Impact of Informality on Consumption

Impact of Informality on Consumption Abstract By using a simple model, it will be analyzed the impact that informality has in the amount of consumption of the workers during their life cycle. This paper deals with the interconnections of under-reported earnings, savings and old-age pension. The workers sampled for this analys have been divided into three groups: 1. Low income emloyees, 2. Higher income employees who declare all incomes, 3. Employees who under-report their incomes .In this paper the analysis is based on two pension models: the model that calculates pension in conformity with the incomes (proportional model) and the basic model, whose objective is poverty reduction for the â€Å"third age†. The major result is as follows: Given the fact that the basic pension system favors employees that under-report their incomes and the fact that the impact of informality is greater in the basic system than in the propotional pension system, the application of basic pension system in the Albanian might be problematic. KEY WORDS: informality, pensions, proportional model, basic model, Albania Introduction There are many examples around the world, how different countries have adapted their pension system in comformity with the important changes they are experiencing. However what works well in a country does not necessarly work well in an other country. Pension reforms should be in accordance with the economic, political and social characteristics of the country. The issue referring to the appropriate scheme to be implemented in Albania has been the concern of the governments. . In such circumstances, when the â€Å"Pay-As-You-Go† system is failing every day, the problem of a reform seems as urgent as it is necessary. Pension systems have been one of the serious issues, which all Albanian governments have been facing. They have been a constant source of criticism from international bodies and are one of the schemes that aggravate the state budget a lot, therefor impeding the development of the Albanian economy (Treichel, 2001) As a result of a misconception of this scheme since the beginning, the current system has generated high evasion and informality, distorting effects on the labor market and not providing a long term solution for the pensions. The main problem has to do with the amount of contributions and incentives to pay these contributions. Using a simple model, it will be given an idea about the impact that informality has in the amount of the workers consumption during their life cycle. For this reason two pension models have been analyzed: the model that calculates pension in conformity with the incomes and the basic model, whose objective is poverty reduction for the â€Å"third age†. Augusztinovics, (2005) concludes that increasingly social tensions can be reduced by e replacing the pension system related to incomes with a basic pension system. Given that this topic presents a great complexity and at the same time is so current and present in our daily lives, it would be interesting to treat it in order to provide an alternative for solving such a so sharp problem. 2Proportional pensions In recent years, the Hungarian Economists of the Academy of Sciences have conducted a series of empirical studies regarding pension systems, especially in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The assumptions used in their model, have a lot in common with the Albanian reality. According to (Simonovits, 2008), the assumptions of the model are: †¢ The population is taken unchanged †¢ The young population is active in the labor market †¢ Every elder person has retired Consequently, R is the number an employee working years and S, the years of an individuals’ retirement. Dependency rate, expressed as the ratio of pension years to those of work, is marked with ÃŽ ¼ = S / R. Although, the difference between the contribution rate of employers and employees is clear in the current pension system clear, in this analysis, this difference is not taken into account. The total salary, which represents the total cost of the work, is marked by w. Individual contribution, paid to the pension system, is calculated at the rate t, of the total reported salary. Health insurance contributions and income tax impacts have been left out of the model. To be closer to the Albanian reality, it is assumed that the rate of employed persons who declare their exact income, are not directly related to the pension system. The system is suposed in equilibrium; the revenues of the system are equal to its expenditures. The scale of the informal economy in Albania is one of the highest in the Central and Eastern Europe countries. The informal economy is assumed at 34 percent according to (Schneider, Buehn, Montenegro, 2010). For this reason, it is foreseen to classify the employees in three different groups: 1. Low income emloyees, who are marked with (U) It is presumed, that employees who do not fully declare their income are part of the second group. For this group, it is made the following subdivision: 2. Higher income employees who declare all incomes, who are marked with (P) 3. Higher income employees who under-report their incomes, who are marked with (N) The frequency of these employees is: Æ’U, Æ’P and Æ’N. These frequencies are positive numbers, the amount of which shall be equal to 1. Considering all the employment as a unit, the number of employees is marked by 1. In special cases it may occur that one of the frequencies is equal to 0, as it is the case of economies where informality is in very low levels near 0. In this model, it is assumed that pensioners receive their pensions, in proportion to the income declared, which are marked with *, (t*, is the rate of the contribution to the system). The current income of workers according to salary levels, are: wP = wN and wU. While the benefits from the system during the retirement period, are: bP* and bN* =bU*. Based on the above assumptions, the benefits are commensurate with the income declared; bP* = ÃŽ ²* wP and bN* = ÃŽ ²* wU, where ÃŽ ²* is the replacement rate of the pension system related to income (proportional). As it is observedou, wU represents the minimum wage and any potential changes will affect the overall level of formal employment. This problem will not be considered, because of the complexity that it presents. In the following equations are presented: total real income (WP) and the total income declared (WU). WP = (Æ’P + Æ’N)wP + Æ’UwU and WU = Æ’PwP + (Æ’N+ Æ’U)wU Since the system is in equilibrium, then, t * WU = ÃŽ ¼ÃŽ ² * WU. Consequently, subsequent connection between the contribution fee (t *) and the replacement ratio is: ÃŽ ²* : t* =  µÃŽ ²* It is assumed that those who declare all the incomes do not save for theretirement period, as they believe that the replacement ratio is sufficiently high. In contrast, people who do not report their total incomes, are supposed to save for the retirement, that hidden amounts. In some cases these rates may be even lower than the rate of social security system, which would make them save for their whole lifetime. So the saving rate is marked with ÏÆ', which is: 0 and the annual savings are: ÏÆ'(wP wU). It is assume that the hidden savings during the R years of work are used for consumption Ï (wP wU) during the S retirement years. For comparative reasons the level of consumption is analyzed during two stages of life (work and pension). This analysis will provide a more complete picture throughout the whole life cycle, of the consumption during the work period, which is labeled â€Å"youth consumption† and the consumption during retirement, which is labeled â€Å"elderly consumption†. Based on the above equations, â€Å"youth consumption† would be: cP* = (1 – t*)wP ; cN* = (1 – t*)wU + (1 – ÏÆ')(wP – wU) ; cU* = (1 – t*)wU While the â€Å"elderly consumption† would be dP* = bP* ; dN* = bU* + Ï (wP – wU) ; dU* = bU* Basic pension system Some researchers (Augusztinovics Kà ¶llÅ‘, 2008), (Kollo, 2008), (Kertesi G., Bonn 2003) consider the replacement of the proportional pension system with a basic pension system as a way to reduce the increasing social tensions. Since the goal of this system is the reduction of poverty during the â€Å"third age†, it is assumed that it is given a definit benefit b0 which is funded by a consumption tax rate à ®. Each individual pays his/her taxes proportionally after spending money for consumption and for mathematical simplicity it is assumed that the basic benefits are net. Pensions obtained from this system are: One of the innovations that this model offers is the assumption which does not take into account the possibility of consumption tax evasion, in contrast to the case of non-payment of pension contributions. The implementation of this model faces with some difficulties in our country, such as problems with the informal economy (tax evasion) and the indirectly calculation method of VAT. In the model analyzed there is no total savings and total consumption is equal to total income. Based on the equation that shows the dependency ratio, the tax equation is as follows: The decreasing contributions, tw finance only the reduced pensions of employees. , pra For comparative reasons, it is assumed that the total costs of pensions are invariable. This assumption is clearly expressed in the following equation: By substituting à ® from the previous equation to the new equation the following formula is obtained: Consequently, the reduced contributions will be as follows: In order for the contribution to be a positive rate, it should be assumed that: . So, The â€Å"youth consumption† is: ; ; While the â€Å"elderly consumption† is: ; ; As it can be noticed from the above equations, consumption and benefits of employees who declare all their incomes has decreased, while consumption and benefit of employees with low incomes and workers that under-report their incomes have increased in comparison with the proportional pension system. 4The Albanian Case For study reasons it is worth presenting a numerical simulation. In the above mentioned models are used features of Albanian pension system. Based on the Albanian legislation for social security, the working years that an employee must have to obtain a retirement pension, are 35. Consequently, R = 35 years. According to official data from the World Bank (2012), the average of life expectancy for the Albanian population is 77 years. By subtracting from this age the average age of the entry into the labor market, which is 22 years (qualified employees, as well as unqualified have been considered as), it is concluded that the average number of years spent in retirement for every Albanian, is S = 20 years. Dependency rate, which represents the ratio of average years spent in retirement, with the average years spent in work, is ÃŽ ¼ = S / R = 20/35 = 0.57. The calculation of incomes is attained based on the data on employment and average salary for each sector of the economy. It is assumed that: †¢ All employees of public and private sector and non-agricultural privat sector are classified as employees with high average incomes. †¢ For purposes of analysis, the informal economy is assumed at 34 percent according to (Schneider, Buehn, Montenegro, 2010). So, 34 percent of private sector employees do not declare their real incomes. †¢ Employees of the agricultural sector are assumed as employees with low income. Based on the above assumptions and on the (INSTAT, 2014) data the distribution of workers by sector is: Æ’U = 0.49 , Æ’P = 0.39 , Æ’N = 0.12 According to INSTAT data (2013), the average salary in the public sector is 52,150 ALL (Albanian lek), the average of high salary in the private sector is 97,000 ALL and in the agriculture sector it is assumed that the salary is equal to the minimum wage 22,000 ALL. Based on these data, the income distribution is: wP = 4.4 dhe wU = 1 While the average stated salary is: WU = 2.326 So, the average salary declared, based on the above analysis, is: 2.326 x 22’000 = 51’172 ALL. This indicator has a outcome close to the average salary of 52’150 ALL declared in Albania. It is assumed that the amount of benefit in the basic system is equal to half of the benefit of the pension system related directly to income. b0 = tWU/ 2 µ Also, it is assumed that the worker that does not declare his/her real income, saves half of the money, ÏÆ' = t/2, which, Social Security, would make the employee save from the income that are not declared. Table no 1: The Key Indicators Source: Author Calculations 4.1Basic Model The distribution as per basic assumption is: Æ’P = 0.39, Æ’N = 0.12, Æ’U = 0.49 In the table below have been presented the characteristics of both pension systems that are being analyzed Tabel no 2: Characteristics of pension systems Source: Author Calculations The above characteristics are calculated in the case of Albania, where the contribution rate paid to the social security, is 21.6 percent for the proportional pension system. As it can be observed from the above data, when moving from a proportional pension system to the basic pension system, the contribution rate paid to the pension system is halved. A consumption tax at the rate of 9.2 percent is added to the basic pension system in contrast to the proportional pension system. Refering to the calculations, there is a significant difference regarding the replacement ratio between the two pension systems. In the proportional pension system the value of this ratio is 38 percent, which is reduced to 18.9 percent in the basic pension system. We see the impact of two pension systems to the amount of consumption for the three groups taken into consideration. Table no 3. Consumption amount Source: Author Calculations By analyzing the above results, it can be observed that: †¢ The â€Å"youth consumption† is the highest in three groups on the basic pension system compared with the proportional pension system. †¢ As expected, the â€Å"elderly consumption† with low income at basic pension system is higher than the consumption of the other system. Characteristic of the basic pension system is the support for people with low incomes. †¢ The â€Å"elderly consumption† with high incomes at the proportional pension system compared with the consumption at the basic pension system is about 50 percent higher. †¢ A weakness in the basic pension system is that it favors the group of pensioners who under-report their incomes. 4.2Full reporting of incomes The analys of the â€Å"ideal case† where all employees report all their income, although it seems utopian, it is worthwhile analyzing. Division of employees according to the declaration is: Æ’P = 0.51; Æ’N = 0; Æ’U = 0.49 Table no 4. Characteristics of pension systems Source: Author Calculations The rate of contribution to the proportional pension system is 21.6 per cent, as it was in the case of the basic model. As observed from the above table, the characteristics of the basic pension system, has changed in the â€Å"ideal case† compared to the basic model. The rate of contribution in the â€Å"ideal case† decreased at 10.7 percent compared with 10.8 percent in the basic model. While the tax rate has increased to 11 percent from 9.2 percent in the basic model. Changes in the ratio of replacement are negligible. We see the impact that the two pension systems have to the consumption quantity of the three groups who have been analyzed. Table no 5. Consumption amount Source: Author Calculations By analyzing the results above, we can say that: †¢ The â€Å"youth consumption† and the â€Å"elderly consumption† have not changed for the proportional pension system for both cases. †¢ Into the basic pension system there is a reduction in the consumption quantity at the young age and a very small increase in the consumption during the â€Å"third age†. †¢ So, the basic pension system is more sensitive toward informal economy than the other pension system that is taken into consideration. 5Conlusions The elementary model.has already been analized. Finally, by analyzing the cases discussed above, it can be concluded that: The consumption and benefits of employees who report all their incomes has decreased in the basic pension system compared to the proportional pensions system. The consumption and benefits of employees with low incomes and those of the employees who under-report their incomes increased in the basic pension system compared to the proportional pensions system. The basic pension system favors employees that under-report their incomes. The impact of informality is greater in the basic pension system than in the proportional pension system. So, in the Albanian reality the application of basic pension system might be problematic.

Term paper of Bill of rights

Two further constitutions were drafted and adopted during wo short-lived war-time governments, by the revolutionary forces during the Philippine Revolution with Emilio Aguinaldo as President and by the occupation forces during the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines during World War II with Jos © P. Laurel as President. Article Ill – Bill of Rights consists of 22 Sections. The objective of this paper is to determine the significance of having this Bill of Rights to our country and to identify by the people the importance of knowing the Bill of Rights in each of everyone surrounded by this law.A bill of rights is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose of these bills is to protect those rights against infringement. The term â€Å"bill of rights† originates from england . The purpose of a Bill of Rights is to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts. The Bill of Rights ? How many rights do you have?You should check, because it might not be as many today as it was a few years ago, or even a few months ago. Some people I talk to are not concerned that police will execute a search warrant without nocking or that they set up roadblocks and stop and interrogate innocent citizens. They do not regard these as great infringements on their rights. But when you put current events together, there is information that may be surprising to people who have not yet been concerned: The amount of the Bill of Rights that is under attack is alarming. What about the meaning of Rights ? re legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom orentitlement ; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people, according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory. Rights are of essential importance in such disci plines as law and ethics , especially theories of Justice and deontology. Rights are often considered fundamental to civilization, being regarded as established pillars of society andculture and the history of social conflicts can be found in the history of each right and its development.According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, â€Å"rights structure the form of governments, the content of laws, and the shape of morality as it is currently perceived. † The connection between rights they are fought for and claimed, and the essence of struggles past and ancient are ncoded in the spirit of current concepts of rights and their modern formulation. Filipino Citizen must know the things they could legally do and the limitation on their acts. It is also themselves who will benefit if they would know their own rights and privilages .The importance of the study is to tell the purpose of the article 3 of the Philippine Constitution which is the bill of rights . The study ai ms to give you imformation from the section under bill of rights. The Study focuses on the Freedom and Protection that the government offers to the citizen and the benefits they would get with respect to the bill of rights and its ection. Article Ill. Bill of Rights Section 1 . No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.Section 2. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures of whatever nature and for any purpose shall be inviolable, and no search warrant or warrant of arrest shall issue except upon probable cause to be determined personally by the Judge after examination under oath or affirmation of the complainant and the witnesses he may roduce, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized. Section 3. 1) The privacy of communication and corresponden ce shall be inviolable except upon lawful order of the court, or when public safety or order requires otherwise as prescribed by law. (2) Any evidence obtained in violation of this or the preceding section shall be inadmissible for any purpose in any proceeding. Section 4. No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances. Section 5.No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political rights. Section 6. The liberty of abode and of changing the same within the limits prescribed by law shall not be impaired except upon lawful order of the court. Neither shall the right to travel be impaired e xcept in the interest of national security, public safety, or ublic health, as may be provided by law.Section 7. The right of the people to information on matters of public concern shall official acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis for policy development, shall be afforded the citizen, subject to such limitations as may be provided by law. Section 8. The right of the people, including those employed in the public and private sectors, to form unions, associations, or societies for purposes not contrary to law shall not be abridged. Section 9. Private property shall not be taken for public use without Just compensation. Section 10.No law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be passed. Section 1 1 . Free access to the courts and quasi-Judicial bodies and adequate legal assistance shall not be denied to any person by reason of poverty. Section 12. (1) Any person under investigation for the commission of an offense shall have the right to be informed of his right to remain silent and to have competent and independent counsel preferably of his own choice. If the person cannot afford the services of counsel, he must be provided with one. These rights cannot be waived except in writing and in the presence of counsel. ) No torture, force, violence, threat, intimidation, or any other means which vitiate the free will shall be used against him. Secret detention places, solitary, incommunicado, or other similar forms of detention are prohibited. (3) Any confession or admission obtained in violation of this or Section 17 hereof shall be inadmissible in evidence against him. (4) The law shall provide for penal and civil sanctions for violations of this section as well as compensation to the rehabilitation of victims of torture or similar practices, and their families.

Reentry And Reentry Initiatives Jenifer - 1445 Words

Reentry and Reentry Initiatives Jenifer Roberts Brown Mackie College TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT†¦ PAGE 3 INTRODUCTION†¦. PAGE 3 SUMMARY†¦.. PAGE 3 WHAT IS REENTRY†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ PAGE 3 GOALS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT†¦.. PAGE 4 LAW ENFORCEMENT REENTRY INITIATIVES†¦ PAGE 4 REENTRY COURTS†¦.. PAGE 4 WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF FAITH-BASED AND COMMUNITY INITIATIES†¦ PAGE 5 SERIOUS VILENT OFFENDER REENTRY INITIATIVE (SVORI)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. PAGE 5 TRANSITION, REUNIFICATION, AND REENTRY†¦ PAGE 5 PROJECT GREENLIGHT†¦.. PAGE 6 CONCLUSION†¦ PAGE 6 REFERENCES†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. PAGE 7 Abstract There are many different initiatives that are for the reentry process of prisoners (Delisi†¦show more content†¦Introduction This paper will inform one on the different types of initiatives that are set into place to help when the prisoners who are released from prison. The reentry process is difficult for an offender to transition back into the community. The initiatives that are going to be mentioned in this paper will describe the help that is offered to the offender and their families if they want to utilize it (Delisi Conis). There are also other groups that will help the prisoner with different areas in their lives. Summary What is Reentry? Reentry is a process of preparations and assisting offenders who are in adult detention and the delinquent correctional facilities while they finish their sentence and integrate back into the community (Delisi Conis). This is a complex transition for the prisoner, the prisoner’s families, and the community. Congress seen this was a serious problem so they passed the Second Chance Act 2007 (SCA) (NIJ, 2015). Goals of Law Enforcement Just to name a few of the goals that law enforcement looks at and considers that is related to reentry of prisoners. These goals are the public safety, the officer’s safety, they want to lower recidivism, lower crime, and try to educate plus inform the community about what the reentry program is and some of the issues they may encounter in their community. This will prepare the community to help with supervision of the offender once released

Technology and Faith in the Modern Era - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1796 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2019/03/22 Category Religion Essay Level High school Tags: Faith Essay Did you like this example? Technology and Faith are two concepts that are ever present in our lives and in the modern era are seemingly placed in opposite corners of reality. Technology is being used to spread some of the knowledge and wisdom of Faith to all corners of the globe, while at the same time it is being used to spread the virus of hate to these same corners of the world. Why do we view these two ideals as opposing each other? What effect has Technology had on our minds when searching for answers? Has the promise of instant data led us to seemingly insurmountable mountain range of devolving rhetoric and fear/hatred of the Other? Has Technology opened our third-eye in this search and simply made us more doubtful of the answers that we are given?. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Technology and Faith in the Modern Era" essay for you Create order From the creation of Facebook to the creation of the cloud, advances in technology are proceeding at a pace heretofore unseen. For all the impact of the Gutenberg printing method, the PC has created monumental changes in our lives and even with the way that our religions are practiced. Mobile devices have gotten the acclaim for provoking social change in various countries which rein from the Arab Spring in the Middle East, the growing impact of the #MeToo moment to the more hidden growth of the megachurch. These mobile devices are eliminating brick and mortar stores and that affect can be seen with the idea of the traditional church with it set hours of worship. Now, people can turn to the YouVersion Bible app and read the Bible from different interpretations at a moments notice. This decline in church membership changes how the youth experience religion. Most do not understand that the religious experience was never just about the worship of a supreme being, but it was more about th e communal effort of experiencing the here and now with a group of like-minded individuals. The struggle in the next decade will be how to organize religion while achieving the social benefits that are found from real life interactions from attending a place of worship. Can we replicate this experience with a virtual session? Can we find peace within the confines of an app? The virtual space can be effective with people that have a solid foundation with their faith. The most recent technological marvel that attacked religion has been coopted in ways that no one predicted. The Television. The television was labeled with the same negative aspersions we discuss with our mobile devices. It dehumanized the family structure. It ruined attention spans. People would rather stay home rather than go out. All of these have been said about the Internet and Social Media and the same messages were said about TV. Can we even imagine Christianity without Jim Bakker, Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Jerry Falwell and Billy Graham? The apathy that we find in the modern world has spread to ma ny avenues of our modern life. Young people expect to have any religious event to have some form of modern technology in use. Perhaps church leaders should merge their sermons with some of the modern apps to hold the attentions spans of the modern congregation. Multitasking is a part of their modern lives and many of them would love the idea of using this influx of data to blend in with the more serene procedures of the chapel. These even ties into the concepts of what religion is to a young person. Their entire lives have been spent with this a la carte methodology. Dont like someones page? Block. Dont want to be bothered with those tweets? Mute. The idea of religion to the modern age is simple another deal. A smart contract in a sense. Religion says: God is real. He tells us to behave in certain ways. If you obey then you will get into heaven. If you behave in horrible ways, youll go to Hell. This very concept appears to many people as an implicit contract with tangible benefits AFTER youve left the mortal plane . Everywhere that they look they see many people getting tangible benefits from choices than in the past. One could even say that religion has informed one of the more innovative technological breakthroughs of the last few years: the Blockchain Smart Contract. In the simplest example, Ethereum or Bitcoin users can send 10 ether/bitcoin to a friend on a certain date using a smart contract if certain terms have been upheld. This technology will continue to spread through the youth of America. Science has become the religion of choice for many. Most people will accept it as fact any statement made by anyone associated with the scientific community. Why is this so? Because science is supposedly based on objective principles and verifiable data. The scientific method: form a hypothesis (a model), perform experimentation and gather data, and evaluate the model against the results. Again, we see the modern way prevailing upon our reality. The need for a RESULT. Modern people go from the Atkins diet to the Paleo diet on a whim from a scientist. They neglect to see that even these clerics are just spouting their truth. There is no ultimate truth that can come from our scientists. The fact that the scientists claim to have any sort of model that truly sorts fact from fiction is foolish at the least. To what extent can any model be proven to be a perfect representation of that which it seeks to describe? At best, the model may reasonably predict under certain conditions and based on a set of assumptions. Chaos theory tells us that most systems are too complex to be represented by such models. There will always be unexpected agitations in the system that have no apparent cause. Weather forecasting is a good example of this. When we understand that what most people believe to be proven scientific theory is just accepted hypothesis. Faith is something that cannot be proven scientifically, however to dismiss outright without the understanding that believing in the Holy Trinity has just as much belief as believing in the Big Bang Theory. Thats all that they are. Constantly tested hypotheses that are constantly being upgraded and disparaged based off acceptable doctrine from scientist and priests. The gap between a priest or clergyman is at once huge and tiny at the same time. As we become more and more isolated from each other and shuffle off into smaller and smaller clicks we simply are causing these fissures to widen that threaten to separate us once and for all. How do we attempt to bridge these gaps? There are applications that can be used to present free online courses for fellow members of a certain religion. This would allow the church to have a wider online presence and would allow for the possible transition to a MMORPG function that could be used to bring in others. These MMORPGs that are tied to the online courses could give a visual representation for the lessons within the course. This will allow the instructor/clergy to tap into the addictive nature of games like Candy Crush. The premise should be to allow users to experience accomplishments that will allow for the release of the neurochemical dopamine. Dopamine plays a critical role in learning which allows for us to cement behavior in our daily lives. Advances in technology influences all aspects of our lives, from driving with its integration into our parking and driver assisted steering on the highway, to education with its opportunities for online learning such as Khans Acade my, Harvard and Stanfords MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) to Wikipedia with its open-sourced encyclopedia. People approach every single point of their lives to be impacted by technology and those institutions that fall behind suffer dramatically as opposed to the classes from yesteryear. As I stated earlier relying on brick and mortar institutions simply isnt a valid instructional idea anymore. Churches and other religious institutions must use tools like Facebook groups to communicate together, while allowing groups to communicate collaboratively with shared documents such as Google Docs, where students can participate and change roles on a whim. Imagine a congregation using the hashtag inside of a social media group to respond to others that find similar interest during a sermon? Allowing that same congregation to drop news articles and files into a community Dropbox for discussion within the Wednesday night study group. This gives the pastor a real-time integration with his flock and to even crowdsource any projects that the Church may have by way of Kickstarter? Perhaps have the choir subsidized with a local Patreon accountwhich would allow the church leaders to spend less time speaking about fund-raising and more time on the serious questions that we all have. A t the same time, we have coming paradigm shift of AI otherwise known as Artificial Intelligence. The coming onslaught of creating devices that can think for themselves and shall bring a rather gigantic quandary of human limitations and the responsibility that the clergy of artificial intelligence design shall have on human affairs. More than 8,000 people, including Hawking, Noam Chomsky, and Elon Musk, have signed an open letter warning against potential pitfalls of AI development. Many of these people are considered amongst the smartest people in the world and are not voices that should be ignored. If humans were to create free-willed beings, says Kelly, who was raised Catholic and identifies as a Christian, absolutely every single aspect of traditional theology would be challenged and have to be reinterpreted in some capacity. Where would this place human beings in the theological chain? Are we capable of creating souls? And if we can, are we following too closely in our Creators footsteps? Are we about to become Icarus flying too close to the Sun? So how should one navigate t his dilemma? We cannot choose to ignore the benefits of a digital world and live in a state of unawareness. Technology is a fantastic tool and can be used to impact people across the world. Weve gone over how much more accessible the world has become in the last 25 years, all due to the utilization of concepts such as mobile phones, the internet and of course, social media. Everyone should remember that life is all about balance. Does social media and the fast-paced ADD culture make it harder to focus on the religious experience? Yes. However, I believe that is because we have all hunkered down on this idea that Technology is against God. Was life easier before Technology? No. By every possible metric mankinds experience has been significantly improved by Technology. There are no concrete answers in our modern-day life, but what is certain is that God will meet you where you are regardless of your circumstances.