Manifesto 2.0

1. If a large corporation were to go out of business, I think the federal government should be very careful and cautious when dealing with the fact of whether to subsidize them or not. There's a thin line in whether a business will be successful or not, which is why the government should investigate before dealing with the money aspect of the problem. There has to be a reason as to why a big corporation is failing in their market and a key thing for that might just be, the market demand is no longer there. Consumers are no longer attracted to their product or maybe their services are no longer needed, that there are competitors out there, supplying better and more useful products. A general example for this problem would be GM, the reason why the big corporation had failed in business was simply because of the diminishing demand for their brand. The company was failing in producing a product that appealed to the masses whereas, other companies were able to fulfill that goal. The quality was also below what their competitors had to offer. Simply put, the corporation was out dated and their golden had come to a close. Unless they have a way or solution to come up with a better product for the market, the corporation won't survive no matter if the government subsidize them or not. Without the right idea or demand, the company won't survive. If the government has faith in a company and thinks that they have the potential to climb in profits then I would say yes, subsidize them but set a very strict time stamp or give them a certain requirement they must fulfill, such as you need to reach x profits in y months. The government spends a total of 80+ billion on businesses each year which is very high. They don't have the luxury to commit and save every corporation. Plus, if a corporation is closing, the employees are better off to leave then to keep them in a loophole that is soon to fail. Other companies might want their knowledge or labor, such as those of the competitors.
2. I'm against it. I think the revenues that the federal government is gaining from taxes is way too high. For example, the 36% gained for social security is more than that they are actually spending in their plan of 20 %, where does the 16% go to, other spending plans? I know for a fact that medicare and social security and defense programs are highly needed in the country but the spending on it is extremely high especially when it's funded from our own pockets. If the revenues continue at this pace, more people will be desperately hurt in the future and end up unemployed. The US needs to come up with other alternative ways in creating revenues aside from stripping the pockets of the middle class. I'm really surprised about the revenues gained from corporate income, I expected it to be higher but instead it's merely an 8% which is so small. I think we're slowly on the right path but there needs to be precautionary actions when making the right decisions and tax plans for our nation. A key to this is to avoid deficits.
3. The national has grown significantly in recent years due to rising annual deficits. Deficit occurs when teh government spends more money than it receives. For example, in the year 2011, a total of $3,598 billion in spending was spent when only $2,303 revenues were received, which is huge problem faced in our nation, when we're facing $16 trillion in debt.The reason for such a high number is because we are used to borrowing from foreign countries to make up the difference. The gross federal debt composed of 2 parts, 1. the money the government borrows from the open market from domestic or foreign investors and 2. Intra-governmental debt, which is the money the government owes itself (Social Security trust fund). One reason for the debt is that our national spending average is way too high, higher than the historical average which is at 20.9%. America needs a solution that creates more revenue while keeping up less spending, generating more money. A problem that should be fixed is the complex american tax system and the critical amount that is taxed on the middle class versus those of  the higher class. The government should create major cuts on spending and focus on the developing the growth of the economy, for the working class is the class that make up the nation. There needs to be changes to the entitlement programs. Without any significant changes, the programs will put growing pressure on the federal budget and could eventually bankrupt the future generation. Instead of the constant delay in action, the time to act is now.

Flash Forward

Today is finally my 30th birthday. Reflecting back to when I was in high school, the economic condition has altered a lot and changed for the better. Back then, in the year of 2012, the economy was facing a dangerous situation of the fiscal debt and the national debt was totaling $16 trillion. Due to the adverse situation, the government had implemented many changes such as, increasing tax rates on the wealthy, creating many spending cuts and deleting unnecessary programs/organisation. America has also pulled out of any involvement with war and stopped foreign labor with China, creating new businesses here in the states and to increase employment rate. There were many opposition, but it was one of the only good ways to fix the problem. 

As a result of the solution, the social classes have altered and citizens are close to the same standard of living.  The middle class is still of the majority. There's more booming businesses here in the states, employment rate is up and people are having a decent budget of living. More businesses in the states have persuaded other countries to initiate more businesses here and also trade, creating better foreign relations. National debt still exists but it is now down to $5 trillion. Creating a balanced budget is a struggle but the government is creating more programs to help. 

How can we become more aware about our economic stability in the future? Are there more solutions to the debt problem other than increasing tax rates and more spending cuts?

The Impact of Guest Workers in an Economy

The Impact of Guest Workers in an Economy

Jennie Shen 3A

With the new coming of age as modern civilization starts to make rapid progress towards advancement, many countries will try to look for shortcuts in the increasing need to heighten market demands and achieve the goal of becoming the most prosperous and successful country. America tries to fulfill this goal by uprooting a system of employing guest workers, a foreign laborer working temporarily in an industrialized country, in the states. Right now, as the nation is facing economic turmoil, falling in debt and the danger of a fiscal cliff, the government is trying their best to look for many alternative ways to provide and improve the current economic system. In order to boost the economy back to standard levels, America is striving for ways to hire and implement a guest worker system to supplement and provide for the economy and to reinforce that guest workers can make a positive impact on society.

When taken in context, many citizens have the perception that guest workers or foreign workers are those that work in the agricultural field, working in hard labor under harsh conditions and receiving low pay. Undoubtedly, that information is true, but there is also another side to the story. According to UE international, the foreign working system has been implemented a hundred years ago between 1900 and 1920. During that time, Mexican workers were recruited to work for mines, railroads, construction and agriculture in the U.S. It was a desperate time for industrial labor but also a time of new vision in the labor movement, for the U.S. was trying to achieve international solidarity. The Industrial Workers of the World or IWW was an international union group, hoping to unite all workers of any class or race and to abolish the wage system in order to create equality among all workers. It was a way to create better foreign relations with other countries, a new age of peace and acceptance.

Currently, requests to hire foreign workers are on the rise because of one reason, “foreign specialty workers,” who are highly skilled workers that are capable of applying for specialty occupations due to a minimum of a bachelor’s degree. The regulation requires the worker to have a highly specialized knowledge in a subject such as architecture, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, medicine etc. These workers are employed through the H-1B visa, a temporary visa allowing employers the liberties to hire non-immigrant workers (Ernst, George). The duration of their stay can range from three years and extendable to six years, sometimes also possible to opt for a green card and become permanent residents if they have an approved I-140 immigrant petition. The employment of these foreign workers will help improve economic state, such as improving education, sciences and innovation. It also provides additional staffing when certain occupations are low on duty. It’s a safety precaution for the economy.

Each fiscal year, there is an annual cap of 65,000 H-1B visas available because the government has to keep a safe limit in how many foreign workers enter in and out of the country. It’s a way to keep track and the cap is to impose the amount of jobs needed and are available. In previous years such as 2009, the cap was never reached because of a significant decrease in demand, studies show that it might be a result of the impact of the recession which continued to 2011 (Ernst, George). Despite the low rates, current trends demonstrate that as of May 18 of this year, there has been a substantial increase in the number of H-1B petitions documented at the US Citizenship & Immigration Services. The numbers have doubled compared to the year 2010, clearing pre-recession levels. The growth reflects that the economy is improving, becoming globally competitive once again because filing an H-1B visa takes both time and money, something a weak economy will not be able to provide because of a lack of monetary resources to support a cause. The process of filing an H-1B petition is not simple, the legal government costs in sponsoring a foreign worker are expensive and the handling of paperwork takes both time and effort (Ernst, George).  As this process continues, there is hope that employers are feeling more confident in hiring more guest workers and becoming more productive as employers strive to improve economic conditions and exert the effort needed to benefit for the common good. Another reasoning behind an improving market is that many of these “specialty workers” are employed to work for computer-related occupations. This increase in activity represents the country’s continual of being innovative and the demand to to be competitively strong in terms of technology and business.

Another aspect that the guest workers help the economy is by providing aid for the agricultural system. The current trend for now is that farm owners need Hispanic workers at a cheap rate to sustain the agriculture industry. The guest worker program are able to provide that resource and supply workers to help (Rousmaniere). However, the cost of hiring cheap labor are noticeably high and farmers are having trouble affording it, and as a result, farms will eventually have to shut down due to the inability to maintain itself. This would impose a threat on the economy because many of these immigrant workers legal or illegal make up roughly 1.8 million of the nation’s farmworkers. They are the work force that provide agricultural resources for the nation, without them, the industry would not be able to survive, claims Rousseau from the fox News article. The employment of cheap farmhands has other benefits such as saving the industry up to $9 billion in annual production, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation (Rousmaniere). The immigrants prove to be a strong workforce that not only provides but also sustain economic stability.

As a nation, America is still maintaining as one of the top industrial country of having the biggest technological advancement. This is a representation that the wealth and spirit of the country has not subsided, that it still has the adequate resources to advance and function. According to the resources, the employment of guest workers are essential in sustaining and improving the economy. America has proven that employment of guest workers can provide many benefits for the health of a society because they are the key workforce that helps generate growth, allowing the economy to thrive.



WORKS CITED

Ernst, George. "Requests to hire foreign workers on rise." Arkansas Business 4 June 2012: 17.

Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 27 Nov. 2012.

"Forced Labor on American Shores." New York Times 9 July 2012: A18(L). Gale Student

Resources In Context. Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

“Linking with Foreign Workers.” UE International. n.d. Web. 17. Dec. 2012.

Rousmaniere, Peter. “Economic impact of a guest worker program on American agriculture.” Working Immigrants 12 April, 2006. Web. 17 Dec. 2012.

"Residency/Green Cards/Naturalization." Gale Encyclopedia of Everyday Law. Ed. Jeffrey Wilson.

2nd ed. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 967-971. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 27 Nov. 2012.

Vergara, A. "Hahamovitch, Cindy. No man's land: Jamaican guestworkers in America and the

global history of deportable labor." CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries Mar. 2012: 1335. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

Fiscal Cliff

The fiscal cliff is a plan that implements $500 billion tax increases and acrosstheboard  spending cuts by Jan 1. 2013 if Democrats and Republicans can't reach an alternative deficit-reduction deal. If the fiscal cliff does happen, then taxes would rise for every taxpayer and businesses. The government would cut finance towards many federal programs such as military and education. This is a major issue because the sudden deficit-reduction is too soon for a weak and poor economy that is still trying to gradually climb it's way back up.
Many people are worried because this new turn of plan can affect the economy dramatically such as cuts for social programs, defense, health care and other industries which depend on the federal spending and if cuts are made, then there would be major job losses which then in turn would increase the unemployment rate.
With such high debts resting on our country, the government is doing everything it can to make for the increase in debt limit which results in tremendous increase in tax and spending cuts for every citizens. As of right now, the fiscal cliff is only a temporary plan but if the Democrats and Republicans can't reach a general consensus then the fiscal cliff is really going to be in effect and the economy might take a very hard downturn.

My Manifesto, yo!

In my opinion the people should be the ones ruling and governing their country, hence, Democracy, just like the United States. Although democracy is pretty effective there are still some flaws. In general, I often find that the needs of the people are not met because everyone is so different and this is a struggle because the ultimate decision to create reforms and laws are left to the government. The senators are the authorities who can implement our ideas, not the people itself and then in the end, it's up to the president to either agree or disagree with such ideas. This type of system is kind of defective because political parties are often biased in their point of view but overall the world has to work this way because it's impossible to please everyone.
Taxes should be collected by federal but because of the different social classes in the country, I think the percentage taxed among everyone should be the same in regards to their income. So in this way, there is equality in terms of fairness. For example, the wealthier should pay more than those of the poor because how    can the poor climb their way back up in the economy if they are heavily taxed to the point that they don't have enough to live on.To me that's extremely unfair.
In a fair economy, I think everyone should be allowed the same benefits, therefore health care, education, social services should be free for everyone because right now it's difficult for the poor or unemployed to afford these benefits. This way, everyone would be happier and healthier. The health of the people= health of the country.
I think the infrastructure system funded by taxes is a fair system because it's something that needs to be constant throughout our lives. It needs to be maintained so that the society and economy can function as a whole. We all depend on roads, sewers, mass transits etc. to operate so it's a completely fair system if a fraction of our income is subtracted for these services, I think it's a worthy sacrifice.
A nation's security is important but as for now, I think we're spending way too much on the military system and drowning deeper in debt. America has always upheld a position of authority, being the most powerful country and in this way, we try to be involved in everything, helping devastated country when they're in crisis or involving ourselves in wars that could be avoided. I think it's great that we're generous but it's not beneficial when we're not well equipped or in lack of resources or money to support the cause, it only makes our nation weaker. I think we have to focus on helping ourselves before helping others. It's fine to spend a lot on emergency services because many of these people risk their lives in order to make our lives safer.
Question: What would happen, if the people of North Korea are privileged to have the access to social media? Are they brainwashed to the point, where they will find the ideas corruptive or would they be able to convert to our ways? Is there any hope for this communist madness to end, or are they forever stuck in this world of oppression?

Minimum Wage

Although I understand that many people are suffering from unemployment and poverty right now, I think minimum wage should stay the same. If increase, only by a little. Yes, by increasing minimum wage, workers would gain more money and have a slight alteration in their lifestyle but if increased by too much, employers would no longer feel the need to hire more workers because that is taking money out of their own pockets and with less money to work with, they don't have the motivation of expending more money to hire and pay even more workers. Instead, they might take the easier route of cutting workers and even replacing them with technology in order to save money which is not the right approach for the economy. I think the best choice is to stabilize the current minimum wage and promote more small businesses and future business leaders to create more jobs and generating a greater workforce for the unemployed suffering right now.
Would the economy be able to provide and work with a minimum wage of $10.00? What would need to change in order for this concept to work?

Price Floors

Price Floors should also not be implemented because it won't have any benefits for our economy. If the price floor is below then nothing will change because the market price is already set above, therefore it is ineffective but when the price floor is placed above the market economy price then suppliers can now work with a higher price and possibly gain more profits. But when this is altered, consumers will likely drop or even drop out of the market because the price is now higher than what was offered before. Also, when the price rises, suppliers will also have to increase the amount of supply which is unreasonable when there is less demand for the product, overall creating a surplus which is not needed.
What is the point of having the price floor be below the market price?