Economic Turmoil It is hard to believe that durring the last eight years our country has taken a turn for the worst in that we now have no money to pay workers and as a result unemployment rate is at an all time low, “The fact is that the economy of much of the world is in a decisive downward slide which the financiers cannot stop because the systems they operate are the primary cause” (Cook 2007). The country’s economy has not been on a greater downward slope since the great depression. The United States since the early 1900’s has been viewed as a nation of substantial wealth, “The situation today is worse in many respects than 1929, because the debt ‘overhang’ vs. real economic value is much higher now than it was then. The U.S. economy was in far better shape in the 1920s, because so much of our population was gainfully employed in factories or on farms” (Cook 2007). One of the main causes of our country being in such a financial state of disarray is the war in Iraq that we are currently engaged in, and have been for the past eight years.
On March 20, 2003 the United States invaded Iraq by the bombing of Bagdad. A budget was drawn up by the White House economic adviser Lawrence Lindsay, “Before the war, White House economic adviser Lawrence Lindsay estimated the cost at $100 to $200 billion. So the White House got rid of him and "re-estimated" the cost at $50 to $60 billion. It's now over $500 billion” (Stoft, 2008). In 2008 it was estimated the US spent 12 billion dollars a month, and $5,000 per second this money was directly taken out of our economy thus putting us in a major debt. It is quite apparent that there are changes that need to made and quick, recently Vice President Biden made a comment stating just that, “Biden said spending [money] was necessary to stop the loss of jobs and that the economy would be the administration’s top priority” (The Associated Press, 2008). One way we can help bring an influx of money into the nation is by not outsourcing but by using our own business like what was done during World War Two. A great way to increase the amount of money coming into the country would be by turning factories into war producing industries, for example instead of closing numerous ford factories across the nation, it would be more efficient to use those factories to produce war like equipment thus creating more jobs for the American working man so he can put that money back into buying things for not only himself but for his family which in turn will put money back into the economy. By not outsourcing it will also open up numerous jobs throught the United States which in large will increase in employment rate which is suffering termindisly, in Demember alone, "the unemployment rate rose from 6.8 to 7.2 percent" (Employment Situation Summary, 2008). Once the employment rate begins to rise there will be more money circulating through the economy.
Many Americans were suckered in to variable loans, meaning they may go up or down over the years, those Americans had no problem making their payments that was until the economy started suffering then the interest rates went up and families were unable to make the payment and lost their homes, “interest rates kept rising, and if you can't afford that now then you won't be able to afford it in the future” (“Crisis”, 2007). The foreclosure crisis has had more effect on our country than many people ever thought, “The mortgage foreclosure crisis has caused a drop in cities' revenues, a spike in crime, more homelessness and an increase in vacant properties, a survey of elected local officials out today shows” (Nasser, 2009) People are not just losing their jobs but the streets they live on are becoming less and less safe The way to help in fixing this tragic problem would be to look to the future and try to educate the American people about these loans that can one day destroy their lives. One might find it peculiar that the government bailed out the auto industry but did not atempt to bail out the home owners. The United States is too far in an economic depression to bail its self out. The country now has to turn to the aid of other countries such as China, “Indeed, maintaining a mutually beneficial and open and politically sustainable relationship with China is one of the United States' most pressing challenges. And it's arguably one of our greatest opportunities in the realm of international economic policy” (McCormick, 2008). China is a great nation with and if we continue to open our doors in the future it will no doubt help get our country back on its feet. In a book titled, The Way We Will Be 50 Years from Today by Mike Wallace, this subject is discussed, “Our most important bilateral relationship in the world will be with China.” (Duve, 2008, p. 107). China as a country is so large and has so many people that it alone can control the worlds import and export trade, “China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001; its major trade partners are the United States, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Germany” (“Import”, 2006). China is an essential key to the United States economic security. The United States economic standing is not something to be boasting about it is a problem with in our country that needs some serious work. If our country does not take a step back and relook at what can be done to help revive our countries economic downfall then there could potentially be global disaster “And the economic recession which this financial crisis has triggered in the U.S. now threatens to spread globally as well” (Panitch, 2008).
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Cook, R. (2007 May 7 ). The Crashing U.S. Economy Held Hostage. Retrieved on January 14, 2009 Global Research. http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=6239
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McCormick, D. (2008 September 23 ). Rebalancing the US-China Economic Relationship. Council on Foreign Relations. Academic Search Premier, via the FORA, Retrieved on January 15, 2009 http://fora.tv/2008/01/30/Rebalancing_the_US-China_Economic_Relationship.
Nasser, H. (2009 January 13 ). Foreclosure crisis has ripple effect. USA Today. Retrieved on January 15, 2009. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-03-11-foreclosures_N.htm Panitch, L. (2008 April 3 .) Putting the U.S. Economic Crisis in Perspective Worldprecs.com. Retrieved on January 15, 2009 http://rppe.wordpress.com/2008/02/03/putting-the-us-economic-crisis-in-perspective/.
Stoft, S. (2008). Cost of Iraq War and Nation Building. Zfacts. Retrieved on January 15, 2009. http://zfacts.com/p/447.html.
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