Final Blog Chap 24

After reading this chapter, my mind was swimming on what to  write.  I decided on the problems with global commerce. As much as my life has benefitted from all of the goods that have come from over seas, this chapter enlightened me on the downside of global commerce.  It is not all a bed of roses as they say.  After  WWII, the United States became a super power.  World trade and investments were bringing in money.  Then came the credit card... good or bad?  At the time, it seemed good but now people can't make the payments. They spend money they do not have. I hate to admit it but I am one of those people who used to use credit cards all the time but have realized that it is not a good idea and it takes forever to pay them off.  Very smart of the banks I must say! It may have appeared the economy was doing well but as the book states, the gap between the rich and the poor keeps getting bigger and bigger. Some countries are willing to produce goods at lower rates so companies are willing to outsource the work.  In the U.S. the shift in global division of labor has workers losing their jobs or working for reduced wages because companies here know that they can outsource the work to cheaper labor to other countries like China or India. That has devastated our economy greatly. The U.S was once the largest creditor, now we are the largest debtor.  How can that be a positive outcome?  Our environment is being destroyed by the growing number of poor people and the overconsumption of the rich. The spread of our modern industry has caused major pollution and we are using up our natural resources.  All of our activity wreaks havoc on our world.  The global commerce has just increased problems on a global level. In my opinion we have become similar to Europe with an egotistical attitude.  We use our military and our government to threaten other countries and believe our way is the right way.  We try to impose our values on others. Does history always repeat itself?  I am still grateful for all that I have and am glad that I don't live in other countries as I don't always agree or understand their way of living, however, I may have opened my eyes a little more and seen more than a single point of view.  I guess I always have been a person who sees things as half full and tried to see the positive side of things but in history, it isn't always that easy.