Consumption-based System Research Articles

An examination of the fair tax proposal in the USA and Millennials' perspectives

A major public policy in most countries is the national tax system, often heavily debated. A citizen's moral responsibility to pay taxes was well established in the First Century AD with Jesus' famous statement: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's”. Thus, while a citizen's duty is clear, there are still questions about the way taxes are designed and administered. In the USA, many citizens complain that taxes are overly complicated, burdensome and unfair. A potential replacement to the current federal tax system is the consumption-based 'FairTax'. This study examines millennials' perspectives regarding income-based and consumption-based tax systems, thereby ascertaining the level of openness to switch from the current income-based system to the FairTax, a consumption-based system. Findings have ramifications for all countries, if they are considering switching all or part of an income-based system to a consumption-based system.

Fiscal policy responses to economic inequality

Outside of direct fiscal policy effects, the rise in inequality may be attributed to the demand for highly skilled labor rising more rapidly than its supply, as well as to reduced bargaining power by labor in the workplace. On fiscal policy, the US tax and benefit system is still progressive. The tradeoff between using tax hikes and higher benefits to reduce inequality vs. their negative effects on growth remains disputed. Very broad proposals such as Medicare for All and a Universal Basic Income are inefficient ways to address inequality, and the objectives of a wealth tax may be achieved through the existing income and estate tax systems. Broadening the tax base to move to more of a consumption-based system, and improving pre-K and K-12 education, are desirable policies.

Impact of gst on common man

Goods And Services Tax (gst), hailed as one of the most powerful tax reformswhich india has ever seen, purports to do away with the multiple tax regulations on most ofthe goods and services. gst would change the current tax regime of production-based taxationto a consumption-based system. there is no doubt that the corporates would benefit once thegst has been rolled out. however, the advantages to the common man are still speculative. wehope that the end consumer would also reap the benefits of the new tax regime, once thebusiness houses have transitioned completely to the new tax structure and start to pass on thebenefitsto the average indian. the proposed date for gst implementation is the 1st of july2017.

An A to Z of Contemporary Design

In 2001, Hal Foster wrote his paper ‘The ABCs of Contemporary Design’ as a supplement (part glossary, part guide) to his book Design and Crime (and Other Diatribes). Foster’s ABCs paper paints design as being a near-perfect circuit of production and consumption. Foster claims that critical reflection is outdated, which means design is a consumption-based system and as such design’s role is largely to feed capitalism, let it flourish, and meet the demands of the masses. Over a decade on from Foster’s critical analysis of design, however, it appears that design is in the middle of yet another series of crises ranging from disciplinary challenges where the profession of design appears to be struggling with its identity, to epistemological and conceptual challenges where the zeitgeist of design thinking and the widespread democratization of the discipline would have us believe that ‘we are all designers’, and where the remit of design is expanding into ever more far flung areas that cover communications, services, interactions and strategies. It seems timely and fitting, therefore, that we need a new examination of the contemporary world of design. This assessment of contemporary design is apposite given that we currently inhabit a world that we have all combined to create that is seriously unprepared to deal with the mounting crises we face. Collectively, we are destroying some of the most important features of society that we claim to hold most dear (i.e. our planet, our society, and our spirit). Our ecological crisis, wherein we continue to deplete and degrade our natural capital on a massive scale, using up the equivalent of 1.5 planets to meet our current consumption has resulted in one third of our agricultural land disappearing over the last 40 years, which will inevitably lead to food supply crises and an anticipated doubling of food prices by 2030. Our present social crisis sees nearly 2.5 billion people on our planet living in abject poverty. There have been many successes at lifting people out of poverty, but this figure has not changed much over the past few decades. Furthermore, the world is currently in a spiritual crisis where, according to World Health Organization statistics, three times as many people die from suicide as die from homicide or in wars. These global dimensions are collectively creating results that nobody wants and may well constitute the most significant failure of our time. Building on Foster’s ABC template, the authors present a new critical insight from A to Z into the current design situation where issues of professionalism in design, the global financial meltdown, and the rapid adoption of digital technologies have all modified the models of design thought and action. We suggest readers see this paper as a development of Foster’s original supplement.

Evaluation for Agro-Ecological System of Hubei Province Based on Emergy Analysis

Agro-ecological system in Hubei province was comprehensively analyzed and evaluated by using emergy analysis method. The result shows that the local resources have been utilized effectively in Hubei, the agricultural modernization is high, however, Hubei’s agricultural ecosystems is unsustainable consumption-based system owing to the higher degree of environmental stress and resource dependence. Suggestions to reinforce the sustainable development of agriculture in Hubei were put forward.

Estimation of China's Embodied CO2 Emissions during 2000–2009

AbstractThe problem of CO2 embodied in international trade has attracted increasing attention in China. To analyze this issue, the present paper directly calculates emission factors for 15 industries in 2002, 2005 and 2007. We then examine a consumption‐based system and a single‐region input–output model to estimate China's embodied emissions during 2000–2009. Our results show that, when a consumption‐based system is adopted, China's emissions are lower than those reported by some international organizations. The rapid growth in China's exports is a key determinant of China's rising total emissions. All countries should strengthen their cooperation in improving their current greenhouse gas inventories. Furthermore, China needs to encourage trade in low‐carbon products and technology.