Unemployment Rates Stay Put

Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve have predicted that the unemployment rates will remain near 9% for the rest of the year. About 14 million Americans are out of work right now, and the number is predicted to stay there. This is a very crucial issue in the United States, as the unemployment rate is higher now than it has been in decades. One pressing matter at the heart of the issue is that of "The unemployed need not apply" This is the notion that if there is a job out there that needs to be filled, the employer typically will not hire someone who currently doesn't have a job, thus excluding 14 million people right off the bat. This is not a good sign for our economy. It is already harder than ever for unemployed people to find a job, let alone automatically be excluded for the offers they are interested in. The United States needs to change this so we don't fall into deeper crisis than we already are.

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Jerry Brown Bears Down

For over 2 months now Jerry Brown has been trying to push his plan through the California legislature. Brown's plan would deal out over $12 billion in taxes in order to get California out of it's severe budget crisis. Brown was quick to point out that these taxes are "extensions" of taxes that Californians already pay. They wouldn't be dealing with new payments, just an increase in the amount of money paid on taxes already in place.  Democrat of the California State Senate, Darrell Steinberg, said "Most of the surveys we review say essentially the same thing: If the people believe that this is a fair solution and that it actually has the real possibility of putting the fiscal crisis behind us, that they will support it." This says to me that Californian's are fed up with the budget and are finally willing to pay more taxes to ge us out of the deficit. These tough economic times have been very hard for people below the poverty line in California and the United States as a whole. It will be interesting to see if Brown's plan passes through the legislature in the coming weeks.

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Healthcare Dilemma

My political views fall somewhere around the center left and thus, I am on the Democrats side on the issue of national healthcare. After watching the Michael Moore's Sicko, I honestly felt mad at our government for not helping out our citizens. The United States is currently 37th in the world in the World's Healthcare Rankings. This is very low, considering we are the world's greatest superpower. The Republican's don't want to create a system of national healthcare in America because of evidence in other countries how it has failed. They believe that it would lead to ineffeciency's in other areas and possibly a lack of quality. This is ridiculous because of so many country's where it has worked, i.e. Canada, France, England, and many others. I think Republicans are mostly opposed to the idea of a system of national healthcare because of the notion of higher taxes. The central idea behind Republican policy is to cut taxes, and creating a healthcare system would raise them. Even so, I think it is totally necessary to maintain our status as the world's superpower. A system of healthcare would benefit the poorer population of America and help them get treated. It would also create a larger market and create jobs for thousands of people across the nation. America needs to move forward along with the rest of the world, and the first step is creating a national healthcare system. It will be interesting to see if the speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, will push to repeal the healthcare reform bills Obama already established.
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Republicans

Strengths:
-More freedoms
-Capitalism means greater opportunity to make money
-less taxation
-More stable, conservative approach

Weaknesses:
-Unequal distribution of wealth
-The rich get richer and the poor get poorer
-Less diversity
-Slower to acknowledge change when its needed

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My Political view

Democrats

Strengths:
-help out a larger number of people
-encourage diversity
-more taxation means better services for people
-more government interference to stabilize and help more people
-Everyone is represented

Weaknesses:
-More government interference could mean less rights and freedoms
-more taxation
-Less opportunity to make it big/ rags to riches
-Spread of Wealth to more people

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Your Turn Boehner

New Speaker of the house, John Boehner is as confident as ever about the new year. As America continues to battle the deficit and trillions of dollars in debt, Boehner says he'll do everything he can to cut spending. He recently stated, "I have no doubt in the coming weeks and months that people will see our resolve around solving our deficit problem" With the Republican party now having the majority in the House of Representatives, it will be much easier for them to push their agenda. Whether or not this will have a good impact on our economy is yet to be seen, but I feel secure in our president's hands. It will be interesting to see if the House of Representatives tries to repeal what Obama has established and if they can work together to get America headed in the right direction. With unemployment at its highest rate in decades, we need a change sooner than later.

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Trying Tuition

College tuition seems to be rising every year to keep up with the economic downturn. The rise in prices has had a negative impact on the less wealthy people trying to send their kids to college. Because of less people being able to afford tuition, some colleges have decided to lower the costs to get more applicants. One of these colleges is a liberal arts school called "Sewanee" located in Tennessee. They have lowered the cost of tuition by 10% to compete with other schools. The Vice Chancellor at Sewanee remarked, "The University has made a bold and perhaps risky move" The Vice Chancellor is right, as Sewanee is the first top tier liberal arts school in the country to try something like this. It's very encouraging to see that some colleges are taking into account the financial situations of many Americans in times of strife. Many people in the United States don't have enough money to pay for college, and schools will have to adjust their prices in order to account for them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/education/edlife/17tuition.html?ref=us

Ill Illinois

Governor of Illinois, Pat Quinn is being faced with some very difficult decisions lately. He was forced to raise tax rates on income less than a month ago and now has to make severe budget cuts to the states vital programs including hospitals and schools. The state's deficit is about $15 billion, and it is mandatory that they cut back spending. Some of the cuts Quinn has made are controversial though, as the Illinois Hospital Association immediately stated that this could mean , "A devestating impact on the well-being of hundreds of thousands of Illinoisians and the financial stability of many hospitals" The fact is that all state's are going to have to cut back because of the economic situation we are in. Although this could affect many people of poverty and low incomes in the US, it is necessary to keep our country on the right track.



http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/us/17illinois.html?_r=1&ref=us