Text c: taxes are good
Before reading
Can you anticipate what arguments the author will use in favour of paying taxes?
Reading
Read an extract from governmentisgood.com – a web project of Douglas J. Amy, Professor of Politics at Mount Holyoke College, and do the tasks following the text.
(1) Oliver Wendell Holmes, an American physician, poet, professor, lecturer, and author (1809 – 1894), once said: 'I like to pay taxes. With them I buy civilization.'
(2) Most conservative criticisms about the ill-effects of taxes are exaggerated or untrue. Taxes are in fact good – they are dues we pay to enjoy the numerous vital benefits that government provides for our society.
(3) One of the reasons that some Americans do not have this more positive view of taxes is that they seem to ignore the basic connection between taxes and the beneficial programs they fund. What else could explain the fact that polls repeatedly reveal that many people support tax cuts while at the same time they support increasing government spending in many areas? Naturally, anti-government and anti-tax advocates like to encourage this sense of disconnection between taxes and programs. That is why, for example, when conservatives talk about tax cuts, they rarely talk about the programs cuts that must necessarily follow. They focus on how money will be returned to tax payers, not how money will be taken away from needed government programs. To listen to them, tax cuts are all gains and no pain.
(4) This sense of disconnection is also helped along greatly by the political illusion that the benefits of many government programs are elusive and are often easy to ignore or take for granted. Unlike marketplace transactions, where what we get for our money is immediate and tangible – what we get for our taxes is often delayed and less tangible. When we draw clean water from our taps, we rarely stop to make the connection between this and the taxes we pay to ensure the purity of this vital resource. Also, many of the benefits that come to us from our taxes take the form of things that do not happen to us – like not getting mugged or not breathing dirty air – and these we hardly notice at all.
(5) Anti-government conservatives and libertarians are very good at taking advantage of the fact that while what government does for us often seems elusive, the taxes we pay to government are all too real to most people. Consider, for example, the strategy employed by Arnold Schwarzenegger when he was running for governor of California. In his campaign, he complained loudly about how overtaxed Californians were: “From the time they get up in the morning and flush the toilet, they are taxed. When they go get a coffee, they are taxed. When they get in their car, they are taxed. When they go to the gas station, they are taxed. When they go to lunch, they are taxed. This goes on all day long. Tax. Tax. Tax. Tax. Tax.” This is true – and it helped Schwarzenegger get elected – but it is a misleading half-truth. He leaves out the rest of the story: that we are also constantly benefiting from government programs throughout our day. He deliberately ignores the connection between taxes and the programs they fund. We may be taxed when we flush the toilet, but what we get is the efficient and easy way to dispose of our waste in a manner that does not poison our water or spread disease. We may be taxed when we buy a cup of coffee, but our taxes help pay for inspections of coffee houses and restaurants that ensure that their food and drinks are fit for human consumption. We may be taxed when we pay for gas, but what we get is the interstate highway system that many of us so frequently use. So the reality is really this: Tax. Benefit. Tax. Benefit. Tax. Benefit. Tax. Benefit. While government may be constantly taking from us in the form of taxes, it is also constantly giving back to us in the form of the various programs that improve our daily lives.
(6) Government bashers like Schwarzenegger can only succeed in making taxes seem onerous and unfair by completely ignoring what we get in return. This tactic may be bogus, but it has been a raging success. Conservatives have been winning this ideological fight in the United States in part because they have convinced most Americans to see themselves primarily as “taxpayers” not “beneficiaries.” In their rhetoric, they make sure to constantly refer to people as “taxpayers.” This is another attempt to frame the issue in a way that encourages us to think of government as bad – as a burden on us. “Taxpayers” is not a neutral term at all, but one loaded with powerful political meaning. It unconsciously reinforces a view of citizen/government relations being one-way – from our wallets to its coffers. A recent poll revealed that 28% of Americans agreed with the statement: “I don’t like paying taxes because the government doesn’t do anything for people like me.” And as long as people continue to see themselves only as taxpayers and not beneficiaries, as long as they ignore the connection between our taxes and what they get back from government, they will be ripe for the picking by those who want to weaken government.
Task 1. Discuss what Oliver Wendell Holmes could mean when he said that with taxes he bought civilization. (para.1)
Task 2. Explain whether “anti-government and anti-tax advocates” (para.3) speak in favour of taxes or against taxes.
Task 3. If something is elusive (para.4), is it
a) very complicated and detailed;
b) difficult or impossible to achieve;
c) well-done and of high quality?
Task 4. How does the author argue with politicians who use anti-tax slogans in their election campaigns? (para.5)
Task 5. What does the author mean by “citizen/government relations being one-way”? (para.6) What disconnection does he focus on in the above text?
Business communication
In company
A Describing companies
Ex.1. Fill in the tables below with the different word forms.
Verb (describing an activity)
Noun (for the company that is involved in this activity)
Noun (for the activity or sector that a company is involved in)
to manufacture
Manufacturer
manufacture/manufacturing
producer
to export
export
designer
to distribute
supply
to provide
provision
trader
publication/publishing
importer
to retail
retail/retailing
to manage
insurer
insurance
to market
marketing company, marketer (less frequent)
to sell by wholesale/by the gross/in bulk
wholesale/wholesaling
Ex.2. Fill in the blanks with the correct noun or verb from the above table.
(manufacture) The company is a car ____________ in the USA.
(retail) Chopard is in the jewellery ____________ business.
(import) Europacific Ltd ____________ European shoes into Asian countries.
(export) This company is an ____________ of men’s sportswear.
(design) Our company is a leading website ____________ .
(publish) He works for the company that ____________ reference books.
(distribute) European __________ is handled from our centre in the Netherlands.
(manage) ____________ consulting is aimed at helping organizations improve their performance.
(market) She works in sales and ____________ .
( insure) Allianz is the world’s number two ____________ .
Ex.3. Match these well-known company names with their activities. Use these words in sentences to describe what different companies do.
design of computer software
publishing
manufacture of consumer electronics
motor car manufacture
computer hardware manufacture
retailing of foods and consumer products
advertising
oil production
broadcasting and Internet
IBM
Microsoft
Sony
Toyota
The Economist Group
Walmart
Aegis Group
BP Corporation
Ukrtelecom
Ex.4. Read descriptions of different companies. Choose one of the nouns below to describe each company.
Law firm, retailer, wholesaler, importer, finance company, website designer, manufacturer, travel company, bank, exporter, transport company
Multimedia Solutions Incorporated has been designing and managing state-of-the-art commercial websites since 1993. The company provides e-commerce solutions for large and small companies in a number of sectors. At present, the company employs 200 full-time Internet consultants and web designers on their permanent staff. They provide consultancy and other services in the following sectors: financial services, insurance brokering and underwriting, travel services, computer retailing, vehicle leasing. The company’s head office is in Guilford, near London. They also have offices in Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh, as well as agencies in Dublin, Paris, Rome and Madrid.
Established in 1967, Airbus is a leading aircraft manufacturer with the most modern and comprehensive family of airliners on the market, ranging in capacity from 100 to more than 500 seats. Airbus has delivered over 5,000 aircraft to 180 customers world-wide. Airbus is a global company with its central office in Toulouse and design and manufacturing facilities in France, Germany, the UK , and Spain as well as subsidiaries in the US, China and Japan.
Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) regards both Austria, where it is a leading corporate and investment bank, and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) as its home market. In CEE, RBI operates an extensive network of subsidiary banks, leasing companies and a range of other specialised financial service providers in 17 markets. As of end-2010, around 55,000 employees served more than 14 million customers via roughly 3,000 branch offices, the great majority of which are located in CEE. The headquarters of the central institution of the Raiffeisen Banking Group, established in 1927, is in Vienna, Austria.
Allen & Overy is a global law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom.
A member of the UK's Magic Circle of leading law firms, Allen & Overy is widely considered to be one of the world's elite law firms, advising national and multinational corporations, financial institutions, and governments. Since its founding in 1930, Allen & Overy has grown to become one of the largest law firms in the world, both by number of lawyers and revenue. With approximately 5,000 staff and 38 offices worldwide, the firm provides legal advice in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East.
Marks and Spencer plc (also known as M&S or Your M&S; colloquially known as Marks and Sparks) is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London. It has over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries with 76,250 employees. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products. M&S was founded in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer in Leeds. In 1998, it became the first British retailer to make a pre-tax profit of over £1 billion.
Ex.5. Read the above information about the companies again and make up a company profile chart as shown below.
Company name
Multimedia Solutions Inc
Main area of business
Products/services
Customers
Location:
Head office
Subsidiaries
Head office in Guilford, near London;
offices in Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh, as well as agencies in Dublin, Paris, Rome and Madrid
When did it start up?
Number of employees
200 full-time Internet consultants and web designers
Other information
Ex.6. Ask and answer questions about the following companies.
IBM Corporation – Computer hardware, software, IT services and consulting. Founded in June 1911. Headquartes – Armonk, New York, U.S. Area served – worldwide. Employees – 426,751 (2010).
SONY Corporation – Founded 7 May 1946. Headquarters – Minato, Tokyo. Area served – worldwide. Products – consumer electronics, telecommunications, communication & information equipment, films, television, music. Services – financial services, insurance, banking, credit finance and advertising agency. Employees – 168,200 (2011).
Nestlé – Food processing. Founded in 1866. Headquarters – Vevey, Switzerland. Operation – 86 countries around the world. Products – Baby food, coffee, dairy products, breakfast cereals, confectionery, bottled water, ice cream, pet foods. Employees – 281,000 (2010).
Draftfcb – Advertising agency. Founded in 1873 (as Lord & Thomas). Headquarters – New York, Chicago. Number of locations – 96 countries. Services – Marketing communications. Employees – 9,200.
Ex.7. The following nouns are useful to describe large companies and their parts.
Agency, parent company, enterprise, headquarters, plant, subsidiary, group of companies, branch, department, factory, main office, production facility, warehouse, chain, business, distribution centre, firm, office, multinational, conglomerate, franchise, company, division, head office, sister company, section
Group together the words with similar meaning from the above list.
Model: a company - a business, a firm, an enterprise
a factory -
a warehouse -
a subsidiary -
the head office -
a department -
a multinational -
Ex.8. Complete the description of Nokia Corporation, with one word for each space.
founded partnership employees corporation services headquartered manufacturing facilities
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications (1) __________, which is (2) __________ in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki. Nokia is engaged in the (3) __________ of mobile devices and in converging Internet and communications industries. With over 123,000 __________ in 120 countries, sales in more than 150 countries and global annual revenue of over €42 billion as of 2010, it is the world's largest manufacturer of mobile phones. Nokia offers Internet (4) __________ such as applications, games, music, maps, media and messaging through its Ovi platform.
The Nokia Research Center, (5) __________ in 1986, is Nokia's industrial research unit consisting of about 500 researchers, engineers and scientists. It has sites in seven countries: Finland, China, India, Kenya, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Nokia operates a total of 15 (6) __________ located in Finland, Brazil, Romania, China, Hungary, India, Mexico and South Korea.
On 11 February 2011, Nokia announced a (7) __________ with Microsoft where all future Nokia smartphones will be powered by the Windows Phone (WP7) operating system.
Ex.9. Search for information about a few companies. Prepare to give a short presentation on any of them. The following phrases will help you to order the information.
Introducing yourself
Hello. My name is …, and I’d like to welcome you to my presentation. I’m going to tell you about…
Informing the audience about the structure of the presentation
My presentation consists of … parts.
I’ll begin with…
Then, I’ll tell you about …
I’ll also look at …
Finally, I’ll inform you of…
Moving from one point to another
To start with, I’d like to mention …
Now, I’ll move on to …
As I said before, …
In conclusion, I’d like to say …
Concluding
Thank you for your attention. If you have any questions, I’ll be glad to answer them.
B Describing jobs
Remember:
people work for or at a company
they work in an industry, department or team
they are responsible for other staff and for (doing) their work
they are in charge of (managing) other staff
they are responsible to or accountable to their boss/manager
Ex. 10. Read and memorise the following sentences.
I’m a sales manager.
(I’m the Chief Executive Officer)
I work for ATT.
I’m in marketing/banking/insurance.
I’m responsible for handling all projects.
I’m in public relations. I’m in charge of handling the external face of our company to the media and community.
I’m accountable to the General Manager.
Ex.11. Complete the following dialogues.
1) A So, who do you work _____?
B WordStar.
A They’re _____ computers, aren’t they?
B That’s right. I’m _____ product manager. What about you?
A I work _____ Bechtel.
B So you’re _____ the construction business?
A Yes, I’m _____ engineer.
2) А So, you're here on business?
В Yeah. I work _____ a consulting company, Santa Partners.
А And what do you do?
В I'm _____ leading consultant. I’m responsible _____ providing advice and training on the development, administration, and technical aspects.And what company do you work _____ ?
А Inex Chemicals. I'm _____ analyst. My job is to coordinate quality related data from production, service, or process improvement activities.
Ex.12. Read the text and complete the organizational chart of the company.
I think we have a fairly typical organization for a manufacturing firm. We're divided into Finance, Production, Marketing and Human Resources departments.
The Human Resources department is the simplest. It consists of two sections. One is responsible for recruitment and personnel matters, the other is in charge of training.
The Marketing department is made up of three sections: Sales, Sales Promotion, and Advertising, whose heads are all accountable to the marketing manager.
The Production department consists of five sections. The first of these is Production Control, which is in charge of both Scheduling and Materials Control. Then there's Purchasing, Manufacturing, Quality Control, and Engineering Support. Manufacturing contains three sections: Tooling, Assembly, and Fabrication.
Finance is composed of two sections: Financial Management, which is responsible for capital requirements, fund control, and credit, and Accounting.
Ex.13. Read the following job descriptions, then choose the best job title from the list matching each job description.
My job is to look after the employees of the company. I am responsible for recruitment and staff training, and also deal with problems related to pay, pensions, promotion, and so on.
I’m responsible for sales. I’m in charge of a number of salespeople. I also help to devise the company’s advertising policy, together with the marketing department.
I organize the managing director’s appointments, make the arrangements for his meetings and business trips, answer the telephone and greet his visitors. I do some typing – letters, reports, and things like that.
I’m on the front desk, greeting visitors, receiving deliveries, and also I answer the telephone.
I keep the company’s books. This means records of sales income, expenditure, taxes and so on. I’m also in charge of payroll.
I do PR for my company, which involves dealing with the press as well as members of the public. I prepare press releases about things that we are doing, new products, special deals and so on.
I take overall responsibility for the company’s accounts, and control money coming in and going out of the company.
I am in charge of buying the required items for my company. My aim is to get the best possible deal, so I constantly look for new suppliers and technologies.
I help to develop the IT skills of employees. My job is to teach basic PC skills and show people how to use different software packages.
I work with computers. I am responsible for installing and repairing hardware and maintaining databases for our company’s applications.