Is free trade good or bad for the American economy Essay

Is free trade good or bad for the American economy - Essay Example (Odell, 27) Because it is generally agreed upon that free trade improves aggregate wealth, opponents tend to be those who would personally suffer, such as business owners whose businesses would be unable to compete with foreign rivals. (Lars, 209) Ideally, under a free trade model, every person and every country would produce what they are best at producing and then use the money from the sale of their products to buy those products they are not skilled at making. Many detractors focus on the harmful effects that free trade has on the environment, since free trade agreements allow companies in countries with lax environmental regulations and little financial incentive to reduce emissions or control waste to compete with American companies, which have to expend a great deal of money to meet environmental regulations. (Shaikh, 136) The result, critics say, is that foreign companies have an economic advantage over American companies, or that American companies will move their operations overseas to avoid compliance with U.S. regulations. (Odell, 34) A similar argument claims that trade with countries that have poor conditions for workers reinforces the legitimacy of those conditions. Supporters of free trade, however, claim that free trade is beneficial for the environment, since products are more likely to be produced in places where production is easier, and thus less harmful to the environment. Proponents of free trade claim it is the most equitable trading practice, since foreign companies can compete on equal footing with domestic companies. Free trade allows companies to sell their products to consumers willing to pay the highest price, and allows consumers to buy from the company selling the highest quality product at the lowest price. (Graham, 68) Free trade advocates claim that the taxes and tariffs imposed on imported goods makes it doubly hard for foreign producers to compete: because of the cost of

National Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

National Crisis - Essay Example After having witnessed what has befallen their country, the United States began to take terrorism more seriously that it had ever before. Here was an enemy without face that directly challenged the might of the country responsible for turning the two world wars in the favor of a free world. The American Heritage Dictionary defines terrorism as â€Å"the unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons†. Everybody now knew what the word truly meant especially what the term ‘force’ implied. The United States spared no time in hunting down the members of the al-Qaeda. It began in Afghanistan where the Taliban regime proudly sponsored the extremists. Why you ask? According to †¦, â€Å"one man’s terrorist may be another man’s freedom fighter†. The country then proceeded with dismantling the Saddam Hussein regime whose reports indicate to be a major violator of human rights. (Combs, 2007; Gunaratna, 2003). The Iraqi struggle has been the focal point of criticism of the Bush administration. The war waged not on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan alone. It was also being fought in the mind and hearts of every American (Pillar, 2004; North O., Horn S, Horn S.A., 2004). After 6 years of the event, the U.S. is now split between those who considers it best that the country changes its mode from search-and-destroy to build-and-move on and those who deem it proper that the fight must carry on. They voice out their concerns in position papers, placards and editorials. In this paper, we will be analyzing two editorials whose content has much to say regarding what should be done now 5 years after the event. The purpose of this paper is not so much as to