Taxation in UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Taxation in UK - Essay Example The paper tells that the Largest source of revenue collection for government is income tax. Everyone in the country has an income tax personal allowance below which he does not have to pay tax in a particular tax year. For people aging below 65 years have a tax allowance of  £6,475 in 2010-11. However, in June 2010, this figure has been increased by  £1,000 by the Chancellor therefore the tax personal allowance is  £7,475. If anyone has an income below the income tax personal allowance, he is not supposed to pay any tax however if the earnings of an individual is above the tax allowance then he is supposed to pay according to his earnings above this level. There are different tax bands and every tax band has a different tax rate. Corporation tax refers to the tax on the profits made by the organizations in United Kingdom along with profits made by permanent establishments of companies owned by non-UK residents as well as associations trading in European Union. Collection of cor porate tax is the fourth largest source of revenue collection of government. Before April 1965, both the corporate tax rate and individual tax rate were charged at the same rate though corporations were supposed to pay an additional profit tax. However, with the passage of time, there have been several changes to the corporate tax and since 1997, the laws have modified several times and now the tax rates of corporations and individuals have changed. (Tax Law Rewrite). Calendar year is a period of 12 months beginning from the starting of January and ending on 31st December whereas on the other hand, fiscal year is a period of 12 consecutive months ending on last day of any month except December (Tax Years). In United Kingdom, government financial year is a period of twelve months from April 1 to March 31. Corporations are allowed to adopt any year for their accounting purpose however any changes in the tax rate, the tax is charged on the basis of government’s financial year (I ntroduction to Corporation Tax). Taxable and Tax Rate An individual earns income from different sources. Some of these sources are taxable whereas some income is tax deductable. Some of the sources from where an individual earns is salary, profit from any business, rent income, dividend income, income on loan or any security including bonds etc. On the other hand, the income of corporations is the profits. Taxable bands and tax rate for the year 2011 – 2012 is as follows: Taxable income Rate of tax 0 - ?2,560 10 per cent (starting rate for savings  only) 0 - ?35,000 20 per cent (basic rate) ?35,001 - ?150,000 40 per cent (higher rate) Over ?150,000 50 per cent (additional rate) (Source: Income tax rates) Relevant Tax period Tax period is the period of 12 months in which the individual earns income from different sources and if all these sources accumulate to more than personal tax allowance then he is supposed to pay tax. importance of direct and indirect taxes Direct and i ndirect taxes are very important for every government as tax collection is one of the main sources of the government to collect revenues. Direct tax is defined as the tax that an individual pays directly to the government and this kind of tax is directly imposed on the individual or the organization by the government. On the other hand, indirect tax can have different forms like sales tax, value added tax (VAT), or goods or service tax (GST) and indirect tax is collected by another party or an intermediary. The intermediary initially takes the burden of this kind of tax and afterwards takes the amount of tax from the government by filling a tax return, therefore the tax is paid eventually to the government through another party. Therefore, indirect tax is indirectly collected by the government but with the involvement of an intermediary. Differences between Direct Tax and Indirect Tax Direct Tax Direct

Drone controversy Essay Example for Free

Drone controversy Essay In today’s battlefield unmanned aerial systems (UASs) also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), remotely piloted vehicles (RPVs) or drones are the United States Department of Defense’s most controversial defense weapon to date. Many US top commanders and expert in military history, intelligence, and international security, says that unmanned aerial systems or UAS, as experts call them, are the most important new military technology in the twenty-first century since the intercontinental ballistic missile. With the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) writing rules to allow UAS to fly in American skies nowadays, drones are also ushering in the most dramatic new age in aviation since the jet engine. Only a dozen years ago, no one saw it all coming and perhaps it is even seems like a science fiction. UAVs and UASs are not a relatively new defense weapon or a very futuristic robot but in fact they have been around since the 1930’s in the loose form of Austrian balloons which is used for reconnaissance back then. However, with the advancement of technology for the past few years, drones have become the most efficient, effective, and accurate means to gather intelligence and information, reconnaissance, and surveillance without putting the lives of our soldiers and officials in danger at the front lines. Drones have been successful in targeting and killing high profile terrorists (many of whom were top Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants) and minimizing civilian casualties. They have also been successful in minimizing U.S. soldier casualties because the pilots are flying these vehicles in U.S. soil or somewhere safe away from the conflict zone. Drones have been and will continue to be a major successful factor in the U.S.’s war on terror. Meanwhile on the other hand, as convenient and beneficial as drones are, they are also one of the most controversial weapons used because, internationally, they violate the United Nation’s Charter; violating a country’s territorial sovereignty and national integrity. Although they are precise in eliminating their targets, they have killed too many innocent civilians who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Through the years, the U.S. has increasingly used drones to target and kill suspected terrorists, increasing the number of civilian casualties during the attack. As a result, more and more people (mainly in Pakistan- who were neutral in the U.S.-Pakistan conflict) are getting frustrated or losing hope with U.S. military tactics and beginning to side with Pakistani militants, possibly derailing their goal of democracy in the region. In relation to innocent civilian casualties, if Pakistan or another country wanted to bring issue to international criminal court, who will be charged? Will the soldier piloting the aircraft be charged, or his commander? Will former President Bush or President Obama be taken to court? Either way, the international legal issue surrounding drones are still very hazy and do not seem to be cleared any time soon especially with the war on terror is still raging in the Middle East. Not only do the drone strategy raise issues internationally, there is also a lot of controversy surrounding them domestically. The government and many companies see drones as a great technological advantage to society or public life. They are can be used for surveillance of the U.S.-Mexican border, search for survivors of natural disasters through heat sensor technology, wildfire fighting, spraying pesticides, and searching for radiation or dangerous chemical leaks. Nevertheless, domestic drones can also be used to invade citizens’ privacy. Recently, Congress allowed the FAA to allow over 70 drones to operate in U.S. airspace. These domestic drones can be equipped with infrared cameras, heat sensors, GPS, and automated license plate readers, making it easy to track people. These domestic drones are supposed to be used by civil organizations only; however, they can easily fall into the wrong hands and be reverse engineered and misused to do more harm than good. Since 9/11 the congressional has approved the use of military drones on the war on terror due to their efficiency, effectiveness, and accuracy. Therefore making the US armed drones one of the most fearful flying machine in the sky of Middle East and being used many times to take down a high profile target with high percentage or changes to be hit within seconds . why drones are very efficient ? Well first of all they are an automatic flying system , therefore the drones can operate within a larger scale of operation rather than their human counterparts in the F-16 or RAPTOR jet. for example before the drones are armed in the year 2000’s most of the US air force operations are relying on jets to do some reconnaissance , therefore the humans factor must be involve in the entire hours of that operation and making it less effective than drones because as humans our senses and energy or the capacity to do some work is quite limited. And the length of the operation is also determined by the fuel inside the jet which consume a huge amount of fuel especially for military combat jet, so without the drones the operation could only last a day or two max. but with the drones the length of the operation hours could be extended significantly , thanks to their new innovative flying energy and system inside the drones which are very useful . The drones are a smaller airplane therefore they have a lighter body and no human is needed inside the drones, therefore making it much more lighter to cover a larger area to do some reconnaissance with much more speed and better performance . of course the smaller the plane the smaller the energy is required to fill it up, therefore the US air force wants to increase their drone capability with their new high tech fuel cell or an electric battery which could give the drones the power to fly for a long distance with a longer duration rather than a normal flying jets. With this new technology the drones are not just limited to their human controller in the safe zone , but thanks to their fuel and weight efficiency they can operate for a longer duration with their auto pilot on which make it much more reliable and easily to operate. It may not seems like a huge or a big revolutionary advantage, but this is quite a big improvement over the past few decades because now we could have an eye from the sky to watch over a potential target in the hot zone of the conflict area without risking the lives of our armed forces and the drones can do it for at least 24/7 hours , so that they can maintain the enemy position as long as they can before they need to go back to the base to refuel and rearmed . This is crucial because with the latest data we can have the most up to date information which will give our army a greater momentum to accomplish this war on terror . Drones are not just effective for killing but they are also good to do some surveillance .Which is by far the most common use of drones, if perhaps the least talked about. The U.S. military currently considers drones as part of an integrated system, where drones are being used, particularly along the mountainous Afghan/Pakistan border, to provide long-term monitoring of a population, and to solve the thorniest of problems facing occupying armies fighting insurgents –mainly telling the civilians and the fighters apart. By monitoring these areas, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the U.S. military hopes to use drones to gather ‘patterns of life’ or ‘signatures’ in surveilled communities, allowing them to identify when something disrupts that ‘pattern of life,’ or also known as the insurgent activity.

Cold Pastoral By Marina Keegan

Cold Pastoral By Marina Keegan Throughout J.R.R. Tolkiens world renowned blockbuster novel Lord of the Rings, the word ring is mentioned multiple times, however, in Marina Keegans story Cold Pastoral, neither cold nor pastoral appears. Not even once. Pastoral can be a term used to describe the livelihood of shepherds, but in literary terms, it is a lent word to describe the mode of literature which depicts a simple life from its complex content. Similarly, cold can be used to describe the weather or feeling of people, but it can also describe a persons personality as hardhearted, cheerless and cool. The more relevant interpretation of the title together with the story would be the latter of both explanations. The story is about Claire whose boyfriend, Brian, died suddenly and the series of events that followed Brians death. Keegan, the author, through describing Claires uncertainty towards the relationship and the revelation of the reality of the relationship, revealed the cold personality of Claire and her desi re to lead a life that feels pastoral, i.e. a simple life, to highlight the importance of revelations. Commitment to a relationship does not just depend on the passion; in fact, it relies heavily on the confidence of both parties in the relationship. Apparently, Claire is not madly in love with Brian. A lot of time was spent being consciously romanticà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ we might admit à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ I like you ,' are comments made by Claire on their relationship, which hint that Claire is uncertain about her relationship with Brian (1, 2). As we observe in the real world, couples at the early stages of their relationships are, more often than not, infatuated with each other. Due to the feeling of uncertainty, Claire lacks faith in her relationship with Brian, thus she is not fully committed. This accounts for, in part, why Claire does not seem extremely depressed after learning of Brians death. It is this sense of uncertainty that lingers in Claires mind, the reason for why not a lot of people know of their relationship. One of the reasons that Claire does not seem too depressed after Brian, her boyfriend, died is that she is uncertain about the relationship, which resulted in her lack of commitment, whilst her personality, cold, also contributes much to her absence of severe depression. Humans are never emotionless beings, which is why our emotions are affected greatly by the surroundings. The only stark difference between individuals is their ability to contain emotions. People who are less capable of containing their emotions are often regarded as moody or emotive, while those who are more capable are often regarded as cool and composed. Claire is definitely one of the latter ones. After Brians death, Claire surprised [herself] that night by crying alone (2). This revealed that Claire has a composed personality and that she does not express her emotions explicitly that often. As the saying goes, The onlooker sees the best. People involved in incidents are often lost in their thoughts, and it is only through revelations that they reassess and take a clearer view at the situation. Just after Brians death, Claire was preoccupied by a certain degree of sadness and sorrow. Not only once, but many times, did Claire mention her commitment to Brian, this is revealed from her comment à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Id underestimated how much I liked him (2). As it turns out, her emotions and view to her relationship drastically alters after reading Brians diary. Contrary to her sadness and sorrow, Claire comments that Im actually feeling great and Fuck Brian, I thought now, which reveals that she, rather than feeling upset, is on the one hand angry with Brian, and on the other hand, feeling relieved for realizing this fact sooner instead of later (8). Had Brian not died, she would not have discovered this painful reality and broke away from feeling blue. Brians death, though sorr owful and pitiful, has given Claire a chance to reveal the truth and free herself from the bondage of the relationship. Keegan successfully portrays Claires personality through her response to Brians death, which also reveals her desire for a simple relationship the direct reverse of the relationship she had with Brian. Actions such as being consciously romantic, waiting too long before responding to texts and [Brian and Claire] took a certain pride in our ambiguity are indications that the relationship involved complications (1, 1, 2). As the title Cold Pastoral suggests, Claire is eager to seek a relationship that is simply simple. Claires request is very simple she likes being liked (1). She wanted her partner to simply love her and take care of her. After the revelation through Brians death, she is crystal clear about the kind of relationship that she pursues more than anything Id ever wanted in my life, I wanted him to love me (11). Claire simply cannot resist the opportunity to begin a simple, committed love affair. Apart from the contents of the story, Keegans manipulation of prose and style conveys strong messages about the characters and the plot. When we read the story, the narration affects our judgment greatly. Since this story is a first person narration, we have to be critical about the emotions of the narrator. Throughout the story, the tale was narrated from the perspective of Claire, the main character, and I and We are mainly used as the pronoun for Claire as the narrator (1). In such narration, the contents of the tale are easily influenced by the emotions of the narrator. Claire, whose boyfriend has just died, is with grief and pain, which indicates that she is at times pathetic and hysterical. This suggests that the narration given by Claire may not be as reliable as regular stories due to her fluctuating moods. Keegan, by using first person narration, is trying to place readers in Claires position. By doing so, readers can easily imagine themselves as Claire, which arouses sympat hy for Claires experience. In many peoples view, literary works should be elegant and profound, but plain and raw descriptions can also be powerful in conveying messages. When one reads the story, one is bound to come across many controversial choices of words, such as fuck, shit and penis, which do not normally exist in conventional novels or essays (7, 6, 2). Furthermore, the story includes many lines of dialogue and often comes with short and incomplete sentences, such as I just need time to myself toà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and I know she waits before responding which isà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (6, 7). The expressions, straightforward and natural, which are intentionally deployed by Keegan, can fully reveal Claires feelings and the thoughts going through her troubled mind. Since this story is about the events that happened to Claire, this writing style allows readers to have a more in-depth understanding of Claires plight, thus arousing echoes of the idea of revelation. Keegan kept the story compact, which creates a fast pace for the story, to suit the short time-span of the occurrence of events. The events in the story happened within a very limited time-span, despite the complex nature of the story. If all the ideas were explained in details, the story would have a very slow pace, which does not match with the swift happening of events. To achieve fast pacing for the story, Keegan kept the paragraphs of the text relatively short, while ideas within these paragraphs are at times incomplete, such as I just need time to myself toà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and I know she waits before responding which isà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (6, 7). From the examples, Keegan is providing a very vague image of Claire and a brief lead in of her thoughts. Contrary from giving the whole story, these short fragments allow readers to conceive the situation of Claire slowly but gradually. This allows Keegan to both keep the story concise yet providing sufficient vital information for readers to interpret the setting of the story and make a great impact on the minds of readers through their imagination. In the story, Keegan deliberately arranged the events in a non-chronological order, which enables readers to think in the minds of Claire. Events of stories are often in chronological order, which enables the reader to easily understand the contents of the story. However, in Cold Pastoral, the events, rather than in chronological order, are following Claires free flow of thought. In the beginning of the story, Claire mentions her relationship with Brian and Brians sudden death (2). After the breaking line, the focus turns to her interaction with her friends (2). After the second breaking line, Claire expresses her views on Lauren, Brians ex-girlfriend (2). Furthermore, after the third breaking line, the narration mentions Claires visit to Brians family (3). If the story is to be in chronological order, Claires comments on Lauren should be excluded from the context. Keegan, intentionally inserts this scene in such a way to reveal the thoughts in Claires mind. The illogical ordering of events provides readers with an in-depth understanding of Claires thoughts, and also allows readers to comprehend the mindset of Claire fragmented thoughts and troubled with disarray. Revelation is ubiquitous, but we often underestimate its effects. People need revelation, and then they need resolution, Damian Lewis once said (Lewis). Just like in Cold Pastoral, Claire, who believed that her relationship with her boyfriend Brian was perfect, realizes that she is actually not as dedicated as she believed to the relationship as well as Brian. We need not evade revelations, for revelation does more good than harm. In fact, revelation not only provides us information about the facts, but also provides a chance for us to step back and reassess our stances. The omnipresence of revelation is bound to amaze those who neglect it. Revelation can be as significant as the death of a person, as shown from the example in the story Cold Pastoral, or it can be as minute as receiving a marked quiz script at school. Events, which one may or may not notice, can often be regarded as revelations, as long as they allow one to introspect. The story, Cold Pastoral, not only successfully portrays Claire, the heroine, but also provokes the minds of readers to face revelations squarely.

Symbolism in A Shift in the Light by Patricia Glinton-Meicholas :: essays research papers

The novel A Shift in the Light by Patricia Glinton-Meicholas the author shows the importance of family throughout the novel in many different ways such as the symbol of light, culture, values and ethics. The author uses light to symbolize the importance of staying close to your family. She also uses culture to show that the house is mainly male dominated and finally she shows the values and ethics that the children follow by all throughout the novel. Patricia Glinton-Meicholas shows the sun symbolizing the theme of family because the sun never changes but the light can shift for example, your family is always there for you even when you don?t need them. Another example is when Cally stops talking to her family but in the end when she needed them the family was there to support her. The author writes that the family never goes away just like the sun, it is always there. But even though the light is there you can always turn/shift away from it, but in the end you have the choice to continue to ignore the light or turned back and face the light. The light in this novel represents the importance of family and support. Culture in this novel is one of the biggest themes because it brings the whole family together. Throughout the novel there is times when they have big get-togethers where they cook for everyone and they talk and eat for hours. This brings out their culture through the gathering of the family and sharing a meal which is a big part of many people?s culture. Another culture in the book is that the men to be in charge of the household. In this novel Papa is the head of the household, he makes all the decisions and whatever he says goes. Finally it is culture for the women of the Bahamas to stay strong, proud of their heritage, and stay very traditional to their families and country. The values and ethics in this novel are an importance to the family because it gives the children and adults a guideline and reminder on how to act and what they strive for. From an early childhood the children are taught to be well mannered and if you?re a female, you are taught to act like a lady. Papa also taught them about their religion from when the girls were babies .

The Pros and Cons of The Belmont Honor Code Essay -- Argumentative Per

The Pros and Cons of The Belmont Honor Code To thine own self be true, as Shakespeare writes, is the fundamental principle that defines honesty. Although a variety of factors influence one's decision to be honest, the primary reason to choose integrity is to be true to oneself. Part of being true to oneself is recognizing the need for individualism. Individualism is the state in which a person is able to take in the events of the surrounding world and discern for himself which practices he or she will participate in. The importance of individualism is engraved in Belmont University's purpose statement, yet it is unclear whether or not individualism is valued because of the university's new honor code system. Is forcing Belmont students to comply to an honor code enabling them to make decisions for their own individual selves? On the first page of Belmont's internet web site, one might assume that Belmont is a university that focuses solely on the individual. According to the statement on the web page introduction, "there is a strong distinction between capturing individual spirit and freezing it. It is the line that divides being squeezed into a mold and being cheered as you shape a life to fit yourself. There is no question on which side of the line you'll find Belmont University." Honor code or no honor code, establishing integrity is crucial to developing one's independent self. Often times, those who are dishonest depend on other humans to meet their spiritual and emotional needs. By choosing honesty as a personal choice instead of a mere compliance with Belmont's honor code, one is making the decision for oneself and therefore promoting one's individualism. In weighing the concep... ...ee a decline in academic dishonesty and a multitude of students will be so afraid of failing a class that they will choose to be honest. But, at the same time, how does each individual student benefit from that? Other than that fact that they may take the time to study and actually learn something, the Belmont community that promotes the spirit of the individual will have nothing but simulated honesty and very few students who truly are honest "individuals" by choice and not by force. Works Cited Baylor University Website. www.baylor.edu Belmont Undergraduate Bulletin. 1998-99. 13-56. Belmont University Website. www.belmont.edu. Moore, Susan. "Honor Code Holds Cheaters Accountable." Belmont Vision. 11 Sept. 98. 6. Vanderbilt University Website. www.vanderbilt.edu.

Phillip Wheatly

What are the elements of a national literature? – the expression of a nations mind in writing What are the characteristics of early American literature? – Who were America's earliest writers and what were their concerns? – Thomas Paine, Phillis wheatley, brad street What can you learn from primary sources about early life in the colonies? – What are the elements of persuasive writing?-What arguments for or against the use of Native American mascots exist? What does the poetry of colonial America show us about the period? – How does the structure of a poem affect its meaning? – depending on how something is read or written it can be sent across in a different manner What do Puritan sermons reveal about the pressure of colonial life? – it was hard What were some primary tenets of Puritan beliefs? They wanted complete speration from all religion. What genres does American literature include?What historical insights can an autobiography im part? –How can the written word lead to revolution? – persuasive writing and aggressive writing can lead to argument which can lead to war What elements make persuasive writing effective? It help change the mind of the reading helping them to see things in a different light How is the Declaration of Independence structured?- it was structured like a poem How much time should I devote to the writing process during a timed test? – just enough time to think about what you’re going to write and how you’re going to write it What strategies can I use to improve my confidence writing under time constraints? – thinking ahead of time about what you’re going to write about and knowing how to word it

Bernie Madoff

In December 2008 Bernie Madoff was arrested under the suspicion of fraud. His Wall Street firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, was founded in 1960. Madoff was the chairman of this company through its entire existence until his arrest. Ponzi Schemes such as the one Bernie Madoff started at his company have been around for years; the first being Charles Ponzi’s scheme in the 1900’s. Madoff made history through his scheme as it is considered one of the largest financial frauds ever.Madoff pulled the fraud off by taking money from investors and charities, and promising huge returns. Huge returns are exactly what his investors received also. Madoff was able to miraculously make his investors’ money with continually high percentages. Investors flocked to Madoff after seeing such great profits being made by others. Madoff ran his fraud operation anywhere from 18- 48 years. According to him the first fraud performed started in 1990 whereas, others believe t he company could’ve possibly been illegitimate throughout its existence.How does a person trick thousands of people into investing in a fraud? An answer for that could be good leadership. Madoff’s clients were often times people he knew on a personal basis. Portraying a self-image that showed honesty, intelligence, and confidence, Bernie had his investors trusting him not only financially, but also on a personal level. Although his intentions were selfish, wrong, and ignorant, his followers trusted him fully. This allowed Madoff to continue his process of simply taking money from one investment and giving it as a payoff to another.A process so simple ended up causing thousands of people to be in debt. The totals of his fraud reach numbers upwards of $50 billion. The next question that comes to mind is: how do you take money from all these people and they never realize what is actually happening? Madoff’s general employees didn’t know that the company was a scam but his â€Å"specialized† group of employees did. (Several of the closer employees were also charged with crimes. ) These individuals were all separated from the rest of the company on their own floor.Inside the walls of this floor the company committed its fraud. After the reports were calculated, employees were told to change the reports to a more satisfying result for the investors to see. The reports were sent with false information, often times having interest rates above 15%. Although these rates kept the investors, it brought attention of others after their returns weren’t coming back as high. Even when it wasn’t plausible for the investments to make hardly any money his investors were continually seeing these high interest rates.Some felt obligated to notify the SEC during times like this but his company was always covering its tracks and the SEC often didn’t feel like the allegations were worth any pursuit what-so-ever. Fortunately Madoff had to pay the price for his crime. Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison in March 2009 after pleading guilty. As for the investors they were left with close to nothing. Some of the wealthiest in the United States were completely empty handed after the scandal surfaced. The government bailed out some of the investors but the numbers didn’t compare to what investors lost.A master in deception, Bernie seemed trustworthy to the public and always delivered calm, collected responses to all questions of a scam whenever people began to question the legitimacy of the business as early as 1998. The SEC also questioned Bernie a few times where he was never suspected by them to be a serious threat. Although Bernie had several characteristics of a good leader and business owner, it was all in vain due to his lack of ethical standards. Nobody can consider him a good leader or a good person after seeing his true plan for his investors.Madoff did apologize for his actions; saying, â €Å"I cannot adequately express how sorry I am for what I have done. † Madoff indeed can’t express this now. Whenever someone as powerful as Madoff once was comes forward admitting such information, it’s assumed that the public isn’t going to have much sympathy. Madoff set a new example for anyone trying to develop a scam. Most operations such as his don’t make it nearly as far as his. The mind set of these scam artists is to eventually turn the business legitimate or get out somehow.In order to make the business legitimate a person has to make enough money to pay off all the people they owe money to first which is impossible when you have a hole like Madoff did. When Ponzi schemes like this run their track it’s like a snowball effect. Madoff wasn’t technically any closer to the top as anyone trying a Ponzi scheme; he was just rolling a bigger snowball. Questionable leadership characteristics for Bernie Madoff would mostly be ethics b ut others would include: Lack of respect for employees and investors, greed, arrogance, and irresponsibility.His ethics problem is clearly seen by the fact of intentionally betraying thousands of people. His lack of respect includes not only putting his staff in danger of losing their jobs because of him but also because several investors (who sometimes had the confidence to invest all their money with him) lost their life savings thanks to Madoff. Greed was obviously one of Madoff’s downfalls as well, due to the massive amount of money he dealt with every day in his crimes.Arrogance shows with the note of him constantly being in contact with several of his investors and it not causing any problem with him because he thought he was unstoppable in his scam. Lastly, irresponsibility is outlined with every step of his process as he was trusted and didn’t feel it necessary to do what he was saying he was doing with the people’s money. These bad characteristics are w hat led to the fall of Bernie Madoff. It’s unknown how long Madoff spent performing this scheme but if he told the truth about the scam starting in 1990 it’s a shame.To have as much as Madoff had in 1990 would make most people ecstatic, and to see him blow all his honest lifetime earnings and business position just to pull off a Ponzi scheme must be one of the most ridiculous ideas ever constructed. To look at where Mr. Madoff could’ve been if he would’ve been less greedy and used his good leadership skills for good; Bernie might be one of the great business leaders to go down in history. Going down in history that way would really be a blessing to him now and probably more valuable than any amount of money.If there was only one thing to learn from the Bernie Madoff story it is that, without ethics no leader is worth following. To become a good leader you have to have people trust you. Madoff did have people trust him for a long period of time but his lie s caught up to him and now all his legacy holds is a bad reputation. If leader is ethical and good to the people he or she is leading then there won’t be a situation like Madoff’s which ended in total abomination. Works Cited â€Å"Scam of the Century: Bernie Madoff & The $50 Billion Heist. †Ã‚  CNBC. com. Cnbc, n. d. Web. 27 Jan. 2013. Bernie Madoff In December 2008 Bernie Madoff was arrested under the suspicion of fraud. His Wall Street firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, was founded in 1960. Madoff was the chairman of this company through its entire existence until his arrest. Ponzi Schemes such as the one Bernie Madoff started at his company have been around for years; the first being Charles Ponzi’s scheme in the 1900’s. Madoff made history through his scheme as it is considered one of the largest financial frauds ever.Madoff pulled the fraud off by taking money from investors and charities, and promising huge returns. Huge returns are exactly what his investors received also. Madoff was able to miraculously make his investors’ money with continually high percentages. Investors flocked to Madoff after seeing such great profits being made by others. Madoff ran his fraud operation anywhere from 18- 48 years. According to him the first fraud performed started in 1990 whereas, others believe t he company could’ve possibly been illegitimate throughout its existence.How does a person trick thousands of people into investing in a fraud? An answer for that could be good leadership. Madoff’s clients were often times people he knew on a personal basis. Portraying a self-image that showed honesty, intelligence, and confidence, Bernie had his investors trusting him not only financially, but also on a personal level. Although his intentions were selfish, wrong, and ignorant, his followers trusted him fully. This allowed Madoff to continue his process of simply taking money from one investment and giving it as a payoff to another.A process so simple ended up causing thousands of people to be in debt. The totals of his fraud reach numbers upwards of $50 billion. The next question that comes to mind is: how do you take money from all these people and they never realize what is actually happening? Madoff’s general employees didn’t know that the company was a scam but his â€Å"specialized† group of employees did. (Several of the closer employees were also charged with crimes. ) These individuals were all separated from the rest of the company on their own floor.Inside the walls of this floor the company committed its fraud. After the reports were calculated, employees were told to change the reports to a more satisfying result for the investors to see. The reports were sent with false information, often times having interest rates above 15%. Although these rates kept the investors, it brought attention of others after their returns weren’t coming back as high. Even when it wasn’t plausible for the investments to make hardly any money his investors were continually seeing these high interest rates.Some felt obligated to notify the SEC during times like this but his company was always covering its tracks and the SEC often didn’t feel like the allegations were worth any pursuit what-so-ever. Fortunately Madoff had to pay the price for his crime. Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison in March 2009 after pleading guilty. As for the investors they were left with close to nothing. Some of the wealthiest in the United States were completely empty handed after the scandal surfaced. The government bailed out some of the investors but the numbers didn’t compare to what investors lost.A master in deception, Bernie seemed trustworthy to the public and always delivered calm, collected responses to all questions of a scam whenever people began to question the legitimacy of the business as early as 1998. The SEC also questioned Bernie a few times where he was never suspected by them to be a serious threat. Although Bernie had several characteristics of a good leader and business owner, it was all in vain due to his lack of ethical standards. Nobody can consider him a good leader or a good person after seeing his true plan for his investors.Madoff did apologize for his actions; saying, â €Å"I cannot adequately express how sorry I am for what I have done. † Madoff indeed can’t express this now. Whenever someone as powerful as Madoff once was comes forward admitting such information, it’s assumed that the public isn’t going to have much sympathy. Madoff set a new example for anyone trying to develop a scam. Most operations such as his don’t make it nearly as far as his. The mind set of these scam artists is to eventually turn the business legitimate or get out somehow.In order to make the business legitimate a person has to make enough money to pay off all the people they owe money to first which is impossible when you have a hole like Madoff did. When Ponzi schemes like this run their track it’s like a snowball effect. Madoff wasn’t technically any closer to the top as anyone trying a Ponzi scheme; he was just rolling a bigger snowball. Questionable leadership characteristics for Bernie Madoff would mostly be ethics b ut others would include: Lack of respect for employees and investors, greed, arrogance, and irresponsibility.His ethics problem is clearly seen by the fact of intentionally betraying thousands of people. His lack of respect includes not only putting his staff in danger of losing their jobs because of him but also because several investors (who sometimes had the confidence to invest all their money with him) lost their life savings thanks to Madoff. Greed was obviously one of Madoff’s downfalls as well, due to the massive amount of money he dealt with every day in his crimes.Arrogance shows with the note of him constantly being in contact with several of his investors and it not causing any problem with him because he thought he was unstoppable in his scam. Lastly, irresponsibility is outlined with every step of his process as he was trusted and didn’t feel it necessary to do what he was saying he was doing with the people’s money. These bad characteristics are w hat led to the fall of Bernie Madoff. It’s unknown how long Madoff spent performing this scheme but if he told the truth about the scam starting in 1990 it’s a shame.To have as much as Madoff had in 1990 would make most people ecstatic, and to see him blow all his honest lifetime earnings and business position just to pull off a Ponzi scheme must be one of the most ridiculous ideas ever constructed. To look at where Mr. Madoff could’ve been if he would’ve been less greedy and used his good leadership skills for good; Bernie might be one of the great business leaders to go down in history. Going down in history that way would really be a blessing to him now and probably more valuable than any amount of money.If there was only one thing to learn from the Bernie Madoff story it is that, without ethics no leader is worth following. To become a good leader you have to have people trust you. Madoff did have people trust him for a long period of time but his lie s caught up to him and now all his legacy holds is a bad reputation. If leader is ethical and good to the people he or she is leading then there won’t be a situation like Madoff’s which ended in total abomination. Works Cited â€Å"Scam of the Century: Bernie Madoff & The $50 Billion Heist. †Ã‚  CNBC. com. Cnbc, n. d. Web. 27 Jan. 2013.