Michigan: We have hundreds of U.S. corporations operating in Europe. For this reason, we may need to be concerned with the economy in Europe. Should we bail out countries in Europe? I don’t feel that we should. I am old school. If I can’t pay my bills how can I expect to pay the bills of someone else. On the other hand, if the economy of Europe goes south maybe these U.S. companies will come back here and contribute to the tax base and help increase employment. Continue reading
World Affairs
Symposium 2012: Can U.S. corporations compete with those in other countries such as China, India, and Mexico?
Sydney: It is obviously very difficult for U.S. corporations to compete with corporations in these countries. The main reason is that wages in China, India, and Mexico are so low compared to American ones. The obvious solution would be to cut wages, however this is not a good idea because it would put further financial pressure on American families and reduce the standard of living. Continue reading
Symposium 2012: Does the U.S. have a moral obligation to help other countries financially?
Sydney: The United States does not have a moral obligation to help other countries financially. However, our sense of fairness and our moral compass ensures that we do. There are many good reasons to assist other countries. The best one of these is to provide humanitarian relief. There are many poor nations around the world who are unable to provide adequate help to their citizens when disaster strikes. It is also interesting to consider that ‘nation–building’ is now considered important in countries where the army has been waging war. Iraq and Afghanistan are two good examples. Continue reading
Symposium 2012: Debt relief for poor countries?
Sydney: There should definitely be debt relief for poor countries. Many of the poorest countries have had decades to pay back all their debt and simply have not been able to do it and there is little chance that they will in the coming decades. In some ways creditors are partially to blame for the situation these countries are in. In a lot of cases lenders gave money to regimes who they knew wouldn’t be spending aid money on the citizens of that nation. So these people are suffering now paying back money they never benefited from in the first place. It is good to see the IMF and various other nations beginning to address the issue of debt relief but the slate needs to be wiped clean if these nations are ever going to give their citizens the life they deserve. Continue reading
Is There a Bigger Threat From Cyber Terrorism or Biological/Chemical Terrorism?
From Thinking Outside The Boxe’s Sydney Correspondent: If there is one word that has been misused more than most over the past decade it is “terrorist”. After all one man’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter. Large scale and devastating terrorist attacks such as the one that occurred on 9/11 and high profile terrorists such as Osama Bin Laden have caused us to attach more baggage to the word terrorist than it deserves. Continue reading
Is the United Nations a Vast Failure? Part II
From Thinking Outside the Boxe’s Sydney Correspondent
Much like China and Russia in the example cited in part one of this article it is easy to condemn or reject the actions or inactions of the UN but it is much harder to offer solutions or alternatives, something the Russians and Chinese failed to do in the case referred to. Unsurprisingly, there have been many calls for reform of the UN but little agreement. And it is worth noting that many of the calls for reform have come within the UN itself. The New Zealand report is only such example. Continue reading
Is the United Nations a Vast Failure? Part I
From Thinking Outside the Boxe’s Sydney Correspondent: The United Nations was formed in 1945, following the Second World War. The UN is mainly known for its peacekeeping efforts but is also actively involved in disaster relief, disarmament, the promotion of democracy, the promotion of gender equality, as well as a number of other things. The four main purposes of the UN are: Continue reading
Slavery in the Modern World
From Thinking Outside the Boxe’s Sydney Correspondent: When many of us think of slavery our minds often focus on African Americans toiling on cotton fields in the south of the United States; or perhaps we envision slaves in the ancient world, usually building monuments dedicated to the glory of the Pharaoh. In fact slavery still exists and flourishes around the world today. In 2005 the International Labour Organisation estimated that there at least 12.3 million people in forced labour (slaves) globally. Continue reading
Cheap Chinese Labor: How Can U.S. Businesses Compete? Part II
From Thinking Outside the Boxe’s Sydney Correspondent: In the first part of this article we saw the many difficulties that American manufacturers are faced with in trying to compete with their Chinese counterparts. It is difficult, if not impossible, to tell an employer who is forced to lay off a large number of workers or close his or her business that he or she should try to understand the situation in China and see if there are any opportunities there. However the reality is that China is a nation with over 1 billion consumers. Continue reading
Cheap Chinese Manufacturing: How Can U.S. Businesses Compete? Part I
From Thinking Outside the Boxe’s Sydney Correspondent: For at least a decade now American manufacturers have been fighting what in most cases has been a losing battle against a tidal wave of cheap Chinese imports. There are a number of reasons why Chinese imports are so much cheaper than goods made in the U.S., and pretty much every other nation as well, these include: very cheap labour, an undervalued currency that is pegged to the greenback, and an inexpensive supply change (ranging from components to cargo handling). Continue reading
Thinking Outside The Boxe 