the suburbs, they are joined by more recent immigrant groups from Asia, most notably Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Lao. Both suburban Maryland and northern Virginia support Asian populations of about 100,000 each.

Hispanics form the other major immigrant group in the area. Although the District of Columbia’s population is about 5 percent Hispanic, the largest number of these immigrants are located in the suburbs: an estimated 90,000 in Maryland and 100,000 in Virginia. In 1991 the Washington metropolitan area ranked tenth in the nation as a destination for new immigrants.

IV     EDUCATION AND CULTURE                A         Institutions of Higher Learning

It was George Washington’s dream that the capital city host a national university. Congress, however, was reluctant to fund such an entity. As a result, while a number of institutions have aspired to national roles, none has been favored with a national mandate. Founded in 1789, Georgetown University is the oldest Roman Catholic college in the United States. George Washington University was founded in 1821 by Baptists as Columbian College. Gallaudet University is the only liberal arts university in the world specifically for deaf and hearing-impaired students. Former Union General Oliver Otis Howard founded Howard University as a predominately black university after slavery was abolished in 1865. The two other private universities in the city are the Catholic University of America and American University. Also, the city opened the University of the District of Columbia with congressional approval in 1977 by consolidating a teacher’s college, a city college, and a technical institute.

In the Virginia suburbs are George Mason University and Northern Virginia Community College; in the Maryland suburbs are the University of Maryland at College Park, Montgomery College, and Prince George’s Community College. The Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area links most of the area’s public and private institutions of higher learning. Through the consortium, a student enrolled in one institution may take courses provided at another institution.

B         Religious Sites There are many churches in the Washington area, the largest and most impressive of which is the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, more commonly known as the National Cathedral. Another imposing church is the Roman Catholic National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, a blend of Byzantine and Romanesque architecture that stands on the grounds of Catholic University in northeastern Washington. Other famous churches include New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, where Lincoln worshiped; Saint John’s Episcopal Church, known as the Church of Presidents because it was attended by ten presidents; Saint Matthew’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, attended by President Kennedy; and Christ Church, where Thomas Jefferson worshiped. Outside the city is the Washington Temple of the Church of Latter-day Saints, completed near the Beltway in Maryland in 1974.

C         Museums

The most famous museum in Washington is the Smithsonian Institution. With help from a gift from Englishman James Smithson, Congress chartered the Smithsonian in 1846. The Smithsonian is a collection of many different institutions that are world-famous for their art, historical, and scientific collections. The National Museum of African Art was the first museum in the United States devoted exclusively to African art. The Museum of Natural History houses many of the world’s most famous gems, and the National Museum of American History traces the development of the United States through scientific, technological, and cultural exhibitions. The National Air and Space Museum has aeronautical exhibits that include the original craft used by the Wright Brothers and the Mercury capsule in which astronaut John Glenn made the first orbit of the earth.

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden contains notable paintings and sculptures by 19th- and 20th-century European and American artists. The Arts and Industries Building and the Freer Gallery of Art house fine collections of American and Asian art. Another major art collection, the National Portrait Gallery, is in a building with the National Museum of American Art, which houses American paintings, sculptures, graphics, folk art, and photographs from the 18th century to the present.

Over time, the Smithsonian has evolved from being the so-called nation’s attic into a far-ranging and diverse set of research and educational facilities. In recent years, other, more specialized institutions have joined the rich set of cultural institutions that form the Smithsonian. In addition to the many artistic and historical collections, the Smithsonian includes the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars—a living memorial to former U.S. president Woodrow Wilson—which sustains research and writing of scholars selected nationally to spend time at their work in Washington.

Other important collections in Washington include the National Gallery of Art, one the nation’s chief art galleries, with major collections of European and American paintings; the Dumbarton Oaks Museum, with a collection of pre-Columbian and Byzantine art; the National Building Museum, dedicated to American achievements in architecture, construction, engineering, and design; and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, which provides information about the persecution and murder of Jews in Europe during World War II. There are also several venerable private institutions, such as the Corcoran Gallery of Art, launched in the 1880s through the bequest of banker William W. Corcoran, and the Phillips Collection, opened in 1921 near DuPont Circle as the city’s first modern-art museum. The Historical Society of Washington, D.C., located in a 19th-century mansion built by beer magnate Christian Heurich, is the only institution dedicated solely to the preservation and interpretation of Washington’s rich local history.

D         Libraries The Library of Congress is the national library of the United States and includes a record of every book printed in the United States. Among its priceless documents are the first draft of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and an early draft of the Declaration of Independence as composed by Thomas Jefferson and corrected by John Adams and Benjamin Franklin. The library’s music collection contains original manuscripts, ranging from a Ludwig van Beethoven sonata to the score of the musical Oklahoma!, as well as a large collection of instruments. The affiliated Folger Shakespeare Library contains 79 first folios (early printings) of Shakespeare’s plays, as well as oddities such as a corset that Queen Elizabeth I of England wore in the late 1500s. Other distinguished libraries in Washington include the National Agricultural Library, which has more than a million volumes on botany, zoology, entomology, and chemistry; and the Founders Library at Howard University, with 50,000 volumes relating to black history and culture.

E          The Performing Arts Washington provides many outlets for the performing arts. The National Theatre, founded in 1812, hosts new theatrical productions. The Arena Stage, founded in 1949, opened a new facility in the early 1970s as part of redevelopment of the city’s southwest area and has achieved worldwide recognition for its productions. Also starting in the early 1970s, the Elizabethan Theatre of the Folger Library began offering Shakespearean productions. Twenty years later the Shakespeare Theatre opened to enthusiastic audiences in the restored Lansburgh Department Store on Seventh Street downtown.

One really big boost for the city’s arts came in 1971 with the opening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The center includes the Opera House, the Concert Hall, and the Eisenhower Theater, and also provides a home for the National Symphony Orchestra, the Washington Ballet, and the American Film Institute’s National Film Theater. The opening of the center stimulated the creation of a number of smaller theaters serving diverse interests. In the suburbs, the Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts in Virginia and Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland have become major performance centers.

F          Cultural Events

Washington hosts many annual events, including the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which celebrates the blossoming of the Japanese cherry trees in the Tidal Basin. The weeklong Hispanic Festival has taken place each summer in Washington since 1970. The Mall hosts an annual Fourth of July fireworks display and the National Folk Festival. The city also celebrates the Chinese New Year, Columbus Day, and St. Patrick’s Day with parades.

V         RECREATION

The Washington region has many well-known parks and recreational areas. The Mall is Washington’s most prominent park, and it hosts many special demonstrations and events. Nearby East and West Potomac parks, formed from reclaimed land along the Potomac River, provide space for a range of recreational activities, including rugby, softball, volleyball, and polo. The Ellipse, between the White House and the Washington Monument, is a large public park that contains the Zero Milestone, from which distances are measured on all national highways that pass through Washington. Within the city, Rock Creek Park, which stretches from downtown to the Maryland border, is home to the National Zoological Park. The National Arboretum is in northeast Washington. Also, the intersection of Washington’s broad diagonal avenues with other streets laid out on a straight grid provides a number of small parks.

Professional sports are important in Washington. For many years Griffith Stadium in LeDroit Park hosted the national Negro League’s Homestead Grays and the American League’s Washington Senators. Integration of the major leagues doomed the Grays, and poor fan support resulted in a franchise move for the Senators. Another team that left the city was the Washington Redskins professional football team, which moved to Prince George’s County, Maryland, in 1997. As that team moved from city to suburb, however, the region’s professional hockey team, the Washington Capitals, and basketball team, the Washington Wizards, returned downtown after spending nearly a generation in the Maryland suburbs. The Capitals and the Wizards play in a new sports and entertainment complex, the MCI Center, which opened in December 1997. The Center has helped to revitalize the downtown area. The D.C. United soccer team, a recent arrival to Washington, achieved success quickly and became national champions in 1996.

VI     ECONOMY          A         Major Economic Activities From the time of its origin, Washington was expected to emerge as a great trading city because of its site along the Potomac River. However, the city lagged behind other major port cities, such as Baltimore, along the eastern seaboard. Instead of trade, the driving force of the city’s economy has proved to be the federal government.

At first employing no more than several hundred workers, the federal bureaucracy grew steadily in the 19th century and exploded in the 20th century. By 1940, 44 percent of civilian workers in the city of Washington were federal employees. Although the private economy grew faster than the public sector after World War II, it still remained closely tied to the federal presence through the proliferation of national associations, lobbyists, subcontractors, lawyers, and accountants associated with government work. America’s increasingly global role created scores of jobs in such organizations as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Organization of American States, in addition to the U.S. government’s own departments of state and defense. These federal jobs stimulated the economy and boosted the value of real estate in Washington, especially in the 1980s, and the federal government continued as a major presence in the city throughout the 1990s.

Tourism is the second most important aspect of the city’s economy. The national monuments and museums attract more than 18 million visitors each year; hotels are numerous. The city hosts many conventions, and a major convention center opened in 1983. The functions of federal and local government and the tourism industry have created a large service economy, which employs more than one-third of all the city’s workers. Manufacturing is of only minor importance and is dominated by the printing, publishing, and food industries.

B         Transportation For years the hub of transportation to and from Washington was Union Station, served by several railroads. Built in 1907, Union Station occupies 10 hectares (25 acres) in the heart of the city. During the second half of the 20th century, airports and highways became important. Washington is served by three commercial airports—Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, and Baltimore-Washington International Airport—with extensive national and international connections.

In 1964 an expressway known as the Beltway was completed around Washington to facilitate traffic. Its 36 cloverleaf intersections link it to all major routes to and from the city. In 1976 a subway system opened in the city that extends into Virginia and Maryland suburbs. Called the Metro, the system is projected to extend more than 160 km (more than 100 mi) upon completion early in the 21st century.

C         Economic Problems

A result of the growth of Washington’s white-collar employment in the 1980s was an increasing gap in income among the city’s residents. Disadvantaged areas, predominantly black neighborhoods, became subject to a plague of drugs and associated violence. These areas were concentrated in the older sections of the northeast and the southeast quadrants of the city. Even as downtown real estate values rose, so did Washington’s murder rate. During the 1990s it became one of the most deadly cities in the nation. While the region prospered through most of the last half of the century, much of the inner city lagged behind. The city’s tax base declined as more and more middle- and upper-middle-class families moved to the suburbs. This lower tax base contributed to a fiscal crisis for the city.

VII GOVERNMENT AND CONTEMPORARY ISSUES

Unlike any other part of the United States, Washington lacks full political representation. While its political structure has changed over time, the city has remained subordinate to the federal government. This situation is sustained under Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, which states, “The Congress shall have power … to exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over such district … as may by the cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of government.” The idea of exclusive jurisdiction solidified in 1783 when Congress, then meeting in Philadelphia, faced angry veterans of the American Revolution who demanded back pay. When Pennsylvania authorities failed to intervene to protect the Congress, many members insisted that any permanent seat of government should be under congressional control. From that virtually forgotten experience, Washington remains without direct representation in the national government that oversees much of its operation.

The Constitution, however, did not prohibit the establishment of a lower government body to deal with local affairs. In 1802 Congress authorized an appointed mayor and an elected city council for Washington. In 1820 it broadened the franchise and made the office of mayor subject to popular election. In 1871 Congress substituted a largely appointed territorial government—although city residents still voted for a house of delegates—as an instrument to consolidate the cities of Washington and Georgetown with Washington County. When the experiment generated costs that Congress found too expensive, it eliminated popular election in Washington in 1874 by placing local government under a three-person commission appointed by the president.

Initially this system was favorably received for replacing partisan politics with professional management. However, flaws of the commission became apparent over time. In 30 investigations conducted between 1934 and 1941, Congress found that power and responsibility were poorly divided between commissioners and different federal agencies, and that political whim controlled most actions. Starting in 1949 and lasting for more than a decade, the Senate voted repeatedly to grant Washington local elections. However, the House District Committee refused for more than 20 years to bring the bill to the floor for a vote. Finally in 1973, Congress authorized the popular election of a mayor and city council for Washington.

In 1974 the Home Rule Act, which established the mayor and city council, became law. The act, though restoring popular elections, retained considerable power for Congress to review legislation and authorize Washington’s budget. It also prohibited the city from taxing federal properties or income earned in the city by people who commuted to work from outside the district. These restrictions remain a cause of tension between city officials and Congress.

In the mid-1970s local activists started an effort to secure Washington’s independence. They argued that the Constitution dictates only a maximum size for the federal district, not a minimum size. Therefore, they suggested that the federal district shrink to the area between the White House and the Capitol and that the residential portion of the District of Columbia become a new state, New Columbia. Congress, however, failed even to vote on the proposition until 1993, when the House of Representatives rejected the measure, 277-153.

Marion Barry has been the dominant figure in local Washington politics since home rule took effect. He has served as mayor all but eight years since home rule began in 1974. First elected mayor in 1978, Barry established a reputation as an able administrator and a defender of home rule who was committed to solving the city’s social problems. In later years, scandal touched his administration, and in 1990 he lost a bid for a fourth consecutive term after he was arrested and convicted of smoking crack cocaine. After serving six months in prison, he made a spectacular comeback, securing election first to city council in 1992 and then as mayor in 1994. Barry’s return to power sparked immediate controversy. However, it soon became clear that the city faced an even greater crisis in a projected budget deficit of $750 million in the coming year.

With the city unable to secure loans from the private sector to pay its debts, Congress intervened by passing the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Act of 1995. This measure established a control board with significant powers, a move Congress justified on grounds that poor management and overstaffing had jeopardized the city’s credit. Under terms of the act, the president appointed five people to the board to bring the city’s finances under control. Congress directed the control board to cut jobs.

Barry, however, refused to cooperate with the control board, and instead chose to stress the city’s needs. He claimed that Washington’s problems derived more from inadequate revenues than high costs, and he urged the federal government to pay more toward Washington’s obligations. He recommended that the federal government assume many of the costs of state functions borne by the city since 1974, but his proposal received no sympathy in Congress. However, two years later, without input from the mayor, President Bill Clinton incorporated Barry’s approach in his proposed federal budget. In August 1997 the national government raised its share of Medicare and highway costs in the city, assumed responsibility for funding Washington’s pension plan, and took over operation of the District’s prison system.

In accepting these measures, Congress insisted on exercising greater influence in Washington. It empowered the control board to choose its own city manager and to extend its operational control over all but a small portion of daily operations. Under the terms Congress set in establishing the control board, these powers will revert to the city only after it achieves three balanced budgets in a row. This restriction, even in the best of circumstances, will leave Washington with limited control of its own local affairs into the next century.

VIII            HISTORY

Washington’s contemporary crisis is deeply rooted in its history. From the beginning, there was tension stemming from the city’s dual function as both city and capital. In reserving the right to exercise exclusive jurisdiction over the federal district, Congress lavished attention on some sections of the city while other parts suffered neglect, making a clash of interests inevitable.

George Washington saw no conflict between city and capital. To the contrary, he conceived of the new capital as the keystone to the nation-building process. He believed that the District of Columbia’s advantageous location on the Potomac River would let it exploit trade opportunities to the west. Such success could have secured national loyalty, but the states were too jealous of one another to join in promoting a national city.

The first problem arose over selection of the city site. The state governments fought bitterly over the site of the capital, hoping a nearby location would allow them special influence on the new government. Then, once a location was chosen, the states resisted paying taxes for improvements necessary to house the new government. To finance the building of the city, the district’s land was parceled into lots, two-thirds of which were reserved for highways and federal buildings. The remainder was sold to the public. Despite this, funds lagged. Also, the plans of the man hired to build the city, Pierre L’Enfant, were so costly, and L’Enfant himself so embroiled in disputes with landowners, that he was eventually fired, in 1792. As a result, the federal district was far from complete by the time the national government moved there in 1800.

Federal funding for improvements remained small in the capital’s early years. Development was slow, and the city evoked criticism from visitors from the United States and abroad. In 1814, during the War of 1812, the city was occupied and burned by the British. This meant that much of the city had to be completely rebuilt, which further taxed funds.

When the city sought congressional aid to build a canal west to boost its trade, Congress refused. By the time it finally authorized the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal in 1828 it was too late to make a difference. A decade earlier, New York had completed the highly successful Erie Canal, and it was dominating western trade. Also, Baltimore leaped ahead of Washington in the race for regional control when it started work on the nation’s first railroad, the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O), in 1828.

In 1835 a committee of Congress headed by Senator Samuel Southard admitted that congressional funding for the District was inadequate. Southard argued that the grand plan for the city was too great a burden for local authorities to sustain alone. His report generated enough federal funds to repay a debt owed on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, but urban needs continued to exceed revenues into the 1860s.

After the Civil War, Republicans in Congress saw a chance to implement social reforms in Washington. In addition to making Washington the first place to enforce the emancipation of slaves, Congress ended the segregation of public transportation and eliminated all references to race in the civil code. Congress granted voting rights to black males, even as many Northern states rejected such measures. With overwhelming black support, local Republicans assumed political power in Washington in 1868.

Some party members resisted social innovations, however, seeking instead to promote the physical improvement of the city. After the British burned the city in 1814, Congress had considered moving Washington to another location. Relocation became an issue again with so many necessary physical improvements deferred during the Civil War. Locals argued that without investment in the physical city, the government would abandon Washington, and it would be doomed.

Mainstream Republicans—headed by Alexander Shepherd, a former plumber who entered politics during the war—campaigned for a shift from social to physical reconstruction. In 1870 they broke with Radical Republicans in power and elected their own candidate for mayor. The following year they persuaded Congress to impose an entirely new form of territorial government, with a governor and senate appointed by the president and a house of delegates elected by popular vote.

Alexander Shepherd assumed considerable influence in the new government through his position as administrator of a new board of public works. Under his direction, the city systematically upgraded its physical appearance: grading and paving streets, planting trees, and developing sewers. These improvements quelled efforts to move the capital to a more central location in the United States.

But Shepherd’s expenditures also provoked controversy, prompting congressional investigations in 1872 and 1874. In the first instance, a friendly committee gently chided the District government, declaring that in pursuing the city’s betterment the debt level should not exceed $10 million. By 1874 power had shifted in Congress, and Shepherd now faced hostile critics. With debt exceeding $18 million, Shepherd claimed that unpaid taxes and the lack of an adequate tax base hampered him. Congress was sympathetic at least to that point, and members reiterated the judgment of the Southard report of 1835 that the city could not sustain the expense associated with the federal government.

Congress then embraced a plan to provide a regular federal payment to the District to meet at least half its operating expenses. In accepting this argument, however, members of Congress insisted on more direct control. In 1874 they replaced territorial government with a commission of three people, appointed by the president. One of the people on the commission was to be chosen from the ranks of the Army Corps of Engineers and was responsible for overseeing public works.

A number of physical improvements followed, and as the turn of the century approached, Washington assumed modern form. However, the federal presence lacked distinction. With encouragement from representatives of the American Institute of Architects, a special Senate commission formed to lay out a new plan for Washington. Presented with considerable fanfare in 1902, this proposal projected an arrangement of federal buildings along the Mall connected to a regional system of parks. It took more than 25 years to realize this vision, but by the early 1930s, as the Federal Triangle complex along Pennsylvania Avenue neared completion, city planners could claim that the capital city was at last worthy of the national government it hosted.

Instead of uniting city and capital, however, emergence of the new city core set the federal presence apart from Washington’s residential areas. This possibility had been recognized as early as the turn of the century. While the Senate prepared its elaborate plan, social activists expressed concern for the rest of Washington. They pointed particularly to unhealthy conditions in many poor neighborhoods, especially in back alleys where small houses had been built to accommodate a largely black population.

Efforts to secure better housing conditions occupied several generations of reformers. First, private funding was used to provide housing for low-income residents, and in the 1930s Washington formed the nation’s first public housing authority. The Langston Terrace public housing complex in Northeast Washington was built with funds provided by the federal government. There, blacks found improved housing. But policy shifted after World War II. Fearing the effect of white families relocating to the suburbs, Congress authorized funds to provide a model urban renewal program in Washington’s Southwest sector. Designed to attract middle-income residents back to the city, the wholesale renewal of the area resulted in the displacement of many of the area’s predominantly black residents.

The federal funds that had made possible the improvement of an old section of Washington improved city revenues, but they also heightened tension with the city’s growing black population. A subsequent renewal effort in the Shaw area immediately north of downtown provoked neighborhood opposition around the rallying cry, “No more Southwests.” Out of that experience emerged a powerful coalition of civic groups determined to plan their neighborhood’s renewal themselves. When Congress authorized a nonvoting delegate to the House of Representatives from Washington in 1971, the leader of the neighborhood renewal effort, Walter Fauntroy, was the first to fill the position. He supported the political ascent of fellow civil rights activist Marion Barry.

The home rule era was thus inaugurated in 1974 as an assertion of local as opposed to federal prerogatives. As its most successful representative, Marion Barry was adept at securing federal funding, but at the same time he consciously built his political strength at home by distancing himself from federal oversight. Suspicion of national government became so ingrained among the majority of local residents, Barry easily regained power even after his arrest and conviction for drug use. Congress’s decision in 1995 to impose a control board on the city struck many residents as one more blow to the city’s political independence. Although the board promised to seek solutions to the city’s political as well as fiscal problems, finances took precedence. Thus as the bicentennial anniversary of the federal presence in Washington approaches in 2000, city and capital remain in an uneasy and unsettled relationship.

Petrograd connection, planning and statecraft – Saving nations from financial raiders

plannerfranklin — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:26:22 +0000

Petrograd connection, planning and statecraft

Saving nations from financial raiders

Wendell W Solomons

CityVista_gmail.com

In brief

Piracy once roamed the seas. That was the status quo. History says that queen Elizabeth I authorised naval commanders, including Sir Walter Raleigh, to plunder merchant schooners. Over time, piracy at sea seriously interfered with the trade of merchants. They promoted the development and acceptance of conventions by countries against sea piracy and it was outlawed.

In contrast, modern rules that had been developed to prevent invasion of the economy by financial raiders were set aside. The Anglo-American alliance, represented from 1976 by Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, gradually removed safeguards that held back financial raiders. Thirty years onwards several large banks have become mistrustful because of unprecedented fraud in financial markets.

In Germany today, chancellor Angela Merkel stands in the forefront of the EU movement for bringing back rules so that trade between countries can flow without unusual price hikes. In addition, survival in many a nation will require rationing and state planned distribution for efficient use of basic goods such as food.

The Chicago school of monetarists – which substantiated invasions by financial raiders – was not able to persuade China to put aside its central planning system. Therefore, this large developing country will cope better with the world economic recession.

Ex-Warsaw pact countries including Czechia, Poland and Russia use budgetary systems today that can be reinforced by activating their own planning resources. Specialists in planning in the Germany’s east can also share the experience, which helped raise the economy from 1945 after destruction in the war.

On the other hand, today’s trade flows will be hurt by nations that rely solely on high level financial planning. The monetary crisis of 1997, which hurt Japan, South Korea and other US allies in Asia, brought up the issue of financial terrorism. At what seems like the tail end of a string of events, the names of financial organisations prominent in the Western hemisphere, receive mention in connection with the loss of immense resources.

Full Report

Every writer on economic themes must at some moment quote Adam Smith. So did the Chicago monetarists when during the last 30 years their plans advised removing safeguards and allowing financial raiders in. Citing reforms for a free flow of capital, they let people choke on rogue instruments that included the shares, bonds or securities of WorldCom, Enron and AIG.

“Economics” was known in statecraft. Yet, the 18th century granted Adam Smith, Professor of Moral Philosophy at Glasgow University, an eminence surpassing all others. Two millennia earlier Aristotle, serving as tutor to Alexander the Great, had been using the term ‘Oikonomika’ (dictionaries derive ‘economics’ from the Greeks.) Further east, advisor Kautila, serving Indian royalty, evoked several volumes entitled ‘Artashasthra’ (‘Worth Treatise’.)

It is in year 1757 that we track down the facts that contributed to the eminence that Adam Smith obtained. That year saw Benjamin Franklin, a prominent scientist and statesman, asked to account for the wealth of the American colonies across the Atlantic. Here are words recorded when Benjamin Franklin was called to speak before the British Parliament on the wealth of the colonies:

“That is simple. In the colonies we issue our own money. It is called Colonial Scrip. We issue it in proper proportion to the demands of trade and industry to make the products pass easily from the producers to the consumers. In this manner, creating for ourselves our own paper money, we control its purchasing power, and we have no interest to pay to no one.”

Franklin’s words regarding currency in Parliament alarmed private financiers.

The financiers union, the Bank of England had been incorporated on July 27, 1694, as a joint-stock association with a capital of £1.2 million. The company received the right to issue notes and a monopoly on corporate banking in England ? in return for an immediate loan to the king of the entire treasure. They had calculated that such treasure would never be returned whereas interest from the king’s treasury would keep accumulating in their hands in perpetuity. Through this action (1) the king would become an accessory of their company and (2) in their receiving authority to print and issue banknotes as counterpart to the treasure ? their power would advance in the land by leaps and bounds.

After Franklin’s words on an economic theme, the financiers sped into counter-attacking the American colonies. They had to force the colonies to give up the idea of issuing their debt-free currency, a competing product. In consequence their Bank of England won over Parliament and King George III signed the Currency Act of 1764 to decree that the colonies stop printing their own money. Staging financial terrorism, the bankers also saw to the dispatch of shiploads of counterfeit Colonial Scrip to contribute to economic depression in the colonies.

Benjamin Franklin pioneers study of electricity of lightning storm [picture]

Benjamin Franklin recorded, “In one year, the conditions were so reversed that the era of prosperity ended, and a depression set in, to such an extent that the streets of the Colonies were filled with unemployed.”

This led the colonies into warfare with Britain and two decades later the rebels decided on the unilateral declaration of independence on 4th July 1776.

The government of George III however continued warring with the colonists on money floated by the same financial city of London. The borrowed money went even into hiring men in Germany to serve as British soldiers. Because, the volume of borrowing grew large, some in the financial city reasoned that added taxation of people in mainland Britain to pay interest would bring rebellion into the mainland against both king and financiers. The stakes became too high for the financiers.

History begins in Glasgow

In consequence, the help of people like Glasgow professor Adam Smith was sought. Besides staving off rebellion at home, the other task was to condemn supporters everywhere of Benjamin Franklin’s debt-free currency.

Smith came up with a book in 1776. The book’s title, “The Wealth of Nations” inadvertently gives away the over-trumping Smith intended in the controversy that Benjamin Franklin had caused when he was asked about “the wealth of the colonies.”

Smith’s work was prepared after studying authors in Britain and abroad. It took up many themes but most importantly for posterity, Smith rearranged Bernard Mandeville’s “Fable of the Bees.” This story had become famous in the 1724 edition of Mandeville’s book where he drew an example from the bee collecting nectar to suggest that “Private vices bring public benefit.” Sanitising and sanctifying Mandeville’s theme, Smith converted it into a claim on the Invisible Hand:

He announced that every individual in pursuing his or her own good is led, as if by an invisible hand, to achieve the best good for all. Therefore any interference with free competition by government is almost certain to bring bad effects.

Adam Smith who proclaimed the Invisible Hand [picture]

Adam Smith’s sanctification of Mandeville’s ‘private vice’ theory performed three functions at the altar of London’s financial city:

(1) He soothed king and government – and helped towards a truce with the rebels;

(2) Smith left the financiers to fight another day (he, for instance, keeps from exposing the financiers’ motives that had catalysed the loss of the American colonies.) The financiers could rejuvenate by utilising other markets (for instance, they switched Britain’s “free trade” from cotton imports from America to imports from Egypt);

(3) Using the concept “Invisible Hand” Smith was creating a hyper-real association with the benevolent hand of the Almighty. He had contrived meaning for a Christian population, for comparison in this context, not a Buddhist population.

Economics moves through Petrograd to the Chicago Boys

Smith surmised that to expose the hand of finance capital, to let it be seen as a plutocracy or oligarchy, would at the time, court rebellion in the British mainland.

On the other hand, despite job losses everywhere in the world today, we don’t see rebellion on the boards. Does that mean sea change arose?

We must in part attribute this to the well-financed parade of Ayn Rand, the ideologue behind the monetarists and long term associate of guru Milton Friedman (and also of the USFed’s Alan Greenspan.)

She had arrived in the USA in 1926 from Bolshevik-era Petrograd where the avid viewer of silent movies had found promise in studying Social Pedagogy at university in Russia. Her environment was such that in place of the concerns of Adam Smith, she had immersed herself in nihilists who served up “Nothing Matters” to soothe those professionals who dissented under the Tsar. Reflections on nihilism are available in publications by Turgenev and other contemporaries.

What is nihilism?

“However, if I may say so,” Nicholas Petrovich interjected, “you deny everything or, to put it more precisely, you are destroying everything…. But it’s essential to construct as well.” To which Bazarov the Nihilist replied: “That is not our affair…. We must make a clean sweep first.”

Ivan Turgenev in 1862 novel ‘Fathers and Sons’

The Anglo-American heritage and background to the ‘Invisible Hand’ axiom was left somewhere in the attic as Ayn Rand went on to preach her doctrine of “God is I” (for no one else matters.)

If we were to try to give voice to her in relation to Adam Smith, her doctrine declares that the “Invisible Hand is I”. Her doctrine evokes self-adulation and self-promotion in the general population when by calculation, the first among equals, giant financial groups such as Citibank, J P Morgan or Lehman Brothers, gain the lion’s share. It is no level playing field. Sensing relaxed rules, fly-by-nights afflicted vulnerable populations world-wide. In Sri Lanka, a TV English teacher used his popularity with audiences to set up a finance company and then vanished into the night with his depositors’ savings.

The scriptwriter for these events, Ayn Rand, was a first-generation American. Such was the case for the parents of Milton Friedman and his frontline Chicago Boys (Chicago University arose through the finance/oil Rockefellers endowment.) In brief, we had aliens catapulted into Anglo-American heritage with its historical bases in the Mayflower Compact and the Magna Carta – and someone took aliens seriously. This gave rogue traders impetus because it unhinged the balance in civics and ethics that Adam Smith had intended.

Petrograd scriptwriter of statecraft Ayn Rand

Rand wrote opaque prose but her work led the parade because other campaigners allied with big money sponsored media reviews and successfully promoted Ayn Rand’s work in paperback edition for sale to students and academe on campus.

Over the years her marketers fused her self-adulation axiom with “self respect.” In a final phase, when Great Communicator Ronald Reagan arrived in the Presidency, Ayn Rand’s axiom merged with the story “Customer is King” (i.e. the familiar advertising claim.) It finally went out for use in media under headings such as, “Free to Choose.”

That crept into ethics and morality as [I am] “Free to Choose” [and the devil take my neighbour.] Out at No: 10, Downing Street, philosopher in residence Alan Walters, so mesmerised PM Margaret Thatcher that she exalted, “There’s no such thing as society; there are only individuals and families.”

Rand’s nihilist fable had annulled society and provided Reagan-allied PM Thatcher with steely self-righteousness to sell out her “null” constituency if she so desired (that is, after collecting the deposit of people’s votes at the elections.) The worth of her constituency could now unflinchingly become the influence that the PM’s office gives to the personas of Mr. Dennis and Mrs Margaret Thatcher. Still, that was only the thin edge of the wedge. The Ayn Rand axiom on neglecting community led on to encourage negligence on the part of countless politicians, state officials and market regulators. That gave the first among equals, the financiers, their 30-year tickets to run.

Safeguards against fraud

Joseph Stiglitz, a 2001 Nobel prizewinner, comments in part on the results of the negligence, “The pursuit of self-interest by Enron and WorldCom did not lead to societal well-being; and the pursuit of self-interest by those in the financial industry has brought our economy to the brink of the abyss.”

Financial fraud was a known phenomenon. Anglo-American statesmen had at home therefore long balanced Adam Smith by installing filters to block wrongdoers. The institutions that statesmen created to keep away the pursuit of dangerous self-interest include Fair Trading bodies and Securities Commissions. Later, shortsightedness generated by the monetarists did away with these filters against the creation of toxic waste.

Yet, even beyond that Friedman, during a descent from his corresponding Planet Me, was to confess that he had overlooked the rule of law as a fundamental requirement in transition to a market economy. Make a clean nihilist sweep first; ask questions about civil requirements later. J K Galbraith comments about his contemporary, “Milton’s problem is that his theories have been tried.”

Today, reports on toxic waste fill the same network media that promoted the Chicago Boys after Great Communicator Ronald Reagan went into occupation of the Oval Office.

Still, there’s more. Petrograd’s Ayn Rand had chosen to outbid revolutionary parties by offering a more radical human freedom. Using that legend, the Chicago Boys mired potential revolutionaries, peaceful or otherwise, in the ever-changing consumer choices that media advertising generates ? Windows Me, My Yahoo, i-Mac, i-Pod ? a wave of products catering for “me” (and not “you”!)

President Kennedy once said, “Those who make peaceful revolutions impossible will make violent revolutions inevitable.” If a peaceful return to a normally functioning economy is impaired, then today’s consumers will seek salvation otherwise. If high-end financial planning does not finally pay off ? to speak of the future hypothetically ? it is China’s central planning system that may save souls who in fishing trawlers and yachts, cast off from the US Pacific rim for China.

In Russia, on 6th April.2009 Vladimir Putin decided to place before the modern Duma for debate for the first time, the state budget. Considering his country’s available know-how, this step can prepare the ground for a salvation that includes activating the personnel of central planning administration GOSPLAN. It was set aside with subversive intentions by the USAID team gathered by Lawrence Summers. He was previously on the reform team that bequeathed Lithuania the highest suicide rate in Europe. Wall Street has seated a veteran guide of financial buccaneering as head of President Obama’s White House Economic Council.

Can we say “Yes, Wall Street financial planners will eliminate toxic waste creation soon?” Or perhaps an IMF super currency may help nations trade internationally if gold is stockpiled by bullion merchants as blueprinted by the 1930s Great Depression?

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel is now in the forefront of the EU movement to bring back rules so that the trade of nations can again flow undisturbed. Yet, for many a nation survival will require careful rationing, supported by economic planning, to utilise food and other resources that are becoming scarce and expensive.

Coping with the recession will be easier in China. The Chicago school monetarists, who canvassed in favour of invasion by raiders, could not talk this large developing country into setting aside its planning system.

Ex-Warsaw pact countries including Czechia, Poland and Russia use budgetary systems today that can be reinforced by activating their own planning resources. Specialists in planning in the Germany’s east can also share the experience, which helped raise the economy from 1945 after destruction in the war.

On the other hand, today’s trade flows will be hurt by nations that rely solely on high level financial planning. The monetary crisis of 1997, which hurt Japan, South Korea and other US allies in Asia, brought up the issue of financial terrorism. At what seems like the tail end of a string of events, the names of financial organisations prominent in the Western hemisphere, receive mention in connection with the loss of immense resources.

Answers About Money Management

plannerfranklin — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 21:28:14 +0000

Answers about Money Management

Many people start their adult lives without a lot of help in of money management. People aren’t taught much about it in school. That’s why, when you enter your professional life, you should see what a Denver money manger can do for you. You should work with the Denver money manager and examine how to make your money grow. They can give you

recommendations for what you should do in order to meet your investment and retirement goals.

Finding the Right Manager

Don’t think all money managers are the same. You want a Denver registered investment adviser who has experience and training to help you find the answers to your problems. These registered investment advisers can explain the rules of the market and how to invest and help you understand the adjustments to make to grow your portfolio in today’s business climate.

Taking Care of Business

Another trap to avoid is thinking money management and planning are only for the future. The present is important, too. For a Denver money manager, the key is finding out what part of your income can be put away in order to start growing saving and what money you can use for other savings plans like education, a home or starting a business. By consulting an independent financial adviser in Denver, you can assure your money is going where it should.

Looking into the Future

If you want a stable and financially sound future, you should meet with a Denver retirement planner. To learn more about Denver wealth management, you need to have a plan for your money, how it will grow and how it will benefit you after you’ve stopped working. How will you spend your retirement years? Will you relax or travel? Will you have the money to do the things on your list? Meeting with a Denver retirement planner will make those plans come into focus.

Your Denver money manager should be experienced enough to help you with your needs. They need to be consistent with their advice. The Denver money manager you pick should also stay for the long term, so they can see how your money is working over the years.

One person who will be able to help you at all stages is someone like Patrick Johnson. With Patrick, you get someone who will work with you and your money now and in the days to come. Patrick will listen to your plans and use them to come up with a customized blueprint of what you should do. And, as a fee only financial planner, your best interest will be first, not his commission plan.

Make More Money As A Financial Planner With Your Own Domain

plannerfranklin — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 15:48:22 +0000

As a financial planner, you probably already know all of the best techniques and methods for a business to earn more money, to lower its costs and to overall better manage its finances. So you’ll almost certainly agree with the idea that, as a financial planner (or anyone who is an expert in managing finances really!), you can certainly earn some extra money by expanding your business to the Internet.

After all, both the starting up and maintenance costs of securing a domain and a website are extremely low (about $10 a month only!), and the potential business benefits that you gain can be extremely high indeed. There are almost a billion people using the net on a regular basis, and many of these people go online looking for information.

As a financial planner with years of experience, you can tap into the very niche and profitable market of individuals looking for advice on financial and monetary management. Here are a few ideas on ways you can increase your income by offering your expertise and services on the Internet – with minimal effort and maximum benefit!

1. Provide Regular Advice (E-Newsletter) For A Monthly Fee

This is one of the easiest and most profitable options for earning money using your domain and website that you should consider. E-mail is free to send, which means that you do not incur any cost for providing your service. And since your service, which in this case is to provide sound financial advice, also does not require you to spend any money, all you need to do is invest some time in writing your expertise down into an e-mail.

Thus, almost all the money you gain by charging your customers a monthly fee to become a member of your e-newsletter is your profit. The only additional tools you will need to set up is your credit card online merchant account (which enables you to receive payment via credit card) and your mailing list autoresponder (which allows you to pre-insert e-mails beforehand, allowing your e-newsletter business to almost run on auto-pilot!).

Of course, you need not only send your customers information in the form of text – you can also send them video and audio files. The better the quality of information and mode of communication that you use with your customers, the higher you can charge them monthly.

2. Write E-Books And Sell Them On Your Blog

Aside from getting paid to send out information via e-mail, you can also compile larger chunks of information and useful tips for businesses to save money and increase productivity in the form of e-books. E-books are not very long (about 30 – 60 pages or longer) and usually come in the form of a PDF Document which will allow you to significantly save on printing, storage and transport costs (as compared to a physical book!).

The visitors who read your website regularly are great potential customers for your e-book as they already have an interest in learning more on financial planning. Thus, you only need to use your blog to market your product, and every cent you make from its sales is your profit!

3. Build Your Reputation As A Respected Financial Planner

Another great advantage of owning your own domain and blog (that does not necessarily make you money) is that you will build yourself a reputation within your readers as a reliable and trustworthy financial adviser on the Internet. This is even more true if you use your own name as the domain address i.e. www.YourName.com.

Over time, your prominence may even spillover into the real world and you may be invited to give seminars and talks once people have accepted your authority on the subject. Such a rise in status and reputation cannot easily be achieved – but having your own domain will certainly help!

As a person that truly understands the importance of analyzing the profitability of a business before venturing further, it must seem quite clear to you that securing an online presence for your career and expertise is a step in the right direction. And the sooner, the better, too. After all, the sooner you build up a following of readers, the quicker you can start earning online!