Illegal immigration is a huge problem in the United States. Coming from California, it is on the news everyday and it seems like nothing is being done. Granted there always is going to be a great influx of immigrants coming across the border illegally. However, we could consider making it easier for them to become citizens, which would allow us to tax them.
I would like to do a report on the decreasing number of companies offering health care to employees. The issue is that many companies do not wish to spend the increasing amount of money on proper health coverage. Without health insurance from there employers many people are forced to seek more expensive coverage else where or even not be covered at all. There should be some form of health care offered to those in need.
I wanted to do an idea about being Eco-Friendly for the white paper project. This project would help raise awareness about this topic and get Purdue to be more Eco-Friendly. Being Eco-Friendly is not just about recycling but going beyond that. I have already done some research about this in other classes and I have a lot of interest in it. We are already becoming more Eco-Friendly by having light bulbs that are more efficient and cleaners that are better for the environment.
With the rising cost of college tuition these days, we have to ask ourselves if the cost of college tuition is justifiable and fair. The inflation rate of tuition far exceeds the normal inflation rate for any other goods or services every year without explanation. Universities are not-for profit organizations yet they have budget surpluses of millions of dollars and continue to charge students more money. In addition, universities charge students twice the cost of tuition if they are from a different state even if they live only less than one hundred miles away from the university.
Teenage drinking is becoming increasingly prevalent in our society today. This habit is usually simply brushed off as youthful indiscretions however, it is leading to problems such as alcoholism and depression later in life. It is also causing higher teen pregnancy rates and therefore higher welfare rates as these teens enter the "real" world. I think this topic would be a great idea for the white paper project because obviously underage drinking is a big issue here on campus.
With the recent attempts at cracking down on the sharing of MP3's and Movies online, I would like to investigate the actual effect of file sharing on the sale of CD's, online MP3 downloads (Paid for), and Movies as well as the legality or illegality of sharing files and whether electronic data can be considered property. It seems that the recording industry has attempted to use legal force rather than to investigate the actual effect of file sharing on the industry and look for a long term, realistic solution to the problem.
I believe that the issue of the drinking age would be a good topic for the white paper project. I have always found it weird that at 18 you can be charged with murder, sent away to war, and be considered as an adult in almost every category except when it comes to alcohol. Canada has a drinking age of 19 and it is legal for a U.S. citizen at the age of 19 to go to Canada and drink. There are 3 potential fixes to this issue. One solution would be to set the drinking age equal to the legal adult age set at 18. Another would be to make the legal adult age set up to 21.
The topic I am choosing to do the white paper project on is the issue of same-sex marriage. This has become a very controversial topic within the past couple years as some states are allowing civil unions between same sex couples. I would target this paper to same-sex couples. This topic effects them most and they of course see it as a problem. Same-sex marriage is not yet socially acceptable everywhere and may never be. There are many conflicting beliefs with this issue.
I am really interested in a topic I have already read about that discovers another aspect of copyright last ws. I just want to take that idea one step further and discuss the idea of laws that deal with freedom of speech and the right to publish certain "types" of language in the United States and around the world. This topic is still open but maybe can just be collaborated with the other copyright group!
An issue that has been prevalent for many years is that regarding the presence of thimerosal in vaccines. Thimerosal is added to vaccines and other products because it is effective in killing bacteria and preventing bacterial contamination. When thimerosal is degraded, it produces ethyl mercury. Little is known about toxicity of ethyl mercury, but a closely related chemical, methyl mercury, can cause blindness, deafness, speech difficulties, retardation, and cerebral palsy.