Local Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Local Practice - Essay Example Even as minority ethnic groups may deem equality of treatment in healthcare, it has to be acknowledged that differences in physiological makeup make it prudent to offer differentiated healthcare. Furthermore cultural practices also call for a differentiation of healthcare since, different local practices result into differentiated healthcare needs. Discussion Engagement in Risky Behavior Risky behavior is in many instances an important predictor of the health of a population. While human beings acknowledge that risky behavior is a cause for poor health it is also a fact that instances of obesity as a result of engaging in the risky behavior of eating of junk food still exists. There are other risky behaviors such as smoking and drinking which despite education on their effects still continue to unexplainably show high rates of prevalence among the American population. The same may also be said of cultural practices which though proven to be negative continue to be adhered by certain populations. While some cultural practices lead to negative and risky behavior, the cultural practices of some ethnic groups have the opposite effect. A good example of this is the prohibition of alcohol and tobacco among the Amish and the prohibition of alcohol among the Arabs. On the other hand the immigrants in America are led to alcohol consumption due to the stress of attaining the American dream.

Mortgage Market in the United States Case Study

Mortgage Market in the United States - Case Study Example However, the low interest rates offered by mortgage lenders as well as the requirement to service the mortgage debts of the home owners in relation to their higher take home pay will not bring back the sad economic scenario in the 1990s era. Also the high value attached to the homes has triggered the money lenders to enter into the home mortgage and the chattel mortgage economic market. Currently, the fixed costs that goes with maintaining a home is no longer as expensive as the mortgage homes of the early part of the 1990s(2003;p.5). Despite the unfortunate beginnings in the latter part of 2002 and until 2003, many people contributed to the economy by continuing their spending spree at moderate speed. This was one of the major factors that prevented the increase in severity of the economic downturn. Thus, government monetary policy theory states that the state must intervene in order to create a competitive economic environment (Roberts,2000;pp 77). In addition, Marshall theorized that people have the normal attitude of preferring to spend instead of saving their money in His Principles of Economics book as " Everyone is aware that the accumulation of wealth is held in check, and the rate of interest so far sustained, by the preference which the great mass of humanity have for the present over deferred gratifications, or, in other words, by their unwillingness to 'wait'"(Keynes, 1936; pp.242) The supply and demand theory states that as the mortgage interest increases, the number of borrower demands will decrease. And, the supply theory states that as the mortgage interest rate increases, the number of mortgage lenders will increase(Graziano, 1987;p129-145). Both theories state meet when the mortgage lenders lower their interest rates in order to attract more borrowers. For, the best mortgage interest rate that will make both the mortgagor borrower and the mortgagee lender happily meet in the middle is the equilibrium rate. In terms of mortgagor purchasing power, the timely increases in the take home pay off household owners as well as the gains in disposable personal income starting June of 2003 countered the ill effects of the consumer's spending spree. As proof, the share of personal consumption on Gross Domestic Products had reached a whopping seventy percent in the year 2004. For clarity, consumer spending is arrived at taking into consideration the increase in real permanent income, fluctuations in market prices and demographic factors(Su, 2005;p10). MORTGAGE RATE GRAPH Under the theory known as Markowitz economic model, the investors, including the mortgage lender, want to maximize expected return from their investments and minimize variances. For variance is synonymous with risk(Culp, 2001;pp.48-113). Thus, the lenders charge higher interest rates for more risky mortgage borrowers. The above graph shows that there are fluctuations in the mortgage interest rates from the period Aug 2, 2007 to Sept 27 2007. The graph shows that the Thirty -year mortgage rates had declined starting in the middle of July. Then decline trendily continued to decline until