Balanced Budget Amendment

As we discussed and read about this week in our class, the topic of the US Budget and how, why and what should we do about it has become a topic with many views and opinions. The United States of America currently holds over 16 Trillion dollars in debt based on our governments spending practices for the last ten years. Two wars, numerous fiscal collapses and cliffs, a bubble popped housing market, looming medical care costs from a socialized healthcare law and a recession have caused the government to acquire enormous amounts of debt.This debt with caused by what seems to be from irresponsible spending on both the Legislative and the Executive Branches have done nothing to lessen this deficit. One idea that has been discussed not only in Congress, but on prime time news networks is the passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment. A Balance Budget Amendment (as recently seen in House Bill HJR2, 28 NOV 2011) would require that Congress balance its budget every fiscal year unless a three-fif ths majority of both houses approved of maintaining a deficit[1].In a CNN Poll, conducted by ORC International, 74% of Americans surveyed would be in favor of a constitutional amendment to require a Balanced federal budget. So, why did it miss passing by the House of Representatives 23 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed? In the graph we see that federal debt will remain above 73 percent of GDP, far higher than the the 39 percent seen over the last four decades as stated by the Congressional Budget Office. This level is of debt is unsustainable to the our economy and a Balanced Budget Amendment may be the answer to get wasteful spending under control and reduce out national debt.There is a lot of debate for a Balanced Budget Amendment in the United States. The trade-off between â€Å"discipline† and â€Å"flexibility† is at the core of the debate surrounding the establishment of a Balanced Budget Amendment[2]. Those who oppose a Balanced Budget Amendment argu e that it may limit the scope and power of the Government to fully discharge its duties. Under this version of the amendment , three-fifths of congress would have to vote suspend requirements, the government would have to cut expenditures or raise taxes during a recession.This in theory would make the recession worse and limit the ability of the government to use fiscal policy to stabilize the economy. Also, Congress could simply devise special budgets to get around the requirements. An example would be to take some programs â€Å"off budget†, which means that they would not be counted towards the total amount of expenditures by the government and not counting them as part of the Official Budget. However these expenditures would have to get funded from somewhere.Third, Congress could issue regulations or impose mandates or requirements on businesses or other government regulations as non-budgetary ways to get programs funded and these actions could have serious ramifications on the taxpayers and economy. Those in favor of the Balanced Budget Amendment say that if we look at the States within the US who have Balanced Budget laws (all but Vermont have some form of budgetary regulation) there are excellent examples we can use in drafting an amendment which could work for this country.Marina Azzimonti, writes in her article, â€Å"The Political Economy of Balanced Budget Amendments†[3] several very good theoretical findings supporting ways that Congress can use the lessons of the States in drafting a Balanced Budget Amendment that introduces a rule that restricts deficit spending and limits increases in government debt. Her first point is that stricter budgetary rules induce policymakers with discipline regarding how money is spent. Reducing these expenditures it is argued supports positive economic growth by lowering interests rates , higher savings rates, and hence more consumer confidence and economic growth.Also the inclusion of an â€Å"Escape Clause† proposes that a bill to increase revenue or public borrowing may become law if two-thirds of the members of each house approve it. Thus allowing the government to be able to meet certain â€Å"emergencies† to include war, national crisis, or natural disaster. Proponents of these amendments also that running deficits over the long term or persistent deficits can be dangerous as well. When the government runs persistent deficits , a increasing portion of consumer's savings is used to purchase government debt instead of being invested in private capital goods .This is called â€Å"crowding out†, and this effect lower output and incomes in the future. Growing Federal Debt can lead to a sudden fiscal crisis in and of itself. This type of crises can occur when debt levels become so large in relation to the economy's output that the government has difficulty selling it. Current and potential bondholders lose confidence with the governments ability to repay its d ebt and refuse to buy anymore. The government is then forced purchase new debt at higher interest rates, often leading to inflation, reduction in government services and rograms and increased economic hardship on its citizens. There are several good examples of this type of debt crisis in Argentina, Mexico and Greece. The US saw a version of this in 2011, when S&P concerned with the US climbing debt and its credit worthiness reduced its credit rating or the ability of the country to borrow money at lower interests rates. A federal Balanced Budget amendment based loosely on those instituted by the States of this country has many benefits. One such advantage is that a Balanced Budget Amendment can reduce inefficiencies in spending.Azzimonti argues in a theoretical environment model, Politicians tend to be short-sighted since they have no guarantee of being being reelected next time around. This short-sightedness often leads them to increase spending to their constituencies now through excessive deficit spending and accumulate too much debt. These deficits are are less politically costly than raising taxes, which often is a good way for a politician to get voted out in their next election. However, with fiscal restrictions in place politicians are forced to take long view and be fiscally responsible.This leads into the next positive of a Balanced Budget Amendment, and that is reducing future financial burden on taxpayers. When the government releases bonds to be purchased, it agrees to repay its holders in the future for spending today. Those repayment burdens are placed on future taxpayers who may not have received the benefits of current spending. This future tax burden also can hamper long term interests rates today, which can hamper economic activity in the short term.Despite arguments both for and against enacting a Balanced Budget Amendment, Congress needs to come to a solution regarding its fiscal policy. The Federal reserve Bank can not continue to print money to stimulate the economy, and the government can not keep spending money wastefully and hope for our economy to get better. The American People deserve a government that is responsible with its wallet and looks out for all Americans in making the economy stringer and reducing the national debt for future generations.When properly explored and drafted, and if Politicians can agree, transcend party lines and focus on getting spending and debt under control a Balanced Budget Amendment could work to makes the United States financially stronger and more prosperous than ever before. Resources O'Sullivan, Sheffrin and Perez Economics: Principles, Applications and Tools 7th Ed 2012 Azzimonti, Marina. â€Å"The Political Economy of Balanced Budget Amendments. † Business Review Q1 2013 Eddlem, Thomas R. â€Å"Before the Income Tax: How the Federal Budget Government Balanced the Budget Before 1913. The New American February 2013 McCullouch, J. Huston. â€Å" An Improved Balanced Budget Amendment. † The Independent Review Fall 2012 ——————————— [ 1 ]. McCulloch, J. Huston. An Improved Balance Budget Amendment (Art). Independent Review, Fall 2012 [ 2 ]. Azzimonti, Marina. The Political Economy of Balanced Budget Amendments (Art). Business Review, Q1 2013 [ 3 ]. Azzimonti, Marina. The Political Economy of Balanced Budget Amendments (Art). Business Review, Q1 2013

The Thousand and One Nights: Abridged, Restructured

Jeff Stephens Dr. Swenson English 2111 11-22-11 The Thousand and One Nights: Abridged, Restructured, but Ever Lasting You may have read the story many times; you may have even watched the live-action movie or animated film, but only a few have been able to discern the unique traits inherent in The Thousand and One Nights. Willis G. Regier, a writer for World Literature Today, wrote that â€Å"the Nights has been read, admired, studied, illustrated, adapted for the stage, and Disneyfied† (321).The traits that I would like you to remember are how I used interruption to structure the story and how I implemented love within the stories to help me win back King Shahrayar’s trust and pacify his fear of psychosexual replacement. While telling the king stories of grandeur and impossibility, I snuck in little snippets of truth and morality. Richard Burton, once said, â€Å"Without the nights, no Arabian nights,† by which he meant that in dividing the story into separate e venings it was given structure and without that structure The Arabian Nights would be no more than a collection of short stories (qtd. n Van Leeuwen 183). Burton could not have been any more correct. However, I would also like to point out that without the nights themselves, my own story would have ended long before the king changed his mind in the case of my death sentence. Structure in a story like The Arabian Nights is like the branches of a tree that bears fruit; not every branch will produce the fruit, but all the branches will have leaves to help collect the energy to make the fruit.In the same way that a tree bears its fruit, my mini-stories bear the fruit of change within King Shahrayar’s heart. Through my stories, I was able to help the king reclaim some of the hope, understanding, and even love that he had once lost because of his unfaithful wife. I also showed him that women could yet be good and kind, faithful and true, and be intelligent without the wickedness wh ich so many other storytellers have been unwilling to show over the centuries.Van Leeuwen wrote an excellent article that mentions how odd it must seem in my breaking up the stories with the nights, but he also says that by breaking them up I multiplied the dimensions and meanings within the stories themselves and gave a kind of fluidity to the whole thing. I like Van Leeuwen’s interpretation of my actions. He describes the most basic interruption as the break between the fantasy world of the stories that I tell and the world of the frame story in which I, myself, take part. Incidentally, he did his homework on the subject.During that time it was quite usual for my people to use frame stories in order to create a more profound and comprehensive anthology. In using these frame stories, rather than teaching a lesson directly to the listener, we can teach vicariously through the understanding of the frame story’s characters’ understandings. When I decided to try an d save the rest of the kingdom’s women from our vengeful king I knew that a direct approach would never work, so I had to drop him coy little hints in the form of fairytales, bedtime stories, and religious parables and sayings.Although a king be a foolish man, it doesn’t make him less of a king, it just means he is less of a man. So, using the art of interruptive story telling has been around for a very long time, even long before my own time, but Van Leeuwen has a much better grasp on the many useful techniques that using frame stories and interruptive techniques can yield as well as how they help to structure a story by allowing intervals between different perspectives.Van Leeuwen also describes how the stories that I told King Shahrayar could be directly related to the frame story in which he experiences so many wrongs on behalf of women. My poor husband was practically raped by a woman being held captive by a demon, he was cheated on in his own home by his wife and a common servant, and he watched as his brother suffered the same disgrace in multiplicity. Van Leeuwen says, â€Å"As a mechanism for the generation of meanings, the juxtaposition of viewpoints enhances the cycle’s character as an initiation into new forms of knowledge† (185).Throughout the stories there are always several characters that give an account from their own perspective about what has happened in the past in order to help the reader’s and the protagonist’s understanding of the problem and how to remedy the situation properly. When I told the story about the fisherman and the demon, for instance, the demon was fixated on killing the fisherman because no one else had come to release him in hundreds of years. However, the way the fisherman saw it, the demon owed him a reward for being the one to release him after so much time.Allowing both parties to speak their thoughts about the situation in conversation made it much easier to discern a mediat ion point. In other words, knowing both sides of the story helped to rectify the situation amicably for both parties in the end. I was trying the show the king that jumping to conclusions is never a good way to solve a problem. His ex-wife’s betrayal leads him to pronounce vows with a new woman each day and then break those vows by killing them the next so that they would not have a chance to betray him first.I was able to slowly give meaningful and constructive criticism of King Shahrayar’s decisions over the course of many nights and because of that criticism he changed on the inside. He became whole again, with an understanding that he had found a woman (myself) that would never betray him. Throughout my Thousand and One Nights, love is a catalyst to reveal the true nature of the person within a given character, because love defines us. Love of one’s self versus love for others, love of money versus love of one’s family, love for love’s sake ver sus love for the sake of sex and wiles.Wills G. Regier pointed out that â€Å"Love is everywhere†, and I could not agree more. Within every expression of love there is a story to be told about those involved and the feeling of love in and of itself. I told King Shahrayar stories of this sort each night, some with violence and murder, some with mystery and suspense, and some with sexual escapades. OK, a lot with sexual escapades. I practically bored the man to sleep some nights! I had to improvise to continue to keep his interest in my stories, but I always tried to find ways to wrap them up with love.My king seemed to have forgotten what love really was, so I needed to remind him of the feeling he so desperately sought even if, to begin with, it was sought unconsciously. Regier actually nailed it when he said that I gave King Shahrayar spiritual instruction a couple of times (311). I was attempting to do just that by reciting proverbs and Muhammad’s sayings. I was atte mpting (and apparently successfully so) to help him regain his moralistic views and understandings of the world. Love plays a large role in one’s understanding of how people view each other and how and why the react in the ways that they do.He needed to understand that part of why he reacted to his ex-wife in such an over-the-top manner was because he loved her so much that it hurt him more deeply than anything had ever hurt him before. He needed to understand that love and the loss of love was what drove him to such drastic measures. John J. Brugaletta wrote an interesting essay about my stories regarding the different allegorical properties from which new knowledge could be gleaned when comparing the situations in the stories to situations in real life (7).He was right, I was providing stories that the king could relate to at the time. There seemed to be some ominous trend in the women of my day to be more sexually attracted to black men. Honestly, it was probably more to d o with the fact that black slaves tended to be in better physical condition than the white nobility, sitting in their lush palaces, eating meat and drinking wine all day, and going on hunts for pleasure rather than out of necessity. Some of King Shahrayar’s emotional issues undoubtedly stemmed from his seeming fear of â€Å"psychosexual† replacement by the black slaves.Brugaletta says that â€Å"the societies in which this book took form were preoccupied with a sense of inadequacy in sexual competition with blacks† (6). One way or another, every story could be directly proportionalized with King Shahrayar’s own life-experiences. I engineered the stories to reflect King Shahrayar’s mishaps in a kind-of worse-case scenario type of schema to help him reconcile with his unhappiness and help him to understand that while his wife was at fault in cheating on him, so was he in his exacting vengeance upon all the women of his kingdom because of one womanâ⠂¬â„¢s infidelity.While my king and husband listened to my stories, I was able to postpone my own demise and prevent others from falling to the same fate as my predecessors. As long as I kept the man intrigued, the king stayed his bloody hands. I showed him through my stories that he was missing out on living life and he understood that although he had become an angry, bitter tyrant, he could change his ways and become a loving husband and king again. Through my stories, he was able to trust women and believe in their goodness again. Works Cited Brugaletta, John J. The Arabian Nights’ Entertainments. † Masterplots, Fourth Edition (2010): 1-6. Literary Reference Center. Web. 22 Nov. 2011. Lawall, Sarah N. , and Maynard Mack. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Second ed. Vol. B. New York: Norton, 2002. Print. Leeuwen, Richard Van. â€Å"The Art Of Interruption: The Thousand And One Nights And Jan Potocki. † Middle Eastern Literatures 7. 2 (2004): 183-198. Ac ademic Search Complete. Web. 22 Nov. 2011. Regier, Wills G. â€Å"Shahrazad's New Clothes. † World Literature Today 84. 2 (2010): 30-34. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 Nov. 2011.

Pricilla and the Wimps Character Reflection

The character of Priscilla in the story â€Å"Priscilla and the Wimps† reveals numerous traits and characteristics which allow one to make assumptions about her as a person outside of the events depicted in the story. The first descriptive aspect of Priscilla as a character would be her physical appearance. We are made aware in the opening of the story that Priscilla stands as a massive individual in the school community and many students are fearful of her based solely on her physical stature.This may be confirmed on account of the fact that she only had one friend, Melvin Detweiler, and was not accepted by many of the other students who attended the school. Priscilla’s size and strength would lead me to believe that she has an athletic background, further shaping my idea her physical appearance. The first aspect of her physical appearance is her clothing, which I presume would be a stereotypical athletic style, such as track pants and a hoodie, some huge sneakers for her massive feet and a windbreaker.Her clothes may also be rather small because of her enormous size. Another way to refer to my ideas of Priscilla’s physical appearance is through her facial features, which may consist of a simple haircut, like a ponytail and possibly some bruises or scars from playing contact sports throughout the years. Another way to classify Priscilla as a character would be through her personality and mental concepts. I envision that she would have a protector-like personality which was demonstrated through her actions towards the end of the story, when Melvin was threatened by the Kobras.This unique disposition includes aspects such as being quietly forceful, original and sensitive while being extremely intuitive about people (Melvin), and concerned for their feelings. I think that Priscilla would also be well-respected for her perseverance in doing the right thing and likely to be individualistic, rather than leading or following. My ideas for Priscil la’s background and outside life will also reveal my illustration of this particular character. As stated before, I picture Priscilla to be involved with sports because of her physical abilities as well as to compensate for her lack of friends.Her lack of friends may also be because she could live in an isolated area where building relationships with other children her age is not possible. Her aggressive behavior revealed in the story may be a cause of belligerent parents or possibly an older brother who has picked on her or played a significant role in her life causing some masculine qualities to be rubbed off on Priscilla. Further exploring my impression of Priscilla, it may similarly benefit my overall image to examine her motivation for specific actions, her sense of humor and habits.The motivation for her actions throughout the circumstances presented in this story could be that she has only one friend and she will do anything to maintain that friendship through protecti on or other means. When Melvin is harassed by the Kobras, she sees them as a threat and deals with it in an aggressive manner to assure that Melvin will continue to see her as a friend, and know that she will have his back. Another possible motivation for Priscilla’s actions may be that she does not want to be seen as weak and wishes to sustain her reputation as the toughest in the school.When confronted by the Kobras, she sees an opportunity to prove to everyone how dangerous she is and reassures that no one will mess with her or Melvin. Priscilla’s sense of humor may also dictate who she is as a character. I consider that Priscilla has a sadist quality about her and finds that when she harms people she does not care for, she gets a sense of accomplishment and humor. This can be demonstrated by her actions at the end of the book when she locks Monk Klutter in her locker and continues to walk away with Melvin.Priscilla’s habits also shape her character, both pos itively and negatively. She may have a bad habit for being overly aggressive or constantly escalating conflicts to violent acts. She correspondingly has good habits, however, which may include standing up for what is right and being a good friend. Overall, my personal image of the character Priscilla is revealed through her actions in the story of â€Å"Priscilla and the Wimps† combined with my own ideas and concepts which I believe apply to this particular character.

Alternative Sources Of Energy

Alternative Sources Of Energy Bio-fuels are formed from biomass, normally plants seeds, and liquid bio fuels can be use for transportation. We are one of the world’s leading distributors of bio fuels and we are developing enhanced bio fuels that could see CO2 reductions and a sustainable alternative fuel source. The two main forms of bio fuel today are ethanol and FAME (Fatty Acid Methyl Esters), which have largely relied on food crops such as wheat or sugar cane as their source. We are working to find a source material that does not compete with food crops, to develop a conversion process that will produce low CO2, and to produce efficient fuels. Our bio fuels research includes finding alternative feedstocks. We are looking into finding tough new enzymes to break down the cellulose in plants such as straw. Algae have potential as a sustainable source of vegetable oil that could be used for the production of bio fuel for diesel engines. It is early days but algae hold promise, as they grow rapidly and c an be cultivated in ponds of seawater and minimise the use of fertile land and fresh water. Alternative Energy The world has plenty of potential renewable energy sources, but each has its own technical challenges. Scientists are working to develop alternative energy sources that are sustainable, clean and convenient. Fossil fuels are expected to remain the world’s main source of energy for decades to come but sustainable, clean and convenient energy sources will also be needed in the mix. Today’s most widespread biofuel, ethanol, is commonly made from starchy or sugary plants. Hydrogen is seen by many as â€Å"the fuel of the future†, but it still has a long way to go. It is an energy carrier, in the same way as electricity, and so must be produced from another substance. Most commonly, hydrogen is produced using steam that reacts with methane and converts it into hydrogen and carbon. It can also be produced from water through electrolysis. The hydrogen can then be stored and converted to energy via hydrogen fuel cells, now available for cars. In hydrogen fuel cell vehicles a chemical reaction inside the fuel cell – usually between hydrogen and oxygen – creates electricity for the motor and the only resulting exhaust pipe emission is water vapour. We are learning as much as possible about hydrogen refuelling and how to meet future customer needs. We are involved in research and demonstration projects and have already opened a cluster of commercial hydrogen filling stations. biomass Biomass is any plant derived organic matter available on a renewable basis, including dedicated energy crops and trees, agricultural food and feed crops, agricultural crop wastes and residues, wood wastes and residues, aquatic plants etc. The energy in biomass can be harnessed in waste-to-energy plants or cogeneration plants. Waste-to-Energy Plants All incinerable waste not recovered, reused or recycled is sent for incineration at the waste-to-ener gy plants operated by the National Environment Agency. The combustion of municipal waste including renewables in the waste produce heat,

Promotion of Violent Commotion through Video Games Essay

Promotion of Violent Commotion through Video Games - Essay Example Various platforms (devices that allow a videogame to operate) are generated in enormous numbers year after year. The types of games which are introduced range from arcade to adventure and from educational to racing. There would be hardly anyone let it be a child, a young adult or an grown-up who would be unaware of videogames, which is why Berger states â€Å"Most Americans are well aware of the existence of video games.† (4) The most talked upon controversy which is being discussed and debated upon and which is spreading like fire all around the social media is whether video games promote violent activity or not. Different beliefs are held by different people; similarly various researches show various results. Some perspectives have indicated that videogames cast an extremely negative effect on people who play them, while other outlooks show that videogames do not cast any sorts of negative effects on their players. There are standpoints that point out that some videogames al so shed constructive effects on the people who play them. Hence, for the clarification of this controversy all the sides have been provided and presented objectively for the formulation of the readers own opinion, as the viewpoints provided are completely valid and applicable. From the early period when home computers were a vogue word, to today’s in progress consoles, people have been playing games after games, due to which video games have been tagged as one of the most well-liked type of amusement in the world within the past few decades. Hence, several of video games are developed and introduced; these genres of videogames include action, shooter, action-adventure, adventure, role playing, strategy and stimulation games. Besides these genres there are many other noble games which include educational and informational video games. The question which pops up in our minds is ‘but how would games promote violence?’ or ‘how would such games cast a positive e ffect?’ The answer to these questions is that just because it is a â€Å"Video Game† does not actually mean that its significance shall be avoided. Children or adults are both affected by video games whether in a positive or a negative way similar to the way we they are influenced by television or novels, even though the latter is being spontaneously pushed far into the cupboard. Viewing the first outlook which verifies that videogames endorse violent activity amongst its players we can bring in light Dulan’s statement that authenticates that â€Å"Unfortunately, video games promote violence because after shooting, blowing up and running over a bunch of gangsters, zombies, etc., you win the game and all is well for you.† (309) Therefore, the fact that the negative effects are casted by all the shooting and spurting games cannot be closed the eyes to. Violent video games have become popular amongst the boys specifically and the popularity of such games has reached extraordinary scope. Stoff, Breiling and Maser stated that â€Å"Video games also have become a focus of concern due to the high level of violence they contain and the fact that children are active participants in violence.† (186) The relationship between brutal video-game play and aggression can be studied by viewing the notional line of reasoning that puts forward this relationship. This line draws on

Introduction to managerial accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Introduction to managerial accounting - Essay Example It creates precise reports that are focused on future, present and past, the management uses these reports in making educated decisions concerning the organization. Some of the reports produced are; Department reports, Sales forecasting, planning reports and Production reports. Financial accounting provides information to government agencies, suppliers, banks and shareholders who use it in making long term decisions for the organization, and they follow Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Reports created include; income statement, balance sheets, retained earnings summary and cash flow reports. Managerial accounting lays emphasis on decisions that affect the future, therefore planning is an important element of the manager’s job since managerial accounting is future based. Financial accounting basically provides past financial transaction summaries which may be used in planning to some extent, since the future is not always a reflection of past happenings. Many changes are taking place in economic and technological conditions therefore, manager’s planning must be based on what will happen rather than what really happened (Accounting for Management, 2012). Accounting information is used internally by employees and various managers who include; marketing managers and purchasing managers. Accurate accounting is important to individuals who make crucial business and financial decisions within the organization that affect the organization directly. Companies aiming at selling services and goods at prices that provide adequate returns to the owners should keep an adequate level of liquidity and profitability to continue operations. Accounting information is critical to organizations in conducting their daily activities such as; financing the company, investing in resources, managing employees, producing goods and marketing

The Impacts of Fast Foods on Obesity and Weight of College Students Assignment

The Impacts of Fast Foods on Obesity and Weight of College Students - Assignment Example These types of foods have been strongly criticized particularly due to issues of health. Many studies have, in fact, attributed the high level of overweight and obesity to these foods. This paper intends to look into the impact of fast foods on obesity and overweight because these are health concerns that have originated very many diseases nowadays. Obesity is a medical condition whereby the body of an individual contains very high level of body fats to a level of occasioning adverse health impacts. When the body mass index (BMI) is greater than 30 kg/m2, a person is said to be suffering from obesity. Such a person is highly susceptible to diseases such as type II diabetes, heart diseases, osteoarthritis and certain types of cancers, among many others (Haslam and James, 2005). The fast spread of fast foods in restaurants has generated a lot of debate especially regarding the impact of such foods on the health of people. In fact, many nutritionists and health professionals have cautioned their clients against overconsumption of such foods as they claim their health risk can be massive (Abdollah, 2007; Mcbride, 2008; Mair et al. 2005). However, it is notable that the evidence that links fast food to obesity and gain in weight is not very convincing. Most of those who claim that it fast foods is responsible for obesity have conducted their research on very small samples hence narrowing the validity of their generalization. A recent study by Rosenheck (2008), on the relationship between fast foods and obesity, it was found that the results from observational studies have not been able to establish a link between obesity and fast foods. A couple of recent studies have paid attention to fast foods restaurant as possible contribute avenues of gaining weight (Philipson and Posner, 2008). Anderson and Matsa (2009) concentrate on the connection between obesity and feeding habits, whereby the related the presence of many restaurants around the highway in a  rural area and the eating habits. However, they found no credible link between obesity and restaurants.  Ã‚