VI. 21st Century

A. Economic

1. Budget Deficita. increase in military spending and a

decrease in revenue during the 1980s, caused the national deficit to triple

b. despite raising taxes, President Bush is unable is stop the recession of the early 1990s

c. helped by the growth of computer related industries (“e” commerce) nation entered its longest period of sustained growth in the 1990s

d. extremely high cost of the war against terror increased the budget deficit

2. President Obama called for a stimulus package designed to help the many failing banks and bailout the auto industry by loaning the “big three” money

3. Interdependencea. nations rely on each other to obtain goods and

materials they need to surviveb. trends in one nation or area now affect the rest of the world

4. Protectionisma. World Trade Organization (originally called GATT) created rules to reduce

and limit trade barriersb. many nations such as China and Japan

continue to maintain high tariffs to protect theirindustries from foreign competition

c. many Americans continue to call for US toincrease tariffs despite fears of reciprocation

5. many multi-national companies use cheap foreign labor that helps keep profits high often at theexpense of the American worker (“outsourcing”)

6. since 1980 most new jobs are service industries(“white collar jobs”) not industrial jobs (“blue collar jobs”)

7. Farmersa. the number of famers in America has decreased (38% in 1900 and 2.5% in 2000)b. due to technology food production levels have

increased causing prices to fall

c. farmers seek subsides which are grants of government money to private companies

8. efforts to increase the minimum wage have notstopped the gap between the rich and the poor from growing since the cost of living continues to increase rapidly

B. Social Issues

1. Health Care Reform

a. increasing drug costs are becoming a concernfor all but especially those on fixed incomeslike the elderly

b. Health Care Reform Act (“Obama Care”) provides health coverage for people under 26 who live at home and will eventually provide coverage for everyone

c. AIDS became a major health issue in the 1980s but recent advances in medicine, have allowedpeople such as Magic Johnson to live healthylifestyles

2. Gun Control

a. due to the recent outburst of violence (urban violence and school shootings) manyhave called for restrictions on gun control

b. powerful lobbying groups like the National Rifle Association (NRA) fight gun control laws claiming “people kill, not guns” and 2nd amendment right to own a weapon

3. Computers

a. over the past twenty years have increased their role in American society

b. supporters explain how they can easily store and access information on the internet

c. critics focus on the invasion of privacy that occurs due to stolen information

d. automation has taken jobs away from many workers in the manufacturing industries

4. Changing Demographics

a. US population now exceeds 300 million due to advances in medical technology, life expectancy continues to rise (80 for men, 85 women)

b. greater percentage of elderly in the nation will create a need for increase in Medicare and other related industries (“Graying of America”)

c. family size continues to decrease d. divorce rate is 50% causing many single-

parent households

5. Affirmative Action

a. program created in the 1960s to increases educational and employment opportunities forminorities and women

b. designed to help compensate for past discrimination and exploitation of certain groups

c. critics believe that program may limit the opportunity for qualified people

d. in Bakke v. California (1978) the Supreme Courtruled that the program was constitutional as long as quotas were not used

6. Women

a. Title IX increased opportunities for women toparticipate in athletics

b. in 1973, the Supreme Court stated in the caseRoe v. Wade (1973) that women have the right to end a pregnancy (right to privacy) during the first three months or trimester of that pregnancy but court decisions during the 1980s placed restrictions on this right

c. more women have enlisted in the armed

e. increases in educational opportunities have led to an increase in the number of female lawyers, doctors, politicians, etc.

f. despite recent improvements, women continue to earn less than men

C. Environmental Issues

1. Global Warming

a. the rise in the average temperature of Earth'satmosphere and oceans since the late 19th century and its projected continuation

b. scientists are more than 90% certain that it is primarily caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases produced by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation

c. global temperature include a rise in sea levels and a change in the amount and pattern of precipitation

d. Al Gore won the Nobel Prize for his movie “An Inconvenient Truth” which showed the effects of global warming

2. Pollution

a. government has recently passed legislation toprotect lakes and forests by requiring industries to decrease smokestack emissions

b. government has also passed strict legislation regarding car emissions

c. Earth Day was started in the 1970s to bring additional awareness to the problem

3. Energy

a. American’s continues to be dependent on foreign oil

b. need to create alternative energy sources such as solar, wind and nuclear power

c. increase in efforts to recycle plastics, paper and use more energy efficient light bulbs (“going green”)

D. Political

1. Voter Turnout

a. increase in the number of voters who viewthemselves as independents

b. highest for presidential elections but still considered low when compared to many other western nations

c. increase in number of young people voting due to increased coverage on MTV and “motor voter” registration campaign

2. Campaign Refinance

a. length of campaign and use of TV ads have caused the cost of running for political office to soar over the past ten years

b. laws place restrictions on donations to an individual but not to political parties (“soft money”)

c. special interest groups form PAC’s (Political Action Committees) that raise money for political parties but may not give money to an individual candidate

3. attempts to limit years in Congress have failed somany politicians remain in office for decades (57 years- Robert C. Byrd)

4. increase in population of states in the west and the south (Sunbelt) at the expense of the Northeast (Frostbelt) and Old Northwest (Rustbelt) has changed the makeup of Congress and the Electoral College

5. Social Security

a. as the Baby Boom generate nears retirementmany fear the future of social security

b. will there be enough workers contributing to the system?

c. during recent elections some politicians have discussed plans to privatize social security (people would control their accounts and invest them)

d. recent legislation has called for a gradual increase in the age to receive full benefits (from 65 to 67)

6. Immigration

a. as in the past, people continue to come to America in search of better economic opportunities

b. recent wave of immigrants are arriving from Latin America and Asia

c. roughly 10 million “illegal immigrants” (do not possess a Green Card) are in the US today

d. government has passed legislation making it illegal to hire illegal workers but trend continues

e. “illegals” do not pay taxes, use city services and many believe take low paying jobs away from American citizens

f. critics call for stricter immigration laws, increase in border patrol and even the construction of a wall

g. Congress has recently discussed offering a “path” to citizenship for some “illegals”(Dream Act)

E. Foreign Affairs

1. Middle East

a. America continues to support Israel

b. America supported the recent political uprisings which overthrew dictators in Egypt, Yemen and Libya (“Arab Spring”)

2. started the process of “drawing down” our troops in Iraq

3. President Obama originally increased the number of troops in Afghanistan but has recently called for a decrease

4. America continues humanitarian missions all around the world