Category: Politics

Why Trump’s Election Win is a Good Thing

President Trump has been in office for over 100 days. Since he has passed that milestone (which many decry as a horrible way to measure the progress of a new administration), the barrage of criticism has only grown.

Much of the negative press is based off of the blunders, leaks, and shady dealings that have become an almost constant dark cloud hovering over the Trump administration.

This article is not going to discuss the bias prevalent in many news channels, whether for or against President Trump. Neither will I discuss the divisive nature of the campaign, election win, and time in power thus far.

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Has the Two Party System Done More Harm Than Good?

Despite the elections being over, the country still appears to be embroiled in political disputes concerning President-Elect Trump and how the system to elect the President of the United States needs revamping.

In an earlier article, we analyzed the Electoral College System. This time, we will be taking a look at the two party system of Democrats vs Republicans and how it may have done more harm than good to national politics.

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Is the Electoral College Still Relevant?

The dust has settled and the new President of the United States will be Republican candidate, Donald Trump.

This result left many Americans, as well as people across the world, dumbfounded. Even some Trump supporters did not believe their candidate could really win the election.

To add to the controversy of what has become the most polarizing election in recent memory, is how Trump won the electoral votes but not the popular vote.

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Should the US Resume Oil Exports?

A fact that many people do not know is that the US has not exported crude oil since 1975, when Congress banned the act. The reason back then was that domestic reserves where becoming depleted due to the 1973 Arab embargo. But that was over 40 years ago. So why is the ban still in effect?

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Study on the Public Opinion of U.S. President Barack Obama’s Proposed Increase in the Minimum Wage

The following is a research project conducted to determine how those businesses most affected by an increase to the national minimum wage feel about President Obama’s proposal from a few months ago.

After the Executive Summary and Report, please find the Questionnaire used as well as some visuals in Data Findings.

Executive Summary

The topic of whether the minimum wage should be increased to $10.10, as proposed by President Barack Obama, has become an intense issue. This study has been conducted to bring to light the current sentiment by those most affected by a change in the minimum so that policy makers have a better understanding and grasp of what needs to be done.

The research conducted was limited to an area in Monmouth County, NJ that includes a range of socio-economic groups from upper lower class to high middle class. The target of the study was divided into two main demographic groups; Professional Managers and Owner Managers. These two groups represent Large Companies and Small Businesses, respectively. Further categorization includes gender and number of employees. Once the data was collected, it was then analyzed to yield results that could be used to complete the objective of accurately portraying how different demographics feel they will be impacted by increasing the minimum wage.

The results have limitations based mostly on the small sample size and specific area that the study was conducted in, as well as the types of industries represented. The implications of the information are important, nonetheless. Large Companies tended to be more against increasing the minimum wage than did Small Businesses. This seems to be because of the large labor force employed by retail corporations that have multiple locations across the state or country. Large Corporations also have more financial burden relative to Small Businesses and would feel the strain of increased labor cost more so than smaller businesses.

After considering the study results and factoring in the limitations, it seems important that policy makers and interested parties conduct similar research on a much larger scale in order to better represent the scope of the nation. With concern to this study, however, recommendations to policy makers would be to increase the minimum wage incrementally on a national scale, however to encourage states to take more of a lead based on each state’s respective economies. A change in the tax code is also necessary to allow businesses, large and small, to better face the current economic challenges. Increasing the minimum wage is only one small step to revitalizing the nation’s economy.

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Raising the Minimum Wage

The current national minimum wage is at $7.25

There has been quite a lot of chatter recently concerning a raise in the minimum wage. Discussion has increased since President Obama’s State of the Union Address this past Tuesday, where he called for a raise in the minimum wage to $10.10 (the current national minimum wage is $7.25, although the number varies by state). The major issue with a wage hike is whether the consequences will be positive or negative for the economy.

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China vs Japan: A Story of Nationalism and Old Rivalries

Anyone following world events will have noticed that there continues to be a growing tension in East Asia. The conflict predominantly stems from the rivalry between China and Japan; a rivalry that has stretched back centuries.

Recent headlines concerning the conflict are centered on the dispute of which of the two countries have sovereignty over a small island chain. Japan has legally owned the islands for decades, but has claimed ownership since the late 1800’s. Despite this, China still claims the islands belong to them and have gone so far as to include the islands in their Air Defense Identification Zone. This, of course, has only further aggravated the debate over the island chain, as well as the overall relationship between the two nations.

Conflict between China and Japan is nothing new. Armed conflict dates back centuries. The First Sino-Japanese War was held from 1894 to 1895, mostly over control of Korea. The most infamous conflict held between the two countries was the Second Sino-Japanese War which was held from 1937 until 1945. This war merged with the greater, global conflict being fought in World War II. The main purpose of the Second Sino-Japanese War was to expand Japanese control over China’s vast natural resources, and was a result of Japan’s imperialistic policies. The most controversial event to come out of this war was the Nanking Massacre, commonly referred to as the Rape of Nanking. It is because of such atrocities committed against the people of China, that the relationship between the two nations has never quite healed.

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Is East Asia Stoking the Fire Towards Major Global Conflict?

East Asian Conflict

 

 

Conflict in East Asia, specifically between China and Japan, continues to escalate. A major focus of the conflict seems to be territorial disputes over a small chain of island, called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese. Japan bought the the privately held islands not long ago, nationalizing them, though they have been under Japanese control since 1895. China views these islands as belonging to them and that Japan stole them. In fact, China has included the airspace above the islands in their Air Defense Identification Zone, which requires all aircraft to enter flight plans and radio information.

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