Extension of Benefits for Jobless Is Set to End

By Sam McCollum

          More than a million Americans will lose employment insurance at the end of the year unless Congress takes action, according to The Huffington Post. Unless the Congress takes action, within the last of December an estimated 1.3 million people will lose action to an emergency program providing them with other additional coverage as well. If the Congress doesn’t take action there will be hundreds of millions of people searching for jobs and answers they won’t be able to receive because the government shut them out.

          The United States Congress is still far from a budget deal and is struggling to find alternatives to the $1 trillion long-term cuts, creating it hard for the lawmakers to get them to have a chance at extension very slim. According to Wisconsin Representative, Paul D. Ryan, the House budget chairman, “He is committed to finding common ground, and he hopes both parties can work together to cut spending in a smarter way.”

          The unemployment insurance extension was created in 2008 to find a way to combat poverty and help those unemployed workers get through one of the worst recessions since the Great Depression. Although the Congress has extended this program since 2008, but legislators have been haggling over the program’s cost because it is just too much.

Video Link: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezQLSaEer38

          Extending the current program through 2014 would cost an extra $25 billion, and throughout time this program roughly cost $250 billion so far. A con to this would be giving the unemployed people nowhere t go if they are sick and no insurance to cover them. It is stated in the New York Times article that, “employers are adding jobs at a pace of around 200,000 a month, and the unemployment rate has dropped about 7.3%.

          Although many Americans have been out of jobs not too long, about four million have been searching for a job for more than six months and share the working-age population with a job that has declined greatly over the past year. Already, about 2.5 million who are unemployed and have not worked within the last six months or more are receiving no federal jobless benefits.

          Jonathan Galliher, a 31-year old computer programmer from Chicago is living with family and freelancing which searching for a full-time job. He quotes, “For a long time, I felt like I didn’t have any momentum. It has been difficult. I spend my days sitting at home, working and not really seeing a lot of other people. That kind of isolation is not good for people.” Not only is the unemployment rate dropping, but it’s also brining down Americans, leaving them with no hope and motivation.

          In my opinion, something needs to be done about the unemployment benefits, meaning they should be extended for those who are less fortunate to have a job. Yes, this program will cost us an extra $25 million on top of the $250 million we have already spent, but it would help people get on their feet again and leave them with a little bit of hope. The Congress should also either extend the program into 2014, or they should quickly come up with something else before it gets to be too late.


Bartash, Jeffry. Initial Jobless Claims. 2013. MarketWatch, Washington. U.S. jobless claims fall slightly to 339,000. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

Delaney, Arthur. "Unemployment Benefits Set to Expire For 1.3 Million At End Of Year." Huffington Post [New York City] 6 Nov. 2013: 1. Print.

Lowrey, Annie. "Extension Of Benefits for Jobless Is Set to End." The New York Times [New York City] 17 Nov. 2013: 3.The New York Times. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

"Millions of U.S. Workers to Lose Unemployment Benefits." YouTube. YouTube, 8 Nov. 2013. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezQLSaEer38>.

Plumer, Brad. Unemployment Benefits. 2013. The Washington Post, Washington.Unemployment benefits set to disappear. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

Economic Impact of Typhoon Haiyan

By Eric Lutzen

          On November 8, a super typhoon named Haiyan (Yolanda) hit the central Philippines and caused much devastation to the country. This typhoon has become the second most deadly typhoon in the Philippines “with the death toll raised to 3,633” Filipinos (CNN). The typhoon has completely flattened many cities, destroyed homes, and left “an estimated four million people in the Philippines” displaced (Typhoon Haiyan). The estimated amount of total damages that the super typhoon caused are about 15 billion dollars. In addition to the horrible death tolls and damages the typhoon will affect the rest of the country by externally shocking the economy to take a turn for the worse.

          Before the typhoon hit the Philippines the economy was growing at about 6 percent a year and things were looking up for the Filipino economy in total. Yet, a storm like typhoon Haiyan will definitively cause much dismay to the economy. First of all the people that were forced to leave their homes due to the typhoon are most likely out of work and will not be earning a wage. Due to this many more people in the Philippines will be leaving at standards far below the poverty line. Many more people can be seen holding signs that read “Please Help” and “We Need Food” along the streets of the Philippines (Economist). While many countries and charity organizations have generously given to help these displaced people there is no way to this aide will equate to their lifestyles before the storm hit the Philippines.

          In many cities, places of business received a great deal of damage. Now these business will have to deal with the damages that were caused by the typhoon rather creating and providing their goods or services. This will take away many opportunities that business could have expanded on and now businesses will be fighting to get back to where they were before the typhoon hit.

          One of the greatest areas impacted by the typhoon will be agriculture. Growing of “rice, sugar cane and other cash-crops” are essential to the Filipino economy (SMH). “A third of the country's rice-producing land was destroyed by the super storm, according to US-based Commodity Weather Group” (SMH). The destruction of the farmland will handicap the Filipino. Also the decrease of the supply of foods essential to the Filipino diet like rice will raise the price for rice. This increase in the price of food compounded with the increase of unemployment will cause additional harm to standard of living to people living in the Philippines.

          Despite all of the destruction that the typhoon caused some areas of the Filipino economy will see a boom. Construction companies will see a great increase in demand as the Philippines began to rebuild itself. The effort to rebuild will return many Filipinos back to work as well as bring more individuals into the workforce. This increase in construction will not negate the negative effects of the harm to the economy that the typhoon cause but the boom in construction will lessen the severity of the damage that this external shock cause.

Links for images:

http://a.abcnews.com/images/International/gty_typhoon_nt_131111_ssh.jpg

http://i2.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article2791290.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/Typhoon-Haiyan-2791290.jpg

Works Cited

"Typhoon Haiyan: More cadaver bags sent to Philippines as toll climbs to 3,633 dead." CNN. Cable News Network, 16 Nov. 2013. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/15/world/asia/typhoon-haiyan/>.

"Rice prices skyrocket as Typhoon Haiyan shreds Philippines economy." The Sydney Morning Herald. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://www.smh.com.au/world/rice-prices-skyrocket-as-typhoon-haiyan-shreds-philippines-economy-20131118-2xr99.html>.

"Super Typhoon HAIYAN (YOLANDA) Update Number 007 | Weather Philippines." Super Typhoon HAIYAN (YOLANDA) Update Number 007 | Weather Philippines. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. http://weather.com.ph/announcements/super-typhoon-haiyan-yolanda-update-number-007>.

"Typhoon Haiyan." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Typhoon_Haiyan#Effects_on_the_economy>.

"Typhoon Haiyan: Worse Than Hell." The Economist. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21589916-one-strongest-storms-ever-recorded-has-devastated-parts-philippines-and-relief>.

The Impact of SUV Gas Mileage

By Bri Medina

SUVs were once owned by only a few Americans but now they account for 50% of all car sales today. You’ve all noticed the steep rise in prices of fuel but you probably didn’t know that SUVs are a huge cause of that. A sports utility vehicle isn’t even classified as a passenger vehicle; it is a truck. If you saw the gas mileage on these trucks, you would understand why they are creating a huge impact in our market. But as a result of this, many automakers are taking the job seriously and producing SUVs that are as efficient in gas mileage as luxury cars. They are making hybrid cars.

 

http://www.project.org/images/graphs/MPG.jpg

The first successful commercial hybrid car was the Ford Escape Hybrid. Ford Motors had created a masterpiece and revolutionized vehicle technology. The Escape had the best mileage in the world in the category of SUVs. The vehicle gives up to 31 mpg. Other companies like Mercury, Lexus, and Toyota started to come out with their own hybrid versions of their SUVs.

Even though they did try to improve several things about their trucks, such as the mileage and luxury of it, they are still not proving to be the most economically safe car to buy. You would think that consumers would want to buy smaller cars and save money. But the exact opposite is happening. The market for trucks and SUVs is thriving. They are being produced and sold like never before, even with the recession that we are in. People don’t seem to be bothered that they will be paying more money to put gas in their car and they also don’t mind not getting as many miles as they possibly could. The consumer is more concerned about the luxury of the car. They like the size that the vehicle provides and they are willing to sacrifice MPG.

People keep complaining that gas is way too much money right now but they aren’t doing anything about it. If they really tried they could do a variety of ways to improve their gas mileage. First of all, they could drive more efficiently; speeding, accelerating rapidly, and braking wastes gas. Remove excess weight; an extra 100 pounds on your vehicle could reduce your MPG by 2%. Avoid excessive idling; keeping your AC on and keeping your car on when it is parked can use up to half of a gallon per every hour. Use cruise control; it helps you maintain a constant speed and therefore wasted less gas. You could also observe the speed limit. Gas mileage usually decreases rapidly above 50 mph. Assume that each 5 mph that you drive over 50 mph is like paying an additional $0.25 per gallon for gas.

There are plenty of ways to save gas even if you do own a big vehicle like a truck or an SUV. You just have to be willing to be more aware of the things you could do to help your car be more fuel efficient.

Sources

CarMart USA. "Active Question." Are SUV sales down due to the bad economy and high fuel costs?. Reply Inc., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.

Gas Mileage Tips - Driving More Efficiently." Gas Mileage Tips - Driving More Efficiently. U.S. Department of Energy, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.

Wanjiru, Muna Wa. "The Impact of Suv Gas Mileage in the Market Today." The Impact of Suv Gas Mileage in the Market Today. StreetDirectory, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013. 

The Illegal Ivory Trade

By: Gabrielle Courseault

Last year alone, approximately 25,000-30,000 elephants died, totaling around 12% of the remaining population. This statistic doesn’t include natural deaths; rather, it refers to the number of elephants killed by poachers in search of a profit. This selfish desire greatly stems from one source: the ivory trade.

Ivory can be found in the tusks and teeth of animals, and, because elephants provide a large source of it, they seem to be the most sought after targets. However, because of the elephants’ dramatically decreasing population, ivory collected from poaching has become illegal. Still, the trade continues, mainly through the fuel generated from supply and demand.

The carving of ivory has been a tradition in China for more than 2,000 years. Currently, because of the significant amount of annual exports the country sends, the peoples’ incomes have been on the rise, and they want to spend it. Combine these two facts, and it makes sense that China is the source of highest demand. There are stores dedicated to the sale of supposedly legal ivory--those collected from elephants who had died of natural causes--but the value is so high and there is so much being imported, that it’s almost impossible to be certain on the legality of the products. Only those who supply the ivory know for sure, and those people are situated all the way in Africa.

So why do the suppliers in Africa continue to prolong the ivory trade, even the illegal side of it? They share the same incentive as most other people in the world today: money. The rising demand in China is causing the price of ivory to rise, increasing its value. Those in Africa who kill the elephants can then sell the tusks to make a huge profit, enough to support themselves and their families and still have extra money for luxuries they would otherwise have to live without. Not only that, but they know that the consequences of illegal poaching are minimal. The law is not enforced, with convictions being rare to none even though violations are committed daily. Although this cycle of supply and demand seems almost impossible to stop as it continues to run even when deemed illegal, there are some solutions to be considered.

One option is to reduce demand by exposing purchasers of ivory products to the brutality of its attainment. Because less people would buy the goods, poachers would make less money and eventually be unable to support their business, hopefully putting them out of the job.

Another option is to make the entire sale of ivory illegal whether it is acquired illegally or not. This would then decrease demand to almost none, meaning no one in the business would be making a profit, causing there to be no supply.

One final option is to stop supporting countries who support the trade. It’s a long-shot and a lot less direct than the other approaches, but, as stated before, China receives much of its income from its exports. If exports decrease, income would decrease, and Chinese citizens would hopefully sacrifice purchasing ivory products in order to afford their necessities.

No matter the approach, something needs to be done quickly or else the illegal trade of ivory will lead to elephant extinction. In fact, at the current trade rate, elephants are expected to be extinct within the next 10 years. Not only would a beautiful species be lost, but the GDP of African countries who rely on wildlife tourism would decrease, unemployment would rise due to wildlife conservationists, zookeepers, tour leaders, and others working with the species being put out of the job, and the food chain would be upset. Believe it or not, the environment plays a large role in how this Earth and those living upon it function, and sometimes temporary profits need to be put aside in order to ensure the preservation of lasting benefits as well as morality and humanitarianism.

For more information and an exclusive look into an African poaching investigation, watch the video that can be found here.

Sources:

"Born Free Foundation - Keep Wildlife in the Wild." Born Free Foundation. N.p., 26 Sept. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

"The Economics of the Illicit Ivory Trade." National Geographic Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

Rice, Mary. "Stop Stimulating the Ivory Trade; Just Stop Trade." News Watch. N.p., 14 Jan. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

Student Loans

Student Loans

By: Matt Kolbow

                For Most people the next step after high school is college to get a better education, and everybody know nothing is free anymore. College is very expensive and unless you come from a rich family you will most likely need to take out loans to pay for the overwhelming price of college.

                The total consumer debt rose by 1.1 percent to $11.28 trillion. This is the highest increase since the beginning of 2008 which happened due to the housing collapse. Of this $11.28 trillion, outstanding student debt rose from $33 billion to $1.03 trillion. With a record of 11.8% of loans were behind on payment by 90 days or more.

                The average student loan is around $24,000 with about 60-70% of the student owing that much. According to FinAid you will have to take a loan out for a maximum of 20 years. The standard loan is 10 years with a payment of $230 monthly and an interest of $7,619. But since it would take 20 years to pay off you have to get an extended plan for 20 years where the number change to $152 monthly but the interest raises by $9,000 to $16,639. If you don’t get a good job and make a lot of money after college then you would really be in debt by 40,000 instead of the $24,000 that you started with. A group of bank chief executives warned the seven-member board of Board of governors that the federal student debt is starting to become an unsustainable amount. Also that if there is a generation of college graduates with a lack of expendable income could negatively impact the overall economy for years to come.

                Of all of this debt somebody has to be collecting the interest that comes from it, whom is the U.S. Department of education. When the fiscal year ended Sept. 30 they reported that they had more than $42.5 billion in profit. This is the second most behind 2011 and is roughly a third higher than 2012. Without Congress and Obama agreeing about a temporary lowered student loan interest rate for 2013 the profit would have increase by more than $8 billion.

                Student loans cannot be discharged under current bankruptcy law, so then it will change how delinquent you are. Delinquency affects your credit rating. In today’s economy which is more of a credit driven economy no 20 year old can afford to pay all of the student loans and then be delinquent at the end of it. If you’re delinquent then your credit rating is hurting. This would then make it harder for you to take out other loans for a house or a car.

                With the U.S. being in such a substantial debt and the budget for education getting smaller and smaller Colleges are going to have to keep on increasing the price to attend their college, and the Department of education will have to keep on increasing their rates so they can make up for all of the money they used to get in their budget. If you mess up with this substantial amount of money you might also not be able to recover your credit for many years after. So then you wouldn’t be able to take out bigger loans for quite a while. With this being said this is one thing you don’t want to mess up.

http://www.finaid.org/loans/repayment.phtml

http://www.asa.org/policy/resources/stats/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/18/federal-student-loan-profits_n_4283765.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/07/usa-economy-credit-idUSW1N0H801Q20131107

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/14/us-usa-fed-consumerdebt-idUSBRE9AD0W920131114

Black Friday’s Huge Influence on America

By: Ericka Schaeffer

Black Friday is one of the most influential marking [marketing?] techniques in the American economy today. Black Friday, as many of us know, is the day after Thanksgiving in which stores open early and there are promised promotional sales if you shop in the early hours. The word “black” in Black Friday originates from the retailers making profit “in the dark [black].” What once started in Philadelphia soon became a nation wide event where store seemed to not just open at 6 a.m. but 4 a.m. and even earlier.

From an economic standpoint, this day is greatly important to growing businesses survival. According to Buzzfeed.com, This is the largest day of sales every single year with an average of 225,000,000 people participating and a collaboration of $11,4000,000,000 spent on this day alone by consumers.

This day solely relies on the law of demand working out it’s course. If the price of a good or service decreases, the demand will rise and it definitely will on Black Friday. Most consumers leave most if not all of their holiday shopping into this one particular night because they expect the prices to drop dramatically. The fact of the matter is, the big sale items usually run out fairly quickly, supporting the law of supply, so even if you woke up at 3 in the morning, it is still not guaranteed that you will get on sale items. This would be considered a shortage. The consumers of America’s opportunity cost for receiving those “lower” prices is losing a few hours of sleep and most people are willing to do that just to save a few bucks.

With all of the buying and producing in just this single day, there is a great increase in circulation of money which also has a great influence on the American economy. This annual event is crucial for both consumer and retailer to achieve both saving and profit goals allowing the economy is grow. That is why Black Friday is a great economic technique.

Sources:

"BuzzFeed." BuzzFeed. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. <http://www.buzzfeed.com/amyodell/9-stats-about-black-friday-that-will-blow-your-min>.

"More People Seek Greater Bargains And Spend Less During Black Friday Compared To 2008." Zero Hedge. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. <http://www.zerohedge.com/article/more-people-seek-greater-bargains-and-spend-less-during-black-friday-compared-2008>.

Starving College Student

By Abbey Van Hulle

The common phrase the “starving college student” is no joke. A majority of students across the United States are faced with the unavoidable high price of getting a college education. The small minority of those unaffected by this problem are those who have received full ride scholarships for academics or athletics. College tuition has been skyrocketing for years, preventing all of America’s youth an equal opportunity to receive higher than a high school diploma. While college is not a requirement, it still should be possible for everyone. Money should not be the reason why certain individuals are hindered from a brighter future. The question remains for who to blame about this situation?

State schools in particular blame recessions that hit the economy. A recession is “a period of temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial activity are reduced”. When a recession hits, the state legislators are faced with making budget cuts. An article in the NY times explaining why tuition costs are rising claims that “states have to prioritize other mandatory spending, like Medicaid. Higher education usually falls under the “discretionary spending” part of the budget — and in fact is often one of the biggest programs, if not the biggest, in the discretionary category.” (C. Rampell) The blame for tuition increase is because of state funding. Even states who are not struggling economically because of a recession, still charge an excessive amount for college. The out of state tuition is ridiculously high as compared to in state tuition. There is no easy way out of student loans unless you come from a family made of money.

The United States is obviously behind the ball in terms of paying for education. Top Universities around the world have hardly any tuition, if any the cost is very reasonable. USN author Kim Clark shared, “ Frugal Finnish speakers, for example, who gain entry to the tuition-free University of Helsinki, ranked 75th in the world in 2010, can survive on less than $1,000 a month for living and travel.” A four year bachelor’s degree at the University of Helsinki comes out to be about $40,000 dollars. One year at Marquette costs about $42,000. If schools in the United States were able to improve the education funding, a positive result would be the only outcome.

        I am fortunate enough that my parents will be able to help me pay for my tuition at Minnesota State University Mankato next year. However, my plans of becoming a pediatrician are being hindered because of the high cost of medical school. It frustrates me deeply that my dream job may be kicked completely out of the picture because of financial reasons. If the US wants to promote students going on to get a higher degree, they need to do something about budget cuts. State budget cuts in particular. While costs to maintain health care are extremely important, health care would not be possible without educated doctors and nurses. In conclusion, the rising cost of education in our nation will decline if state legislation can focus their budget cuts on something other than the source of student’s future.

Sources:

"Why Tuition Has Skyrocketed at State Schools." Economix Why Tuition Has Skyrocketed at State Schools Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. <http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/02/why-tuition-has-skyrocketed-at-state-schools/>.

"US news on Education ." Education . N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. <http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/college-cheapskate/articles/2010/09/21/some-top-international-colleges-offer-free-tuition>.

Can Gas Prices Elevate the Economy?

By Ben Tenpas   

It may be coming soon to a town near you. The fabled under $3.00 gas price is looming close in many parts of the country and can even be purchased already in others. But it leaves the question is this a return for good, or will it just shoot right back up again?  The good news is that the drop in price seems to be backed in good reason rather than false pretense.  One of the biggest reasons for the price drop is the 12% increase in supply from last year that combines with the decrease in demand brought on by more fuel efficient vehicles, to lower the price.

In the video below, the CEO of Shell weighs in on the price of gas and what controls it. Because it fluctuates so much, people might disagree with the statement above that the price changes fluctuate on simple, supply and demand, but the CEO says that it is just that. Despite the complex look to the average eye, the price will rise and fall with demand just as any other product does, except here, the market is set up to allow both small and large price fluctuation to allow the companies to maximize profit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8xRhz5xv70

So it seems to be a solid economic change and it is quite a relief to Americans as they go to the pump and experience something good for a change. It leaves a little money in their pockets and might even provide a boost to the economy. As of 2011 America was only importing 45% of the oil that it was consuming which is huge in bringing back the economy. As more people begin to take advantage of the lower prices, the American companies making over 50% of that gas will benefit greatly.  But the question remains, is that enough of a boost to jumpstart the economy again? I hope so. Research shows that the prices are here to stay for a while and that is good for long-term demand. People may be rushing to the pumps now to take advantage but if demand doesn’t rise too much in the next couple weeks, it seems as though the prices will continue to fall to a much more reasonable price than what we have seen in the last 2 years.

      

          However, looking at the graph it is hard to be hopeful, as the fluctuations in price have been anything but consistent. It isn’t hard to say that the typical American likely feels the same way as well.  Gas just hasn't been predictable enough to be the final blow to this recession. Simply put, it is a volatile industry that just doesn’t have the trust of the American people that an industry needs to be a huge contributor. It will for sure, put more money into the economy if the prices stay low and people continue to end up with more money in their pockets. I believe that keeping the price down, through continued use of domestic oil, and continued positive relations in the middle east, will allow gas to be one stepping stone to bringing the economy back to strength again.

Sources:

Geewax, Marilyn. "Declining Gas Prices Pump Up A Shaky Economy." NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.

"The White House Blog." The White House. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.

Surveillance: Invasion of privacy or a necessity for safety?

By Olivia Ritchie

The 2013 Freedom House’s survey of Freedom on the Net revealed some interesting information between May 2012 and April 2013. The United States has dropped from second place early 2012 to fourth place mid 2013 in digital rights. This is due to widespread speculation regarding an increase in internet surveillance by the US government, specifically the National Security Agency (NSA). This speculation is rooted in the release of classified NSA material by Edward Snowden earlier this year. He exposed details about the government’s mass surveillance programs but he claims his “sole motive for leaking the documents was to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them”. He was challenging the government on their balance between citizen protection and citizen privacy.

Freedom on the Net Visual: http://www.freedomhouse.org/report-types/freedom-net

Internet firms responded to Snowden’s information in many ways. Some firms shut down their email service in order to develop a new program that transmitted emails pre-scrambled allowing only the recipient to view the message. Google is utilizing a new form of encryption, converting information into a code, to make it more difficult for any potential spies. Yahoo and Twitter plan to follow. These are just a few of the efforts to ward off any potential invasive spying.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) provides statistics supporting Snowden’s controversial argument that the government has gone too far. They report “certain phone-tapping procedures have increased by 60 percent between 2009 and 2011, and the surveillance of email and other Internet data has been authorized in court by an increase of 361 percent during the same span”. Due to quickly developing technology it is now possible to tap phone wires without the use of hard equipment making it much easier to gain access to information. The ACLU has gathered proof from the US Justice Department that these technologies are being utilized by the US government.

Soon after the Edward Snowden’s leak to The Guardian Obama addressed the American public in attempts to cease the speculation. He acknowledged the excess of phone records being collected and the limited oversight on the country’s data collection programs and his plans to work with congress to reform these issues. Obama also argued that a high strength of surveillance is necessary to monitor terrorist plots, catch hackers, and “America is not interested in spying on ordinary people”.

Obama Defends NSA Spying: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZOajMkkCjI

Is such strong surveillance necessary for public safety? Is the government too invasive of its citizens? With the growing dependence on technology it is fair to say government surveillance may be necessary for proper protection of the American people. However, as a democratic nation we have allowed citizens the right to privacy and it is, by law, required that government programs do not cross that line. A big reason for the speculation is a result of poor communication by the government. The practices of the NSA should not have been so hidden from the American public. Once Congress properly reforms the laws involving the activities of the NSA it is important to properly inform. For the purpose of protecting the United States it is clear some information must remain hidden, however, surveillance should be publicly addressed.

Sources:

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/10/03/governments-worldwide-increase-online-surveillance-report-shows

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/08/09/obama-announces-reforms-to-nsa-spy-program
http://rt.com/usa/us-surveillance-pen-trap-145/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden

Unemployment for College Graduates

By: Tyler Stanczak

In the past couple decades; several students have come to realize that going to college may not always be enough to actually guarantee themselves a job. Yes, there are some jobs that are unfortunately doomed for unemployment such as dance and theater, but not all jobs are similar. Highly advanced jobs such as doctoral majored students are also finding it to be extremely difficult to find jobs. The reason for this is because “the number of college graduates has grown vastly faster than the number of jobs that require high level education skills” (Semuels). With that being said, students with a vast amount of knowledge are [un]fortunately going to struggle because of the lack of available jobs. This explains why the work field has become so competitive, especially in the business field because the amount of individuals graduating high school is far greater than what the economy can withstand. My assumption is that College may provide students with a greater outlook for finding a job, but college never guarantees students with a secure job after graduation.

Not only does the idea of attending College bring a question mark to several high school graduates, but it also brings a concern to several universities. If students are realizing that investing in college is not the smartest choice for them, then fewer consumers will decide to invest in colleges resulting in a poor economic growth in the education field. Fortunately, colleges are constantly trying to remind students that college does bring employment even though it may not seem like it. About “thirty nine percent say they had a job lined up when they graduated, though sixty eight percent report they are now working full time. Sixteen percent have part-time jobs and seven percent said they aren’t working at all” (Adams). These numbers are not pleasing to most consumers, but it’s the best statistics colleges can provide at this time. As the year accumulates, colleges become more concerned than the year before because they are beginning to realize that those who don’t find jobs are beginning to take future opportunities for the next graduating students. Every year, unemployment increases because more and more jobs are being filled and not enough are being created, in order to please the demand of those who wish to have a job.

In conclusion, students are finding it hard to pursue colleges because of the great deal of cons it provides for their future. In fact, students have been receiving on “average about twenty five thousand dollars worth of debt” after college and still are struggling to find jobs after such a huge investment of time and money (RNN). Some parents are finding it completely absurd that colleges charge such a great deal of money just to receive an education. Overall, investing in college is something many may speculate is a smart decision, but for some, college may be a head start into debt—it’s a risk several are willing to take!

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geHsK3M7IEw

Work Cited

20, Alana. "College-educated workers are taking jobs that don't require degrees."Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 20 Sept. 2013. Web. 4 Nov. 2013. <http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-college-grads-20130920,0,4465594.story#axzz2jivCnVPU>.

Adams, Susan. "College Graduates' Expectations Are Out Of Line with Reality, Says Study." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 2 May 2013. Web. 4 Nov. 2013. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/05/02/college-graduates-expectations-are-out-of-line-with-reality-says-study/>.

"College Degrees No Longer Enough To Get The Job." MarketWatch. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2013. <http://www.marketwatch.com/story/college-degrees-no-longer-enough-to-get-the-job-2013-10-29?reflink=MW_news_stmp>.

"Welcome to Unemployment: College Grads Face Tough Job Market." YouTube. YouTube, 8 May 2012. Web. 4 Nov. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geHsK3M7IEw>.

Employment Rises in October

Alexa Carrao

Employment Rises In October

When you think of the economy lately, do you think of it getting better or worse? Right now, some people may even say we are in a recession and the economy is at a very low point. In actuality, we are doing much better than some other parts of the world. Even in the past few years, we haven't gone too high in unemployment rates. In October, we had our government shut down pushing many people out of jobs and the percentage of people in the workforce is at the lowest point is has been in 35 years. When the government shut down, about 800,000 federal workers were pushed out of work temporarily. Also, 12,000 jobs were cut; a third of those jobs were in the postal service. The U.S. economy added 204,000 jobs in October all together, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rates in that month went from 7.2% to 7.3% just in the month of October. The growth even began in August and September; revisions showed that there were an extra 60,000 jobs in those two months. Almost 11 percent of people in the workforce without a high school diploma were unemployed in October, according to government data, compared to just 4 percent of college graduates. "The economy seems to be heating up faster than people think," said J.J. Kinahan, chief strategist for TDAmeritrade. Although we haven't quite recovered from the most recent recession, we must look at the bright side. More and more jobs are being laid out for others when all of those people are leaving the workforce.

U.S. Jobs Gained or Lost (In the Thousands)

62.8% people over the age of 16 either had a job or looked for one which is the lowest rate since 1978 of March. “The job market is actually narrowing,” said John Silvia, chief economist at Wells Fargo. “There’s a smaller group of people working, but they are prospering.” What all of this means together is 11.3 million Americans were counted as unemployed in October and 4 million of them had been out of work for at least six months. About 815,000 have gave up hope of even looking for a job anymore which really isn't helping with people getting employed. Overall, the economy took a bad turn in the month of October as hundred of thousands of people got pushed out of work rising unemployment rates. This rate hopefully will make a turn for the better as the economy continues to change with more people either being pulled in or getting pushed out of the workforce.

Sources:

Mui, Ylan. "Economy added 204,000 jobs in October; unemployment rate ticks up to 7.3 percent."Washington Post. The Washington Post, 9 Nov. 2013. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/jobless-rate-rose-to-73percent-during-government-shutdown-economy-added-204k-jobs/2013/11/08/f51fa1de-481f-11e3-b6f8-3782ff6cb769_story.html>.

Kurtz, Annalyn. "What shutdown? Hiring climbs in October." CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 8 Nov. 2013. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. <http://money.cnn.com/2013/11/08/news/economy/october-jobs-report/>.

ObamaCare Positive or Negative

By: Jayla Stokes

        ObamaCare is nothing but a positive factor in the health world if everyone agreed on to let it be. We are influenced as teens by our parents every day, never really searching into the background or facts on ObamaCare. Therefore we are given the mindset, thinking it’s a positive to the world or a negative. Democrats and Republicans it seems will never be willing to agree on the same thing, will they ever? This is one factor that I believe will never fully be agreed upon, health care is different for everyone people that support ObamaCare think the benefits are incredible but the ones who don’t agree with the terms say that ObamaCare is a harmful source. But what fully is ObamaCare?

ObamaCare is a national health care plan that is aimed in reforming the American health care systems. It can be inferred that the main focus of this health care is to provide Americans with affordable health care while also improving, and keeping the healthcare insurance at a decent price as well. The official name was The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but President Obama signed the law into act as it was presented. ObamaCare was decade’s worth of work that was just now put into action, it originally started after Romney Care which ObamaCare was after, these ideas were thrown from both sides of the isles.

Despite the negative feedback of ObamaCare there are many positive aspects, one being tens of millions that are uninsured will get access to affordable quality health insurance. CHIP (Children Health care Program) will expand to cover 9 million children. Another important fact is young adults will be able to stay on their parents plan until the age of 26, and you will not be dropped if you are sick.

Not only are there many more positives to having this care, but there are negatives. The insurance yes covers sick people, but this causes the cost of insurance to increase. Taxes are something I don’t think anyone enjoys but with having a healthcare cover so much it is only necessary to have the cost of taxes increase to be able to provide for everyone. The more taxes increase it only makes sense for there to be even more employers out in the labor field.

VIDEO LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZkk6ueZt-U

(Explaining that pros and cons of Obamacare and a better understanding)

No matter which information we hear more of good or bad, ObamaCare no matter who is a positive impact, not all will agree because we are all entitled to our own opinion. We believe in what we hear right away which is the problem with American now a day without going to take the time and research things. We need change and this is exactly a set in the right direction.

Sited Sources…

http://obamacarefacts.com/whatis-obamacare.php

http://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-pros-and-cons.php