RETROGRESSION: stumbling block for the US-bound nurses

The nursing demand particularly in the US triggered an astronomical nursing enrollment in the Philippines, touted to be the one of the world's largest supplier of nurses,which  also resulted to mushrooming of nursing schools. Although nursing education is quite expensive many  are still lured -even doctors are becoming nurses- hoping for a greener  pasture in the land of milk and honey. Most are willing to spend a dizzying amount of money just to be a licensed nurse in the US. In fact, the Philippines and India are two leading countries that have  a significant number of license US nurses and even qualify for immigration. Unfortunately, the immigration was swamped with too many applicants and with the slowing down of their economy, it further  resulted to delays and then retrogression was implemented. It was a sudden twist of fate that deter the hopes and aspirations of those hoping to migrate and work in America.

It was indeed a big blow to the career plans of the nurses seeking to work and live in the US. The amount of time reviewing as well as processing for the documents are  time consuming and financially draining. It was thought to be a worthy  investment but turns out to be  the other way around. Although painful but life moves on and wait for the lifting of retrogression.

On the other hand,until now retrogression still lingers and it is predicted to stay longer as the US economy is slowly recovering from the economic blows. Many of these US bound nurses are left with no choice which either they stay and wait for their priority dates to be processed or they seek  other avenues to seek greener pasture.

Once retrogression is lifted, it is expected to be another boom years for nursing!

INTERNATIONAL WOMENS DAY: KUDOS to WOMEN

Today the role of a woman to our society is a complete opposite of yesteryears. However, there are certain people believed that women should be confined in the four corners of the house whilst other disagreed as they viewed women plays a vital role in our society. These two opposing views I would like to tackle in this essay.

Traditionalists viewed woman’s role as a mere subordinate to men. They prefer their wives and sisters to be at home rather than working in the offices or tending a business. They expect women to serve them and also to be their escorts into some social functions. It is evident in the past, that women has a lesser rights compared to their counterparts. Their voices are often unheard and always subject for discrimination.

On the other hand, the continued struggle of women for equality and justice enabled them to level off the playing field. The once neglected voice are heard not just in the comforts of their home but also throughout the offices, plenary halls, houses of Parliament and to name a few. The newly empowered women stood high and even imparted sterling contributions to our society that earn both admiration and envy to men.

In addition, women are increasingly becoming influential to our society. They can do the things that traditionally a man does. It is interesting to note that women are generally as strong-willed as men.

To wrap up, I highly believed that today’s women have a pivotal role in shaping our future.

gift is a gift or gift as a bribe?

One Friday afternoon, a friend popped a question of “when is a gift a gift and gift as a bribe?” I was totally dumbfounded because I don’t how to answer the question. Gifts are something that most people value and something others look forward to have. Who else won’t love to be given gifts? But really when is a gift truly a gift and not the other way around?

A gift is a gift if you do it with no strings attached. It is supposed to be unconditional. You give a gift out of admiration, gesture or simply you wanted to surprise or thank someone for his or her good deeds. It may be pricey or it may be priceless as long as it’s a gift. The recipient would love to accept and treasure it. And some would even give gifts in return. It may sound so ideal but that’s the principle of giving gifts.

On the other hand, some would equate gifts as a form of bribe. And who else love to bribe? It is their form of pampering their recipient and expects political or business favor in return. It’s an unwritten rule of giving gift as a bribe. In this political season, gifts are bound with different gimmickry. Some politicians resort to give gifts to the poor or in charitable institutions. And others will throw out a huge party as gift for their supporters’ tireless support. Some businessmen or private groups or individuals will give gifts as a form of donation to bankroll the campaign.

The preceding example may be of different form but it has same intention. It’s to bribe no less. Politicians will do everything in their capacity to polish their image and having the charity plus the poor people is an instant picture perfect. That would be used for political advertisement since some need a boost to their lackluster ratings in the survey and some are so desperate to be the front runner. Moreover, holding a party is actually a caucus to gather their throng of supporters and brag it to their political opponents. It’s also the self vested interests that trigger some to bankroll the campaign of a certain politicians. Is it the system of gift giving the problem or the giver itself?

The recipient may not know their intentions or simply ignore it but they are unwilling or willing victim for political ploy. They may have a choice to accept it or not but some politicians or people are even making a deal out of it. It takes two to tango. It is not proper to give gifts because you wanted something in return. And also it is not good to accept gifts for personal gain and to be use for some political gimmick.

Indeed, there’s a great difference between giving gift as a gift and giving it as a form of bribe. How unfortunate to note that some are consume of desperation that they are making business out of giving gifts. It goes against the moral fiber of our society and it further cripples our system. We should always uphold the principle of gift giving and shun away those who play con for their self benefit.

unemployment :is there a better alternative?

The impact of economic crises led to rising unemployment both in the developed and developing economies. The United States, epicenter of the recent economic debacle, still continue to grip the economic shocks that left millions unemployed. Numerous strategies were implemented to address the problem such as reducing the work- week for thirty-five hours. Such measure created mounting concerns among employees and employers alike.

There are a lot of several advantages of having to work less in a week. First, there will be a considerable amount of time to spend with family and friends. It will greatly boost one’s social life. Second, it will reduce stress consequently lead to efficiency. Third, employers will be saving up money thereby increasing their profits. In addition, some workers will use their extra time to find alternative job or to dedicate it to their other job.

On the other hand, it will also have a string of disadvantages. Chief of that is reduction of salary that will absolutely pinned down one’s finances. Second, it will create a financial stress especially those work solely for one job as they will having hard time to pay up their mortgages, credit card bills and to name a few. Moreover, productivity specifically in the manufacturing companies will be affected as they will reduce production that will surely hit hard their financial books. Some of the companies will be paying up more for the extra hour rendered compared to the traditional working hours. These translate to rising production cost and jacking up of their prices which will threaten their market share. The end result will be another horrendous crisis in the making.

To wrap it up, it clearly shows that the proposed measure will have predominant disadvantages both to the workers and businesses. It will just add insult to an injury. It would be better if the usual working hour will be retain and find another remedy to the problem. Instead of abating, it looks like its heading to escalate.

Freaking Traffic

Traffic is a perennial problem among growing cities. When an economy advances, people resort to buying more cars which clogged up roads and streets especially if there is inadequate infrastructure. There are a lot of measures proposed in order to abate the problem. One such controversial measure is by reducing the need for people to travel from home to their work, school and even malls. This is one measure I highly disagree with.

Indeed, limiting or restricting the travel of people reduces congestion of roads and also emissions generated by cars. It can also ease the delivery of goods and services thus increasing efficiency. In addition, it translates to a lot of saving for the government since there will be a decrease cost of road maintenance.

However, the above mentioned benefits outweigh the negative effects both to the people and the city. First, the people has the right to travel anytime they wanted and can freely use the roads and highways as it is built using taxpayer's money. Second, it will discourage tourists to visit the city as well as the investors to invest because of the restriction thereby hurting the city's coffer. Third, there will be reduced economic activity notwithstanding its effect to businesses who rely mostly to cars or vehicles such as gasoline stations, automotive shops, car wash, and to name a few.

Moreover, one such controversial measure is a sign of desperation and it will have a tremendous effect to the social and economic life of the people. The need to restrict or limit is totally against the democratic principle. Instead of protecting, upholding and ensuring the rights of its citizen its the government quelling it. There are a lot better alternatives like building more network of roads and highways or investing in an efficient and environmentally-friendly form of transportation. The government should be more cautious and implement measures that can be a win-win situation.

YOUTH:driven to power

Youth of Today: powerful and influential

The world is comprised with a vibrant and technology- driven young populace. Today’s youth is completely opposite of yesterday. The young people of today are abuzz with modernity that enables them to be more empowered and influential.

The fast-paced life driven by modern technology affect greatly to the young. They are more innovative, creative and have a strong will to succeed. Fifty years ago, young people are considered naïve, fragile and a mere subordinate of their old peers. However, it is not the case of today. Majority of young people are as strong-willed and passionate and it is becoming evident as the years go by. To cite an example, the creators of Google and Yahoo are both young and now occupying the highest echelons of the information technology business. They represent a new dimension of young people.

Due to the rising power and influence of young people it affects tremendously to the relationship with their old counterparts. The latter are still confined to their traditional means while the former are becoming more assertive and innovative thus sometimes creating a gap, professionally or personally. In addition, young people sometimes are impulsive and overwhelm with their wealth or knowledge that they tend to be disrespectful and unselfish.

Indeed, there is a great difference of today’s youth compared fifty years or a century ago. The emerging power and influence of young people resulted from their sheer innovation and passion. Although, being young and powerful doesn’t mean you can have the best of both worlds. We still need the guidance and experience of the old.