US Military Veterans Cemetery Casualty Records Online

Air Pollution In Pima County - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 700 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2019/04/15 Category Ecology Essay Level High school Tags: Air Pollution Essay Pollution Essay Did you like this example? Air pollution The air pollution in Pima County; large quantity is due to internal combustion vehicles, residents have to adopt conservation habits to prevent the state of Arizona from implementing more regulations in the future. Introduction : Air pollution is a problem that many cities in the United States are currently dealing with. In the city of Tucson AZ, air pollution is a problem that is being controlled. It has been declared that automobiles are the dominant factor compared to other factors in terms of air pollution. In relation, in what grows a community also increases the amount of automobiles. Currently there are environmental regulations of the state that car owners must comply with so that their cars can continue to circulate through the streets of some counties in the state of Arizona. In most cases, complying with these regulations is not enough to control the pollution that most cars emit. There are also recommendations from municipal agencies that suggest ideas to reduce the usual use of the car. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Air Pollution In Pima County" essay for you Create order Air pollution in Pima County has been a concern in recent years; as the population of people who come from other countries or other cities in the United States grows and many of them arrive without knowledge of the problems that exist in the city of Tucson, and for which most of these foreigners are completely uninformed of the recommendations to be made in case of these problems. It has been determined that the increasing number of automobiles, estimated according to the growing number of the population, are the main propitiators of the pollution in the environment; although it has been implemented in some communities of this state the emission test program for every two years to the cars to be able to renew the tags; in most of the times the cars pass the test and many times before the course of two years, the cars fail in their emissions system and begin to pollute the environment until it is time for them to renew plates again and it is then. That problem is recognized, but for that and can take up to one year polluting. Some Tucson are not honest, and they cheat in those tests, for example; the Check engine light goes on, it is often the catalytic converter that is failing, and it is expensive to replace the catalytic converter, but they do a reset to the cars computer and the mechanics know that they should run the car less than 20 miles but before that distance they have to go to be the emission test and surprisingly pass it, but after passing that test it turns on Check engine and the car is contaminating again; the disadvantage of doing that trap is that the car will contaminate and at the same time reduce fuel efficiency and run the risk that the engine of the car will cause serious damages that are more expensive. Also, the lack of periodic maintenance of a car, affects the performance of the car and therefore increases the emission of pollutants. A clear phenomenon of contamination in Tucson is when, the gases are concentrated and creates a sensation that seems to be cloudy, on the horizon towards the Catalinas Mountain during the mornings, but there are no clouds. There are some pollutants in the air that we do not see at a glance like they are: carbon monoxide (CO), Ozone, particulate matter and greenhouse gases. These are mostly harmful to the greeting and even fatal; the organization PAG (Pima Association of Governments) is an organization that is dedicated to studying development programs and they do their research. And they have declared in this year that contamination levels have increased significantly; This type of contamination affects sensitive people, for example: people who suffer from a respiratory problem such as asthma or allergies are the most vulnerable and susceptible to having a complication in their health and with fatal consequences. Actualmet state laws and prohibitions have been made, in order to reduce the pollution of the environment, for example in the winter: the city of Tucson announces through the media that in certain days should not be lit chimneys by the high degree of air pollution.

Pension Plan Paper Free Essays

The Post Retirement Benefit of Pension Plans Marcus Womack Intermediate Accounting II (ACC 306) Professor Rick Kwan September 29, 2010 There are several different types of employment compensation. Salaries and wages that people earn while they are working provide immediate compensation for services provided and are a key factor in managing one’s day to day life. However, there are also various types of compensation that one can earn from employment after they have retired from a company. We will write a custom essay sample on Pension Plan Paper or any similar topic only for you Order Now The purpose of these post-retirement benefits is to ensure livelihood for a person when they are no longer able to work. A pension is one such plan. A pension is an arrangement—paid in regular installments–to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. The goal of pension plans is accomplished by setting aside funds during the years that an employee is working and making those funds along with earnings from investing those funds available when retirement occurs. A pension created by an employer for the benefit of an employee is commonly referred to as an occupational or an employer pension and for tax reasons, are usually advantageous to the employer and employee. Favorable tax treatment is an added benefit of pension plans established under specific guidelines. Employers earn special tax deductions while employees are only taxed on the fund contributions after retirement occurs. There are other mutual benefits as well. An employee with a pension plan often feels a sense of retirement security that will cause them to work harder and stay at their job longer. Increased productivity and decreased turnover as a result of sufficient retirement plan offerings enhances a company’s competitive ranking in the labor market. Pension plans may be classified as either defined benefit or defined contribution plans depending on how the benefits are determined. Defined contribution plans are plans in which the employer agrees to contribute a fixed amount to the employee’s pension fund each year that the employee is employed. Retirement benefits are contingent on how much money the plan accumulated during employment and the return of investment of those funds. Employers offer designated options for employees to choose where their funds are invested such as stocks or fixed income securities. 01(k) plans offered by private sector employees and 403(b) plans offered by public and non-profit employers are two types of defined contribution plans. In a defined benefit plan the contract between employer and employee states that the employer contributes a specific amount to a pension fund and at retirement pays the employee a fixed monthly income for life. The benefit on retirement in this plan is determined by a set formula. This formula is usually either a dollar times service or final average pay calculation, or a combination of both. Sometimes the age of the employee is a factor as well. In this arrangement, it is up to the employer to ensure that the funds are available to provide the benefits to employees once they retire. In addition to the burden of being completely financially responsible for funding this type of plan there are other reasons for which defined benefit plans have lost their popularity. Three main reasons are the fact that government regulations make administering the plan costly and cumbersome, employers have become more interested in attracting new talent as opposed to building long-term loyalty and there are several market risks that go along with the company’s obligation to contribute to the plan. Kilgour (2007) discussed many of the issues surrounding pension plan funding and the creation of the Pension Protection Act of 2006. The Bush administration proposed an overhaul of pension law that served to strengthen pension plan funding and protect the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) by increasing the cost of employer contributions. The requirements outlined added significant costs, risk and complexity to defined benefit plan sponsorship and is a contributor to the fact that today more than two-thirds of workers are covered by defined contribution plans. The market risk that exists is associated with the changes in the value of investments with the plans. While both types of plans carry market risks, the risks associated with defined benefit plans lies on the shoulders of the employer while those associated with defined contribution plans are assumed by the employee. During periods of economic growth the cost of maintaining a pension fund decreases due to the rising values of investments. Employers are able to contribute less and still meet future pension obligations. However, when markets go down the employer has to contribute more money to the plan to ensure that they are able to pay retirees their promised funds. Retirees receive the same dollar amount of income regardless of market conditions. With defined contribution plans the risks and rewards are reversed. Since the retiree both assumes risks and reaps benefits, periods of economic growth cause the retiree’s wealth and income to increase and negative market changes cause the opposite to occur. Employers have agreed to a fixed amount and are unable to adjust their contributions downwards. In essence, with this type of pension plan the employer does not take on the risk of their obligation changing unexpectedly, the pension funds being inadequate to meet their obligation or any added periodic expense of carrying a pension plan. Once retirement occurs, the company’s financial commitment ends. The pension obligation is defined as attributable to retirees and other employees entitled to benefits and current employees depending on their service to date. In regards to pension accounting, there are three different ways to measure the pension obligation. Accumulated benefit obligation (ABO) and projected benefit obligation (PBO) are two of these methods. The accumulated benefit obligation is the estimate of the total retirement benefits (at their discounted present value) earned by employees so far. It applies the pension formula using existing compensation levels. The ABO assumes that the employee is fired or retires on the date that the calculation is performed and is therefore what the pension fund must pay the employee should the employer and or employee make no further contributions and the employee retires immediately. It is the present value of the future liability of an employee’s pension. In contrast, the projected benefit obligation is the estimate of the total retirement benefits earned by the employee so far and applies the pension formula using estimated future compensation levels. The PBO assumes that the employee will continue to work and make contributions to the pension plan. It also assumes that the contributions to the fund will increase as the employee’s salary increases. While the ABO’s objective estimate of benefits is reliable it does not take into account that between the present time and retirement there will likely be increase in salary so calculating the benefits and taking this increase into consideration may offer a more realistic picture. The projected benefit obligation is an estimate of the present value of the future liability of the pension. When examining a calculation of the PBO, substituting the employees existing compensation in the formula for their projected salary at etirement would result in the accumulated benefit obligation. Pension plan reporting is an often-changing and complex topic of discussion. The funded status of a pension plan is one such aspect. This is the status of the pension plan that has accumulated assets that have been set aside for the payment of retirement benefits. It is defined as the difference between the projected benefits obligation and the fair value of plan assets—employer contributions and accumulated earnings on the investment of those contributions to be used to pay retirement benefits. In Reilly’s (2006) article he discusses the fact that for almost twenty years companies have been required to include the amount owed to employees based on the PBO in the footnotes of financial statements. Even though neither the PBO nor the plan assets are reported on the balance sheet, in 2006 it became a requirement that companies report the difference between these two values on the balance sheets rather than just showing them in the footnotes. Reporting of the funded status sparked debate because moving this information to the balance sheet could force companies to recognize a large liability, which could possibly cut their net worth, hinder dividend payments or jeopardize lending agreements. Reilly argued that this change could prompt more companies to freeze pension plans. Pension obligations change from year to year for several reasons. These reasons include the performance of investments, switching methods and assumptions and changes in benefits. To help provide greater transparency of assets and related liabilities of post-retirement benefits The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has established rules for reporting benefit plans in accounting statements. There are several steps companies must take in this reporting in addition to disclosing the funded status of their plans. First, companies must â€Å"recognize as a component of other comprehensive income, net of tax, any gains or losses and prior service costs or credits that arise during the period but are not recognized as components of net periodic benefit cost† (Reinstein, 2007). Amounts of comprehensive income are reported on a cumulative basis in the balance sheet. Companies must also measure defined benefit plan assets and obligations as of the date of the employer’s fiscal year-end balance sheet. In their financial statements companies must disclose certain information about effects on net periodic benefit costs for the next fiscal year that arise from delayed recognition of the gains or losses, prior service costs or credits and transition assets or obligations (Reinstein, 2007). Companies are required to report pension assets for overfunded benefit plans and liabilities for underfunded plans. An actuary, a professional trained in the particular branch of statistics and mathematics to assess the various uncertainties and to estimate a company’s obligation to employees in connection with its pension plan, plays a vital role in post-retirement benefit reporting. Actuaries use skills in mathematics, economics, computer science, finance, probability and statistics to help companies assess the risk of certain events occurring and to help formulate policies that minimize the cost of that risk. In regards to pension benefits, actuaries also address financial questions involving the level of pension contributions required to produce a specific retirement income and the different ways that companies should invest their resources to maximize the return on investments despite the potential risks. Many events, such as death, are inevitable so the role of the actuary is to help a company minimize the financial impacts of those events when they occur since these events can affect both sides of the balance sheets. Managing these risks requires asset and liability management and valuation skills. In conclusion, pension plans are a very important aspect of post-retirement planning which can be beneficial to both employer and employees. To maintain the integrity of their financial statements, it is important for companies to adhere to proposed guidelines for post-retirement reporting and manage their benefits plans wisely. Likewise, it is important for employees to gain full understanding of their companies post-retirement plans before and during employment so that they are adequately prepared for life after their working years. References Kilgour, J. G. (2007). The pension plan funding debate and PPA of 2006. Benefits Quarterly, 23(4), p7-20. Lacomba, Juan A. ; Lagos, Francisco. (2009) Defined contribution plan vs. defined benefits plan: reforming the legal retirement age. Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Mar2009, 12(1), p1-11 Reilly, David. (2006) Pension reporting sparks debate. Wall Street Journal, 248(3), pC3. Reinstein, A. (2007). New accounting rules for entities offering post-retirement benefits: some implications for bankers. RMA Journal Spiceland, J. D. , Sepe, J. F. Tomassini, L. A. (2007). Intermediate accounting (4th ed. ). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin. How to cite Pension Plan Paper, Papers