The term paper is a requirement for this course.
Write a 5 – 7 page (body of the paper) APA term paper from the list of ethics topics below.
Ethics Topics (Please select one)
1. Politicians often say that President Bush’s tax cuts were for the rich. In 2005, the top 10% of the tax payers paid 70% of the total income tax paid. The top 1% of the taxpayers paid almost 40% of all income tax, a proportion that has jumped dramatically since 1986. The bottom 50% of the tax payers paid approximately 3% of the total income tax. The bottom half’s share of total payments has been steadily declining for the past 20 years. Is it ethical for politicians to say that President Bush’s tax cut hurt the poor and unfairly benefited the rich?
2. Is it ethical for CEO’s and upper management to accept large pay increases when their company’s profitability is declining and/or the company is facing bankruptcy?
3. Many mortgage companies, investors, and homeowners believed that real estate prices would continue to increase and they made risky loans. The gamble did not payoff, real estate prices started declining in many markets, and home foreclosures rates increased. Many of the problem loans were interest only, adjustable rate mortgages, and they required no down payments. Many of the adjustable rate mortgages included low teaser rates that would increase within two years, even if the market interest rates stayed the same. Both the lender and borrower knew (or should have known) that many of these loans only made sense if real estate prices continued to increase. Is it ethical for politicians to call for massive government bailouts for the mortgage leaders and homers?
4. Congress has restricted the building of oil refineries and the drilling of oil in Alaska and offshore for over 15 years. These restrictions have reduced the supply of domestic oil. The government now blames the major oil companies for the high gasoline prices. The government collects substantially more in taxes from the sale of gasoline than oil companies make from refining oil and distributing gasoline. The major U.S. oil companies pay approximately 40% of their earning