Management And Accounting Web

Politics, Economics, Management, and Accounting

Note by James R. Martin, Ph.D., CMA
Professor Emeritus, University of South Florida

Donkey Dim

Political Issues Main Page

Why place a topic such as political issues on a web site dedicated to management and accounting? First, it is impossible to separate economics and politics. Consider the comparative economic system graphic below. Economic systems are also political systems. Second, the effects of economics and politics are impossible to separate from management and accounting. For example, near the top of the graphic the state owns and operates industries either for profit or for overall social objectives. Moving down the right hand side of the graphic the state regulates businesses but does not own them. Further down the right hand side we find free enterprise capitalism with less and less regulation from the state. Government regulation through laws, fiscal policy and monetary policy affects both management and accounting in many ways. Businesses clearly operate within a political economy.

The idea underlying the following exercise is to promote thought and debate about political issues.

1. Consult the graphic below (from MAAW's Chapter 1) for a review of comparative economic systems.

Comparative Economic Systems

2. Compare the illustration above to the political compass graphic below. Note that the political compass includes a social scale as well as an economic scale.

Polital Compass

3. Take the test at The Political Compass site to find your position in the graphic above.

4. Develop or question your own views on the various issues such as abortion, contraception, balancing the budget, taxes, crime, education, energy, environment, infrastructure, evolution, gun laws, healthcare law, immigration, labor unions, marriage, religion, and social security. To find various political views see the Polling Report.

5. FackCheck shows how politicians spin the facts.

6. FlackCheck describes six categories of patterns of deception with examples in each category. These include: 1. Misunderstanding the process, 2. Misleading use of language, 3. Misleading by not telling the whole story, 4. Misleading audio/visual cuing, 5. False logic, and 6. Hypocritical attack. These are listed with various types of deception under each category at Flackcheck

7. The Brookings Democracy Dashboard is a collection of data designed to help users evaluate the political system and governmental performance in the United States. - Brookings democracy

8. Issues listed on Hillary Clintons web site: Hillary Clinton

A fair tax system

Addiction and substance use

An economy that works for everyone

An end to Alzheimer's disease

Autism

Campaign finance reform

Campus sexual assault

Climate change

Combating terrorism and keeping the homeland safe

Criminal justice reform

Disability rights

Early childhood education

Fixing America's infrastructure

Gun violence prevention

Health care

HIV and AIDS

Housing

Immigration reform

Jobs and wages

K-12 education

Labor and workers' rights

LGBT rights and equality

Making college debt-free and taking on student debt

Manufacturing

Mental health

Military health

Military and defense

National security

Paid family and medical leave

Protecting animals and wildlife

Racial justice

Rural communities

Small business

Social Security and Medicare

Technology and innovation

Veterans, the armed forces, and their families

Voting rights

Wall Street reform

Women's rights and opportunity

Workforce skills and job training

9. Issues listed on Donald Trump's web site: This page no longer exist.

Veterans affairs reform

Trade

Tax plan

Regulations

National defense

Immigration

Health care

Foreign policy and defeating ISIS

Energy

Constitution and the Second Amendment

Child care

Economy

10. Consider: Mike Lukovich's June 19th cartoon from the AJC illustrates our current political situation at the end of 2018.

The political divide 2018