In Class - Introductions. Discuss syllabus, classroom goals, and expectations. Group Work: Article Analysis - "Why US Debt Matters to You." Discuss the significance of this article and more importantly, how it relates to you. Library: Create your blog for Question of the Day writing assignments.
Homework - Question of the Day due by 11:59 pm tonight!!! Signed syllabus due tomorrow at the beginning of class. Bring one current event regarding the economic implications of the war in Afghanistan.
Question of the Day - In your opinion, what is the most important economical issue facing the United States right now? Be sure to follow the guidelines from the syllabus; also, make sure you familiarize yourself with the grading rubric. I expect quality work using specific details to defend your arguments.
Articles/videos to check out: This is your reading for preparation for our class discussion on this topic. You are to look through all of these articles/videos. Write down any questions you may have regarding this topic and bring them with you to class tomorrow.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/06/28/zelizer.afghanistan.ignored.war/index.html?iref=allsearch - Afghanistan is today's Korean War
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/07/04/republicans.steele/index.html?iref=storysearch - RNC Chairperson Michael Steele's comments on Afghanistan
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2010/06/27/lothian.obama.cameron.cnn?iref=allsearch - Obama and British PM on economy, Iraq, Afghanistan
http://afghanistan.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/29/can-petraeus-succeed-in-afghanistan/ - can Petraeus succeed in Afghanistan?
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/war.casualties/index.html - Casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan
http://afghanistan.blogs.cnn.com/2010/07/02/fighting-corruption-in-afghanistan-2/
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128321983
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128328818
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103363131
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127864639
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127955934
38 comments:
There are several factors leading the economic downfall of the United States. The suffering housing market, two wars, recession, unemployment, underemployment, lobbyists, and national debt are a only the tip of the iceberg. However, the one factor that seems to be overlooked, in my opinion, seems to be our country's lack of interest in education. Tuition at California state schools are increasing forcing some underpriveleged youth to forego their dreams of higher education. Furthemore, it seems that on a global scale, Americans are far behind considering that some European and Asian nations go to school for hours longer during the day and months longer during the school year. Acaddemics in nations such as China and India are priority one, whereas in the United States, there seems to be less of a focus on the education of our young people. This is evident because states across the United States are cutting spending in education requiring teachers and students throughout to do more with less.
In the end, the greatest economical impact our country is facing is dealing with a broken educational system. Schools and teachers are not preparing our youth to compete in a 21st century global world. Skills, such as critical thinking are not the core of the curriculum. Instead, our system relies on test scores produced by the state. Every state has different standards, yet this is how each school district is measured. Teachers are stuck teaching standards and objectives that may not be relevant to their students' lives. Students are unmotivated to want to learn. There are not enough quality teachers and this is due to the financial crisis states are suffering. Music, art, athletic, and extracurricular activities are being cut to save money. Teachers are being pink slipped. And yet, there seems that change is not likely to happen very quickly to overhaul the system. Overall, our educational system is one of the leading factors of our economical collapse in the United States.
I believe that the high unemployment rate is the most important economic issue affecting the United States. My friends and family have been affected by this in the past couple of years. My friends and family have had trouble getting jobs and or keeping that job. Even those who have been able to keep their jobs have definently felt the recession. I have some family that were able to keep their jobs but their hours were cut and now they dont work three days a week instead of just one.I have another family member who was fired because they couldnt afford to drive to work and was fired because of it.
Even the benefits for the unemployed have been cut. More and more people who have been surviving off of their unemployment checks have been cut off completely from their benefits.
Earlier this year the senate cut off extended unemployment benefits and cobra health care. Their are over 11 million workers collecting unemployment in the United States. 200 thousand unemployed Californians have already lost their unemployment benefits and is expected to rise to 1.5 million without an extention from congress. America hjas seen recessions like this before, but not to the extent. If something doesnt happen soon, America is going down the drain.
colonel sixx."1.5 Million Californians Lose Unemployment Benefits." beforeitsnews.com Before It's News June 28, 2010. July 6, 2010
In your opinion, what is the most important economical issue facing the United States right now?
National Debt has to be the most important economical issue facing the United States right now.
Our national debt as of today at "10:05:34 PM GMT is $13,191,885,117,178.36" and has been "increasing on an average of $4.13 billion per day since september 28, 2007." So how is this going to help us? It's not, its just going to keep piling up until we have no way out. If we can't find an answer now to end this, then were never going to. Its just gonna go back to being an imaginary problem like half of the rest of americas problems.
So our generation and the generations to come are gonna play "monkey see, Monkey do" and act like the generation before us and expect to just get bailed out, file bankruptcy, or stay in debt for the rest of our lives. There's a choice to make, and hopefully finding a way to resolve this problem is the clear one. If the people in charge would have taken charge long before the national debt had gotten this high it would be easier on them now, but now every one has to deal with the consequnces of their actions.
Sorry if theres any mispellings but i don't have spell check because the computer im using sucks :D
In your opinion, what is the most important economical issue facing the United States right now?
The most important economical issue that the United States is facing at the moment would be the economical situation of the debt. The debt has the whole world suffering together, even though, some more then others. People are loosing jobs and that has caused the lost of homes as well. The lost of employment plays a strong role on the sale of products, due to the low amount of money being spent on unnecessary items and more on food. This reduces the circulation of money and transactions being made with money. The 13 trillion debt has everyone thinking twice on what it should be spent on.
Many choices have to be made with very few money available. Students rather attend a two year university instead of a four year university due the money difference. Some rather work first to save up for college, but as time passes by, college becomes impossible to them. Some adults are forced to work more once someone in the house has been laid-off. The problem with the debt has many people worried, finding new jobs available and seeking for lower prices in housing. This has created the great amount of foreclosure houses and unemployment.
In my opinion i believe that the most important econmical issue that the United States is facing right now is Unemployment. And not just right now, the U.S. has had this issue for quite a while now. Many are even people who had high paying jobs and others ofcourse not so high paying jobs. But whether your low, middle or even high class, Many here in the U.S. have gotten fired from their jos. Believe it or not but we are in a crisis. Many may not think so, but rethink this topic because alot of us dont say its a crisis but its another way of the government well not keeping it a secret, but most of them just not admitting it. 125,000 jobs were lost in May, mostly due to temporary census jobs coming to an end.The unemployment rate is now .5 percent but when you count people who have given up their job search and those who are working part time but would prefer full time work, the unemployment stands at 16 and a half percent. Also because of unemployment, many were not able to pay their mortgage and eventually go on forclosure.
There is not much that the people of the Uited States can do but to just keep living their daily lives and hope for things to eventually change. Even though this change will most likely not happen soon. But Unemplyment has runied many peoples lives and also with gas prices rising and other products it makes it much worst for not only everyone but even more worst to the unemployed. In the end the unemployed just have to struggle their way through and try to do the best they can to apply for a new job. A person should never give up and should accomplish their goal in a new job because without a job who knows how youll be living with no money coming to you.
-Doug Rosa
http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2009/03/16/2009-03-16_new_cnnopinion_research_finds_americans_.html
http://topics.cnn.com/topics/unemployment_rate
In your opinion, what is the most important economical issue facing the United States right now?
Based on my opinion, I strongly believe that the national debt itself is the most important economical issue facing the United States right now. It affects many aspects of people’s everyday lives whether its: personal needs, education, unemployment, etc. Since there are so many individuals in the country that are unemployed, it’s hard for them to attain what they need personally. The one’s that are being educated as a result to the debt, have less days of school, their teachers being “laid-off” which makes the students be in larger classes or having to adapt to new teachers, less school supplies such as text books and other important supplies they need. Also, those that are in college have hard time receiving financial aid or simply paying of their tuition. Therefore, they end up working part time or even full time; some even end up dropping out of school and just work instead because it’s just impossible for them to do both.
The national debt also means higher taxes which also affect individuals’ salaries and work advances. It makes them work fewer hours, have longer vacations (fewer days of work yearly). This debt makes their loans increase dramatically some even higher then what their house is worth. This is what happens when taxes are not being used for public goods but on the other hand, as transfer payments. It reduces savings and investing as well. In general, the whole issue with the national debt is what is affecting our economy overall.
Question of the Day - In your opinion, what is the most important economical issue facing the United States right now? Be sure to follow the guidelines from the syllabus; also, make sure you familiarize yourself with the grading rubric. I expect quality work using specific details to defend your arguments.
Till today, I would say that the most important economical issue to the United States would be the national debt we have. It’s brought on so many problems to everybody who lives here. With the national debt of about thirteen trillion, it’s nearly impossible to see how we would ever get it fixed. Many companies have failed and let many jobs go for the time being. Those jobs were for people who had a job before. But now there out there trying to make a living possible for there families. How would you feel if you couldn’t provide for their loved ones?
The unemployment rate is horrible and only getting worse. The national debt has also brought upon a lot of foreclosures all around the world. Right now, it is the best time to buy a house. But that doesn’t change the fact that all those people that lost there homes. The struggle that they’ll face through out the future was not their fault. Why then do they have to go through all this madness? The land of opportunity isn’t really now the land of opportunity. With this national debt closing in on us and the unemployment rate, and foreclosures. It’s a nightmare, but its not going to get any better when you wake up.
In your opinion, what is the most important economical issue facing the United States right now?
There are varies important economical issues facing the United States today. Some issues we face are unemployment, underemployment, immigration, national debt, and the 2 wars we fight. Unemployment and underemployment rates have been increasing in the last 3 years. Unemployment rate is currently at 9.5% compared to 2007 when it was 4.6%. Nearly 30 million Americans are unemployed or are underemployed. Both of these situations have affected many Americans; it has forced families to decrease their spending.
Immigration is an important factor. When people come to the United States to seek a better life and they’re unable to find a job, they do foolish things. For example, they steal or they become depress which result in the doing of drugs. When people are unable to earn money, they lack their responsibilities such as not paying their taxes and do not vote. The fact that we are fighting 2 wars right now has costs the United States a great sum of money. At this point the US is at a national debt of 13 trillion dollars increasing daily. These issues are being dealt with by the United States.
-Maribel Saldana
Question of the Day - In your opinion, what is the most important economical issue facing the United States right now?
Response: Worries about unemployment are climbing even faster than the jobless rate. In my opinion this is a big problem.
A new CNN Opinion Research poll released Monday found that 36 percent of respondents said unemployment is the most important economic issue facing the United States, an almost three-fold increase from a related poll last April. In 2008, 13 percent of America had listed unemployment as the top issue facing the nation.
Inflation, which was last year's poll aparent greatest concern, was listed by 20 percent of the people of the U.S, followed by the growing mortgage crisis at 16 percent.
In the past 11 months since last year's CNN Opinion Research poll, the U.S. unemployment rate has evedently risen to 8.1 percent.
Last spring, Americans were concerned by rising gas prices, Now they are afraid of high unemployment figures and the constant reminder that good jobs are not available. This would be the basis of my opinion of Americas top concern under the catagory of economics.
Posted by Andrew Gutierrez at 5:55 PM
(Terecita Vega)The my opinion, the most important factor that is the economic issue in the United States is umemployment. Unemployment is linked to the fall of companies in which have had a downfall because of the budget cuts within the state as well as the decline of the GDP growth. The GDP made a significant change in: companies, real estate, manufacturing goods, and stock markets were crashing into the pit hole of debt. With the GDP's mismanagement of money expensesit led to a total economic rumble. Now because of this economic rumble many companies were to be shut down and therefore many people were layed off as well as having people losing their jobs and now more than a quarter of the citizens in the United States are umemployed. You may be questioning yourselves how this occured and when it all started?
The recession in the U.S started apporixmately in the year 2001 and it all started because of the terrorist attack in the World Trade Center in New York city in the year September 11, 2001. Once the terrorist attacked the U.S our former president George W. Bush decided to go to war with Afghanistan in which made a huge impact in our economic status. Having to go to war with Afghanistan the government was unprepared and made unestimated decisions. The government invested the money that was given into the war expenses. Such as overloading the troops with weapons and other fighting resources and using the money unproperly. If the treasure of the state and the president analyzed how the money should have been spent this harsh recession wouldn't be occuring and we wouldn't be having umemployment and being in debt. Therefore, the United States government wasn't being responsible in managing the states budget and now the U.S is still in the recession and we are still fighting the war in Afghanistan.
Work Cited: David Leonhardt. "United States Economy". New York Times. New York Times Company, August 13, 2009. copyright 2009
What is the most important economical issue facing the United States right now?
- I believe the wars in Afghanistan and Iran have contributed towards being one of the leading economical issues in the U.S because of the amount of money it costs us. As stated by Roxana Tiron, and according to the Congressional Research Service "The U.S spends about $3.6 billion a month in Afghanistan". This is, I believe, greatly contributes to the U.S gross debt which according to CNNMoney.com has reached $13 trillion. Wars such as the one in Afghanistan decimate the possibility of having a stable, debt-free economy, the reason being that governmental spending is consistent. One may ask the question; "why is this war being fought?" and "how will it benefit us?" well the answer may be found in the last decade that we have been in Afghanistan, there has been no defined "progress" from fighting the war. The only thing the war has done is it has gotten us deeper in the debt we are in.
I believe if we cut the governmental spending on these unnecessary and otherwise irrational wars our country will greatly benefit of it. Instead of spending that money on war, we could be focusing more on our educational system and other things. This affects the people of the United States in not just our economy but our people. The troops that are located in such war areas may suffer great injuries as well as death. Not only do we get affected but also the people of Afghanistan (as well as other places) who have no choice but to live with the situations, the loss of loved ones, property-the sense of living. This can be prevented if we resigned, we would use that money otherwise being spent to grow as a country and prevent another one from suffering.
Tiron, Roxana. "U.S. spending $3.6 billion a month in Afghanistan according to CRS report". Oct.14 2009 The Hill. Jul. 6 2009.
CNNMoney.com "Why U.S debt matters to you". Jun. 30 2010.
The most important economic issue facing the united states right now in my opinion would be national dept, and the school budget cuts putting education in a rough spot. As saying the Treasury Department, “National Debt has increased over $2 trillion since President Obama took office“. But is it really obamas fault? I don’t believe it is, he is facing a lot on his job with many uncovered issues. "I walked into office facing a massive deficit, most of which was the result of not paying for two wars, two tax cuts, and an expensive prescription drug program," Mr. Obama said. Today’s dept has left many unemployed, thus having difficulties in finding a job or even maintaining one. Though I personally haven’t experienced the loss of a job, iv quit searching for one since there is no chance I would be able to find a job, having to apply to more then twenty stores and not even receiving one phone call. Even having experience in the work area my cousin is also finding it difficult to hold a job. Currently for example my brother not having enough money to pay for college himself he has only been able to take few classes at a time, and not being able to take all the classes he chooses. I find this important because it interferes into peoples lives, giving them difficulties on having a job to provide for themselves, their education, and for others such as their families.
Another issue that I believe is important right now would be money, which is heading to the wrong places such as war instead of it given to schools or other needs. I personally don’t see why we are still in war. Having the money going to other issues not seeing as important, it leaves the school boards such as Oceanside to cut off following, “…temporary teachers, program specialists, a district administrator, secretaries, custodians and a security officer--in the middle of the year“. I think of how these individuals handle the cuts and if they are ok on finding another job to provide themselves with. If I was left on that spot, it would be a terrible feeling, not having that security that money would bring, or just the fact of many having trouble to find a stable job anywhere.
- andre-uh :]
Work cited:
“Budget cuts put education in crisis“. Reprinted from the Feb. 13, 2003, issue of Workers world newspaper.
Mark knoller. “National Debt Up $2 Trillion on Obama's Watch”. March 16, 2010 5:13 PM.
In my opinion the most important economical issue that the United States is facing right now is immigration. First of all some government's are passing some immigration laws that are unjust.For example the new Arizona might be somewhat unjust but it is not exactly a law that is used for injustice, but because of the passing of this law it is causing some ruckus all over the country. Also some of this laws are not helping to stabilize the economy instead it is breaking it down. It is breaking down the economy because if it wasn't for immigration the country would not be working progressively. The U.S did start trough immigration.
Another reason that i think that immigration is a big issue is because the government is spending time on fixing it. It is the governments rights to deport undocumented people out of the U.S, but why don't they at least give them a chance to earn some money and change their identity. By this I mean that whenever they reach the certain amount of money to fix their documents. I am for this plan because I myself am an immigrant and my family came to the U.S to seek better opportunities. That is why they should be given a chance to help America and also themselves. But the question is will the Government give a fair solution to this.
I believe that the biggest economic issue facing the United States would be budget cut through out the country, for example in education is taking the backseat in what is been done for our economy. While our nation fails to see that children of today are not as capable as they could be, due to the lose of teachers and funds for education. Education is such a useful tool for our economy because of the fact that one day the children that are being taught will be in control of how our nation will be ran. All though our economy seems to improve it seems as if other parts of our economy that are much needed seem to be stripped away from our own hands. Education is said to be the key to our future but with that key being taken away, how will our own future be shaped. Teachers are being lost, funds for resources new textbooks are all being lost because of the big issues with our economy.Core departments such as history, english, math and science are all losing valuable teachers and instruction that could be learned because the cuts that are being done with our education system.
Another economic issue that is being faced by the United States would be the discovery of rare finding in Afghanistan. Merely because those items could have been used to help our economy while other countries are investing in what Afghanistan has to offer our own seems to not have the time. Or also the money to invest in it because our economy is so bad. But then again with the war that is being fought it made it kind of hard for our own nation to just step in and say " Well hey I need money and I wanna invest, lets forget about our past and let me take your material". The United States does not have the time or resources to invest in Afghanistans discoveries , but because of not having the funds they could be missing out on an opportunity that would make the world of difference to our own money turn out.
In your opinion, what is the most important economical issue facing the United States right now?
In my opinion the most important economical issue facing the United States right now has to be the high unemployment rate. This is the most important issue for various reasons including the fact that many people are losing their jobs left and right, and although no one in my family has been faced by this issue directly, I know a couple of friends who have had relatives lose their jobs during this recession. Furthermore this problem branches out into various other problems including the high amounts of families losing their homes because without jobs people cannot pay their bills. Moreover, although the economy is slowly recovering, with the unemployment rate this high, the economy is not able to recover quicker than if unemployment was much lower. Also, with unemployment rising, less and less people will be likely to go out and purchase luxuries, which may slow the recovery of the economy even further. These are all a few direct ways in which unemployment is the most important economical issue in that they show what happens if people loose jobs and don't have money but there are also a few indirect ways in which this problem is so huge.
A few other issues that arise with unemployment don't neccesarily have anything to do with the person who is unemployed and this makes the issue larger.First off, if more and more people are unemployed then more and more people try to receive unemployment checks from the government, and this will cause the governments debt to rise which is a different economical issue we face. Another government program that i believe can suffer is social security because the tax taken out of peoples pay checks is what pays for the social security of the retired and with out people working, senior citizens also do not receive money. Furthermore, the government will waste more and more on these checks, causing the national debt to grow larger. These are all large examples of how the rising unemployment rate is the most important issue faced in America. This issue is not only big because it is the largest direct issue facing the people but also because it branches off into several other problems.
In my eyes the economic crisis has many issues exemplifying it’s current state. Though there are those particular concerns that result in a more negative popularity. For example, since the Great Depression the economy hasn’t reached a higher unemployment rate, until now. Although the economy adjusts with work and time. Throughout the years the United States experiences many recessions, though they more minor then the one we are currently in. Personally, the economy should rise and fall, it gives it experience and more time to become more perfect than the previous day. Today the government should make the unemployment rate their principal concern, aiming their focus entirely upon attaining more and more people of America with job opportunities. With jobs, creates money, with that money it would induce spending which would eventually ignite the economy. Economics after all is all about; spending, investing, and making money. Money is the epicenter of economics.
I am not exactly the expert in economics, I can say I hardly know the basics, though I know how it functions in various places. Along with history I have learned what can lead the economy through a prosperous direction or in a weak direction. Despite the United States being the most prosperous country in the world and the center of the world economy, others in the past have done just as well with what they know. In the beginning to the early 20th century Hitler rose to power with the infamous Nazi party. While being in power Germany was in a time of crisis after being suppressed from the Treaty of Versailles created by countries involved in WWI. As a result Hitler had to create jobs, and so he did. Jobs involving through engineering, manufacturing, producing all kinds of weapons of war. This sparked Germany’s economy which lead to them being more powerful in the impending world war. This was an example of what creating jobs could result in, more success for that individual country.
In your opinion, what is the most important economical issue facing the United States right now?
In my opinion, there are two important economical issues facing the United States today. One is the ongoing war with Afghanistan, while the other is America's addiction and dependancy on oil, whether it be foreign or domestic.
Ever since September 11th, the United States has been waging war on Afghanistan to catch Osama bin Laden, and take down the terrorist ring Al-Qaida. While the second objective is being fulfilled, Osama has not yet been caught. It has been more that eight years, and the American people have lost patience with this war. Not to mention, the American government has spent billions of dollars on this war, with no results on Osama. And there is also the fact that a second war was waged on Iraq to overthrow Saddam Husein's dictatorship. Two wars happening at the same time obviously costs more than holding one war. The United States has fallen into debt supporting these wars.
American also currently depends on oil to sustain itself. It is used for creating plastic products, fueling our cars, airplanes, and other. America has paid billions of dollars for millions of barrels of oil. The United States also has some domestic oil stored away for emergencies. In other words, the U.S. does not depend on its own oil to fuel, instead opting to use foreign oil. And the U.S. had other opportunities to use other sources of fuel. For example, in 1996 General Motors produced and distributed the EV1, a completely electrical-powered car, in California. Many enjoyed the car, but they were soon after recalled, and then destroyed. Nothing was wrong with the car.
Point being, America has spent billions of dollars on wars and oil. And now, the U.S. is in a hard-to-recover national debt.
-Luis F. Tapia
In your opinion, what is the most important economical issue facing the United States right now?
There are numerous issues that are causing economical crisis like education, taxes, mortgages, insurance, bad credit, gas prices, unemployment, and the list could go on and on, but in my opinion on what is the most economical issue facing the United States right now is the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. I think this is the most economical issue right now because of all the money we put in it, how many people we deploy there, and the waste in time that we put in it. If we were to stop the wars in the Middle East then we would save a whole lot of money and help us get out of the recession. The war in the Middle East is costing us approximately 6 billion dollars a month so if you multiply that for 12 months, then again for 9 years then it would turn out to be 648 billion dollars we would be saving and that would be going to the debt we have. If we have that happen and find employment for all those who are unemployed, it would help our economy and all of the world’s economy.
Another way how getting out of the war would help our economical issue is by having the soldiers come back home and have them start working. By having them work instead of fighting the war, our unemployment rate would lower and there would be more people working and making money which would help stable out our debt. Also by having them home, not as many people would be arguing about whether or not we should still have them in the Middle East. With Congress now not worried about the war budget, they could focus on how they can stable out the economy. Also by having them focusing on ways to help the economy they can solve other issues that can also contribute to helping the economy. Basically, the most important economical issue that we are facing, in my opinion, is the war in the Middle East, and by ending the war it could help stable out our debt and help the world get back on its feet.
-Jeremy Gonzalez
The most economical issue today facing the united states in my opinion would be all the budget cuts and unemployment. I believe this is a major issue in that it effects not just the economy of the united states but as well as the civilians. With budget cuts made it is believed that it would help the economy but contrary it makes Americans want to save the little money they have and therefore not enough money gets rotated and brought into the whole economic process. Such that it brings the country's economy down and business loss as well.Not only do we see a decrease in the economy and businesses but prices increase and the consumer is less likely to purchase like they once did before. Affecting the employment status, and so we get an inflation of unemployment and people not being able to provide for the economy as they once did.
Without the income of these individuals the country is unable to progress. We all suffer and eventually everyone has to reduce what they can spend. Spending money becomes a choice for Americans who have to choose on what they can and need in a daily basis to survive. There fore i believe that this is an issue that greatly affects the unites states today.
Jennifer Reyes
Our economical damage is caused by something that the people are in need of, employment. There are millions of people who are unemployed and are in desperate need to work and get paid. Unemployment has caused people to act in drastic measures, “desperate times calls for desperate needs” this is something that the mass has in their mind when they don’t know what to do. The choices people take on affect them and the economy. Some can’t afford to pay their rent/mortgage anymore because they are unemployed. If people aren’t paying or working to get paid then the money is not being regulated leaving the economy frozen. It seems as though people are becoming more confident to spend money now and are using their money instead of saving it. Unemployment in my opinion has the most affect on teenagers and college students who just graduated.
With no way for students to get money to pay for their expenses and college tuition, they ask for loans, which they later become in debt. You see, everything is like a domino effect. There is war which pleads for billions of dollars, we go in debt, there is no money for schools, budget cuts, less jobs, prices go up, it’s a disaster. We need to create new jobs, President Barack Obama created jobs for thousands of people to help with the census. We should continue to find different ways to assemble new jobs for those who are unemployed. There must be a way we can help our economy be better, the question is how? Who? And when? Overall if we get people to start working I believe it will get the economy up and running perfectly again.
In your opinion, what is the most important economical issue facing the United States right now?
Despite the various tribulations that the United States faces including the education reduction, extreme amounts of money spent towards prisoners, two wars, and of course the recession, I would have to say the most obvious, especially within the last few years, would be the unemployment rates. This is because it interests peoples of all ages of all genders. It can be seen from ultimately all classes, whether we look at middle class or upper class. Rates are increasing, and the government is cutting back in all areas including education (seen firsthand) and even in the medical industry. It was expressed that “The share of families with an unemployed member rose from 7.8 percent in 2008 to 12.0 percent in 2009, the highest proportion since the data series began in 1994” (CPS of the Bureau of Labor Statistics). What makes this issue so vital is the fact that the statistics appear to be increasing.
Along with the loss of a job, unemployment also is trailed by many many supplementary issues involving a decrease in that homes income (obviously) and the disruption of the community, possibly increasing crime rates. It may also cause many to suffer a lower income rate than from their previous occupation. Some are even left to lie on their own, with no benefits and little need in the tight work areas. Because of this well known situation it has brought some to their breaking point, leaving them hopeless. For example, “A record 1.21 million people want to work, but said they aren't looking because of the weak labor market” ( Tami Luhby Senior Writer CNNMoney). It is also said that the economy and unemployment is one of the top reasons for suicides and many other life endangering events.
Sure the unemployment rates may fluctuate by one or two percent every couple months but all in all the rates are still too high. This makes it difficult for middle aged individuals and even the younger youth to try and take control on their economic status. Unemployment has not only an effect on an individual level, but also contributes to the global economic crisis that many have tried so hard to fish themselves out of. With many families having to cope under this situation I would have to say the unemployment crisis is definitely a major and most important issue of which the United States faces.
- Reyna Lanzas
In your opinion, what is the most important economical issue facing the United States right now?
I believe that the most important economical issue that the United States faces is the poor housing market. With large amounts of evictions and foreclosures of homes across the nation, it is evident that this has become a rising trend. Banks foreclose houses in seek of money thus leading to mass quantity of evictions. The homeowner is then caught in an unpleasant situation. As the housing market fail, the United States economy starts to fail. The housing market plays a pivotal role in shaping the US economy, as proven with this recent recession.
Riverside County is arguably one of the worst housing markets in the United States. As I look around my hometown of Riverside, CA, I see empty homes, where just a few years ago, happy families lived. Now some houses on my street remain dormant. As you travel around this county, and various counties around, you will see how the weak housing market affects local business in the area. The vacant houses and dying business is a trend that must be reversed in order to achieve a balanced economy.
Several factors tie into the economical downfall of the United States. But in my opinion, the housing market is one of, if not, the most important issue that the majority of Americans face. The government is seeking for a method to expand and better the market to help all Americans have shelter. In due time, the market will turn around and improve both the economy and lives of all homeowners.
-Kenny Tran 7/6/10
In your opinion, what is the most important economical issue facing the United States right now?
The most important economical issue facing the United States right now would be the $13.2 trillion national debt. It's presented bt the Untied States Treasury as "Debt held by the Public" and "Gross Debt". Yesterday July 5, 2010, the Total Public Debt was about 90.3% of GPD. The surplus refers to the casg difference between government receipts and spending. Gross debt rises and lowers as a result of this united budget deficit. It has increased over $500 billion each year since FY(fiscal year) in 2003.
This is all because of the choices we are making, and the government should have stopped this before it worsened. I believe it's too late now, I don't think we will be able to get out of this crisis. The government will be cutting back on many government services and programs. The more we spend the more we go into debt. The national debt crisis isn't based on one person or a few people, but it requires a large organized and cooperative effort. If we work together they are hoping it will help lower this national debt.
In my opinion, with all the various economical issues that are presently facing the United States, by far the most important one would be unemployment. Unemployment is visible everywhere around us. We see the multitudes of people unemployed anywhere in the United States. Though recently there has been an increase in job opportunities, the unemployment rate is currently at about 12.4%. The percentage of unemployment rate being so high is a big factor to other economical issues as well. If there is less jobs, there is less money being brought in to a home, hence financial issues with homes and such. We also recently have seen the number of teachers that have now been put out unemployed causing education for students to bring upon several other issues affecting many people negatively.
The number of teachers having to be fired because of the shortage of money there is, leads to another main factor in the economic downfalls of America which is education. So many teachers being unemployed eventually causes a shortage of teachers in the school’s system leading to something we have familiarized with recently which is shortening up the school year. To many students, that might not seem to be a big problem, but they do not realize that those are days cut in to those teacher’s paychecks which causes economic issues in their place too. With so many people losing their jobs, it soon begins to create several other issues that affect the United State’s economy. Ultimately, the high unemployment rate in the United States can relate back to most of the other economical issues present.
-Nydia Lopez
The most important economical issue today, in the United States, in my opinion, is the high unemployment rate. Millions of people around the country have lost their jobs due to the downfall of the economy. Companies, Businesses, and Corporations have gone bankrupt and have had no other choice then to lay off their workers. Civilians are not receiving income, therefore, are not able to purchase things causing businesses to crash and fall. Money isn't circulating for the economy to thrive. Not only does the economy get affected, but the people as well. Civilians have to cut off on their wants, and focus on their needs. Money is tight in our pockets. We cant give ourselves the luxurious lives like before. By experience, in my home, we try not spend money on things we don't need. We try our best to save and use it on things that are necessary. I'm sure that's how it is for everyone now-a-days.
Although, other issues including: house marketing downfall, budget cuts, and our National Debt, have also contributed to the crumbling of our economy. After the downfall of two major real estate corporations, the economic status followed after. It all occurred like a 'ripple effect'. The house marketing began its downfall when banks began to give out loans like crazy. They gave them to people with bad credit and to those who didn't earn the required income. Later, when people began loosing their jobs and their homes began to loose its value; home owners had no other choice then to let their home be foreclosed. Personally, my family is being affected by this crisis. What my parents pay for our home is extremely high, considering the house's current value. There may be programs in which home owners may save their homes, but its not for certain that it will be successful. The budget cuts have greatly impacted our economy as well. We are not able to spend money on certain things that are crucial for us. For example, on our school budget cuts, we no longer have the privilege of riding buses. Whats supposed to happen for the kids who live far from the school? Also, certain programs are no longer available to students. Lastly, our National Debt has also played a part in the down fall of our economy. It is currently of $13 Trillion. We are basically paying for a never ending debt that is only growing each day by the billions. It will take time for the Economy to get back on its feet. It will take time for the house market to get back up. It will take time for us to pay off our debt. It will take time for this recession to end, but if it's happened before, and be thrived, we could definitely do it again.
- In your opinion, what is the most important economical issue facing the United States right now?
In my opinion, the most important economic issues the United States is facing right now are the U.S. debt, unemployment, and the war in Afghanistan. As the article “Why U.S. debt matters to you” reports, the increasing debt can cause household incomes to suffer and therefore be a conflict for many families. The debt crisis, as believed by many, can occur in the next 10 to 20 years which means that it will affect our own generation. More surprising is that not real measures have been taken to solve this problem which makes this a more serious issue affecting all of us. I believe that this issue should be taken more seriously by our government. It is very important to start doing something significant now so it won’t be too late in the future.
In addition, unemployment is another important economic issue that is currently happening. In the article “Why good jobs are going unfilled” unemployment in the manufacturing sector continues because jobs cannot be filled due to the lack of skilled workers. This creates a problem because even though there are open job opportunities, not everyone is qualified to fill them causing unemployment rates to remain the same. Also, the war in Afghanistan negatively affects the U.S. economy by money being spent on a war that has not gotten any major advances in my opinion. It has even come to be called by many as “the ignored war” since not many people is paying attention to it. I think that since a significant amount of money is going to this war people should show more concern for it.
Works Cited
“Why U.S. debt matters to you.” CNNMoney.com. June 30, 2010.
Frum, David. “Why good jobs are going unfilled.”CNN.com. July 6, 2010.
Zelizer, Julian. “How Afghanistan became the ignored war.” CNN.com. June 29, 2010. Web. July 6, 2010.
In your opinion, what is the most important economical issue facing the United States right now?
In the United States there are many important economical issues today, all of which include lots of money. In my opinion the most important would have to be the way we spend the money on schools. Economics is made good or bad by choices and if that choice is the wrong choice the economy goes south. The U.S money is supposed to be spent for good use to help lower the huge debt that we now have in the 13 trillions. This is an issue that needs to be improved and to get the people involved to help out on this issue. One step on making this improvement is creating more funding on the schools.
This will help get more jobs, better school materials, class rooms, and just a better education. I think the educational system should not have any cuts and just be the way it was. By doing this, it will make teachers, parents, and students better overall because a better experience. Our generation is the future and if the future cannot be taught right then future cannot be good at all. I would not say it is the one issue that is costing the most but it is the issue that is affecting every student in America right now and should be the top priority. By helping the schools it helps more than just that area; it helps the unemployment level and it helps us better our lives.
Question of the Day - In your opinion, what is the most important economical issue facing the United States right now?
The United States is facing many severe economical issues at this time. Although health care, budgets cuts, and education are all very harsh things to deal with, I believe that unemployment is the most important economical issue right now. Unemployment happens when a person who is willing and able to work, but is not currently working because of decrease of jobs or etc. In my opinion, unemployment is the root of many things. By that, I mean that if the unemployment rate was decreased, other things will began to fall into place. Such as, some budget cuts, health care issues, and education issues. My reasoning for that is, if more people had jobs, there would be more money made, which means more money would be distributed to things such as education and health, because of taxes and such.
On a personal level, unemployment has effected my family drastically and close friends of mine as well. I know that if it is effecting me and others surrounded by me, that it is also effecting other people in the United States. The high unemployment rate makes it hard for people to go on with their daily life. Many people are suffering from this unemployment issue, not only those without jobs. Others may have not lost their job, but they are barely holding on to it, or their hours are cut majorly. If this economical issue were to be resolved, I believe that the United States would work their way up to a healthier and wealthier economy.
_Brittany Hill
Of the many strong and significant economical issues facing the United States currently, I'd say the high unemplyment rate in the United States is the most important. As of June 2010, according to tradingeconomics.com, the United States unemployment rate was 9.5. Although the unemplyment rate has lowered from previous months, it is still alarmingly high. With the unemployment rate high, there are more and more people dealing with financial difficulties. Financial difficulties usually make it more difficult for people to purchase things and shop, which doesn't help the economy at all when people don't buy things. Besides, if nobody is buying anything, how will businesses and shops support themselves and keep/ get business going?
Businesses have to face many problems due to the high unemployment rates like the supplying of products, resources, and materials when they don't even have the demand for them. Businesses usually have to lower their prices to get some of their items purchased. By buying but selling items for less than they paid for, businesses are losing money. With unemployment rates high, lower prices, and less people buying things, it's not much of a wonder why/ how shops and places are going out of business. Both GDP and a majority of businesses are sturggling to deal with the high unemployment rate but as an article from the associatedcontent.com says,"Companies that are able to perform well in the recession will be the victors at the end of the day." Supply-and-demand isn't working so well as businesses are stuggling to keep their own business going and capitalism looks to be having some hard times.
Bibliography:
"US PAYROLLS FALL, PRIVATE HIRING BELOW FORECASTS." tradingeconomics. Trading Economics, 2 July 2010. Web. 6 July 2010.
"The Effects and Reasons for Unemployment in the United States." associatedcontent. PB, 27 February 2009. Web. 6 July 2010.
In your opinion, what is the most important economical issue facing the United States right now?
There are many important economical issues facing the United States right now, there is the poor housing market, unemployment, education, the two wars in the Middle East, and etc. In my opinion, the wars we are currently involved in with Iraq and Afghanistan have been the greatest economic issue. I believe these wars have been responsible for the economic issues we are facing and dealing with today. These wars also affect many other areas of our economy. If it weren’t for these wars we probably wouldn’t be facing high unemployment rates, poor house marketing, the closing of businesses, and many other issues. Not only do these wars bring upon economic issues but as well as society issues. Many families have had to cope with the loss of a loved one as well. There have been around just underneath 2,000 casualties and still counting. These are cost that can’t be repaid. So why not just end the wars?
This war has not only been very controversial, since most people have no clue why were even in it, but very costly as well. It costs our government around 6.7 billion dollars a month. That is a big setback to our economy, since most of the money we spend in the war we don’t even have. This spending puts us in a deep whole of dept. As a country our national dept is around 13 trillion dollars. I believe we have more important issues that are affecting us at the moment and should be dealt with immediately. Instead of spending our money in violence why not spend it in things that will benefit us now? We can use our money for helping those starving, education, and unemployed. Therefore I believe that the wars in the Middle East have been our greatest issue with our economy.
July 6, 2010
In your opinion, what is the most important economical issue facing the United States right now?
In my opinion the most important economical issue that the United States is facing right now is the war on Iraq. Because the government is spending billions of dollars every week so that the troops can survive and to send even more. In my opinion its also the biggest economical issue because the government has to raise peoples taxes so that they can pay for all the guerilla war fare they have against Iraq. Also because we keep sending troops over seas we keep spending money on guns and other weapons that we don’t really need. Right now we are a trillion dollars in debt just because of that one war. Now if we just stopped this war that money that we are spending on the troops could be used to help better our economy.
Because of how things are going right now I believe that we might be heading into another depression. This is because we are spending a lot of money on weapons we don’t need. For example we have more nuclear weapons then any other country but we don’t use it! So why do we want it? I know that recently scientists discovered that there are rare minerals in Afghanistan. These minerals are valued at about 1 trillion dollars. That means that the U.S could win something from this war, but we are still loosing more money on the Iraq war which in my opinion shouldn’t even be happening. And even though the government knows that we are loosing money they are willing to cut spending from other things that are not war related because they know that their solution is just to keep raising taxes.
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