Digital Commons Network^™

Bureaucratic Overreach And The Role Of The Courts In Protecting Representative Democracy, Katie Cassady

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

Although only four departments at the United States’ founding, the American bureaucracy has expanded to address nearly every issue of public life. While these agencies are ostensibly under congressional oversight through monetary allowance and the supervision of the President as part of the executive branch, they consistently usurp their discretionary authority and bypass the Founders’ design of legislative power vested solely in a bicameral legislature.

The Supreme Court holds an indispensable role in mitigating the overreach of bureaucratic agencies. However, despite their obligation to protect the rights of the American people, the courts’ inability to hold bureaucrats accountable has diluted …

Pioneering The Field Of Deaf Women’S Studies, Genie Gertz, Arlene B. Kelly, Vicki Hurwitz

Society for American Sign Language Journal

This article is written by three Deaf women-scholars who pioneered Deaf Women’s Studies (DWS) about thirty plus years ago: the discipline arose from the need to explore the Deaf female experience (Kelly, 2016). Then, the 1990’s was when the DWS coursework was first developed and offered in American academia. To gain a greater understanding for DWS, the article begins by reviewing the emergence of both Black Studies and Women’s Studies as academic fields and how these were the impetus for DWS. A discussion about the Deaf women’s experiences during different periods of American history is given in detail. A brief …

Experiences With A Museum Exhibition On Deaf Women: Success And Room For Improvements, Meredith Peruzzi

Society for American Sign Language Journal

The creation of a permanent museum at Gallaudet University in 2007 constitutes a historic milestone in the Deaf community, showcasing Deaf people by understanding and embracing their diversity and differences. As with the larger society, the Deaf community has its share of people of color and those with additional disabilities. This article will show there are lessons to be learned on realizing and achieving a more inclusive exhibit. Subject to discussion is the exhibition on Deaf women that was found both impactful and challenging at the same time. It was in 2015 that an exhibition entitled Deaf HERstory was first …

Sticking Up For Sign Language: Historical Deaf Women In Action, Kathy Jankowski

Society for American Sign Language Journal

The attention to deaf women during an important part of United States history when oralism dominated the education of deaf children is sparse. This motivated the research undertaken for this paper questioning what role deaf women played and the strategies they adopted to promote deaf children’s sign language rights. A review of historical documents indicates that there are a number of deaf women who fought along with the rest of the deaf community against the oral only movement in the instruction of deaf children during the late nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century. A number of recurring …

Divergence Or Destiny?: Comparing The Modern Conception Of Positive Rights To The Founders’ Conception Of Individual Rights, Jason M. Chahyadi

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

This paper compares the American Founders’ theory of individual highlights and the current American fascination with enshrining positive rights into law. I begin my examination by analyzing the inspirations for both the Founding Theory of Rights and the Modern Theory of Rights, specifically the political theory of Locke and the Founders, the English tradition that the Founders embraced, and the structural details of the Constitution. After examining the roots of both theories of rights, I look at whether the two camps of thought can co-exist or are in conflict with each other. I conclude that while there may be a …

Limitation For Liberty, Riley Banker

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

This paper examines how the foundational principals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are under attack in our nation today and demonstrates why protecting them through Federalism is so important.

The Polarization Of Political Parties And The American Republic, Patricia Cazeau

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

In the modern age of the 24-hour news cycle and social media, misinformation is rampant, and tensions are high. With a constant barrage of information coming from either direction, political opinions grow in number, and often in opposition to one another. This widens the fissure between the two major political parties in America, the conservative Republican, and liberal Democratic parties. Based on a study of 11 countries, including the United States, political polarization threatens democracies by creating political “tribes” that subscribe to groupthink, a harmful ideology that uplifts one school of thought while condemning others. In addition to having violent …

A Religious Society Promotes A Flourishing Nation, Logan Marcotte

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

Religion has its roots deep in every sector of society. Throughout history, governments have been established through religious societies and found their legitimacy based upon the principles found in those religions. Religious doctrine helps to shape government statutes, guide individuals in their journey of morality, and provide cultural cornerstones. Christianity has proven to endure time and testing while positively impacting culture. Without religion, a nation will crumble. This essay examines the correlation between thriving societies and religious freedom, and how a religious society leads to a prosperous nation.

Trade, Globalism, And The American System, Johnny B. Davis

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

No abstract provided.

The Influences Of Montesquieu On American Ideals, Analeise E. Wasenius

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

The ideologies of French philosopher, Charles de Secondat Baron de Montesquieu, played a prominent role in the founding of the American governmental system in the realm of Separation of Powers. Within his work, Spirit of Laws, he emphasizes the need for a government to separate executive, legislative, and judicial powers by the means of checks and balances. The Federalists support and uphold the idea of a “balanced democracy” within Federalist No. 47. In opposition, the Anti-Federalists describe in Anti-Federalist No. 46-47 their concerns regarding the responsibilities ensured by the separation of powers; they believe that the legislative branch should assume …

Swot Analysis - An In-Depth Look At The United Kingdom, Deborah Erioluwa Adeniji

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

No abstract provided.

Christian Influence On Roman Natural Law In The Corpus Juris Civilis, Bryce Tenberg

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

Few civilizations have influenced the contemporary world more than the Romans, and the same can be said regarding the field of law. Today, legal foundations throughout the West are built upon the Roman legal system, with the Code of Justinian—also known as the Corpus Juris Civilis—being arguably the most influential. This work compiled and simplified centuries of Roman law to ensure a more efficient jurisprudence, and due to its survival, it would form the foundation of the modern jurisprudence. However, at the same time this work was written, the empire had changed significantly with the adoption of Christianity. This …

Drug Ideologies Of The United States, Macy Montgomery

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

The United States has been increasingly creating lenient drug policies. Seventeen states and Washington, the District of Columbia, legalized marijuana, and Oregon decriminalized certain drugs, including methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine. The medical community has proven that drugs, including marijuana, have myriad adverse health side effects. This leads to two questions: Why does the United States government continue to create lenient drug policies, and what reasons do citizens give for legalizing drugs when the medical community has proven them harmful? The paper hypothesizes that the disadvantages of drug legalization outweigh its benefits because of the numerous harms it causes, such as …

A Path To Achieve European Energy Security, Nicholas Wolf

Student Theses 2015-Present

The apparatus of Europe’s energy security has collapsed. The Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine, hydrocarbon market turmoil, and the ever-growing threat of climate change has thrust the continent into crisis. As the risks of severe recession, acute energy shortages, and climatic disasters have begun to materialize, the member states of the European Union (EU) have been left scrambling to secure novel energy supplies. In the short-term, these developments pose severe risks to the EU and its member states. Yet, opportunity often presents itself in the midst of hardship, and the European Energy Crisis of 2022 is no different. This essay …

The Taxation Of Interest Swaps And The Financial Service Charge: Toward A Consistent Approach, Yishai Beer

Florida Tax Review

This article deals with the inconsistent approach adopted by the U.S. tax system with regard to the administrative cost component of interest and its typical substitute "service charge." The combined effect of the general policy of nonbifurcation of the interest components with the formal requirements by which "interest" is recognized has distorted the tax system.

The following discussion deals with three applications of the suggested approach: reimbursement of a lender's expenses (Part II); commitment fees (Part III); and interest swaps (Part IV). Part IV does not deal with other interest notional contracts aimed at either reducing the borrowing cost of …

Reassessing Sales And Liquidations Of Partnership Interests After The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act Of 1993, James E. Tierney

Florida Tax Review

Subchapter K of the Internal Revenue Code has historically afforded considerable flexibility in determining the federal income tax consequences of the retirement or withdrawal of a partner from a partnership. In general, the departure of a partner can be structured either as a purchase of the retiring partner’s interest by the remaining partners or as a liquidation of the partner’s interest by the partnership. Although these two transactions are essentially similar in economic consequences, they have been governed by two separate sets of provisions in Subchapter K, often resulting in significantly different tax consequences. The sale of a partner's interest …

Schneer V. Commissioner: Continuing Confusion Over The Assignment Of Income Doctrine And Personal Service Income, Ronald H. Jensen

Florida Tax Review

This article will analyze the proper application of the assignment of income doctrine to personal service income. Part II will trace the historical development of the assignment of income doctrine and will analyze the doctrine's underlying rationale. The importance of distinguishing between gratuitous and nongratuitous assignments of income will be developed in this Part. Part III will present a number of hypothetical situations drawn from actual cases and rulings that involve the application of the doctrine to personal service income. This will both show the pervasiveness of the doctrine and lay the basis for further analysis. Part IV will demonstrate …

Horizontal And Vertical Equity: The Musgrave/Kaplow Exchange, Paul R. Mcdaniel, James R. Repetti

Florida Tax Review

Over the past several years, Professors Richard Musgrave and Louis Kaplow have engaged in an exchange over the question whether the concept of horizontal equity has any independent significance apart from vertical equity. Kaplow answers that question in the negative, Musgrave in the affirmative. The purposes of this comment are (1) to sort out the issues raised in the Musgrave-Kaplow exchange, and (2) to set forth a somewhat different perspective from which to view those issues.

Irc §§ 7431 And 7433: Civil Remedies For Abusive Practices By The Irs, R. Tracy Sprouls

Florida Tax Review

A government must have revenue to exist, and a government the size of the present-day United States government requires a staggering amount of revenue. As the revenue assessing and collecting branch of the government, the Internal Revenue Service performs the crucial function of ensuring the steady and continuous flow of revenue. To enable it to perform this function, Congress and the courts have granted the Service broad powers of investigation and seizure that are denied most other law enforcement agencies by statutory and constitutional safeguards, and have generally shielded the Service from accountability to the taxpayers involved or to any …

Should We Give Away The Annual Exclusion?, Robert B. Smith

Florida Tax Review

This article identifies problems with the annual exclusion and suggests modifications that, if enacted, would both eliminate abusive uses of the exclusion and expand sound policy based uses of other exclusions. Part II of the article briefly sets forth the basic structure of each branch of the federal transfer tax system—the estate tax, the gift tax and the generation-skipping transfer tax. It then examines the historical relationship between the gift tax and the other federal transfer taxes and demonstrates that the annual exclusion from gift tax is actually an exception to each branch of the federal transfer tax system. Part …

Harper And Its Aftermath, Eric Rakowski

Florida Tax Review

This Article describes and assesses the Court's reasoning in Harper and examines the decision's likely ramifications. Although the Court's holding might well be correct, its explanation of that result is unconvincing. Justice Thomas's majority opinion is also disappointing, because it leaves for another day—at what will predictably be a significant cost for states and private litigants—the looming question of what principles should steer courts in determining whether unexpected civil decisions applying federal law have retroactive effect.

Neutral International Tax Rules Allocating Costs: Successful Formula For U.S. Research And Development, Karen B. Brown

Florida Tax Review

The decline of U.S. research and development efforts in recent years dominates political, scientific and academic discourse. It is attributed, in part, to military research cutbacks after the end of the cold war and, in part, to the U.S. economic recession. Many fear that the research and development slowdown portends the demise of the United States as a significant factor in the global market for goods and services. Others believe the decline is only one of many indicators of the diminished competitive position of the United States in the global economy. In a pre-election proposal to stimulate technological growth and …

Tax Amnesty: An Old Debate As Viewed From Current Public Choices, Gerald P. Moran

Florida Tax Review

It is the purpose of this article to suggest that there be incorporated in the tax package a comprehensive federal tax amnesty program to secure additional tax revenues which will not otherwise be recovered by the government. Although a federal tax amnesty program has often been discussed, the Internal Revenue Service has consistently opposed the adoption of such a program. In light of the pressing need for more revenue and anticipated significant increases in federal expenditures to fund a comprehensive health program, the matter of a tax amnesty program deserves a full review. If we are to reinvent the …

Lingering Partnership Classification Issues (Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Go Back Into The Water), William B. Brannan

Florida Tax Review

This article discusses the federal income tax law relating to the classification of entities as partnerships for federal income tax purposes, with a focus on the practical problems that lawyers often encounter in distinguishing partnerships from associations under the four factor test set forth in Regulations section 301.7701-2. Partnership classification issues arise with respect to both general and limited partnerships formed under state partnership statutes and certain partnership-like foreign entities. Moreover, the recent proliferation of other types of entities seeking partnership classification, such as "master limited partnerships," limited liability companies, business trusts, common law trusts and grantor trusts with partnership …

Selected Issues In The Taxation Of Swaps, Structured Finance, And Other Financial Products, Lewis R. Steinberg

Florida Tax Review

In one sense, this article does not have a single unifying theme. Rather, it represents an outgrowth of my professional practice advising investment banking and other clients about derivative products and asset securitization, and is intended to introduce generalist tax practitioners to some of the new financial products that have been developed in the swaps and structured finance areas over the last few years, and to some of the tax issues that have arisen with respect to those new products. In another sense, however, the theme linking many of the topics discussed in this article is that of "tax arbitrage." …

A Note On Horizontal Equity, Louis Kaplow

Florida Tax Review

Richard Musgrave has recently offered a new defense of the concept of horizontal equity (HE)—the requirement of equal treatment of equals—as an independent norm in assessing tax policy. This defense is significantly more elaborate than the brief sketch he offered in his pioneering treatise or in his subsequent work on the subject. Musgrave's latest contribution is important because prior literature developing and applying HE measures gives little justification for this norm. The gap in the literature remains, however, because Musgrave assumes what must be demonstrated and suggests an index of HE that is implausible.

Tufts And The Evolution Of Debt-Discharge Theory, Deborah A. Geier

Florida Tax Review

Does the dichotomy in treatment of recourse and nonrecourse debt make conceptual sense? If not, how did it come about and why does it remain? What are the practical consequences of the dichotomy? These are the questions with which this article deals. And while the questions seem to be fairly narrow in scope, their resolutions require a broad consideration of fundamental principles of income taxation, including the treatment of gains and losses attributable to personal-use property.

The article ultimately suggests the adoption of the bifurcated approach for both nonrecourse and recourse debt when debt is discharged upon the transfer of …

Treaty-Based Nondiscrimination: Now You See It Now You Don't, Sanford H. Goldberg, Peter A. Glicklich

Florida Tax Review

A broad nondiscrimination provision appears in every income tax treaty that the United States has entered into in the last quarter century. The nondiscrimination article of these treaties purports to prohibit discriminatory taxes levied against foreign nationals or their businesses. However, some distinctions have always been permitted, based on the fact that domestic and foreign taxpayers are not similarly situated because different taxing jurisdictions are concerned. The problem is that it is difficult to articulate a consistent and rational standard to apply to determine when proscribed discrimination is present.

This article analyzes the nondiscrimination concept, evaluates its general acceptance worldwide, …

Friedrich Warnecke: Toward A New Edition Of Ad Infinitum, Elton Machado

Dissertations

The dissertation collects and organizes information on German double bassist, pedagogue, and author Friedrich Warnecke and investigates the significance of his life and work to the double bass history. The ever-changing European musical environment throughout Warnecke’s life, the challenges double bassists faced during that time, and the rapid developments of the double bass at the turn of the twentieth century provide a rich historical background. The study addresses Warnecke’s life, pioneering writings on the history of double bass, pedagogical contribution and influence as a teacher and author, and work as a performing double bassist. Finally, it discusses Warnecke’s substantial pedagogical-technical …

Empowerment Agents: How Student Affairs Professionals Facilitate The Persistence Of Undocumented Students, Tiffany Paige

Dissertations

This qualitative study investigated how student affairs professionals (SAPs) assist undocumented students in their designated institutional roles, and how their support empowers undocumented students to persist. This research sought to document and assess how student affairs professionals—who interact with undocumented students— identify and respond to the issues they face in their work. Built on the theoretical frame of social capital, and using a thematic analysis design set forth by Braun and Clarke (2012), the researcher interviewed seven SAPs and used a phenomenological approach to design the study and to collect and analyze the data.

Two findings and five corresponding themes …