Tip 1: What is the difference between the US Parliament

Culture and Society

Tip 1: What is the difference between the US Parliament

Parliamentary traditions of the USA date back to the end of the XVIII centurycentury. The legislative body of this country was called the Congress. Its history began in 1774, however the first modern parliament, including two chambers, was created later. Today, the US Congress is located in the Capitol building in Washington. By its structure and functions, it differs somewhat from the representative institutions of other countries.

Capitol - the building of the US Congress

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The US Congress is one branch of government,which establishes the laws of the country. It consists of two parts - the Senate and the House of Representatives. The presence of two chambers allows the state to balance the interests of various social groups. Such a system of balances, which is absent in unicameral parliaments, is considered optimal for a democratic state.

The main function of the American parliament -preparation, discussion and final adoption of legislative acts, which are subsequently sent for approval to the head of state. The powers of the US Congress, in contrast to the parliaments of a number of other countries, are quite broad. This includes the maintenance of the army, the printing of money, and the regulation of relations between administrative entities. The competence of this body also includes declaration of war and amendment of the country's constitution.

There are also congressional functions in the US Congress. He monitors the implementation of state policy in the field of tax payment. The American Parliament has the right to supervise the actions of the executive authorities, as well as conduct appropriate investigations. Congress can call high-ranking officials for this purpose, organizing large-scale hearings. Usually, such events are widely covered in the media.

The task of the US Congress is also to separate fromthe head of state's authority on the formation of domestic and foreign policy. The President has the right to conclude foreign-policy treaties, but they enter into force only after discussion and approval in the Senate. The legislature has the right to declare war, but the head of state remains the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

One of the features of the US parliament isprinciples of the definition of representation in this body, which have been repeatedly changed. Now members of Congress are elected by direct vote of the residents of that state whose interests the representative of the people will represent. Until 1913, until a corresponding amendment to the constitution was adopted, the senators elected the legislative bodies of individual states, and the members of the House of Representatives - voters.

Meetings of the House of Representatives and the Senate, asrule, take place in different rooms of the Capitol. But from time to time, both parts of the parliament meet to resolve the most important issues for joint meetings. The reason for such events may be, for example, the annual appeal of the head of state or the counting of votes in presidential elections.

Tip 2: What is the gold and foreign exchange reserves

Gold and foreign exchange reserves, also calledgold reserve, is a so-called buffer, which is managed by the Central Bank of the country or the Ministry of Finance. According to estimates for 2012, the total volume of gold mined in the world reached 174.1 thousand tons, with about 60% of this amount produced after the 1950s, and the world reserves of gold reserves amounted to 30 thousand tons.

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Counting such stocks is in chargeThe World Gold Council, which was founded in 1984 with the aim of cooperating with the world's leading gold producers and stimulating its stock. Specialists of the organization also note an interesting trend: 30 thousand tons is much less than 38 thousand tons in 1965. And at present, experts predict the future growth of gold and foreign exchange reserves after the crisis of 2008.

The main purpose of the formation of such stocksis the need to provide the national currency of the state with an equivalent value, which is expressed in gold. They are and fulfill the role of the so-called anti-crisis reserve, designed to stabilize or adjust the exchange rate of the country's currency. In addition, gold is good because, unlike paper money, it can be used at any time to pay for government needs, payments and obligations. It is logical that large stocks of gold provide the state with great economic and political independence.

As of early 2014, the largestgold reserves are under the jurisdiction of the US government. This country is already followed by Germany and the IMF (International Monetary Fund). Gold and currency reserves of the Eurozone by January 1, 2014 reached 10.787 thousand tons, which gives the euro currency greater stability. Have their gold reserves and the following states of the European Union, not part of the Eurozone - the UK in 310.3 tons, Sweden with 125.7 tons, Romania with 103.7 tons and Poland with 102.9 tons.

In contrast to Russia, in which the gold and currencythe stock began to be formed only after the reforms of Yegor Gaidar in the early 1990s, in the USA he got the foundation back in the midst of the great depression. In 1933, the country's parliament issued Decree No. 6102, according to which nationalization of gold occurred, when legal entities and individuals were obliged to hand over metal to the state at a stable price of $ 20.66 per troy ounce. Then, after the end of the collection of gold, the official price rose to 35 US dollars. In Germany, the formation of the gold and foreign currency reserve began in 1951, and by 1968 the size of the reserves had reached 4,000 tons of gold.

As a result of the first quarter of 2014, the RussianThe federation came out on the 6th place in the world in terms of official reserves of gold in state reserves, when the metal stock in the country was 1,104 thousand tons. And about two-thirds of the Russian reserve are stored in the Moscow storehouse of the Central Bank of Russia.

Tip 3: Dictatorship and apartheid are different concepts?

In the history of mankind there were manypolitical regimes that do not correspond to modern principles of freedom and individual rights. However, these regimes should not be fully identified with one another. For example, dictatorship and apartheid have many differences.

Dictatorship as the basis of the state

Political scientists and historians define dictatorship asfull control over the power in the state, carried out by one person or a group of persons. Thus, only one political position can be legitimate within the framework of this system. Dictatorship is possible with a different state system. Under monarchical rule, a dictatorship becomes possible within the framework of an absolute monarchy, when a ruler can make decisions singly, without relying on either a constitution or a parliament. The dictatorial regime is also possible within the republic, when one political party receives exclusive political rights, which happened, for example, during the Great French Revolution. One should also note the military dictatorship, which was especially evident in the twentieth century in Greece, Spain, Turkey and a number of Latin American states. This type of dictatorship is characterized by the transfer of full power to the military group, and depending on the circumstances, this group can be headed by either a charismatic leader or several active leaders. A dictatorship is possible within the framework of various political doctrines. There are numerous examples of dictators with right-wing views - Hitler, Franco, Pinochet and others. At the same time, in the USSR, China, the DPRK and some other countries of the communist bloc, a system of left-wing dictatorship has taken shape.

Attempts to establish a military dictatorship were also made in Russia - during the Civil War.

The specificity of apartheid

Apartheid, in contrast to the dictatorship, refers toa specific period in the history of one country - this policy was conducted in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. Apartheid was based on the principle of racial segregation, which existed in certain periods of history in the United States and in several other countries, but in South Africa it acquired a specific form.

In the XIX century, a system of racial segregation in one form or another existed in most of the African colonies of European countries.

Unlike the US with their most whiteof the population, in South Africa the situation was reversed - the descendants of the white colonists were a minority. Because of this manifestation of racism in the country began to be even more severe. According to the law, the black population of South Africa was given separate territories - bantustans. The indigenous population had to study in separate schools, to be treated in their hospitals - its life had to be separated from the life of the white minority. Interracial marriages were also banned. Despite the constitutional monarchy, and later the republican system, the apartheid regime in South Africa can also be attributed to dictatorship, since the power belonged to only one category of the population - the white minority. Black people were deprived of the right to vote, which did not give them the opportunity to influence the policy of the state.