There appears to be virtually no place one can look and not see the effects of the recession. The sorry state of the economy can be noticed in local forms (such as increases in food prices and budget cuts in schools) as well as grander forms (the American deficit, which according to CNN is at $1.5 trillion, is just one of the myriad of problems). By nature, the economy is always both a domestic and international issue, and is presently the most important issue in world politics today.
This issue tends to supersede other issues because the ramifications of a poor economy in one country not only affect the citizens, businesses, and government of that nation, but those of other nations. Young children in many countries go without food, unemployment rates are very high, and situation becomes worse and worse as it continues. Poor economic conditions have consequences in the political decisions of powerful countries, and it can exacerbate the conditions of countries with very little power. Struggling economies are truly felt everywhere in the world, especially in politics. It affects every country today, because all countries are connected to each other in a variety of different ways, not the least of which is trade. Unfortunately, this is a large problem without easy solutions.
Kate--
ReplyDeleteWhile the economy is indeed a prevalent issue today, i don't believe it is the most important. The problem of the economy primarily affects the United States, and while this does subsequently affect other nations, and America's economy does need to be fixed, our current economic predicament really should just be addressed by the US at this point. I don't think the world needs to be drawn into our economic crisis, and there are more prevalent issues that can be solved more quickly facing nations today, rather than the drawn out process of repairing a damaged economy.