All Quiet on the Western Front Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

All Quiet on the Western Front - Essay Example The main themes of this piece are specifically the emotional, physical, and psychological impacts of combat. In addition, the focus of the piece has to do with friendships and interaction between people that function as a means of getting through horrific situations. One of the elements of this piece is the concept of new technology. The advent of tanks, poisonous gases, and trenches appears throughout the story illustrating the butchery taking place. These new technological advances only aided in more precise and efficient killing. They also removed the killer a bit from who he was killing. In other words, placing a tank between two people depersonalizes the action of murder. One of the heavier themes in this piece is the idea of nationalism and its hypocrisy. During the time period that this piece was written, nationalism was on the rise and acted as a catalyst for the first world war. Many authors that wrote about the war glorified the idea of nationalism, patriotism, and fighting for one’s country. This piece was opposite to the notion of nationalism and patriotism. In fact, Remarque emphasis the idea that the soldiers are not fighting for country at all but rather to survive. Even though Paul is lured into the idea of joining the German army by his schoolmaster, Kantorek, he no sooner becomes a soldier and realizes the waste and meaninglessness of war. At one point, Paul returns home on leave and discovers how damaged he has become by the war, †And even if these scenes of our youth were given back to us we would hardly know what to do. . . . I believe we are lost†(). The reader follows Paul through the story as he loses friends one by one, â€Å"Our knowledge of life is limited to death† (Chapter Ten). In the end of the piece, it is the loss of Kat that seems to unravel Paul completely. He loses hope and stops caring. Kat was initially injured and when Paul was carrying him on his back to safety, Kat sustained a lethal head

Did the government bail outs actually work Term Paper

Did the government bail outs actually work - Term Paper Example Though counter to his conservative ideology, Bush relented and worked with Congress to pass TARP, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, a move applauded by then presidential candidate Barack Obama. TARP and the auto bailout were and remain controversial topics. These were big gambles that, with all the associated drawbacks, paid big dividends. The bailouts saved a major American industry, the world from the Great Depression, the sequel and millions of people from living in â€Å"Bushvilles.† TARP, otherwise known as the â€Å"bank bailout,† was hurriedly implemented in 2008 as the world appeared on the threshold of a catastrophic financial meltdown. To stabilize financial markets, Congress authorized the Treasury Department to spend $700 billion, a move that caused widespread public outcry against the program. Most economists, however, understood that the move played a central role in rescuing the global economy. The Treasury didn’t use the entire amount though. It spent $470 billion on hundreds of banks, the auto industry and trying to help prevent home foreclosures. Treasury calculated that the total lifetime cost for taxpayers to be $17 billion in losses from the investments in the auto industry and auto finance companies plus a $46 billion loss from mortgage modification programs. â€Å"By any measure, TARP’s final tally will be far less than expected amid the crisis. But the program remains a big loser politically.† (â€Å"Credit,† 2010). According to a Treasury Department official Timothy Massad, Read Mthe federal government successfully stopped the 2008 financial crisis by â€Å"acting with overwhelming force and speed.† â€Å"The actions we took to stabilize the crisis worked. We really did arrest the panic,† said Massad. In addition, the financial regulatory reforms implemented the past three years have afforded economic policymakers enhanced tools to scrutinize systemic risk and better manage future crises. The U.S. government’s rapid and robust actions are in contrast with how European Union countries handled their banking crisis. â€Å"We’ve seen Europe struggle with its problems for two years. They haven’t been able to act as forcefully with their problems.† (Mowbray, 2011) To gain a little perspective, TARP and other government actions taken due to the financial crisis will cost taxpayers less than the savings and loan debacle during the 1980s, as a percentage of GDP (gross domestic product). Following the initial payout, President Obama continued the attempt to revive the financial system by implementing a scheme to help banks raise private money so that they can pay the government back. The Obama administration forced the 19 biggest banks to submit to a â€Å"stress test† to give potential investors confidence that those banks were solvent and reporting accurate financial records. Consequently, â€Å"banks have been able to raise enoug h private capital that today banks totaling only about 8 percent of bank holding companies by assets still have TARP money, down from 75 percent at the dawn of the crisis.† (Mowbray, 2011) Another element of the Obama administration’s reaction to the financial