Enron Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Enron - Research Paper Example The FERC required all energy merchants which operated under competitive market regimes to adhere to specific rules of operation. The rules prohibited conspiracy, manipulation, and the presentation of misleading or fake information (Public Citizen). Market manipulation as defined by the FERC included; giving of false information to transmission suppliers, wash trades, manufacture of false congestion, and conspiracy between merchants which are planned to artificially influence prices, circumstances or supply. SEC and CEOs The SEC requires CEOs of public utilities to give a certification of the truthfulness of financial reports they give. The Sec prescribes penalties of falsification of information of 10 years and 20 years for knowing and willful violations respectively. The provision may however prove to be difficult to impose since it is hard to determine if information was certified reckless or negligently as opposed to knowingly (Bumgardner). In addition a CEO making a required fina ncial restatement could be required to forfeit bonuses or profits attained from the sale of sale of company stock. The provision is however watered down by the lack of a proper definition of required and misconduct. The new law makes it possible to ban SEC violators from running public utilities even though the provision existed in earlier legislation. Stock Options The notion of stock options involves the granting of options which is dated earlier than the company granting date. The backdating of stock options makes the stock of value to the holder. Before Enron and the passage of the Sarbanes Oxley Act, companies were required to report the issue of these options to the Securities and Regulatory Commission in a maximum period of two months. This led to companies grant their options at their highs while dating it at their lows thus giving false information to investors (Kaldec). The enforcement of the Sarbanes Oxley Act now makes it harder for falsification of information since the companies are required to submit their option grants to the SEC in a maximum period of two days. Response to SOX The SOX regulations apply to all companies whose stocks trading in the US. Many executives of foreign companies have come out strongly to voice their dissatisfaction over the SOX Act while lobbying for exemption. Critics of the SOX have lambasted the SEC for punishing foreign corporations in countries which did not experience Enron type scandals (Byrnes 3-4). It also has to be observed that corporations in Asia and Europe are less likely to experience such scandals as management does not hinge so much on stock price as in the US. The Act has been criticized roundly for its potential ambiguities which would make its implementation in the various jurisdictions around the world to be cumbersome and expensive. Critics have also argued that the Act presents some uncertainties in its implementation since it may conflict with domestic legislation in foreign jurisdictions leadin g to increases in litigation costs (Lucci 8). RIAC While foreign corporations have criticized the SOX Act, the RIAC has been rather accommodating. The RIAC has acknowledged that the SOX has certain inherent ambiguities and potential difficulties in enforcement in the international arena. The RIAC has however asserted that SOX presents a very good standard on which governments the world over may come to

Benefits of Illegal Immigration in the United States Research Paper

Benefits of Illegal Immigration in the United States - Research Paper Example Inversely, opposers’ shows that the American economy will suffer from the illegal immigrants since their motives of immigration into the economy are not well established. This article assesses the benefit that the American economy will gain from the illegal immigrants. The illegal immigrants play a major role in the US economy. Recent research has shown that the illegal immigrants have little skills and little education level, which makes them seek job opportunities in the low education demanding areas. This includes restaurants and hospitals where they work in the low-level departments. This contributes positively in the US economy in that the labor force needed is increased therefore reducing the need for hiring highly qualified labor force. Employing the immigrants gives the employers an opportunity to reduce the cost and retain the loyal workers in those areas that the majority of the citizens feel overqualified to work in. This means that expelling these immigrants would have a negative influence the US economy (George, 2006). In another survey conducted on the US armed forces, it show that the number of immigrants in the force totals to 60,000. This is in both the navy and army. This shows that the immigrant plays a major role in developing the economy. This is through keeping peace missions that are relevant for the economy to grow. Their efforts have been vital in the public service. The US economy has mostly been a capital-intensive economy, which has employed few people than its potential. The illegal immigrants replace this method through the provision of cheap and manual labor. This has played a major role for the immigrants themselves and the entire economy in that it leaps the benefits directly, which appears on its gross domestic product. In most of these cases, the illegal immigrants work in construction companies, meat packing industry, agriculture, and other physically or labor intensive jobs (Corwin, 2010). In a report that was done by the Washington Post, the illegal immigration has a positive benefit on the average US taxpayer. The reason is that the immigrants in the US pays more tax than the average American. This is more than they consume in the social services. Immigrants pay the federal taxes and state taxes as well as social security taxes. However, the immigrants do not get a chance to reclaim this money because they are not citizens. Averagely, this decreases the tax burden on native-born American citizens. Nonetheless, this effect varies by location, states with high immigrant populations and generous social services regularly experience a net loss in tax revenue. Most of these immigrants come to the US from most parts of the world. They bring in different cultures from their places. These immigrants have racial, cultural, and ethnic diversity, which expose the American citizens to new ideas and new ways of life. This diversity introduces the Americans to new ways of life in different sectors. This may involve areas such as cuisine, religion, language that helps to educate the Americans citizens about ways of life from the various ways of life. However, this may at first cause conflict between people of different races and ethnicity (Corwin, 2010). The US economy is seen as a positively welcoming economy due to the large numbers of immigrants that are available in the economy. This in turn attracts investors who see the economy as favorable and might bring in high