Respond to 4 classmates discussion post.

IDS 404

CIERA– If I Were A Boy – Beyonce Knowles

[Verse]
If I were a boy
Even just for a day
I’d roll outta bed in the morning
And throw on what I wanted and go
Drink beer with the guys
And chase after girls
I’d kick it with who I wanted
And I’d never get confronted for it.
‘Cause they’d stick up for me.

[Chorus]
If I were a boy
I think I could understand
How it feels to love a girl
I swear I’d be a better man.
I’d listen to her
‘Cause I know how it hurts
When you lose the one you wanted
‘Cause he’s taken you for granted
And everything you had got destroyed

The meaning I find the lyrics to suggest is how different a woman is when compared to a man in general, and in relationships. I think this song illustrates the double standards that are placed on women in comparison to men. In this song, Beyoncé really looks at how her boyfriend treats her, but portrays how it would look if a woman did the same as a man.

In society, men are seen as more superior than women, while women are seen as meek and wholesome creatures. Society makes it a common theme for men to be more aggressive than women, and seek the attention of women even when they are in a committed relationship. However, when women do the same things as men like cheat, it is extremely frowned upon and is not accept. Women are expected to be loyal and forgiving to their mates; while men would not think twice about leaving if the woman cheated.

I believe the historical context of relationships, good or bad, impacts the message and the delivery as billions of people are in relationships where they have worked through infidelities, broken up because of cheating, and/or knows someone who has been through what is being suggested in the song. In some social settings, especially like the one portrayed in this music video (police officer), men often cheat on their significant others; but women in relationships do not see this as an expectation at all. Society has a tendency to put more of an emphasis on marriage and infidelity, than on dating relationships and cheating.

I think this medium is an important element to society because Beyoncé is all for women empowerment, and continues to make music that speaks to that theme. Music has a tendency to speak to many different people, about many different themes. This particular song just flips the narrative because Beyoncé is walking in man’s shoes as he disregards his relationship for attention and indiscretions.

KEVIN– BORN IN THE USA

Born down in a dead man’s town
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
End up like a dog that’s been beat too much
Till you spend half your life just covering up

Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A.

Got in a little hometown jam
So they put a rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land
To go and kill the yellow man

Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A.

Come back home to the refinery
Hiring man said “son if it was up to me”
Went down to see my V.A. man
He said “son, don’t you understand”

This is just a portion of the lyrics. The meaning of this song to me is a sarcastic one, Bruce is saying Born in the USA like it is a good thing, he is shouting it and people shout it back in cheers, but when you listen to the lyrics before and after the chorus the things he says are not happy or cheerful at all. When you really listen the song tells you how he made a mistake in is hometown and the government gave him a rifle and sent him to a foreign land to kill the yellow man. Then when he returns home he gets a job at the refinery in town, sounds like he doesn’t have many options there and then he goes to the VA for help and doesn’t receive any. The lyrics reflect the social issue of fighting the Vietnam War and the issues veteran’s faced when returning home. From dealing with loss to dealing with injuries and un-diagnosed PTSD to finding work when they return home. Also, not getting the help they needed from the VA, which is still a common theme in today’s society.

The historical context of the song impacts the message by telling the audience that this is a sad song, originally. The more popular version is played more like a rock and roll song with large beats and upbeat sounding music making its sound like a happy song. I myself had never seen the lyrics until this assignment and after seeing them only now do I realize that this is a very sad song. The music makes it seem like it is a song that a proud American would love, shouting out the chorus, but when you listen to the words in-between the chorus it is sobering. I feel that context is an important of any song and this song in particular is an important part of society because it provides one view a group of people’s experiences after the Vietnam war.

FIN 250

Andrew

Defined Benefit Retirement plans are the way that they sound, defined. Under a defined benefit retirement plan you are able to guarantee an amount of money that you are going to get for your retirement that your employer sets in stone and gives to you according to different tiers based on how long you have been with a company.

A defined contribution retirement plan though is different in the way that both the employer and employee put contributions into the pool usually through means like a 401k plan.

Because of the employer being the sole person putting money into a retirement plan, the Defined Benefit plan is the more risky of the two. Amusingly enough this is also the lesser of the two plans for a person as a 401k and other benefits of the Defined Contribution are generally much more beneficial to and employee than the savings from a Defined Benefit plan. The only thing really backing the reason for getting a Defined Benefit plan is the fact that the employer is able to have tax benefits for it, but it generally isn’t something that equates to enough of a reason to go into a riskier type of retirement plan.

Dominique

Defined benefit retirement plan is a retirement fund strategy whereby the employer promises a particular payment of pension that was previously determined by a formula based on the history of the employee and his or her employment conditions and age. The primary objective of the defined benefit plan is to provide insurance against any loss of income in the event of death, disability or retirement. This implies that a defined-benefit requirement plan is an insurance program while a defined-contribution retirement is a plan aimed at accumulating savings through postponed earnings on savings and compensation.

In relation to defined-benefit, the employer promises to pay in the event of named eventualities such as death or disability and the amount of the benefit is based on the pay, terms of service and the age of the employee (Jackson, 2014). This is different in the case of defined contribution whereby the employer makes a promise to make periodic contributions to the account of each member and the amount varies depending on age, pay, service, and individual contributions. Also, the cost of defined benefit is on the employer while taking into account the returns on investment earned through actuarial experience. On the contrary, the employer has the responsibility of contributing the amount promised by individual members.

Jackson (2014) explains that defined-benefit plans are quite pricey than defined-contribution plans for companies while defined-benefit strategies are less risky than defined-contribution plans to employees. On the contrary, the defined-contribution strategies are riskier for employers. Defined contribution plan provides the individual employee with more resources because the contributions are limited to the owner of the business and the plan is funded by the employer. Also, the annual contributions by the employees are not necessary in regard to defined contribution plan.

Under defined contribution plans, the preferred tax has slowly increased in the last 25 years. The participation of full-time employees at middle level enterprises increased to 51% and in the defined contribution plan, the participation in the plan has increased thereby benefiting contributions from employers.

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