The Panther Press
Struggle For Power Monday, May 18, 2009 By Vivian Tang
Powerhouse: A country or organization that is extremely influential. For the past several decades, the United States of America has been that powerhouse country, but as of late 2007 to present day 2009, countries have started to catch up with us. All good things must come to an end is the saying; the unbelievably good fortune our country has been receiving is starting to see the end of the road. Everyone knew the housing boom in 2007 was too good to be true, yet no one wanted to be the “party pooper” and burst the bubble America seemed to be living in. Now, here we are in 2009, desperately trying to hang onto what once was, the United States being the main powerhouse country in the world. During 2006-2007, our country consisted of banks handing out risky loans with high interest rates, the stock market hitting its peak, a sharp increase in oil prices, and living on credit cards without worrying about future consequences. While we did live in the moment at that time, we are paying for it today and our generation’s future is being held ransom because of the debt that is quickly being accumulated. It just so happened that as our country was starting its semi-downfall, other countries started its rise to power. Maybe it isn’t our recession as the main reason why other countries don’t see the United States as the number one country any longer, but countries like China have caught up and modernized to challenge the United States rank in the world. Americans still want to believe in the “American Dream” and maintain the same lifestyle as their parents had, except they struggle to pay for today's expenses with two jobs let alone just one job. According to the NY Times website, the stimulus plan passed has the price tag of $825 billion, the bill was created to help stimulate our declining economy and regain the consumer’s trust again. The government’s national debt is currently $10 trillion but quickly bordering $11 trillion, equivalent to every person in the United States owing around $36,000. Where can the government raise this much money in such short amount of time? Our country is constantly borrowing money from China, raising the taxes on their citizens, and printing more money at the risk of inflation. All those methods of funding the stimulus plan is mortgaging our future and it may come back to haunt us. People’s standard of living has to be adjusted to today’s budget, carefree spending is out and saving is in. Maybe someday in the near future our country will once again become the main powerhouse country, but until then, we must learn from our mistakes and not put our generation’s future in any more danger with a quick fix for our economy which most likely won't work. |