1. Aliakbar 2. Sunset for a Solar Subsidy? 3. Matthew L. Wald 4. New York Times 5. 11/16/10 6. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/16/sunset-for-a-solar-subsidy/?partner=rss&emc=rss
This article highlights the fallen plans of a federal subsidy for solar in the U.S. In a nutshell, before the recession the federal government planned to provide tax cuts for companies who planned to install solar. However, with many companies not making profits, which means they could not install solar, the federal government decide to issue grants instead. This would help secure solar installation companies would survive and solar would be utilized. With the federal grants expiring on Dec. 31 of this year with a still drowning economy the government needs to decide what to do about the solar issue.
Relating this issue to Berger and Luckman with the Social Construction of Society, will the grants become the institutionalized action of the federal government about solar and how things are done, or will the government decide to take a different route on the issue. The government must make decisions on what it wants to do and shape the social and political world in which we live, it may be considered a breaching action like Garfinkle's theory to try something new like higher subsidies that may be met with mixed feelings. Regardless some decision needs to be made in the next month or so regarding the solar issue or many installation companies may have a big problem on their hands.
1. plebe 2.TSA chief likely to face lawmakers' questions on pat-downs, body scans 3.the CNN Wire Staff 4. CNN.com 5. Nov 17, 2010 6. http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/11/17/airport.security/index.html?hpt=Sbin
Berger & Luckman: I believe that traveling and "doing traveler" are examples of social institutions. As travelers, what we must do and go through at the airport has become habitual to those who are frequent flyers. We take off our shoes, unload our pockets, fill up the bins, push them along onto the conveyor-belt, keep our IDs out, etc. Most people who travel often are very familiar with this procedure, and think nothing of it anymore. They just think "this is the way things are done at the airport." Now, TSA has introduced new equipment and techniques which are currently unfamiliar to air travelers. Although these body scanners and invasive pat-downs are facing a lot of criticism right now, I believe that these will eventually be seen by the American public as simply part of "doing traveler." This institution might seem as though it is separate from and controlling individuals, but as is evident through the many objections and refusals of these techniques, we are creating this institution through our actions and reactions toward it.
1. Aurora 2. Pentagon's Budget On The Chopping Block 3. Alan Greenblatt 4. NPR.org 5. 11/17/10 6. http://www.npr.org/2010/11/16/131360666/pentagon-s-budget-on-the-chopping-block In this article the pentagon's budget is being looked at and there might be budget cuts up to one hundred billion dollars. The pentagon is a institution that the people have stood behind for many years to protect us. Berger and Luckman would argue that the idea that the pentagon deserves a giant proportion of our budget can be an institution. The way we set up this institution to protect us and the way they can protect us is by using an extreme amount of resources to have a larger force than anyone who threatens the people. Since the day when we were under threat of invasion we have moved to just accept the fact that most of the taxes we pay go to the pentagon. This action of giving our money had become a habit and it is just assumed that the rest of the country needs to adjust to the left over money that the military does not use up. This can also be looked at in terms of Garfunkel's breaching. The pentagon's budget has never experiences a budget cuts of this size. Our country's image is usually one of our military might. We are breaking the idea that the military needs to be a super power in the world in order to decrease the deficit. A lot of people will most likely be uncomfortable with the idea that our military is shrinking. That is to be expected with a change that no one would of expected especially so suddenly.
At the top of each post you must list the following information: 1. Your Codeword 2. Title of the news article you choose (see suggestions below) 3. Author of the news article 4. Source of the news article 5. Date of the news article 6. Link (url) to the news article
Those six lines should be followed by your reflection from the perspective of the social theorist you choose from the list of options for each due date. A reflection is not a summary. Instead, what you are expected to do is to thoroughly read the news article of your choice and reflect on it from the perspective of one of the assigned Social Theorists. Note that your reflection may include a bit of summary, but it must not consist entirely of summarizing the article. Good reflections will analyze the issue discussed in the article from the perspective of one of the assigned Social Theorists; outstanding posts will even take the voice (write in the tone and style of) the Social Theorist. Reflections should be a minimum of one paragraph. They must be posted no later than 4pm on the due date below and the article you choose must have been published within two weeks of the due date. There are 3 points possible of Extra Credit for each post.
1. Aliakbar
ReplyDelete2. Sunset for a Solar Subsidy?
3. Matthew L. Wald
4. New York Times
5. 11/16/10
6. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/16/sunset-for-a-solar-subsidy/?partner=rss&emc=rss
This article highlights the fallen plans of a federal subsidy for solar in the U.S. In a nutshell, before the recession the federal government planned to provide tax cuts for companies who planned to install solar. However, with many companies not making profits, which means they could not install solar, the federal government decide to issue grants instead. This would help secure solar installation companies would survive and solar would be utilized. With the federal grants expiring on Dec. 31 of this year with a still drowning economy the government needs to decide what to do about the solar issue.
Relating this issue to Berger and Luckman with the Social Construction of Society, will the grants become the institutionalized action of the federal government about solar and how things are done, or will the government decide to take a different route on the issue. The government must make decisions on what it wants to do and shape the social and political world in which we live, it may be considered a breaching action like Garfinkle's theory to try something new like higher subsidies that may be met with mixed feelings. Regardless some decision needs to be made in the next month or so regarding the solar issue or many installation companies may have a big problem on their hands.
1. plebe
ReplyDelete2.TSA chief likely to face lawmakers' questions on pat-downs, body scans
3.the CNN Wire Staff
4. CNN.com
5. Nov 17, 2010
6. http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/11/17/airport.security/index.html?hpt=Sbin
Berger & Luckman:
I believe that traveling and "doing traveler" are examples of social institutions. As travelers, what we must do and go through at the airport has become habitual to those who are frequent flyers. We take off our shoes, unload our pockets, fill up the bins, push them along onto the conveyor-belt, keep our IDs out, etc. Most people who travel often are very familiar with this procedure, and think nothing of it anymore. They just think "this is the way things are done at the airport."
Now, TSA has introduced new equipment and techniques which are currently unfamiliar to air travelers. Although these body scanners and invasive pat-downs are facing a lot of criticism right now, I believe that these will eventually be seen by the American public as simply part of "doing traveler."
This institution might seem as though it is separate from and controlling individuals, but as is evident through the many objections and refusals of these techniques, we are creating this institution through our actions and reactions toward it.
1. Aurora
ReplyDelete2. Pentagon's Budget On The Chopping Block
3. Alan Greenblatt
4. NPR.org
5. 11/17/10
6. http://www.npr.org/2010/11/16/131360666/pentagon-s-budget-on-the-chopping-block
In this article the pentagon's budget is being looked at and there might be budget cuts up to one hundred billion dollars. The pentagon is a institution that the people have stood behind for many years to protect us. Berger and Luckman would argue that the idea that the pentagon deserves a giant proportion of our budget can be an institution. The way we set up this institution to protect us and the way they can protect us is by using an extreme amount of resources to have a larger force than anyone who threatens the people. Since the day when we were under threat of invasion we have moved to just accept the fact that most of the taxes we pay go to the pentagon. This action of giving our money had become a habit and it is just assumed that the rest of the country needs to adjust to the left over money that the military does not use up.
This can also be looked at in terms of Garfunkel's breaching. The pentagon's budget has never experiences a budget cuts of this size. Our country's image is usually one of our military might. We are breaking the idea that the military needs to be a super power in the world in order to decrease the deficit. A lot of people will most likely be uncomfortable with the idea that our military is shrinking. That is to be expected with a change that no one would of expected especially so suddenly.