Forgiven Mortgage Debt should not be considered as an Income - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1807 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Argumentative essay Level High school Did you like this example? Forgiven mortgage debt should not be considered as an income and people should not be taxed based on that because those who are in this situation already are in trouble and basically à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“underwaterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . Taxation based on forgiven mortgage debt causes business unfairness and a lot of troubles for our economy in general and especially for lower and middle class families as well as for first time home buyers. During the economic recession which started in 2007, many people lost their job and many of them ended up losing their homes as well because of financial problems. Many of these people who had mortgage loans had trouble paying it, also many of them owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth it. Homeowners who were underwater they were able to sell their houses in short sale which means they sold their homes for less amount of money that their mortgage was and this was done with the bank agreement which allowed them to do so. The number of these underwater homeowners is decreased, however a lot of people still are struggling with their mortgage payments and according to IRS the number of tax fillings for mortgage debt exemption from 2007 until 2011 is increased. Difference between mortgage and forgiven debt is considered as income by government and is taxable, even though is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“phantom incomeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ , income that you do not get in reality. Example, someone who owns $150,000 on his/her mortgage and they agree with the bank who lend the money to sell the house in short sale for $100,000 the difference which is for $50,000 is considered as an income and this difference is taxable. Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act was granted temporary by Government in 2007 until 2009 by President G. Bush and was extended twice by Obamas administration, first until December 31, 2012 and second until December 31, 2013. This Act was more than welcome for all those people who were down on their luck fi nancially. According to this some people may argue that mortgage forgiven debt should be taxable just like government thinks, regardless that those homeowners who came to this situation to sell their homes in short sales are people who did a lot to keep their homes and they have different reasons for doing it. Many of those people have lost their job due to a bad economy and simply cannot afford the home anymore. Sometimes there are large medical bills that suddenly came into play, also divorce can cause financial hardship. There are dozens of other legitimate reasons why someone is unable to afford his/her home. Simply these people are not dumb and didnt read what they were getting themselves into. I personally know people that I have worked with and that they lost their homes, they did not lose their home because they are not intelligent or they are not very well educated people actually they are very intelligent and educated people but it happen that they got themselves int o a very sad and unfortunate situation e.g. one of them got divorce and couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t effort to pay the mortgage by them self, also we have families who went through medical problems and so on. However; this bad situations some of them they survived somehow to keep their homes till now bur after expiration of the mortgage forgiveness debt relief act many of them are going to get tax bill on their phantom income. In interview given for New York Times, Senator Isakson said that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“forgiven debt was nothing more than à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“phantom incomeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  and should not be taxed. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦is unfair to end the exemption for those families who have manage to hold on their homes.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  And more over he stated that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“These are the people who have tried the hardest to hang on their homes and keep the economy strongà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . [Shaila Dewan à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“NYTimesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ] When I mentioned at the beginning that taxat ion based on forgiven mortgage debt causes business unfairness is that there are other common situations in which cancellation of debt is not taxable example Bankruptcy where debts discharged during this process are not deemed taxable income. Moreover, we have to make difference between those people who bought house for investment, and people who they took out a home equity loan and took that world trip that theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve been dreaming of instead of using the money to improve their house from those who bought a house to live in it and invested in it. So here is a big issue government should make difference between these categories. I agree with K. Phillips when she question about exclusion thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦why keep putting a band-aid on it? Why stop with one year? Why not five years? Or ten years? Why not make it a permanent exclusion?à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  [K. Philips Erb à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Forbesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ] making permanent exclusion is the best way to h elp at least those people who worked hard to keep their house such as those people who invested in their house and faced finance troubles because of their unfortunate situations. It is clear that debt forgiveness is effective at preventing foreclosure. Theres an obvious reason and a not-as-obvious reason that principal reductions result in fewer foreclosures. The obvious reason is that less debt equals a smaller monthly payment. People get modifications because they have trouble making their mortgage payments, so smaller payments tend to help. Im just curious as to where IRS expect a homeowner to come up with $25-100,000 to pay for taxes when they cant come up with $1,000-1,500 a month for a house payment. Its not like they can go to a bank and get an unsecured loan, their credit score has just taken a 150 point hit according to Credit Score regulations. By taxing these people for their forgiven debt government not just is going to make extra trouble for these category o f peoples but it is going to make more dependent people to government; example maybe many of them that they will end up asking for help from government e.g. asking for food stamps because of their financial problems. In one way IRS is collecting some extra money but on the other hand government is making people more dependent on food stamps or on other government programs. One thing is clear that if government is not going to extend mortgage forgiveness debt relief act many lower and middle class families as well as first time home buyers are going to be in trouble because of many reasons that were mentioned above and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Housing advocates argue that not extending the Act is simply bad policy, punishing those already facing serious financial difficulties and pushing off a potential recovery in the housing market.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  [K. Phillips Erb] I understand your frustration with others seemingly getting free money because of a tax exemption. What you maybe arent t hinking about are the various reasons for a short sale. I have helped multiple families with short sales, and they have different reasons for doing it. Many times they have lost a job and simply cannot afford the home anymore. Sometimes there are large medical bills that suddenly came into play. A divorce can cause financial hardship. There are dozens of other legitimate reasons why someone is unable to afford his/her home. Was some of this due to inflated housing prices? To an extent, sure, but I dont think that very many of us could foresee how drastically prices would fall from their peak in 2005-06. I also reject the notion that all of these people that have found themselves in this situation were simply dumb and didnt read what they were getting themselves into. The people that I have worked with are very intelligent, educated people who got themselves into a very sad and unfortunate situation. Im just curious as to where you expect a homeowner to come up with $25-100,000 to p ay for taxes when they cant come up with $1,000-1,500/month for a house payment. Its not like they can go to a bank and get an unsecured loan, their credit score has just taken a 150 point hit. And yes, most of them tried to refinance/restructure their loans with the bank, but were declined or the offer they were given was not any better than their current situations. Maybe one of you will loan it to them? All this is due to faulty trickle down economy . We dont need this trickle down economy (Top Down Approach) anymore in which bankers get money from govt. then spend it as they like and do all kinda ponzi business, sub-prime crisis , etc etc. Now due to the fear of collapse they want more free money from govt. Why , why should they be rewarded for the problem they created in the first place . Is US govt. their puppet? Is the govt. by the bankers , of the bankers for the bankers. Or are these bankers have united as a secret organisation to squeeze out as much money from US govt. and US citizens. These bankers fat capitalists should be allowed to rest in peace (RIP) and US govt should change their economic policy drastically by accepting the Bottoms UP Approach in which govt. gives sustenance allowance DIRECTLY to each citizens bank account. This is because govt. is the only institution that can create free money. People no longer need jobs and factories should be run by robots completely. Only niche areas should have jobs such as robotics research but that also by the committed dedicated interested people. Since money would go directly to bank accounts of individuals, the money is still with banks. But now bankers and industries would have to provide quality products and services to earn that money from the individual citizens. So with this approach all poverty , hunger, homelessness, unemployment will vanish. This will be true democracy. None of this changes the fact that people signed a contract stating they would pay the bank x amount of dollars. If I bought ABC Company stock for $60/share and it plummets to $20/share, do I get any money back, no I do not. If I sign a legal document stating I owe x to the bank and they pay the difference on my behalf, why shouldnt I have to pay taxes on it? After all, I am the one who signed the note promising to pay them back. Sites: Dewan, Sh. (February 4, 2014). Welcome Relief for Homeowners, Until the Tax Bill Arrives. In The New York Times. Retrieved February 10, 2014, from https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/05/business/economy/lenders-see-write-off-while-underwater-homeowners-face-stiff-taxes.html. Kelly, K and Rich, S. (December 30, 2013). New Maryland bill could shorten debt collection after foreclosure. In The Washington Post. Retrieved February 10, 2014, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/new-maryland-bill-could-help-foreclosed-homeowners-avoid-lengthy-debt- Swanson, J. (January 24, 2014). Official Argues Against Short-Sale/Foreclosure Deficiency Counting a s Income in 2014. In Mortgage News Daily. Retrieved February 11, 2014, from https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/01242014_loan_modifications.asp. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2013/12/27/tax-break-ending-for-underwater-homeowners-is-it-the-right-time/ Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Forgiven Mortgage Debt should not be considered as an Income" essay for you Create order

Theme of Revenge in Homers Odyssey Essay - 878 Words

Homer’s The Odyssey is not just a tale of a man’s struggle on his journey home from the Trojan War, but of his struggle from the consequences of revenge. The Odyssey weaves in different characters’ tales of revenge from the gods and what impact revenge actually had on those characters. Revenge is an important underlying theme in The Odyssey because, in essence, it explains why Odysseus’ journey was so prolonged and treacherous. A few examples of revenge in the poem include Orestes’ revenge on Aegisthus, Zeus’ revenge on Odysseus and his men, and Poseidon’s revenge on Odysseus. These different examples of revenge in The Odyssey show the importance of the gods’ revenge in the epic journey of Odysseus. Orestes’ revenge is the first†¦show more content†¦Again, the gods’ warned of revenge if Odysseus’ men did not obey them in not eating the cattle. Yet, while Odysseus was sleeping, Eurylochus convi nced Odysseus’ men to eat the cattle (Homer 408). When the Sun god Helios found that Odysseus’ men had slaughtered his cattle, he rallied to the gods to strike revenge on them. Helios sought out revenge by asking Zeus, â€Å"’Father Zeus! The rest of you blissful gods who never die-punish them all, that crew of Laertes’ son Odysseus†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬ (Homer 409). Zeus responded with vengeance by striking Odysseus’ boat with a lightening bolt and killing his men (Homer 410). By Zeus striking Odysseus’ boat with a lightening bolt and killing his men, the reader is definitely aware of the severity of revenge associated with disobeying a god; especially the most powerful of all gods. This severity greatly shows the important role that revenge plays in the poem and the affect revenge has on Odysseus. A key event that delays Odysseus immensely on his journey home is Poseidon’s revenge. While sailing home, Odysseus and his men come to encounter Polyphemus, Poseidon’s Cyclops son. Odysseus and his men try to steal food from Polyphemus while he is away tending to his flock (Homer 362). When Polyphemus returns to his cave, he finds Odysseus and his men, and traps them in his cave. While trapped in the cave, Polyphemus eats many of Odysseus’Show MoreRelatedThe Role of Woman in The Odyssey1240 Words   |  5 PagesAlthough â€Å"The Odyssey† by the Greek poet Homer is very much an epic tale of a man’s heroic quest, women play an incredibly large role. Homer’s epic tale, â€Å"The Odyssey† revolves around Ulysses’ quest to return back to his wife, Penelope, so that he may be reunited with her and assume control over his palace, which has been overrun by suitors. Ulysses’ son, Telemachus attempts to regain authority in the presence of the many suitors but finds this difficult and embarks upon his own journey under theRead MoreVirgil s The Iliad And The Odys sey1403 Words   |  6 PagesVirgil s Aeneid takes a character form Homer’s Odyssey and constructs a life for him beyond Homer’s ideas. It is quite obvious that Virgil was heavily influenced by both Homer’s writings, The Iliad and the Odyssey. Both stories tell of parallel journeys home from Troy at the end of the Trojan War. Homer’s Odysseus is returning to Greece and the family he left behind ten years ago. Virgil’s Aeneas, in contrast has been given a direct command by the God, Mercury to create a new Empire. Both menRead MoreThe Suitors In The Odyssey974 Words   |  4 Pagesstereotypes on how each gender should appear, speak, and act. 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ThereRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of The Odyssey 1328 Words   |  6 Pagesword stands out and doesn’t belong in Homer’s story The Odyssey; peace. Odysseus went through 20 years of being kept from his wife and son. He fought men and monsters, was rejected by wooers in his own city and people tried t o tricking him during his journey back home. He didn’t find peace on his journey. He was always lamenting over missing his home and family. When he finally did make it home he hid his true identity as a beggar while he planned his revenge against the wooers who stole from himRead More Odysseus’ Search for Purpose in Homers Odyssey Essay1419 Words   |  6 PagesOdysseus’ Search for Purpose in The Odyssey   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As a wayfarer in life, The Odyssey focuses on life’s greater purpose through the fulfillment of destiny, perseverance, and loyalty. These three themes recur continuously throughout Odysseus’ journey, molding life’s greater vision. 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George Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin and Legal Bias free essay sample

This article is a good bias source especially because it is about these two men who have both different races. All of which explains why neither side in the Martin/Zimmerman saga is defending the basic fairness of our judicial system. Both agree that America’s courts are biased. They just disagree about whom they’re biased against. â€Å"We live in a world where there isn’t equal justice. This case never, never would have been brought if the races were reversed,† said one TV pundit the day after the verdict. Al Sharpton? No, Ann Coulter, arguing that America’s judicial system is massively skewed against whites. â€Å"If Floridians are of a mind to let off a little steam, they might usefully burn down the Sanford courthouse and salt the earth. The justice system revealed by this squalid trial is worth rioting over,† added a well-known columnist. Cornel West? No, National Review’s Mark Steyn, arguing that the trial was absurdly slanted against Zimmerman. We will write a custom essay sample on George Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin and Legal Bias or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The author, Peter Beinart, is author of The Crisis of Zionism (Times Books, 2012) and editor of the Daily Beast blog, Open Zion, which fosters an open and unafraid conversation about Israel, Palestine and the Jewish future. He is also Associate Professor of Journalism and Political Science at The City University of New York, Senior Political Writer for The Daily Beast-Newsweek, and a Schwartz Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation. His first book, The Good Fight: Why Liberals—and Only Liberals—Can Win the War on Terror and Make America Great Again, was published by HarperCollins in 2006. His second book, The Icarus Syndrome: A History of American Hubris, was published by HarperCollins in 2010. He lives in New York with his wife and two children. I found that in this article that I could agree upon when he had mentioned about our government system especially of today that we have a black democratic president while our republicans are all whites. He stated his is what the debate over Saturday’s verdict is really about. It’s another skirmish between those black and white Democrats who believe racism remains a grave problem and those white Republicans who think political correctness is a bigger one. It’s not just that most Republicans don’t worry much about discrimination against blacks. They’re increasingly worried about discrimination against whites. According to a 2011 survey by the Public Religion Research Institute, almost two thirds of Tea Party supporters consider discrimination against whites as big a problem as discrimination against blacks. People who consider Fox News their most trusted news source are almost twice as likely to consider â€Å"reverse discrimination† a â€Å"critical† issue as they are to feel that way about the old-fashioned, white-on-black kind. My opinion on his topic or article s that it most strongly influences is with ethnicity due to the fact that George Zimmerman is a half-blood white. I haven’t seen any type of stereotyping because in this case I am neither agree to the democratic or republican way. Citation: Beinart, P. (2013, 07). george zimmerman, trayvon marti and legal bias. Retrieved 07, 2013, from

The Whole Towns Sleeping by Ray Bradbury Essay Example For Students

The Whole Towns Sleeping by Ray Bradbury Essay Literature presents insights into many aspects of life but is also a conveyor of values, naturalising certain ways of understanding ourselves and the world. This is especially true of The Whole Towns Sleeping by Ray Bradbury. Built on the dominant ideologies of the time, the text through its representations, language, and plot constructs what was normal or acceptable behaviour for men and women. The Whole Towns Sleeping reveals a society where women are weak, fragile and vulnerable, They were the victims of violence inflicted by men, and had to constantly be alert and wary, guarding themselves from any possible danger. While it was considered totally safe and normal for men to go out alone at night, women only belonged in the day, and with darkness were expected to lock themselves away from awaiting threats. This brings across the idea that women should always be protected, and that any woman who ventures out without any form of protection is foolish. We will write a custom essay on The Whole Towns Sleeping by Ray Bradbury specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Though Lavinia tries as hard as she can to conceal her inferiority, she is still very much a woman, and is thereby vulnerable (The heat pulsed under your dress and along your legs with a stealthy sense of invasion. ). The story endorses the idea that women who do not take proper care of themselves, and try to be independent are to blame for whatever happens to them. The blame is shifted on to the victim, and little fault is attached to the male who commits the crime. The story shows that it was foolish for Lavinia to try to be strong and independent and that she can never deny the fact that she is woman, and thereby weak and vulnerable. She can never be as strong or powerful as a man and is destined to the weaker subservient position. Lavinia, despite her strong appearance, gets frightened (Lavonia felt her heart going loudly within her and she was cold too) when she sees the dead body, and can only try to forget it. The story is constructed in such a way that as it progresses, Lavinia is confronted with even more danger, and her apparent confidence is gradually stripped away. Though she starts of just not afraid it is soon turned into panic and she admits her inferiority (If I get home safe I will never go out alone, I was a fool), conforming to the patriarchal ideology on the innate weakness of women. Men on the other hand are constructed as menaces, which prey on pretty, unmarried maidens for their own pleasure. They are sly (Behind her, in the black living-room, someone cleared his throat. ), unsuspected (Eliza Ramsell has disappeared) and gruesome (strangled four of them their tongues sticking out of their mouths). Agreeing to the essentialist assumptions that all men are potentially violent and naturally evil. The story also presented the idea that all men are distrustful (not one of the three male characters in the story was trusted). Thought Officer Kennedy was a policemen, Lavinia did not trust him (I wont walk the ravine with any man. Tom Dillon too was not trusted, and thought he was their friend Helen still suspected him to be the Lonely One. Though the three maidens did not say the man at the drugstore to be distrustful, he was careless to give away Lavinias address, which put her in a lot of potential danger. Ray Bradburys construction of small town society, and particularly the gender roles found within, showcases the opinions of both Bradbury and the society ot the time. This presentation of opinion is most likely not intentional and simply a reflection of the 1950s society attitude towards gender roles.

Belonging speech Essays

Belonging speech Essays Belonging speech Essay Belonging speech Essay Belonging, what Is It? I believe belonging Is when you can say that you are a part of something, when you have a group or a club or even a lifestyle that other people share. In short, I believe that a sense of belonging can be found in the things or people that have shared the same experiences, both good and bad, because we can identify ourselves in those people. Today we will be exploring this idea of belonging in two texts; one is the of poems Fillies Crooknecks and SST Patriots College, by Polish-born Australian poet, Peter Crooknecks, and the other text is the 2012 movie Wreck it Ralph, directed by Rich Moore. The poems SST Patrick College and Fillies Crooknecks both deal with the notion of self-isolation and an inability to relate to the people that surround a persona. In both poems, we can assume that the persona is Peter Crooknecks himself. In Fillies Crooknecks he talks about how he could never relate to his father and his fathers friends when they would reminisce of their lives In Poland. He feels a sense of distance between himself and his parents culture that, as he says In the poem, he Inherited unknowingly. In the poem In the folk museum, delectation from a culture Is also portrayed, but this time It Is about the personas lack of connection to the Australian culture. The persona describes the things he sees in the museum as if they are foreign and unknown to him, so much so that he has to read the names of the objects to know what they are. A reason why the poet doesnt feel he can relate may be because he doesnt share the same experiences and doesnt have the same traditions and customs that other people, both his Eastern European parents had and his Australian culture, would have shared. He cant relate, or reminisce, or appreciate either of his two cultures, because he has never known enough about them to have an emotional attachment, and It Is this lack of attachment that prevents him from feeling a sense of inclusion. The sense of exclusion from a group Is also present In the film Wreck It Ralph. Ralph, who was the bad guy In an arcade game, was constantly ostracizes from the rest of he characters in the game. He lived on a pile of bricks far away from everyone else. He, like Peter Crooknecks, was often segregated from everyone else, except in the film, the exclusion was intentional. In the same way Crooknecks couldnt help not being able to relate to his father, Ralph couldnt help but break things, and the more he broke things, the more he would be distanced from the others in the game. He would have felt helpless and isolated, and his hunger to belong with everyone else is what made him escape his game in search off medal to prove with worth. In one scene of the movie, Ralph is seen attending a Bad-Anon, a support group for the villains in the arcade games. Here he is able to communicate his Ideas and feelings to people who feel the same and go through the same things. Ralph can Identify himself In the support group because they all share the same experiences. This act of comradely Indicates that Ralph does In fact know how to connect to others, but that his problem is that there is simply no-one for him to establish that friendship with. Another meets Ralph, she expects him to exclude her as other people do, but upon learning that he too is a rejected outcast, she reaches out to him and they become friends. This is a good example of how past experiences influence where we feel we belong. Their bond strengthens as the plot progresses, and as both Ralph and Penelope grow closer and closer, their personalities grow and they develop trait that they didnt have before they had friends. Penelope gains a sense of assertiveness, and Ralph earns to respect and consider peoples feelings. The characters in both the poems and the film both show the concept of not belonging. It is a theme that appears in art and modern media constantly, and portrays the idea that our experiences, both good and bad, influence who or where we feel we belong. We all root for the ones that overcome obstacles and win battles despite having disadvantages. We all root for the underdog; because we, as an audience, identify ourselves in them; because we have all, at one point or another, felt the same.

Buddhism And The Reductionist Approach Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 11250 words

Buddhism And The Reductionist Approach - Essay Example In the context of religion, Eliade saw religion as an entity that is autonomous and special, that it cannot be reduced mainly to the spheres of the social, economic and psychological spheres. Based upon his approach to everything that is sacred, Eliade has stated that there’s something special and unique about the religious experience. The religious ritual of Perahera is a ceremonial religious experience. It is one of the biggest Buddhist celebrations of the year and it is a ritual where devotees get together and pray for the rains to fall bountifully so that they will be able to cultivate their crops. It is a ceremony that is no more than a grand parade, wherein the sacred tooth, which is one of the most precious and sacred relics of Buddhism, is removed from the Temple of the Tooth and is paraded through the streets of the various cities of Sri Lanka, along with the Kandy Perahera. Following the Kandy perahera are several other festive events and included among the crowds wh o are following the Kandy perahera will also be jugglers, dancers, and fire breathers. It is an experience that is profoundly moving for most of the devotees who follow in the parade and they express their devotion and religious solidarity by following the Kandy Perahera. Pirith chanting is also an essential part of the Buddhist religious dharma. Music is believed to be closely related to physical health so that the chanting of pirith is believed to have a very soothing effect. Chanting of the pirith is also believed to invoke the blessings of the gods. Thus, it may be noted that there are very strong spiritual and religious connotations associated with both of these religious ceremonies, which are an essential part of Buddhism.  

Latin Western European Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Latin Western European Culture - Essay Example In Latin America, people shake hands when they meet someone and again when they part. Latin Americans also like to stay close when talking. The part that time plays in social events also differs. If a person is invited to someone's house in Europe for a meal, he or she should arrive on time. However, in Latin America, he or she should arrive at least one hour late. This is the. case for business appointments as well as for social events. In some countries, 'tomorrow' does not necessarily mean the day after. Americans are always in a hurry. They want to get on with whatever it is. Some other countries like to spend more time with preliminary discussions. Talking, negotiating and bargaining are all parts of the game. In Latin countries, as well as in the Middle and Far East, haggling over prices is expected (Newman and Nollen 1996). Following Hofstede's theory, in Latin America, power distance is high. It is a collectivist culture in which family and family relations play a crucial role. Latin America can be seen as a combination of masculine and feminine characteristics of culture. The main masculine traits are (1) aggressiveness and (2) ambition. The main feminine factors are: close relations and high sensitivity. The power distance of a culture is reflected in the superior subordinate relations in business organizations. A short power distance is an inducement to greater volume and variety of vertical communication and participative decision style(Hofstede 1996). It is common for such countries to advocate participation in the manager's decisions by his or her subordinates; however, the initiative towards this is supposed to be taken by the manager. The status of the individual in the West is tied to education and knowledge and, as mentioned before, in the American type of culture, experts are treated with g reat respect and loyalties to a profession are greater than loyalties to the company. Latin Americans have little experience of working in formal organizations which, combined with belonging to a high-contextual culture, means that much of what goes on as planning, supervising and controlling is more symbolic than substantive, as will be seen. Many Latin American institutions and business organizations are not very efficient, which is one reason why Latin American executives prefer to use personal (family and friendship) ties instead of formal channels and apply a very personalized and informal management style (Owen and Scherer 2002). In business, Latin American managers not only value change relatively highly but also value caution less. This suggests an active or dynamic orientation and a willingness to make risky decisions. Uncertainty of life is accepted as normal, and economic risks are judged by potential rewards. The action culture in Latin America has made available the mass-produced goods the Latin American market wants -- better than anyone else has. Latin Americans consider it almost a right to be materially well off and physically comfortable. They expect convenient transport, a variety of clean and healthful foods and comfortable homes equipped with labor-saving devices. The high value placed on materialism in the culture is sometimes reflected in an ethnocentric attitude towards other individuals,