Category: Keoni’s Portfolio 2021-2022 HS

Keoni Buenavista
Date: 05/04/2022

Prompt: Should the federal minimum wage remain at its current state or should it increase?

Generally, the United States has shown to have a strong economy in comparison to other countries and this has allowed the country’s currency to remain quite strong. As years have gone by though, the U.S. has been subject to what other countries have faced within their economies which is inflation. As a major concept in economics, inflation is the general increase in the cost of services and goods within an economy. Essentially, this means that with inflation, things are much more difficult to buy with a limited amount of money. Those who rank in the low-income category or make the federal minimum wage tend to suffer during times of high inflation. Increasing the federal minimum wage could have several benefits such as allowing those in lower-income categories to have a better salary, but in my belief, I think that increasing the federal minimum wage could be harmful.

The first reason why I think that the increase in the U.S. federal minimum wage could be harmful to the country is that it will decrease employment. It does this by pushing a higher cost on employers who need to keep costs as low as possible in order to keep their businesses running. Having a higher minimum wage takes away from the money that employers have allocated for spending on the cost of having employees, meaning fewer employees.

Another reason for not having an increase in the minimum wage is that the prices of goods and services will be higher. In almost direct relation to my first reason, employers need to make money which allows them to invest in expanding their businesses and survive within their local economy. If the cost to have employees is higher, they need to compensate, and this tends to be in costs for the consumer of the goods and services that the business produces. This change is especially evident in certain cities in California like San Diego or Los Angeles which have had their minimum wage increases (locally) which has led to a higher cost for food, delivery services, and more on the consumer.

As an extension of both effects, I have described about how costs for businesses and unemployment will rise, and younger generations will have decreased opportunities in the workforce. Inexperienced workers in the future will have less value as employers want workers who will cost them less in terms of training and work efficiency. Young workers tend to have little to no experience in the field that they start working in and this is also a sign of inefficiency. Also as a result of the minimum wage increases, businesses may look towards better technology instead to replace workers in sectors of their business that they believe can be done more efficiently and cost-effective by machines and technology.

In Conclusion, while having an increased minimum wage may seem beneficial in the short term, over time there can be drastic effects that may change society forever. To combat the issue of buying goods and services, first businesses need to have lower costs which may be indirectly caused by local, state, and federal government(s).

Keoni Buenavista
Date: 05/03/2022

Prompt: Further funding should be put towards highway patrol and monitoring systems to ensure the safety of drivers. State and explain your opinion on this issue.

In the United States, and in other countries, highway patrol has the purpose of enforcing and overseeing if drivers comply with safety regulations on highways and roads. Within highway patrol or in other countries referred to as traffic police, it has 7 functions. These functions are Education, Commercial vehicle enforcement, Emergency response, Accident investigation, Law enforcement, Maintenance, and traffic enforcement. With a focus on the United States’ highway patrol, there are agencies in each state, (meaning a total of 50 highway patrol agencies) and they all have different duties that they perform with responsibility for each state. As a result of these responsibilities having to span over long distances, I believe that further funding should go to highway patrol and their monitoring systems as it will help to ensure driver safety.

One of the things that I believe will benefit Highway Patrol officers if they had further funding is having the greater ability to coordinate serious or complex cases. For example, there may be cases that relate to serious criminal activity, and more funding is needed to solve these cases. Some of the things that Highway Patrol officers may need in order to solve these cases are better investigative technology, more officers, better training, safety equipment, etc.

Another duty that HP officers can better fulfill is emergency and non-emergency response. With more funding, these agencies can take on more units and perhaps invest in better equipment to help deal with dangerous situations or accidents that happen on the highway. Regarding non-emergencies, agencies can have a much faster response time and have more tools to deal with these types of situations.

The last and most important duty of Highway patrol officers is the enforcement of commercial vehicles, law, and traffic. Officers on highways and near city roads enforce regulations and laws that are needed to improve road traffic safety, like speed limits. In rural areas, HP officers also help the police of a local area and keep watch for non-traffic violations. And on freeways and highways, they enforce the laws of the highway that are related to weight limits, commercial transport, and rules on hazardous materials.

In Conclusion, giving further funding to highway patrol agencies allows them to better fulfill their responsibilities and allows for better safety on roads, highways, and freeways. Additionally, these agencies with their patrol units have more functions than just patrolling roadways, as they actively are responsible for things like accident investigation, education in regard to public information to help ensure driver safety, and maintenance of public roads, highways, and freeways.

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