Issue #1 - All Things Being Unequal

Issue #1 is all about the increasing gap between the incomes of the upper and lower classes. Since 1979, the income of the upper class has increased from 45.4 percent to 53.5 percent. At the same time, the income of the lower class has decreased from 5.8 percent to 4.1 percent. These statistics show the increasing gap between the classes. Similarly, the gap between the upper classes and the middle class have also been increasing. This is due to the middle classes almost stagnant wages, while their cost of living has still been on the rise. Many government officials agree that the current economic gap is unfairly wide. However, they aren't sure what to do about it. Some people think that the federal government should impose restrictions on trade and outsourcing, in order to maintain salary levels and protect domestic jobs. These restrictions follow the rule of protectionism. Other people suggest the government should increase taxes on the upper classes and reduce taxes on the lower and middle classes. However, not all people feel that the problem needs to be fixed. People who oppose change suggest that inforcing trade barriers would reduce bussiness profits which would leave less money to distribute to the workers. Other people say that the gap between economic growth actually helps stimulate the economy. Some opponents also say that federal spending on social safety nets already consumes about half of the federal budget, and there just isn't enough money for more.

I believe that the government shouldn't do anything to help decrease the gap between the upper and lower classes. The fact of the matter is, if the middle and lower class jobs earned wages that were similar to the upper class jobs, no one would work for those jobs. People who become doctors and lawyers spend many years in college doing hard work and studying in order to get a high class salary. But if they could do less schooling and still get a fairly high paying job, I would imagine they would take it. Its really a motivational thing. Plus, if the income gap helps the economy, why would we want to decrease it? In doing so we would be hurting the economy which is what makes our country tick. I also believe that our government spends to much on programs that aren't really necessary, and they just don't have the funds to take on a project that would decrease the gap between the social classes. There isn't even a need for it. Thomas Friedman wants to raise taxes, instead of stopping trade with all countries. By doing this we would open up more markets and expand exsisting ones, which would create more jobs. This way we could expand the business profit without stopping outsourcing.

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Big Spill in the Gulf?

The Deepwater Horizon has sunk 36 hours after a huge explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. Now officials are worried that many gallons of crude oil could spill into the sea. So far there have been ship skimming oil off the surface. But it won't be until tomorrow, at the least, before they find out if the rig is still spilling more crude oil under the surface. They are currently using a remote controlled vehicle to look around the sunken rig to see if in fact the crude is spilling from the well of the rig. Besides the worry of the spill that may occur, there are still 11 workers missing from the explosion. The Coast Guard has been patrolling the area searching for the missing workers, but they are assuming all of them are dead.

This whole situation is just getting worse by the hour. The longer it takes the Coast Guard to find the missing workers, the more likely it is that they will be dead. Plus, on top of that we have to worry about the potential of gallons upon gallons of crude oil coming out of the rig. That poses two problems: it's bad for the Gulf Coast and it hits us financially. If they don't get the leak stopped, we could potentially lose thousands of gallons of crude oil that could be used for our vehicles and other uses. I can't imagine the collateral damage that the oil will have on the ecosystem and the ocean life in the Gulf of Mexico. Not to mention the damage it will do on American's wallats. The oil companies will use this incident as an excuse to jack up oil prices.

Read more at:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36683314/ns/us_news-life/?GT1=43001#36717831

Gov. Manchin: Let's Honor Miners Friday with Safety Review

West Virginia's Governor Joe Manchin stated today that he wants miners to return to work on Friday. But instead of mining coal on Friday he wants them all to take the day to re-evaluate safety procedures. The accident in the Big Branch Mine in Naoma killed 29 miners and proves to be the worst incident since 1972 when 91 miners died. Manchin wants everyone to work together to come up with better and safer working conditions in the mines. After all, he feels that safety is the number one concern. Upper Big Branch Mine, the part where the explosion took place, is closed until the investigation is complete. There have also been some interesting details leaked about the record of Massey Energy, the owner of the mine. Davitt McAteer, whose overseen other mine investigations, states that Massey Energy has a "checkered" record. Massey Energy also has a record of doing things the cheapest way. This way includes cutting corners and not following safety laws. In fact, just last year, Big Branch Mine got 450 citations.

This is a very tradgic event. My heart goes out to all the miners and their families that were involved in this event. Hopefully a lot of good can come out of this though. It's sad that, as Americans, we have to wait for a tradgedy before we can move forward. But since the collapsing happened, hopefully the governor will keep pushing until new safety regulations and equipment are created to prevent these things from happening in the future. It's the least we can do to honor the dead miners. Some of the new regulations could include federal inspectors checking on the mine shafts on a more regular basis. They also have to make sure that companies aren't cutting corners on safety. No amount of money is worth risking lives for.

Read more about the incident at:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/04/14/west.virginia.mine.safety/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Environmentalists Critical of Obama Drilling Plan

Some environmentalists slam Obama's plan, citing that it will be a danger to the ecosystem and to tourism. The Florida senator says the plan is better than others that have been proposed in the past. Obama's proposal would keep offshore drilling 125 miles from the Florida coast. Another environmentalist praises protection for sensitive areas on the West Coast. Basically, the environmentalists are angry that Obama has these plans set. You can see in the picture people have already been protesting his plans by standing on a beach next to the ocean, holding hands. This symbolizes a barrier that is trying to stop the government from drilling in the ocean.

I agree with Obama's oil drilling plans. It may endanger some of the ecosystem, but the president wouldn't allow anything that would hurt the majority of it. The people who are protesting need to realize that we live in a world that needs oil. The more oil we can drill ourselves will mean lower costs for the consumers. I would say that most of America can live with a little bit less beauty if it fattens their wallets a little more.

Read more at:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/31/energy.environmentalists/index.html

White-Supremacist Murder Suspect Found With Throat Slashed

A white murderer accused of the deaths of two people in Brockton last year was found with a self-inflicted slash wound to his neck in his prison cell Thursday morning. He was taken in ambulance to Boston to the hospital. They are investigating the incident. He is awaiting trial for the January 2009 slayings of two people on Clinton Street in Brockton, including his former neighbor, Selma Goncalves, 20, and Arlindo Depina Goncalves, 72, a homeless man who was collecting cans. He is also accused of attacking and raping Selma Goncalves' sister. After his arrest,he allegedly told police he planned to kill as many Jews, blacks and "non-white" people as possible before turning the gun on himself.

This guy seems to have many issues that he should have had addressed while in prison. First of all, he did terrible things to multiple people which got him landed in the clink. Then after he got arrested he went on a rant about how he plans to kill 'non-white' people and other minority groups. It is sad that a man died, but he seemed to be a good choice for death. I know that that seems saddistic, but the man was a bad person. He was overally into white supremacy and he didn't care about minority groups or other races.

Read more at:

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/23023589/detail.html