I think for the most part the West has lost since 2000. On September 11th terrorist from the east were able to attack the United States a major nation of the West. September 11th is a tragedy that is still affecting the world today. The United States and their allies in the west as well as in the eastern part of the world are still taking part in two wars, which have truly affected the western economies that are being affected but the major costs of war.
After these events, consumers began to spend less because of fear of possibly another attack and because of the terrible state of the economy. Consumers also began to buy cheaper products that are produced overseas in countries in the east like China, or Vietnam. The economy took a even harder hit because of the fear and consumers changing their habits.
Because of its weak economy, the United States has been forced to borrow money from nations in the east like China who have invested tons of money in the US. The United States currently owes 41 cents to the dollar. We have lost many jobs to countries overseas that do not have regulations on labor. Companies can produce products at a cheaper price because the cost to make those goods are much cheaper because you don’t have to pay the workers as much money and you would have to do in the United States.
The west has won in the sense that many of the western nations, such as the United States, Brazil & Canada are still see as one of the most powerful nations in the world. They are seen as free and untamed in the sense that they are not under the control of any ruler or dictatorship. The west also has the advantage that there currently are not any wars in the western part of the world. Many of the nations in the east are currently in the middle of civil wars or turmoil.
Wars are historically good for economies in that they have spurred patriotism in American products and war production and export has propped up the American economy in the past. The major failings of the American economy come more from greed in the housing market and lack of responsible choices in the banking industry rather than what is quick or easy to make money. An amount of restraint would have gone a long was in avoiding the housing crisis, banking problems, and American car company bailouts.
America is beginning to decline in that its spreading itself too thin financially and miliarily. How many countries can the US afford to support financially and how many places can its military go at the same time and still allow the US to focus on getting back to being the main world power? Other countries are creeping up to take America’s place if it doesn’t watch more carefully what its policies are going to do in the next five, ten or twenty years. Every policy enacted now has a profound effect on the future.
Wars are historically good for economies in that they have spurred patriotism in American products and war production and export has propped up the American economy in the past.
Wars also create huge debt
The major failings of the American economy come more from greed
who is greedy? Are representative in Congress greedy?
in the housing market and lack of responsible choices in the banking industry rather than what is quick or easy to make money. An amount of restraint would have gone a long was in avoiding the housing crisis, banking problems, and American car company bailouts. America is beginning to decline in that its spreading itself too thin financially and miliarily. How many countries can the US afford to support financially and how many places can its military go at the same time and still allow the US to focus on getting back to being the main world power? Other countries are creeping up to take America’s place if it doesn’t watch more carefully what its policies are going to do in the next five, ten or twenty years. Every policy enacted now has a profound effect on the future.
I think that the US is still the world hegemonic power in regards to its military power. As far as the economy, the US has sharply declined since the Bush II administration took charge of the country. The US is still confident about collecting money by selling treasury securities to China and other investors, which include the US population. States and individuals invest in American debt because they know that the US government is very good at making payments, due to the fact that the US government always collects taxes from its people which increase treasury bond’s liquidity. The bad news in regards to massive military spending in unpopular wars such as Iraq, Afghanistan and now Libya is that wars increase debt and fuel anti-americanism in areas where US troops are sent to. Wars, also, are not likely to prevent terrorists attacks in the future, wars just create more resentment towards the US and are likely to increase terrorism, lets remember the “broken window fallacy” in economics. Although wars create jobs because there are people willing to fabricate missiles, bombs, machine guns,etc. (which in the end will destroy other peoples lives) it takes money away from projects that could be spent in education or health care in the US, which are real investments and necessities of the American people.
I think West has lost because of its victory over the years as a leader of economic development and political influence. But because the economic success was so high there were very few ethical precautions in western business world. Ethics is a huge part of any business should be a part of the US business world as well as the Government. However, ethics is something that is not well learned at school or college, but rather it comes from personal family’s and friend’s values. Unethical behavior in business is driven mainly by some kind of financial reward. It seems that ethics of the West were practiced less and less over time. In regards to the financial crisis there should not be the blame only on the banks and the government. There were real people who lied on their income statements to get bigger and better houses. So ethics apply to every side on business transaction, not just to the seller, but to the buyer as well. If a person wants to buy something they should know how they are going to pay for it, especially if it is such a large purchase as a house. I agree, banks made it difficult with all these arm loans that create the idea that one actually can afford to pay for a big house with small payments for a while. But we all were taught well enough to read the small print, but we chose to read it more on our food packages over mortgage loan contracts. West has lost because it believed in its all-financial victory, because economically everything was great, but it failed to look deeper into the fascinating numbers of high profit rates. To get out of the financial mess businesses, government and people should start with ethics and unity. We cannot afford more debt as a country and we need to figure out how we going to get out of it together. There is nothing more powerful that the united efforts of people. There is famous proverb: “it is easy to break one stick, but it is hard to break a bundle of them”. It means individually we are weaker than in a group. There are more things can be done together then apart.
I completely agree. I think that the US and it’s citizens have become financially irresponsible. Financial restraint could have prevented this recession and it’s important for the US to learn from their mistakes. It’s important for the country to pull itself out of debt and get back on the right track in order to preserve their future and remain on top.
I think that the West is losing, through the US’ lack of financial control and desire to impose western ideals on other nations. Al though I believe the government is in part to blame on the financial crisis, I think that the American people are also to blame. Greed and credit cards has made people become irresponsible with their money. The desire to have things that one cannot afford and yet still purchasing them has become the norm. Buying things now and thinking about how to pay for it later is a common mistake most American’s make. American’s need to learn how to make better financial decisions and they should be able to look to their government for guidance. The governments excessive spending without reprecussions has led to a large federal deficit. These bad financial decisions have made other nations look at the US like they are weak because they can’t even stick to a budget. Another major issue that the government should address is their relations with other nations. The US has a tendency to try and push their western ways onto nations that do not want it. Al though I do believe that our system of government is the best way to run a nation, we cannot force others into it. The government should re-evaluate its policies and re-work programs to help the future.
I would agree and say that the West is in a process of losing compared to the rest of the world. Although, I don’t think I would directly point back to September 11th as the major breakage in the chain of growth. September 11th was what started the US involvement in major overseas conflicts as well as the war on terrorism. However, as Prof. Sacco mentioned, war is inevitably good for the economy of a country. If we think back to that time in the US, we were slowly coming out of a recession. This means low economic growth, the unemployment rate was high, etc. However, when the US announced that they were preparing to go to war, the economy shifted a bit. Soldiers would need more supplies in order to be prepared for war. This meant that companies or factories would have to hire more workers to make these items. If more workers are finding jobs, that means the unemployment rate is dropping. People have more money, and the fear of not having a job is gone, therefore they are more likely to spend a little more money than they might have before. Therefore, we have the unemployment rate dropping, more money being made, more money being spent, which increases the investments of consumer based stores, all in all the recession is slowing fading away. All to say, that war is not always a bad thing for the economy of a country.
As far as the state of the west now, there’s a lot of instability. We all know the situation with the government threatening to shut down last week. I think this in itself does not proclaim the west as “winning” at all. It’s obvious that governmentally speaking there are issues that need to be resolved. Structure needs to be set so that instances like this won’t happen in the future. For college students like me that may not be directly affected by such happenings, may not care as much about the government shutting down. However, tax payers, military workers, or actual government officials may feel those lasting affects for awhile.
As a nation the US is seen as the “more developed nation” and prospering on the world stage. However, our push to westernize eastern countries as Katlin mentioned about is also a pull to show the west as “losing”. Instead of accepting those countries “way” of doing things, we tend to push our policies or our “way” into business dealings. I think it all comes down to losing the “big dog” stance and being willing to accept change and put that into action. We’ll see what happens in the upcoming presidential election next year.
I don’t think the west (the US) lost anything it didn’t purposely want to give away. By this, I mean that the crusade for Democracy (and Capitalism) was a double-edge sword, which has hit the US back. Thinking in economic terms, if barriers of entry to a market are little to none (which is what the US was doing in promoting capitalism), then more and more firms (in this case countries) will enter the market until the profit goes all the way down to zero. This is the constant battle that the west undertakes in our current global economy.
The quest for innovation, human capital, investment and other sources of growth is what characterizes a nation’s growth, now that many other nations are adapting free-market ideals in the economic plans. The US must become more aggressive and deal with the fact that they cannot be the only superpower or superhero in town and in order to compete, must (to put it bluntly) freshen up its act. This encompasses the working middle class, small businesses, corporations and politicians, who are in charge of progress and development.
jsacco
Whose Lost Decade-2000-2009? 
Alejandra Monteagudo said
I think for the most part the West has lost since 2000. On September 11th terrorist from the east were able to attack the United States a major nation of the West. September 11th is a tragedy that is still affecting the world today. The United States and their allies in the west as well as in the eastern part of the world are still taking part in two wars, which have truly affected the western economies that are being affected but the major costs of war.
After these events, consumers began to spend less because of fear of possibly another attack and because of the terrible state of the economy. Consumers also began to buy cheaper products that are produced overseas in countries in the east like China, or Vietnam. The economy took a even harder hit because of the fear and consumers changing their habits.
Because of its weak economy, the United States has been forced to borrow money from nations in the east like China who have invested tons of money in the US. The United States currently owes 41 cents to the dollar. We have lost many jobs to countries overseas that do not have regulations on labor. Companies can produce products at a cheaper price because the cost to make those goods are much cheaper because you don’t have to pay the workers as much money and you would have to do in the United States.
The west has won in the sense that many of the western nations, such as the United States, Brazil & Canada are still see as one of the most powerful nations in the world. They are seen as free and untamed in the sense that they are not under the control of any ruler or dictatorship. The west also has the advantage that there currently are not any wars in the western part of the world. Many of the nations in the east are currently in the middle of civil wars or turmoil.
Claire said
Wars are historically good for economies in that they have spurred patriotism in American products and war production and export has propped up the American economy in the past. The major failings of the American economy come more from greed in the housing market and lack of responsible choices in the banking industry rather than what is quick or easy to make money. An amount of restraint would have gone a long was in avoiding the housing crisis, banking problems, and American car company bailouts.
America is beginning to decline in that its spreading itself too thin financially and miliarily. How many countries can the US afford to support financially and how many places can its military go at the same time and still allow the US to focus on getting back to being the main world power? Other countries are creeping up to take America’s place if it doesn’t watch more carefully what its policies are going to do in the next five, ten or twenty years. Every policy enacted now has a profound effect on the future.
jsacco said
Wars are historically good for economies in that they have spurred patriotism in American products and war production and export has propped up the American economy in the past.
Wars also create huge debt
The major failings of the American economy come more from greed
who is greedy? Are representative in Congress greedy?
in the housing market and lack of responsible choices in the banking industry rather than what is quick or easy to make money. An amount of restraint would have gone a long was in avoiding the housing crisis, banking problems, and American car company bailouts. America is beginning to decline in that its spreading itself too thin financially and miliarily. How many countries can the US afford to support financially and how many places can its military go at the same time and still allow the US to focus on getting back to being the main world power? Other countries are creeping up to take America’s place if it doesn’t watch more carefully what its policies are going to do in the next five, ten or twenty years. Every policy enacted now has a profound effect on the future.
christian monje said
I think that the US is still the world hegemonic power in regards to its military power. As far as the economy, the US has sharply declined since the Bush II administration took charge of the country. The US is still confident about collecting money by selling treasury securities to China and other investors, which include the US population. States and individuals invest in American debt because they know that the US government is very good at making payments, due to the fact that the US government always collects taxes from its people which increase treasury bond’s liquidity. The bad news in regards to massive military spending in unpopular wars such as Iraq, Afghanistan and now Libya is that wars increase debt and fuel anti-americanism in areas where US troops are sent to. Wars, also, are not likely to prevent terrorists attacks in the future, wars just create more resentment towards the US and are likely to increase terrorism, lets remember the “broken window fallacy” in economics. Although wars create jobs because there are people willing to fabricate missiles, bombs, machine guns,etc. (which in the end will destroy other peoples lives) it takes money away from projects that could be spent in education or health care in the US, which are real investments and necessities of the American people.
Marina Walls said
I think West has lost because of its victory over the years as a leader of economic development and political influence. But because the economic success was so high there were very few ethical precautions in western business world. Ethics is a huge part of any business should be a part of the US business world as well as the Government. However, ethics is something that is not well learned at school or college, but rather it comes from personal family’s and friend’s values. Unethical behavior in business is driven mainly by some kind of financial reward. It seems that ethics of the West were practiced less and less over time. In regards to the financial crisis there should not be the blame only on the banks and the government. There were real people who lied on their income statements to get bigger and better houses. So ethics apply to every side on business transaction, not just to the seller, but to the buyer as well. If a person wants to buy something they should know how they are going to pay for it, especially if it is such a large purchase as a house. I agree, banks made it difficult with all these arm loans that create the idea that one actually can afford to pay for a big house with small payments for a while. But we all were taught well enough to read the small print, but we chose to read it more on our food packages over mortgage loan contracts. West has lost because it believed in its all-financial victory, because economically everything was great, but it failed to look deeper into the fascinating numbers of high profit rates. To get out of the financial mess businesses, government and people should start with ethics and unity. We cannot afford more debt as a country and we need to figure out how we going to get out of it together. There is nothing more powerful that the united efforts of people. There is famous proverb: “it is easy to break one stick, but it is hard to break a bundle of them”. It means individually we are weaker than in a group. There are more things can be done together then apart.
Katlin Hill said
I completely agree. I think that the US and it’s citizens have become financially irresponsible. Financial restraint could have prevented this recession and it’s important for the US to learn from their mistakes. It’s important for the country to pull itself out of debt and get back on the right track in order to preserve their future and remain on top.
Katlin Hill said
I think that the West is losing, through the US’ lack of financial control and desire to impose western ideals on other nations. Al though I believe the government is in part to blame on the financial crisis, I think that the American people are also to blame. Greed and credit cards has made people become irresponsible with their money. The desire to have things that one cannot afford and yet still purchasing them has become the norm. Buying things now and thinking about how to pay for it later is a common mistake most American’s make. American’s need to learn how to make better financial decisions and they should be able to look to their government for guidance. The governments excessive spending without reprecussions has led to a large federal deficit. These bad financial decisions have made other nations look at the US like they are weak because they can’t even stick to a budget. Another major issue that the government should address is their relations with other nations. The US has a tendency to try and push their western ways onto nations that do not want it. Al though I do believe that our system of government is the best way to run a nation, we cannot force others into it. The government should re-evaluate its policies and re-work programs to help the future.
Ashley Edwards said
I would agree and say that the West is in a process of losing compared to the rest of the world. Although, I don’t think I would directly point back to September 11th as the major breakage in the chain of growth. September 11th was what started the US involvement in major overseas conflicts as well as the war on terrorism. However, as Prof. Sacco mentioned, war is inevitably good for the economy of a country. If we think back to that time in the US, we were slowly coming out of a recession. This means low economic growth, the unemployment rate was high, etc. However, when the US announced that they were preparing to go to war, the economy shifted a bit. Soldiers would need more supplies in order to be prepared for war. This meant that companies or factories would have to hire more workers to make these items. If more workers are finding jobs, that means the unemployment rate is dropping. People have more money, and the fear of not having a job is gone, therefore they are more likely to spend a little more money than they might have before. Therefore, we have the unemployment rate dropping, more money being made, more money being spent, which increases the investments of consumer based stores, all in all the recession is slowing fading away. All to say, that war is not always a bad thing for the economy of a country.
As far as the state of the west now, there’s a lot of instability. We all know the situation with the government threatening to shut down last week. I think this in itself does not proclaim the west as “winning” at all. It’s obvious that governmentally speaking there are issues that need to be resolved. Structure needs to be set so that instances like this won’t happen in the future. For college students like me that may not be directly affected by such happenings, may not care as much about the government shutting down. However, tax payers, military workers, or actual government officials may feel those lasting affects for awhile.
As a nation the US is seen as the “more developed nation” and prospering on the world stage. However, our push to westernize eastern countries as Katlin mentioned about is also a pull to show the west as “losing”. Instead of accepting those countries “way” of doing things, we tend to push our policies or our “way” into business dealings. I think it all comes down to losing the “big dog” stance and being willing to accept change and put that into action. We’ll see what happens in the upcoming presidential election next year.
Alejandro Aguayo said
I don’t think the west (the US) lost anything it didn’t purposely want to give away. By this, I mean that the crusade for Democracy (and Capitalism) was a double-edge sword, which has hit the US back. Thinking in economic terms, if barriers of entry to a market are little to none (which is what the US was doing in promoting capitalism), then more and more firms (in this case countries) will enter the market until the profit goes all the way down to zero. This is the constant battle that the west undertakes in our current global economy.
The quest for innovation, human capital, investment and other sources of growth is what characterizes a nation’s growth, now that many other nations are adapting free-market ideals in the economic plans. The US must become more aggressive and deal with the fact that they cannot be the only superpower or superhero in town and in order to compete, must (to put it bluntly) freshen up its act. This encompasses the working middle class, small businesses, corporations and politicians, who are in charge of progress and development.