Debating Healthy Hunger - Free Kids Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Debating Healthy Hunger - Free Kids Act - Essay Example Taxpayers finance roughly half of the total medical costs annually through Medicaid and Medicare (Hinman, 2011, 16). In view of this growing problem of childhood obesity, the Obama administration recently signed the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 to intensify its fight against childhood obesity. However, the ratification of the 2010 Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act generated varied responses all over the United States. In the view of some, the additional 6-cents for each meal given are valued, but others are dissatisfied with the extra 6-cents which is argued to be insufficient. This paper presents a comprehensive a discussion of the arguments for and against the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Ultimately, the author discusses its position in the debate. Overview The Obama administration recently released a new cluster of federal policies that would regulate the quantity of calories permitted state-sponsored school meals, prohibiting majority of trans fats at the same time as boosting the quantities of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. The projects, proposed by the Agriculture Department, embody the initial large-scale overhauling of school lunch rules in the 21st century (The Washington Times, 2011a, A03). The guidelines would be valid to all partly and fully funded meals and may have an impact on a vast number of children. Supporters claim revamping the price in the country’s school lunches is fundamental in mitigating childhood obesity since large numbers of children take at least half of their everyday calories at school (Hinman, 2011, 16). However, a number of conservative detractors, headed by Sarah Palin, have denounced federal attempts to oblige nutritional intake and control school vending machines and bake sales as unwarranted government intrusion. A number of local school administrators and personnel have questioned the cost of putting into effect the new guidelines, with a large number of the suggested menu selections more costly to acquire and prepare. The U.S. is confronting an obesity outbreak, and the predicament of poor diets puts the future of the children and the nation at risk, according to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, emphasizing that the country confronts an enormous cost from poor diets in chronic health crises (The Washington Times, 2011a, A03). The rules are a reaction to the 2010 Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act. The $4.5 billion policy enlarges the population of students entitled to school lunch initiatives and raises the federal financial backing by 6 cents a meal (The Washington Times, 2011a, A03). Aside from mandating calorie restrictions, the recommended policies demand cutting down sodium by at least half over a decade (Hinman, 2011, 17), increasing quantities of whole grains and forbidding bad fats. The Argument for the Healthy Hunger-Free Free Kids Act Many individuals and organizations within the food industry supported the implementation of the Act with eagerness like the Internatio nal Dairy Foods Association, the United Fresh Produce Association, American Bakers’ Association, and Grocery Manufacturers Association (Julian, 2010). As argued by Center for Science in the Public Interest’s director of nutrition policy, Margo Wootan, criticizing the legislation by the cost only is very crude since there are other resource-saving

Entrepreneurship and small business management Essay

Entrepreneurship and small business management - Essay Example On the other hand, they also observe that such decision-making may just be beneficial to the business operations. One good thing about them is that they play a critical role in global economy. Even so, one should understand that family businesses are managed in different styles especially as pertains to leadership. Their characteristics are largely similar although small variations exist. Such differences are what sum up the total picture that of what constitutes their unique features. Unique Characteristics of Family Business As mentioned above, family business has unique characteristics. According to Bassanini, Breda, Caroli and Reberioux (2013, p. 433), family business are characterized by low job insecurity. Bassanini et al. observe that unlike nonfamily firms, family businesses are not in the habit of laying out workers. Rather than downsize by dismissals, many of them tend to rely on not hiring. They respond to their business operations through this unique way. This does not im ply that family businesses will never lay off workers. In the US, family businesses account for up to 28% in 2007 while Germany has the highest number at 56% (Boom, Van and Reenen 2007, in Bassanini et al. (2013, p. 433). Bassanini et al. observe that many family businesspeople see their firms as future assets for their descendants (p. 434). As a practice, any of them nurture their kids for eventual takeover and management. Some do not follow that path but entrench family members in critical decision-making organs. Probably this explains why many of them are reluctant to lay off their employees. Bassanini et al. also note that many family businesses pay comparatively low or average pay as compared to non-family firms. They offer that one may attribute such differences in wages to the fact that there are differences between family and nonfamily firms. Comparatively, the scholars point out that the wage gap between family and nonfamily gaps is approximately 2.4% (Bassanini et al., 201 3, p. 443). Even so, one should understand that this rate is not fixed as it fluctuates. One can also deduce that the differences between wages in family firms and nonfamily firms vary largely from firms to firm, making the percentage difference a dynamic range. Other scholars observe that family firms tend to follow certain values held dear to them. They note that family businesses thrive on strong commitment to stewardship of the family’s assets amongst others (p. 39). The scholars also observe that as the family shareholder decide on formation of Family Entrepreneur Teams. They also assess the shared vision to be in business together (Cruz, Howorth and Eleanor, 2012, p. 39). This is despite the fact that they are first brought together by shared family values. From this observation, one may deduce that another characteristic of family business is that the success of family business lies on the continued goodwill on the shared values down the lineage. It appears that as muc h as family businesses are characterized by shared values, down along the generation lines, there may be deviations from the shared values. Another characteristic of family teams is that the level of flexibility is usually high (Schjoedt, Monsen, Pearson, and Chrisman, 2012, p. 7). Schjoedt et al. highlight that such a characteristic usually comes from the fact that many team members in family businesses tend to be couples. Being couples, Schjoedt et al. point out that the shared goals and strong relationships usually allow some form of