วันศุกร์ที่ 27 ธันวาคม พ.ศ. 2556

Economic Development

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Readers and viewers must know the basic concepts and principles of economic development. After this, will be economic problems and development strategies that is applied in this article. The next part is development policies and programs that has something to do with monetary and fiscal policies in. It will be discovered as a process for an economic planning towards developmental model. Last but not the least, will be the major issues in economic development.

According to Fajardo in his book, "Economic Development defines as a progressive process of improving human conditions such as reduction or elimination of poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, inequality, disease and exploitations. To understand this meaning carefully, it is an interaction of different factors". The example of this is investing a rice harvest per hectare in your designated ranch, there are various inputs that are combined like fertilizers, insecticides, irrigation, technology, and many other things related to this example.

This development is based on the classifications of countries or what categories do they belong? The categories will be either highly developed countries, intermediate countries, or they belong to less developed countries.

It has also a problem like humans. There is a saying, " If there is a problem, there is a solution"

This development will also give information and at the same time enumerated some countries from different continents that gives economic status of how they performed in their gross national product and gross domestic product.

They must have feedbacks of World History because this will be based on their economic status of how does it developed in the past?

After I end this composition of this article, this is just only the beginning of my content in writing the economic development.

Fajardo, Feliciano R. "Economic Development" 3rd ed. Mandaluyong, Metro Manila:National Bookstore 2004.



วันอังคารที่ 17 ธันวาคม พ.ศ. 2556

Global Trade and the History of the Wheels of Commerce Considered - A Book Review

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How much do you really know about the history of economics and free trade? I feel as if I know more than 99% of the people on the planet, but perhaps that's because I've studied a three-part volume entitled the wheels of commerce. I think you should pick up a set for yourself. If you'd like to learn more let me explain what I mean and describe to you what's in volume 2 as an example;

"The Wheels of Commerce - Civilization and Capitalism; 15th through 18th Century, Volume 2" by Ferdinand Braudel, 1979.

The 15th and 18th Century is when capitalism really took off. In this particular second volume we see the slow evolution towards what we consider today to be economics. The first volume explained how "economic life" started and how using a unit of trade increased and individual's, or family's quality-of-life. Now, in this volume we see how cross roads became trading points for villages, towns, and cities and how the wheels of commerce started turning.

Indeed, this is a tale of economic history; how capitalism and trading changed everything forever. How free and open markets with shops, distributors, traders, dealers, salesmen, bankers, and even what might now be considered a stock market in Amsterdam were only the beginning. This book tells of the London Royal Exchange, French and Dutch banking, and the exchanges of paper money and distribution in China, bankers and India, and the ships that distributing goods, and those using the silk Roads all participated in what we consider today to be global trade.

The book explains merchants and trading circuits, and self-regulating markets. During this time were the first uses of the words; capital, capitalist, capitalism. It is interesting that most economic textbooks have a brief chapter or two perhaps on how it all got started, but it is very interesting to read a huge three volumes set of books on the subject. It's amazing to me that we do not teach economics as we used to in the schools, and I bet if we did, we wouldn't have the types of economic crisis as we do today. I hope you please consider all this.

Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank. Lance Winslow believes in economics.



วันอังคารที่ 3 ธันวาคม พ.ศ. 2556

Truth About Global Economic Crisis: Book Review

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You want to read The Global Economic Crisis The Great Depression of the XXI Century, edited by Michel Chossudovsky and Andrew Gavin Marshall, if you meet these criteria: you welcome information and analysis about critically important issues that come from great thinkers outside the mainstream media and publishing world; you can handle brain pain from detailed and brutally honest revelations; you are willing and able to challenge your own biases and preconceptions to let in new explanations of how the world really functions.

If millions of Americans read this book, we would probably see a far stronger uprising against the political establishment that has refused to severely punish the countless guilty people in the financial, banking and mortgage sectors that brought down the US and global economic system.

This book ties together a large number of factors in twenty chapters that reveal just how corrupt the world has become because of the power of plutocratic, wealthy and corporate interests. From Wall Street corporate boardrooms to the Federal Reserve and other central banks to the US military and NATO, a multitude of threads get woven into a disturbing tapestry of crimes against society that still have not been prosecuted.

This book is truly an instrument of anti-brainwashing. If you are willing to spend serious time reading it, then you surely will become much angrier about the dismal state of the economy that is causing so much pain and suffering to ordinary people worldwide. If you personally have escaped the worst ravages of the economic meltdown, then you will have much more compassion for those severely affected.

In all honesty, if the current global economic crisis has made you angry, pessimistic, fearful, paranoid, despairing and worse, then this book will most likely exacerbate all such feelings. By revealing still more connections, implications and causes, this book will motivate you to do anything you can to fight the corporate, plutocratic forces devastating the lives of ordinary people. If you already have little confidence in government, it will only make things worse. Does all this mean you should avoid reading it? Absolutely not.

Here are a few statements from the book that resonated with me and that you can use to decide whether the general philosophic orientation of it is compatible with your views:

"Wall Street's Ponzi scheme was used to manipulate the market and transfer billions of dollars into the pockets of banksters."

"Government rescue packages around the world are corporatist in their very nature, as they save the capitalists at the expense of the people."

"The global political economy is being transformed into a global government structure at the crossroads of a major financial crisis."

Just gin up the courage to read it, get out several color markers to highlight passages and expand your knowledge to overcome all the propaganda constantly being hurled at you. We need more citizen unrest to energize more public protests to overthrow the powers that have corrupted and perverted our government. A key voice in the mainstream media that is in sync with the painful messages in this book is Dylan Ratigan who has a terrific daily show on MSNBC. He too should read this timely book.



วันอาทิตย์ที่ 24 พฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. 2556

Twin Falls, Gooding, Jerome, ID, and Regional Economic Outlook for 2005

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Twin Falls Economic Report done by me; Twin Falls, ID has potential for additional car washes, Detail Centers and mobile washing units. Twin Falls has enough water in their reservoirs to make it through the Summer for farmers and agriculture industries. Mike BuRec said recently that even if this winter has a snow pack of 20 feet we will not be back to normal levels. American Falls is at only 14% capacity. Palisades is at 12% and Jackson Lake is at 65%, but remember fires take water too. Water in the rivers and reservoirs is important for many reasons, and realize that 2/3 of all fresh trout worldwide come from Magic Valley South Central Idaho and Snake River. The Shoshone Falls are 212 feet high,

[http://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com/waterfa...tail.php?id=864]

higher than Niagara Falls and has often been called the Niagara Falls of the West. If water situations get too bad and not adequate snow pack in 03-04. We had heard of talk from David McAlindin of the City of Twin Falls Economic Development Dept.

http://www.idoc.state.id.us/idcomm/profile...s/TwinFalls.pdf

that he felt comfortable that the water situation is safe and supply good for businesses. They are working hard to help diversify the industries and recruit non-agriculture, cleaner industries. The region grows all kinds of important food items. Sugar Beets, Potatoes, Dairy, Alphalfa, Sheep, Beef, Hay, Grain, Wine, Beans, Wheat, barley, Sweet Corn, Grass Seed, Oats. They need the water. The supply is said to be better than was predicted or feared and that there is more than enough for summer, but this leaves little to spare in case of a mild winter.

The water supply contains arsenic, from natural erosion and also from previous chip manufacturing, Barium, Chromium, Fluoride and Nitrate from excessive fertilizer run off. These are at present levels not in violation, but the NPDES permitting is going into harsher BMPs and enforcement and has caused a few companies, which do food processing to be unable to get permits, costing future jobs; Glandia Foods, Inc. in Gooding.

The local Senators are working on Ethanol to help out and that initiative could be great for ID. McDonalds has been hit by economy and adverse PR from that Bull shit law suit in Canada about people getting fat from eating at Mickey Ds. Recently McDonalds has also called for lessening of Antibiotics, steroids and other growth hormones, which is a little bit of an issue for farmers, since right now with the Beef, Mad Cow, moratorium in Canada some of those cattle come from ID as well as the milk and ID is a huge Dairy State in the Southern area. Learn about the importance of the Dairy industry in the US and in Southern ID;

[http://www.dairybusiness.com/links.htm] .

Also hurt by the economy and fewer people going out to eat at QSRs, Restaurants are Kraft Foods, McCain Foods (125 people laid off), J.R. Simplot, which closed the Heyburn potato plant and laid off another 50 people at another processing plant. These companies collectively laying off a total of 600 people in the region. Also blamed are the war in Iraq and lessened travel. Paper is a big water user also and Boise Cascade has had other issues with economic issues. Dairy is up about 6-10% over the last year why? Could it be the increase in Starbucks (6000 plus locations) and the cr?me and milk in the Frappachinos using milk? Yes some is. Also of worry is the NM Case law regarding the minnows and Rio Grande and Heron reservoir, such an issue with low water levels in Idaho would be the same as the Sarbain Oxley issues in the Corporate World, it would be catastrophic for agriculture in South Central Idaho. But all in all things have been good and have had a net gain even with the bad news. Dell has hired 700 people in nine months in Twin Falls. Also hiring have been Home Depot. We talked to a fiber optic multi-plex line installer who could not seem to get a job in his profession and therefore Home Depot gave him a lower level job at $12.00 per hour.

A waste of brain capacity no doubt but certainly enough to live with the cost of living in Twin Falls which is low due to power and water prices really inexpensive. Twin Falls, Jerome and Gooding had substantial growth in housing. One thing that may hurt the area is the move to try to get seniors out of their cars. Elderly are super worried about losing their drivers licensing, it can be a traumatic experience rivaling a lost loved one, meaning their freedom is gone, some would rather just die, it is that serious as I have discussed with many seasoned seniors. They will not be moving into the Gooding Golf Course areas if this persists. But the area is growing. A few of the outskirt cities are not fairing as well. Burley had a recent “Crazy Days” and Regatta Jet Boat Races, which is a good tourist draw to help locals, non-profits and retailers. All in all we saw a lot of good stuff; ISU-Idaho State University is putting in a 50K dollar nursing facility. Which will employ many people. Solo Cup employed an additional 68 people after earlier in the year laying off 100 people. West Farm added 27 people. Davisco hired 10 workers on Monday. Hamilton Manufacturing is hiring 30 additional workers, but they may have a power problem if prices increase?

Teton Wireless is setting up Satellite to WiFi high speed Internet Networks with points throughout the area to help increase the clean industry companies to the area. Kodiak Northwest has got a new snow-removal innovation. And we found many interesting as heck micro market niche manufacturers such as; Golf Swing Aids, Spider Cultivator, Beet Pulp Cattle feed, Plastic Calf Cottages, Yo-yos (seriously, that’s where they make em’), Dome Awnings for homes, Fish Pumps, Basque Smoked Chorizo Sausage (and it is good too), Foam Boxes for Fish, Baler Twine, etc. So there are some strong niches that are helping the area. The Sea Food industry has had a bit of discounting due to the slowing in restaurants, but the Sushi is not any fresher lately. This has hurt the Fresh Trout industry, trout are in nearly all rivers and lakes in ID as well as those, which process the fish in the area. The Local Chamber of Commerce in Twin Falls had done a tremendous job in their recent Hot August Night non-profit fair, where they auctioned a Jeep off, as they profiled local businesses. The Chamber cares about local small businesses. Alamlgated Sugar is buying more 129,000 pound trucks. S and G Produce is Building Warehouses and expanding, over 10% of all the worlds sugar comes from Southern ID. Sugar Beets grow extremely well in ID, better than most anywhere. Gooding also gets in on the non-profit community efforts with events such as the huge “Spuds Festivals.” Wendell and Jerome has had much growth along I-84 than the towns like Buhl, Filer, Castleford, Hagerman.

One issue hurting the region is the Beef import Taxes by the Japanese and things might get tough and they are worried about Mad Cow if it comes to the US. We Japan to knock that off right now and possibly increase tariffs on something they sell us. Meanwhile lots of debate on the WTO issues of genetically modified crops. Super Corn is a good deal for the world. These issues with genetically modified foods and possibly modifying wild weeds into killer weeds is not a good debate since we are talking about corn, not mountain grown Sun Flowers, Pumpkins, Squash, Blue Berries, Cranberry which is grown near native vegetations. We are not talking about rice. They are already growing it all over the world anyway. And we have already modified crops of all types by cross breeding, same thing just slower in number of generations. Hell we modify people the same way by our own “Melting Pot.” Mixing Asian, Hispanic and Middle Easterners in Los Angeles? What’s the difference, Arthur C Clark predicts in his book “3001” we will all be looking quite Asian, which is probably correct seeing as this is how things are going with 3.5 Billion Chinese? The EU and 15 nations are developing criteria and it will probably be where people or consumers have a choice and we will see what they buy? Guaranteed genetically modified will win, people like full fresh looking vegetables and fruit. These issues are putting things in Southern ID at a wait and see point and causing issues with capitalization.

Even so Twin Falls area has had a net gain in jobs, which are non-agriculture. 3750 people went back to work and 3440 lost their jobs in 2003 net gain of 210. It is a slow go, but things are picking up. The increase is mostly due to growth and construction, most of which is box stores in the Twin Falls and the new home construction in Jerome and Gooding. In Pocatello the steel plant laid off 40 people and we are seeing this throughout the North West; Steel Plant Closes in OR.

We are noticing some good downtown renovation on Main street in Twin Falls. On the “Messer Block” they won an award for dedication to Historic preservation. As you know we are excited to see downtown areas revitalize and bring people back to the community and a place to talk and the attitude of hometown meetings seems to be done in conversations with locals and therefore more power to the people and more reasonable and less linear decision making like in the suburbs.

There is a bit of a drug problem there which ranges from 18-40 and has to do with Crystal Meth. But they seem to have a handle on it with a new drug court program to get people o break the addictions, which seems to be working and gets people back to work. Fairly good success rate and better than prisons which is also a big employer outside of Boise area. 86% of the people in that program where between 21-40 and were there for substance abuses with Meth. Others include Weed, LSD, Heroin, Mushrooms, Cocaine, Ecstasy and three time drunk drivers. One person interviewed by the local newspaper said he had a construction job and was back on the right track. Downtown Twin Falls is a bummer to navigate if you are new to the area because if you are looking for a location on Second and Second Street, it could be one of seven corners? Ouch. Even the older locals laughed when the city council wanted to therefore change all the names after the founding fathers of the town and current city leadership? Typical. Either way it is a tough deal, luckily the diagonal streets are not in abundance. Twin Falls has 64,000 population, Jerome 18,400, Gooding 14,000. .

Many cities such as Burley, Burl and others in the area have a zero or negative growth rate. Twin Falls 1.9%, Jerome 1%, Gooding hard to say, guessing 1.6%. The jobs in the area seem to be Retail, services, Farm and Ag and then Professional in that order. White people make up 89%, and the population is just slightly older than in Nampa or Boise and more similar to Lewiston and Pocatello; 45-65 age groups make up 20.9% of population. We also found Carl’s Pressure Washing Supplies in Idaho Falls a superb vendor for assistance and a Landa Steam Cleaner Dealer also.

As far as tourism the Falls are worth seeing and draw in some 530,000 visitors to stay for the day and spend money each year. The major employers we found were The Sugar company with 425 people and growing (literally), Circle A Construction 325, Clear Springs foods 430, Dell 700, Independent Meat 216, Glandia Foods 430, Jerome Cheese 150, Lamb Weston 850, Magic Valley Medical Center 1115, Seastrom Manufacturing 170, Seneca Foods 200, Spears 275, Solo Cup 115. All in all the area has the employment base to drive a strong middle class as this economy continues its climb to a rebounding and strong pounding recovery.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is an online writer in retirement.



วันเสาร์ที่ 16 พฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. 2556

Is This a Housing Crisis Or a Financial Crisis?

One built the other, I would say and it was then encouraged by still other factors. Many people are apt to tell you that this is not a worldwide problem and was created in the United States. Yes, our government contributed to the problem but greed by owners and investors was the main cause after inflating prices. The out of control housing costs caused this financial situation. It definitely is a world wide financial crisis caused by an overinflated real estate market that has spread over nearly the entire globe. European realty costs are as inflated as American pricing.

Real Estate locations all over the world have seen unprecedented market prices that had never previously been reached. Property from Ireland to Russia as well as Eastern Europe went way out of control as did pricing in places like Australia and the Far East. Possibly greed is more a human condition than just something that occurs in America. If the cause began in the US, investors and property owners went along with it everywhere else. They were just as happy to go along for the ride and line their pockets like everyone else. Profit is never left on the table for long. Regulation in other countries may not have been solidly in place as well as at home in this country.

This crisis was constructed from such a long stretch of increasing inflated costs just about everywhere. There wasn't a sign of a possible correction for this run away train and it was allowed to go haywire. It jumped the track and rolled over a few times. Most intelligent people and economists especially, could see that at some point, this expanding unstoppable bubble would have to burst eventually. Many of these same people believed it wouldn't happen for a few more years and it wasn't their problem anyway. Many modern day speculators turned to the real estate market for investment. It was more reliable than the stock market and their change of profit required less risk.

Banks and investment houses were involved in increasing the problem merely by encouraging the borrowing of money against the equity in people's homes. Some businesses like special realty mortgage companies were created just for the purpose of buying and selling mortgages. Their main function was to do nothing but the refinancing of properties and this was their line of expertise. These businesses became a whole new industry unlike anything we had seen it the past. People were encouraged to refinance loans at low interest rates and take their profits to spend on travel, investment or anything that caught their fancy. So, homeowners would just take the money out and spend, spend, spend. The money financed cars, toys, computers and boats.

There was no end in sight. The money provided by banks and financial organizations should have gone into housing enhancements but did not. This seemingly free money did not go into renovations or expansion of the properties to be quite frank. Once in a while, some people did the right thing and did the housing renovations but they were not required to by these banking institutions that had few rules. It was no rules, just right! Where there is no control, there is bound to be corruption and the rest is history.

Even the government got into the task of encouraging banks and lending institutions to relax their loan requirements and policies so more people could own homes. They sought perfection in an imperfect word. Put all the poor people that couldn't afford home ownership into their own places. Many individuals that were not adequately qualified or could not hope to repay those loans were given the ultimate opportunity to purchase their dream house and enter the housing market. They would now be a proud owner and could move out of their rental units. The government, in addition to these relaxed banking regulations, had encouraged ownership thus helping the housing industry to go further out of control. Some of the regulations that were relaxed had been put into operation long ago following the great depression of 1929. This was the crash of 1929 that our parents and grandparents may have told you about.

In those days, they had suffered so badly that they didn't ever want that financial crisis to ever rear its ugly head again. They had known the sacrifice brought on by mismanagement of financial assets in an earlier time. Did we forget about that historical masterpiece? Well, history always seems to repeat itself, doesn't it? We should never ever let our guard down again. By removing regulations or at least relaxing them, has helped this bad situation to re-emerge from its entombment.

The current housing market and now its realignment had built the very basis for this current financial meltdown. Human greed and government interference have spun the wheels to new heights. Hopefully, we can get our priorities straightened out and the necessary regulations back in place. Many years from now, I'm sure it will happen again but for now let's get our house in order.

John Sprague is an American currently working in the mideast. He enjoys writing and working on his websites in his free time. He has a new site at http://www.marketingkindreds.com/

His website has photos of the mideast and marketing articles that you may want to view.



วันจันทร์ที่ 4 พฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. 2556

Money Changes Everything - Twenty-Two Writers Tackle the Last Taboo

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Money Changes Everything
Twenty-Two Writers Tackle the Last Taboo with Tales of Sudden Windfalls, Staggering Debts, and Other Surprising Turns of Fortune
Edited by Jenny Offill and Elissa Schappell

We live in a tell-all culture. Sex, troubles with our kids, complaints about our spouses, and even our indiscretions are acceptable dinner table conversation-or at least ok while sharing a latte. Our money side in contrast is kept hidden from view.

Money is loved, feared, and worshiped. Some see it as dirty, not in keeping with a spiritual life, unnecessary. It can make a god-fearing person swear and ordinarily loving couples spit fire. Money can change everything.

The editors of this book put it this way, "To shine a light on how much we make, how much we spend, how much we owe, and how much we've got secretly socked away is to give others a potent glimpse into the values we live by. Because of this, admitting to money troubles can often feel like admitting to a weakness of character."

The money troubles coin has two sides. "Shrinks have coined the phrase "affluenza" to describe the angst and aimlessness that arise from being so wealthy you don't have to work for a living. Yet despite their insistence that affluenza can be a genuine hardship, therapists are finding it a hard sell to make others feel sorry for their clients. Most people can sympathize with the pain and struggle of the less fortunate, but the anxieties that attend being "too rich" are much harder to imagine" write the editors.

So silence and hiding are the order of the day whether the wolf is at the door or the view from the penthouse leaves you wanting.

Jenny Offill and Elissa Schappell, brought together twenty-two great writers who agreed to write about how their lives have been shaped, complicated and/or enhanced by this often hidden aspect of our lives.

The writing is sometimes comic, as in Chris Offut's story Porn Bought My Football. It can also be achingly sad and as in Marian Fontana's, A Dollar A Tear, about the money she received after her husband was killed in NYC on 9/11.

The writing is always brilliant.

Fred Leebron and Kathryn Rhett are married and each recalls their version of the money game as they describe their early lives together. Did they really experience the same things? His is titled For Richer, hers, For Poorer. It represents the wedding vow but also the way money can divide otherwise loving couples.

Walter Kirn in Treasure Me tells of failed marriages because they were based on his using his money to perhaps buy affection and love. He "tallies up just how much it costs to have sex" and does it in a very funny way.

Daniel Handler, author of the Lemony Snicket series and no slouch in the money earning category wrote a few pages titled "Winning." His idea for this essay was to buy a $1200 bottle of wine. He begins by asking, "Do you want to know what a $1200 bottle of wine tastes like? Of course you do."

His agent warns him that he shouldn't write this essay. "$1200 on a bottle of wine?" she asks. "It's immoral. People are going to attack you. People are going to call you an immoral person" she warned.

"That's what I'm interested in," said Daniel. "I keep telling people about this bottle of wine. First everybody wants some, then everybody thinks it's immoral. This is the thing with money."

And so it is and the remaining eighteen writers pose equally thought provoking ideas through their behind the scenes, behind their money accounts. Have some fun with these writers and think about your own money stories. How has money or a lack of it had an impact on your life over the years?

Gregory Anne Cox, certified life coach, was one of the early female graduates of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. She spent 20+ years in the hospitality industry, and recently, cooking privately for some of the country's rich and famous on the eastern end of Long Island in the Hamptons, NY where she currently lives with her husband and 4 cats.

Currently Gregory offers teleseminars on Midlife wellness, one on one and group coaching, is an author and speaker on the topic of midlife women's mind and body tune ups and heart health. Her newsletter and blog, both titled The You Revolution, keep subscribers and clients up to date on what's new in feeling and looking better than ever in the second half of life.

Website:http://www.livebettercoach.com/

The Blog:[http://www.theyourevblog.com]



วันอาทิตย์ที่ 27 ตุลาคม พ.ศ. 2556

Relevance Of The Book "Take This Job And Ship It" During 2008 Presidential Elections

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Senator Bryon L Dorgan, in his book "Take This Job and Ship It", looks at "outsourcing" as a consequence of global economy. He considers it as a threat to American economy and sends an alert message to all the people in the nation. "With the trade deficit of over $700 billion a year, millions of lost jobs, and millions of families whose American dreams shattered, its long past the time to question those who claim everything will work out just fine. In fact its time to wake up and take action", according to the book. With numerous examples he illustrates the loss of the manufacturing jobs and sees it as a big problem for the country. The Senator deals with almost all areas that concern the US economy, how corporations set up tax heavens and avoid paying taxes to the US government, the oil sector, pharmaceutical companies and health care sector etc. Instead of just making us aware of the problems, the Senator goes about suggesting some solutions to the problems facing US economy especially in the trade and jobs areas after extensive research and after consulting with experts like Warren Buffet.

I'd like to suggest everyone to read this book. The issues presented in this book are relevant and needs to be addressed in the immediate future with a sense of urgency. With the presidential elections coming up, this book will be a good read for the voters and the candidates.

My reflections on the book is given below..

The economy has been changing. Until the late 19th century, all economies were agrarian. From the late 1800s until the 1960s, most developed countries moved from agrarian societies to industrial societies. The 21st century marks the change to global economy in a global village, the concept of a boundary less world; the production and marketing of goods and services worldwide. Information Technology is transforming society from its manufacturing focus to one of service. The concept of "global village" came up with the booming of internet and communication technologies. In terms of doing trade and business, national borders became less significant because of the communication technology advances and ease of transportation. Corporations are evolving to fit in a global village to do global business, which means that companies go and look for low production costs (anywhere in the world) and sell the products or services anywhere in the world? This is a business model we all have to accept and it is going to stay for at least next 20 years and technological inventions are bound to help the global business in every possible way. In a global village the terms "outsourcing" and "souring in" are not relevant. They are relevant only when we talk about countries.

Now the United States is growing 2%-3% and probably going south. Europe is growing 2%-3% and Japan is growing 1%. China with 1.3 billion people is growing 11%, India, a new resurgent power with 1.1 billion people is growing 9%; and Russia is growing 8% or 9%. Latin America and the Middle East are growing. ( I collected the data above from another article that I read in the past. )

Looking at the data above, we can see that the global business has benefited developing countries in terms of growth.

Wealth produced in a nation depends on how much we produce, not on how much we consume. Also the standard of living depends on the wealth created. So with the current global economy trends, there is a likelihood that the standard of living of the middle class in US will go down and that of the middle class in developing nations will go up. Which means that the resource consumption in these countries is going to go up. A wealthy nation, short of resources for its people, may try to get access to resources by any means. Future conflicts and wars may be for the resources if not triggered by religious fanatics.

In the book, the Senator talks about the low wage exploitations, poor working conditions and other unfair practices in the developing nations. Much of the unhappiness is focused on China, where the US trade deficit through the first 11 months of 2007 totals $237.5 billion. There could be further increases in the deficit with China according to predictions from analysts. Congress is considering bills that would impose economic sanctions on China if it does not allow its currency to rise in value faster against the U.S dollar. Businesses contend that the Chinese are manipulating their currency by keeping it undervalued by as much as 40% to gain price advantages against US companies. (Again this data is from another article on yahoo) But we have to accept that these are issues over which we have only limited control.

On top of everything, economists fear a possible recession in US.

War against terrorism and its consequences and impact on US and its economy is another related topic of discussion.

If we can not reverse global economy to our benefit, what can we do? Repeating Senator Dorgan's words "I believe our country has a right, even in global market place, to determine the kind of economy and future it wants for itself."

And who should take the responsibility?

The primary responsibility of any government in a country is to provide protection and security for its people, in a very broad sense. So ultimately it lies with the political machinery to face and solve
this problem. " We need leadership once again in America - leadership that will have the vision and courage to begin taking care of things here at home. Yes, our world is increasingly global. ..but still we all live here, and we want good jobs and the prospect of better life and an improved standard of living here. Huge budget and trade deficits threaten our future. Incompetent trade agreements threaten our jobs and undermine our manufacturing base. If these are left unchecked, the land our children will inherit will be a weaker country with fewer good jobs and less opportunity..." the book says.

I salute Senator Byron L. Dorgan for taking up the historic mission of writing such a book.