US Entry into Vietnam Essay Example for Free

US Entry into Vietnam Essay Every American president basically regarded the enemy in Vietnam, whether the Vietminh, the National Liberation Front in the 60s and the government of Ho Chi Minh in North Vietnam, as agents of global communism (Rotter 1999, p 1). US policymakers and most Americans conceived of communism as the opposite of what they stood for. Communists opposed democracy, violated human rights, conducted military attacks and formed closed-state economies, which did not trade with capitalist countries. They loathed communism like a contagious disease. When the Communist Party rose to power in China in 1949, the US government in Washington feared that Vietnam would fall into the hands of communists. This was the reason why the administration of US President Harry Truman decided to send aid to the French who were then fighting the Vietminh in 1950 (Smitha 2005, p 2). Earlier in May, 1945, the Truman administration approved the resumption of France’s colonial authority in Indochina in the hope that France would fight communism in Vietnam. The Viet Minh, a movement led by Ho Chi Minh, a veteran communist, resisted the French regime in Vietnam. At the end of the war, the Viet Minh announced Vietnam’s independence of foreign rule. But the Truman administration and the Allied powers did not want the Vietnamese to be independent. The war between the French and the Viet Minh then began in December 1946. The US sided with the French in Vietnam for the sake of fighting communism in Europe and Indochina and sent financial and material support to the French to overthrow Ho Chi Minh’s government in Vietnam (Rotter p 5, Smitha pp 16-17). President Truman supported the French also in the hope of helping them build and reinforce non-Communist nations whose fate depended to a large extent on the preservation of Vietnam (Rotter 2005, Smitha 1999). He saw that a free world in the region would open markets for Japan, The involvement of the US in Vietnam likewise assured the British of the revival of the rubber and tin industries in Malaya, a neighbor of Vietnam. With US help, the French could move on with efforts at economic recovery at home and ultimately retrieve their military forces from Indochina to oversee the rearmament of West Germany. These were the perceived deep-seated motivations of US involvement in Vietnam (Rotter, Smitha). After the invasion of South Korea by North Korea in 1950, Secretary of State Dean Acheson convinced President Truman to increase US assistance to the French (Smitha 2005). The US also recognized France’s puppet king, Bao Dai, in Vietnam, only to be replaced later (Smitha, p 9). Step by step, the US entered into the conflict for these goals, which gradually waned and were forgotten. What later developed was a tendency against withdrawing from Vietnam itself (Smitha, p 10). When the Vietnamese Nationalist Vietminh army won over the French at Dienbienphu in 1954, the French were forced to accept the creation of a Communist Vietnam north of the 17th parallel and leaving a non-Communist side in the south (Rotter 1999, p 2). Then US President Dwight Eisenhower rejected the arrangement. Instead, he endeavored to set up a government there to wrestle control from the French, sent military advisers to train a South Vietnamese army, and operate the Central Intelligence Agency to stage a psychological warfare against North Vietnam (Rotter). In his address at the Gettysburg College, Eisenhower pointed to Vietnam as a free but poor and underdeveloped country with a weak economy where the average individual income was less than $200 a year (1959, pp 96-97). The northern part of Vietnam was taken over by communists. He stressed that South Vietnam needed assistance in self-defense and economic growth. The people of Vietnam wanted to thrive and to become self-sufficient. For Vietnam to expand economically, it would need to acquire capital and for this to happen, it should be freed from outside hostility and private investments should be established to infuse capital. Otherwise, it should be given outside loans and grants from more fortunate countries. He emphasized that Vietnam’s freedom should first be insured and then its economic problem would be solved. In addition, the military forces in Vietnam also needed support without affecting or destroying the economy of Vietnam. He justified the continued existence of US military forces in Vietnam because of the closeness of Communist military forces in the north. He also said that while Communist guerrillas had been substantially contained, the remaining ones continued to disrupt the overall conditions of the nation. He emphasized the need to equally provide sufficient moral support to the troops so that they would continue to have the hope, confidence and pride needed to ward off the threats of aggressions from within and without the borders Upon his assumption as President in 1952, US aid to the French in Vietnam increased and reached 80% in two years’ time (Smitha 2005). In 1954, Bao Dai was replaced by Ngo Dinh Diem. But the French disliked Diem, a nationalist who stood aside during the struggle for independence from the French. He was a courageous, honest and persistent, but he was also inept and he was not popular with ordinary people. He was surrounded by relatives and friends and did not establish close relationships with local leaders and groups in the South. His forces in the rural areas were feared and hated. His strategic hamlet program relocated peasants into communities, surrounded by barbed wire to separate them from the guerillas. They did not like their new hamlets (Smitha, p 14). At a news conference on the steel crisis during his term, US President John F. Kennedy contrasted those Americans fighting for freedom in Vietnam with executives who pursued private power and profits beyond a sense of public responsibility (Bostdorff and Goldzwig 1994). While recognizing the importance of the steel controversy, he re-emphasized the value of the US mission in Vietnam. Whenever he had the chance, he restated the nation’s moral commitment. His morally-grounded idealistic rhetoric gained him definite advantages. His arguments made him sound tough and pleased those with an equally hard-line position against communism in Southeast Asia. He could also use these arguments to justify and support his policies, such as when Congress threatened to reduce foreign aid. He insisted that foreign aid was an all-or-nothing proposition because principles were at stake. He pressed that Congress could provide all the aid he believed should be given or Congress must assume the responsibility and culpability in the event of a victory of Communism and the defeat of freedom in those nations at risk. He maintained that representatives and senators must make policy decision in the light of the larger moral consequences to which these policies would inevitably lead. At the Economic Club of New York in 1962, he commented that Vietnam would instantaneously collapse if the US did not assist it. He consistently presented and idealistically argued that Vietnam as the conflict or a battle of principles and urged all citizens to commit themselves to an all-out support to that commitment. If they did not, they would then have to prepare for a communist victory, which would negate and destroy the cause of freedom all over the world (Bostdorff and Goldzwig). France’s Charles de Gaulle warned President Kennedy that the US would sink into a â€Å"bottomless quagmire† in Vietnam, no matter how much money was spent on it and how many men were sent to it (Smitha 2005, p 10). The President increased the number of advisors to help the Diem regime in 1961, until he realized that the battle had to be won by the Vietnamese themselves, not by Americans. He was aware of Diem’s unpopularity and that Diem would fail to rally in the South in the fight against the communists.The time came when it decided to find an alternative to Diem and connived with his generals to overthrow him (Smitha, pp 13-15). # BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Bostdorff, Denise and , Steven. Idealism and Pragmatism in American Foreign Policy. New York: Presidential Studies Quarterly. Vol 24 Issue 3, 1994 2. Rotter, Andrew J. The Causes of the Vietnam War. The Oxford Companion to American Military History. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. http://www. english. uuc. edu/maps/vietnam/causes. htm 3. Smitha, Frank E. The United States and Vietnam. Macrohistory, 2005. http://www. smitha. com/h2/ch26. htm

Journey to a New Land :: History

A Journey to a New Land My parents immigrated to Canada in 1990 to escape the tyranny of the Chinese government and to build a better life in Canada. After listening to their stories of hardships and frustrations, I realized how fortunate I was to be living in the country I now called home. When the day came to revisit my homeland, I felt uncertain and nervous. Would I fit in? Would I like it there? These were some of the concerns that were racing through my mind. But as the trip progressed, I realized how much I enjoyed staying inChina. Despite what started off as a foreboding voyage, this journey turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life. It had been a long time between my move from China to Canada and the visit to my homeland. As a baby, I had left for Canada and adopted many new traditions and learned many new things. Going back to China for the first time in eleven years would offer me incredible new experiences, but I wasn’t prepared. I wasn’t ready. Leaving my birth country at the age of one and forgetting many of the proper Chinese traditions, I felt so isolated from my culture. The only encouragement I had of taking this trip was from my parents, who reassured me that I was going to do fine. However, my doubts still remained and I knew this would be an obstacle I had to overcome. As I first stepped onto Chinese soil, I began to explore many of the different features of my culture. The benefit of the currency exchange enabled my parents and me to shop in exquisite Chinese boutiques and eat delectable Chinese foods. As I bit into a delicious deep-fried dumpling while sipping some bubble tea, my worries and anxieties drifted away like mist. Eating and drinking as if I were royalty and shopping in splendour, my life was a paradise. For the first time since I arrived in my motherland, I felt that I did fit in with my culture, for I was adopting many of the Chinese customs already. Adapting to China’s less fortunate society was the hardest challenge. One major disappointment of the Chinese living style was the unsanitary conditions. Everywhere I went, most washrooms were smelly, fly-infested places where toilets were holes dug under the ground. It was repulsive yet distressing to think that millions of people in China had to endure these conditions everyday.

Gdp And Economic Welfare Essay

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the most important economic indicator and it is used for comparison purposes to see how countries are doing economic wise. It entails the aggregate production or output in a country. GDP can be measured using either the expenditure approach where all final expenditures are added or by the income approach where all compensations of employees and other forms of incomes are added up. GDP is used to measure an economy’s economic growth. Hartzenberg T et al (2005, 114). The real GDP can be used to establish how an economy is performing and hence compare various economies as one can compare their outputs. It is also important in the sense that it can be used for forecasting purposes and hence important in planning. This paper will distinguish the difference between economic growth which can be measured using GDP statistics and national welfare or people’s well being. According to McConnel and Brue in their distinguished book ‘Economics’, a country can be said to have economic growth when there is a positive increase in its GDP. Economic growth is different from economic welfare and economic development. Economic growth is characterized by an increment in natural resources, the quantity or quality for the human resources, as well as an improvement in technology that translates to increased productivity. Economic growth refers to a positive shift in the production possibility curve to the right or where economic efficiency is attained. McConnel and Brue (2005, 149). A country A could register a higher GDP than country B but this does not necessarily mean that country A is doing better in terms of economic welfare as there is a clear distinction between economic growth and national welfare. This can be blamed on the limitations attached or rather linked to GDP calculation and analysis. (facstaff. uww. edu). Walter in the book ‘Economics’, noted that GDP ignores or rather omits household production which is an important sector in as far as determining the welfare of people is concerned. Wessels W (2006, 75). Alan and Laurence backed this idea in their book ‘Macroeconomics an integrated approach’ where they argued that GDP does not account for the unreported incomes which are earned in the ‘underground economy’. A good illustration of unreported incomes is a situation where waiters fail to report all the tips they acquire while on duty. People may fail to report their actual incomes to evade taxes. Statistical problems could also have occurred creating the impression that country A had a higher GDP than country B though this may not be actually be the case. Some people may not divulge all the information regarding their incomes or expenditure leading to wrong GDP estimates. If country B has a very significant ‘underground economy’ then her citizens could be doing better than those in country A even though the latter had a lower GDP. This is an indication that high GDP rates do not necessarily translate to better welfare for the citizens. Auerbach and Kotlikoff (1998, 136). When calculating GDP the aspect of leisure is ignored although it is very critical in as far as defining people’s welfare is concerned. Country A could register a higher GDP than country B but the citizens in country A could have been overworked leading to health complications. In this case, the high GDP could be at the expense of the people’s health and we cannot conclude that it ensured their welfare or well being. Wessels W (2006, 75). Using GDP figures to determine the people’s welfare is inappropriate as it fails to include ecological costs incurred in the process of attaining the said GDP. Ecological costs include the costs of pollution. Country A could register a higher GDP than country B due to the fact that country A had better technology that ensured increased production. However, the increased production could have been realized in the face of increased air, water and land pollution all of which poses health hazards to the citizens. Wessels W (2006, 75). When such is the case then we cannot conclude that country B is doing better than country A. People’s well being encompasses the people’s health and not just their economic well being. A country with lower GDP but ensuring that her environment is safe for her citizens is doing well in terms of national welfare even though it could record a lower GDP than one with a higher GDP but has a polluted environment. GDP ignores a country’s environmental quality and it fails to account for the consequences that an economic growth could come along with. Auerbach and Kotlikoff (1998, 136). GDP also focuses on output or production although it is consumption that could best explain people’s welfare. For instance country A could sell more goods to other nations like country B since the demand for such goods in country B is higher. In this context, country B could be doing better than country A but since country A exports more it may create the impression that it is doing better. On the other hand, country B may register a lower GDP translating to being worse off as her net exports are negative but in the real sense they could be doing better. Focusing only on the output approach would lead to distortions while addressing the issue of national welfare. Another critical issue cited by Wessels as a limitation of using GDP to evaluate a country’s or nation’s well being is the fact that government spending is valued at cost rather than at its value. Government projects in country A could have been at a higher cost than those in country B but an important aspect to consider here is how much the projects were worth to the citizens. This is because some important projects could be undervalued while worthless projects are overvalued and this will have a significant impact in as far as influencing the people’s welfare or well being is concerned. Wessels (2006, 75). GDP calculation does not include the plight of the people in terms of health and life expectancy which are quite important in assessing the people’s well being or welfare. Country A could have a higher GDP than country B but if she has a lower life expectancy rate and is performing poorly in terms of general health of her citizens then we cannot argue that her citizens are better off than those of country B especially if in country B the life expectancy and general health is better. Health which is a very important factor in determining the people’s welfare when calculating a country’s GDP people’s conditions health wise are only included if they increase the costs of the health system. A country’s health costs could be attributed to modern and advanced health technologies but this does not guarantee a nations well being health wise as the costs incurred may not match the benefits attained. Democracy or political freedom is an important part in determining people’s welfare. Good governance is one where respective freedoms are respected and most importantly democracy embraced. Using GDP to evaluate people’s welfare is inappropriate as it does not provide any information regarding a country’s governance. Country A could register a higher GDP than country B but the political organization in country A could be oppressive to the citizens. In this context, we cannot argue that country A citizens are better than those in country B which could be exercising democracy and consequently not oppressing her citizens. (facstaff. uww. edu). Another vital issue in defining people’s well being is assessing social justice in a country. If country A registered a higher GDP but was very poor in terms of the civil justice system then we cannot conclude that her citizens well being was ensured. Country B citizens could be doing better at a lower GDP level if she ensured an effective social justice system. An effective system ensures that the rule of law is embraced and people’s rights respected. This is important in ensuring that corruption which threatens people’s welfare as it only benefits a segment of the total population is kept at bay. Using GDP to compare the well being of people in country A and B could give a wrong impression of what is actually the case. This is attributed to the fact that a country could have overly adjusted for inflation leading to the impression that increase in prices translate to hikes in prices even when this could be as a result of improvement in the products produced. Morse S (2004, 39). Another aspect that makes it inappropriate to compare country’s welfare using the GDP statistics is the fact that for such comparisons one must convert the currencies into the other country’s currency and when carrying out the conversions it is possible to understate a country’s GDP especially in the developing nations. A country A could register a higher GDP than country B due to errors arising from conversions of currencies. (facstaff. uww. edu). Country A could have a higher GDP than country B but her citizens could be worse off than those of country B in terms of national welfare. This is attributed to the fact that country A could be characterized by many social evils as opposed to country B. Failure to include the non-market production in the calculation of GDP makes it an inappropriate tool in determining people’s welfare in an economy. Such services like childcare, subsistence farming and care for the aged mean a lot in as far as people’s welfare is concerned. Country A could have a higher GDP but with a lower subsistence economy when compared to country B. A significant subsistence economy would ensure that a country’s food security is ensured and this would place her citizens at a better stance in as far as their well being or welfare is concerned. GDP fails to account for the effects or consequences of technology which has an impact in its determination. In contrast GDP is more concerned on the value of the end product without taking to concern the efficiency of the technologies in question. If country A registered a higher GDP than country B but country A’s government invested more in sectors like education and health ensuring that her citizens were better off in those areas then we can conclude that country B’s welfare is doing well even if it has a lower GDP than country A. Treating investment in education and health as consumption rather than investments makes it difficult to estimate people’s welfare. Willis I (1997, 164). Distribution of resources in a country is also a point to consider when using GDP figures to estimate people’s welfare. Country A could register a higher GDP than country B but this high GDP could have been arrived from a small insignificant proportion of the total population. This is to say that it is inappropriate to say that country A citizens are doing better than those in country B as the GDP is contributed by a small proportion while a large proportion of the society could be languishing in poverty. Income distribution is of much essence when determining people’s welfare in an economy. The inequality issue and GDP arise more so in developing countries or third world as opposed to developed ones. Willis I (1997, 164). Social issues like family stability are also not reflected when calculating GDP although it has an impact on people’s welfare or well being. GDP in country A could be higher than that in country B as more money is being channelled into paying divorce cases lawyers or building more police posts in response to increased crime rates. This illustrates that it is inappropriate to make conclusions about people’s welfare using GDP. In his book ‘The Japanese Economy’, Mitsuo Saito noted the inappropriateness of GDP as a tool of evaluating people’s well being due to the fact that it does not indicate the labour conditions, housing conditions, state of the social security or the urban life which are crucial in determining people’s well being. Saito M (2000, 13). Economic growth could be based on either the demand side or the supply side of an economy. The aggregate demand could increase due to an increment in the population size while aggregate supply could be due to the discovery of new natural resources. Aggregate output is affected by the level of labour supply, the stock of accumulated capital, level of technology as well as the institutions in place. There is an inverse relationship between prices levels and output and when prices levels fall the output increases. Tanzi and Chu (1998, 203). Monetary and fiscal policies in a given economy would affect the country’s well being or welfare. The people’s welfare will be affected by the policies that an economy embraces. Good policies are those that aim for equitable economic growth in a nation. They ensure that the poor in the society are not worse off but instead uplift them. This can be achieved through the application of equitable taxes such that people’s ability to pay is what determines the amount they are to pay all taxes. The rich will pay a higher amount than the poor in such cases. The government could also apply fiscal policies to ensure development for the poor in society. References: Alan J. Auerbach, Laurence J. Kotlikoff. 1998. Macroeconomics: An Integrated Approach. MIT Press. Bernard Baumohl. 2007. The Secrets of Economic Indicators: Hidden Clues to Future Economic Trends and Investment Opportunities. Wharton School Publishing. Campbell R. McConnell, Stanley L. Brue. 2005. Economics: Principles, Problems, and Policies. McGraw-Hill Professional Publishers. Measuring GDP and economic growth. Retrieved on 23rd November 2008 from http://facstaff. uww. edu/ahmady/courses/econ202/ps/sg3. pdf Mitsuo Saito. 2000. The Japanese Economy. World Scientific Publishers. Ian Wills. 1997. Economics and the Environment: A Signaling and Incentives Approach Allen & Unwin Publishers. Stephen Morse. 2004. Indices and Indicators in Development: An Unhealthy Obsession with Numbers? Earthscan Publishers. T. Hartzenberg, Buck Standish, A. Wentzel, V. Tang, T. Hartzenberg, S. Richards. 2005.

A History Of Earnings Management - 1624 Words

A History of Earnings Management, Financial Scandals, and the Resulting Legislations At the turn of the 21st century, America found itself wrought with multiple financial scandals. The poor decisions of just a few executives resulted in thousands of people out of a job, pension funds wiped away, and houses going back to the bank. While earnings management was certainly not a new concept nor was the resulting fraud, the high number of scandals within a short period of time brought it front and center. The resulting public outcry forced congress to swiftly pass new legislations to finally control these manipulations. The business world was forever changed, but has earnings manipulation truly been eliminated? WHAT IS EARNINGS MANAGEMENT? While there doesn’t seem to be one generally accepted definition, most people agree to an extent on what earnings management entails. Gary Giroux explains it as â€Å"operating and discretionary accounting methods to adjust earnings to a desired outcome,† while another set of authors describe it as â€Å"a conscious effort to manipulate earnings for one’s advantage† (Giroux 180; qtd. in Grasso, Tilley, White 46). Earnings management covers a broad field of practices, both positive and negative. The negative side is more specifically referred to as earnings manipulation. Giroux gives the definition of earnings manipulation as the â€Å"opportunistic use of earnings management to effectively misstate earnings to benefit managers† (Giroux, 180). Most of theShow MoreRelatedLong Distance Discount Services ( Ldds )1460 Words   |  6 PagesWorldcom Group, formally known as Long Distance Discount Services (LDDS) and the secon d largest long distance telecommunications provider in the U.S., was involved in one of the biggest accounting frauds in history. The scandal, when unearthed in 2002, revealed that Worldcom had overstated it’s earnings in the five quarters between 2001 and 2002 by more than 3.8 billion. This was a result of inappropriate accrual releases and classifying periodic line costs as capital expenditures rather than treatingRead MoreAcc 561 Financial Statements Differential910 Words   |  4 PagesJared Financial Statement Differentiation Paper Financial statements provide documentation of a company’s financial history for a set timeframe. One of the financial statement used by investors, creditors, and mangers is the balance sheet. The second statement used by accountant’s income statement, which is also important to shareholders. The third statement is the retained earnings statement, and the fourth financial statement is the statement of cash flows. Each financial statement has a differentRead MoreAnnual Report Project1099 Words   |  5 PagesThere are three core elements to Target’s approach to governance: a highly independent and engaged Board of Directors, a management team whose interests are aligned with shareholders, and mechanisms that provide accountability to shareholders. The substantial majority of the Board of Directors is independent. Candidates are selected on several different basis, including: a history of success in their field, a relevant background in regards to business needs, and how well their skills and backgroundRead MoreA Historical Perspective: The Wage Gap1586 Words   |  7 Pageswage gap is defined as â€Å"a statistical indicator often used as an index of the status of women’s earnings to men’s.† Often expressed as a percentage or divided into median annual earnings, the wage gap seeks to define and distinguish men and women’s salaries. While the wage gap was a term first introduced in the early 1940’s, the twenty-first century progress of women’s rights, specific to equal earnings between men and woman, is relevant today and remains greatly influenced by specific historicalRead MoreSec and Waste Management1133 Words   |  5 Pagesoften called the â€Å"watchdog† of corporate America. How does it assist in preventing fraud? 2. According to the summary, why did the Waste Management executives commit the fraud? 3. You are an ambitious manager in the sales department of a company and have just received the upcoming year’s targeted earnings report. You are concerned that top management has set revenue targets for your division that are practically unreachable. However, anticipating a promotion to vice president of sales ifRead MoreEssay on Wal-Mart Financial Analysis1677 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction 2 2. Success at Delivering Value to the Shareholders in the Last 5 Years 2 2.1 Growth in Earnings 2 2.2 Growth in Dividend Declared 3 3. Valuation of Equity 4 3.1 Net Asset Value (NAV) 5 3.2 Price / Earnings Ratio 5 3.3 Discounted Free Cash Flow 7 4. Reconciliation of Differences 8 4.1 Benefits and Costs of Using Net Assets Value 9 4.2 Benefits and Costs of Using Price Earnings Ratio 9 4.3 Benefits and Costs of Using Discounted Free Cash Flow 9 5. Conclusion 9 â€Æ' 1. Introduction Read MoreAcquisition And Acquisition Of Aol / Warner And Disney / Pixar1206 Words   |  5 PagesAcquisitions from A to Z. American Management Association International.). This paper analyzes the changes two companies of AOL/Time Warner and Disney/Pixar went through and what affects the changes had on each of them. Moreover it explains images of change and their affect on each of these companies. The AOL and Time Warner Merger In 2000, AOL merged with Time Warner in a deal worth over$30 billion which was one of the largest mergers in American business history. The main reason for the merger wasRead MoreCommunications Is An American Company1691 Words   |  7 Pagesshift in the company took place in 1998 when they set out to shift their business focus and create a company dedicated to the development of a facilities-based, end-to-end communications network optimized to provide IP communication services. (History, 2015, p. 1) This paper will look at some of the key statistics as they relate to the employees, competition, along with the company’s stock price over price over the past three years. It will also evaluate some key financial ratios and will makeRead MoreAnalyzing A Number Of Business Ratios From A Business Financial Terms1123 Words   |  5 PagesWe presented information about the ROA, current ratio, PE ratio etc. and provided how Tesla’s performance was in the share market. The se data would be useful for investors when they make investment decisions, and it is also important to Tesla’s managements for corporation development in the future. It is recommended that it is difficult to evaluate precisely on the share price due to the incompletely exposure on the overall information.Tesla Motors, Inc. is a technology innovation company which designsRead MoreHoneywell Case1164 Words   |  5 Pages1. What are the objectives of Honeywell’s new risk management program? How do they relate to the goal of â€Å"maximize shareholder value? The objectives of the new risk management program was to develop a multi-year insurance based strategy that covered all traditionally insured global risk in a single master insurance policy which would provide; * the same if not greater earnings protection * have lower total program costs * have the flexibility to incorporate additional risks