In David Cutler’s article “The economics of the Affordable Care Act, ” he discusses the outlooks that economists have on the new healthcare bill. At the beginning of the article, his stylistic tone is very calm and enlightening, by the middle of the article though I sensed a more aggressive approach to give his readers the data, facts and his opinions on how the economy will benefit. By Cutler’s prolific use of the word I, we know that the article is written in first person. Throughout the article Cutler cites many other economists and studies done that back up his argument. This is done by hyperlinking the works of others in his text. He chooses not to have and footnotes, or citations after the end of the article. A huge positive from my perspective of the article, is his use of numerical data as well as anecdotal data such as his reference to the Red Lobster details. These combined can definitely make an argument stronger and easier to add your own take on a situation. Lastly, Cutler’s structure is another thing to take note of. He starts the article with where the country is at now progress-wise, and then leads the reader to his two main points of how the economy can benefit from the ACA through his use of subtitles. This segregation of the argument makes his points a lot clearer and easier for a reader to understand.

I recently saw the film The Story of Luke, which tells the story of an autistic man, Luke, trying to be independent and fulfill the dreams he was told to have. All his life he was raised by his grandparents, and did what they said. Whether it was, taking his time in high school, learning how to cook, finding a girlfriend, or getting a job, Luke based his life’s goals on what other people dictated for him.  When his grandparents died, he struggled with how to proceed in life with no directions being given to him anymore, pleading with his grandpa (at the time in a coma) to wake up and tell him what to do. When Luke, finds a job, moves in with his Aunt and Uncle, and sets his sights on a girl, we see the true, kind, and smart nature of Luke and his desire to be successful. With the growing household tension among his Aunt, Uncle and cousins, Luke becomes the grounding unit and brings the family close again through his kind gestures and aspect on life that gives hope to those around him. This movie portrays someone with a disability as a functioning part of society that is equal to everyone else. Luke has the same desire as other people to better himself in anyway possible and in the end shows that you should never give up hope, and always strive to reach your dreams.

In the movie Rainman, Dustin Hoffman plays a mental hospital patient (Ray) with savant austism. In the beginning of the movie, his brother (Tom Cruise) meets him at the melsees him as someone who can’t function and can’t live on his own. During one of Cruise’s later visits, he sees his brothers mathematical savant abilities show when toothpicks fall on the floor and Ray knows the exact amount that fell by looking at it. Cruise later “kidnapps” his brother to exploit his abilities. At the beginning of the movie, disability is reflected as a complete handicap, with someone who can’t live on their own and care for themselves. By the end of the movie, we see how disability can connect people as it did these two brothers and we can understand how powerful, and not powerless a disability can make someone. This was a movie that created a stereotype about mathematical savants with autism and how they can “dominate the Las Vegas scene.” When people think of savants now, they usually think of mathematical savants, specifically Ray from this movie. It is famous for portraying a savant in a positive way, and highlighting ability not disability.

Cbpp.org / Policy Basics: Where Do Our Federal Tax Dollars Go? Rep. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 12 Apr. 2013. Web. 2 Nov. 2013.    


The report I annotated was from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which gathers data from the Office of Management and Budget about areas of government spending and releases it to the public. The most important parts of this article are the data on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and National Debt payments. These all give precise data on how much money was spent and what percentage of the budget it was spent on. A negative though is that it is last year’s data, since we haven’t finished 2013 yet. I plan to use this data in my research to show a correlation between money spent on these programs and how the U.S economy benefited or suffered from such spending.  

In my last post, I discussed how I want to go into finance after I graduate from college. In my research of how disability correlates with finance, I want to explore how the funds put into Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security programs affect the economy and if we are maximizing our potential as an economy and country. There are different disability regulations that must be met to receive benefits and if regulations were stricter, it’s likely that less people would receive benefits; therefore, leaving more money left to be spent by the government. With this extra money, we may be able to pay off our debt or fund other productive programs that can benefit a larger mass of people. I’m am interested in this because last year, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security accounted for nearly 43% of budgeted spending in the United States. This is an outrageous amount of money to be spent in such a specific area, and there may be more beneficial places for this money. Since Obama-care has recently passed and changes currently being made to the health care and benefit systems, it will be interesting to see how the budget changes, and program changes affect the economy in the future. With my research, I hope to find patterns and economists testimonials & models that prove a correlation between disability funding, and economic status. This is an important, and sensitive topic that can hopefully shed light on better ways to improve the economy and have great health care benefit programs.

After my collegiate years at Emory University, I aim to go into the finance world. I want to work with international markets and the trading that goes with it. In the summer of 2011, I interned at Raymond James & Associates in London, England. I learned the inner workings of the stocks, bonds, and currency along side traders, brokers, and analysts. I gained experience in stock researching, IPO's, brokering sales, and analysts presentations. My assignment was to write daily market comments before the opening and after the closing bells. These reports were sent to clients about the upcoming stock offerings and variables that affect stock performance. It was during my internship that I decided finance was where I wanted my future to be. I would be speaking with large banks, other firms, and publicly traded companies on a daily basis to predict market changes, and stay updated on important information. My job would require me to solve business related problems through analysis of the foreign exchange markets and financial and non-financial institutions. The community of my profession would be other financiers, clients around the world that give me business or information that can affect the entire market and everyone who has money tied up in it. One decision or idea can change the actions of other traders, analysts, brokers and bankers and can send the market skyrocketing or plummeting. Like the current recession, the decisions of the people in the market, changed the economy for the entire country.

In this profession there are a lot of jobs for people with disabilities, but just because one has a disability, doesn’t make he/she disabled. Those with autism or Asperger’s syndrome can make quick rational decisions and can see data differently than those without the disability, and possibly predict the market changes better. For those that are blind, most of the work in finance can be done over the phone or with voice features on the computers, but not being able to see graphs and charts may prove to be detrimental when making buy/sell decisions. The biggest handicap, lack of execution, can come to anyone though. Hesitation causes a lot of missed opportunities and lost money in the stock, bond and currency market, proving that handicaps are in everyone in the finance industry. Disabilities are seen in all professions, but finance is one where they are more accepted and turned into strengths. Everyone has his/her own challenges, but working hard to overcome them is a standard in international finance.

The sign I evaluated is the handicap sign indicating a ramp entering Cox Hall. This is a small blue square attached to the railings between the ramp and stairs. Though the sign indicates accessibility, it’s misleading. This was the only sign I saw that showed a ramp access, making it much more difficult for disabled students to find the ramp if they need to enter Cox Hall. It makes no sense to put the ramp sign pretty much on the ramp. It also is poor design to have a ramp only coming from the hospital side of the building. The sign is accessible to everyone, however it’s more accessible to people walking who are on the right side when facing Cox Hall. The sign is intended to be visible to show where the ramp is, however it is somewhat low to the ground and can be missed if you’re not looking for it. I don’t see how the sign can be misinterpreted, since it shows a picture of a person in wheelchair and an arrow pointing to the ramp. Emory administrators should have done a better job to accent the sign and make the ramp easier to get to.

I analyzed the second floor non-handicap men’s bathroom in Evans Hall. To start, the location is centralized from the male bedrooms, however, both the handicap and non-handicap bathroom are much closer to the stairs than the elevator. This becomes a problem for people that need to use the elevator. The dimensions of the door are very wide at 36 inches, which are four more than the standard. When inside the bathroom, some things become less accessible for chair users or little people. Two of the three stalls are ten inches less than the ADA standard of 32 inches for width of a stall. The middle stall used as a handicap stall, has all of the standards though. The height of the counter is 2 inches higher than the standard of 34 inches making this that much more difficult for someone who struggles with height due to a disability. The soap dispenser has similar height issues since it doesn’t meet the standard either. Alarms and light switches are very easy to find making it more accessible for someone visually or aurally impaired. Some other issues I find with the bathroom are a step when entering the shower, and tile floors with deep grooves. These are features that can discourage some people with disabilities from using the bathroom. The positives though outweigh the negatives, with a handle door opener, wide walls and showers, and automatic lights, and sinks. Overall, it is mostly universal, however some may choose to go two doors down and use the handicap accessible bathroom to be more comfortable.

It’s said that the fastest route between two points is a straight line, but the straight path between Evans Hall and White Hall is only accessible to non chair-users and people who can use stairs. There are two main routes between these buildings though. The route that is more accessible for chair users and the visually impaired is the longer route.  Someone that can take steps will probably take the route highlighted that goes near the Woodruff PE Center, because there are stairs that shorten the distance between the buildings. They also can walk down the steps and cut in between Few/Evans Halls. The less accessible route makes a chair user or a visually impaired person walk around Few Hall, then through Asbury Circle, past Anthropology building, and under the overpass to White Hall. This route is longer by approximately 375 steps according to Google Maps. The building entrances force those who can’t use the stairs to go in a separate entrance on the side of the building of White Hall. There is no ramp at the main door where students normally enter the building making it more difficult for people with certain disabilities. In inclement weather (shown in the videos) the shorter route is always the best route, making it that much harder for some students to get to class. Emory University could have made the paths around campus more universal, making it easier for students with disabilities.

I studied the entrances to Evans hall, which are similar to that of Few Hall. There are three ways to get into the building. The most common entrance is the one between the two buildings. A problem with this route though, is the steps that lead up to Evans, making this inaccessible to chair users and a more difficult path for those with visual impairment. Residents of Few Hall however have a side entrance door before reaching the stairs that lead up to the main entrance. The back door from Evans is a faster shortcut for those residents, but the stairs between the tennis courts and McDonough field, and the fact that this entrance is in the stairwell can present a problem. The last route that takes the longest to walk, so it is rarely taken, leads you around Few Hall to the main doors. There are no steps making it accessible to those unable to use the stairs on the other paths. The main doors entering the building are another concern. They have vertical handles that need to be grasped and pulled with effort to open.  These doors are also not handicap accessible in that they don’t open automatically. The doors however, are wide enough for people in wheelchairs to fit through, just hard to open when alone. These aren’t universally designed like other entrance doors and can cause some students issues when trying to enter or exit the building.