Global Social Issues and Change

Global Social Issues and Change

Can anyone remember where they were at on September 11, 2001 when America was attacked? On Tuesday at 8:45 a.m., as American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Center, the building shook, and the world came crashing to a halt. The stock market ceased, the airplanes stopped flying, the trains stopped moving, and people stopped working, the world was silent as all eyes were on America. This caused the horrible act of war to begin, which in return began the downfall of the economy After the United States was attacked by al-Qaida, people were hopelessly obscured, thousands of jobs were taken away from innocent civilians, and hundreds of businesses were misplaced in the aftermath. No one imagined how much of an impact these attacks would have on the global economy. People from around the world stopped traveling, which in turn has affected the travel and tourism industry in the United States. Restaurants are affected due to unemployment rates rising. Gas prices are increasing around the country, which prevents people from traveling to different states where they would otherwise have gone and spent their money. This war has been nothing but bad for the economy both domestically and globally, and there is no positive end in sight.
People are angry, and they both want and need to see change. The United States government needs to maintain control of the spending before the deficit reaches its all-time high. The high cost of the war in Iraq has led to hard economic times across the world. The recession has affected so many people from all lifestyles and all different class levels. Many variables of life have changed since the Iraq war began and seems that life, as many have known will never be the same again. With the debt crisis at the forefront of the news, the economy does not seem to be improving in the near future. In this paper, it will be explored how the war has affected the global socialization of the economy in the United States and the rest of the world.
It has been more than 10 years and the economic impact of this war has been more than anybody imagined. As we watch the news and read the newspapers, we learn that the United States is heading into its second recession. Our nation is suffering immensely due to the economic deficit, which has outraged taxpayers who have to feel the burden at the government’s expense. Due to the governments overspending on the war there is not sufficient funds to get our nation out of this tremendous debt. The United States has repeatedly borrowed money from other countries, which has just put the country into a deeper debt situation and makes it difficult for America to control its financial obligations. In 2012, the United States Federal Reserve is planning to buy nearly $600 billion dollars worth of debt to go towards paying our national deficit (Penner, 2011). With a dysfunctional Congress and indecisive president, the country will never be able to get our spending under control.
This national issue has changed the way global society lives. With the unemployment rate at an all-time high, it is extremely hard to keep a steady income in households across the country, thus adding more problems to the equation. Families without income will need assistance from the government to maintain their quality of life, which just contributes more to the country’s debt. Businesses are also another aspect to the social change. Businesses in America are outsourcing to other countries to keep from filing bankruptcy. The rate at which businesses are closing is putting further strain on the United States government and is causing the debt to increase.
There have been many luxuries affected by the war and the economy since global tourism is the lowest it has ever been. With the heightened security and astronomical ticket prices, traveling has become more difficult. After the 9/11 attacks the fear of retaliation is on the minds of many, which hinders the number of people who travel. The negative impact that this social resistance, both global and domestic. There is resistance with almost everything that is being done in the world due to the fact that it is extremely hard to make every person in the country, let alone the world, happy. Even with something as destructive as war and the negatives that come with war, there are still people that would rather see the fighting take place than any other solution that could be given. Since the start of this war, after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, there has been much resistance against the war. This resistance was for not only the safety of the American troops but also for economic and global relation purposes while also having the worries of nuclear warfare. ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) was the first organization of resistance to form just 18 days after the attacks took place (Rojas, 2009). After, resistance such as protesting spread worldwide begging for a peaceful solution.
Another form of resistance that affects the global economy is the lack of consumer spending on both foreign and domestic products since the war. Due to the anger that Americans have had against some foreign countries and the lack of money circulating in the United States have made a majority of American consumers second guess their purchases. If anyone would be purchasing anything, it would be American made. This is one of the efforts made by that same resistance to strengthen the economy of the United States and in hope create jobs. Without American consumers purchasing foreign products, many countries will suffer, which can only bring the suffering back to the United States due to no cash flowing throughout the United States and the rest of the world. With this crisis circulating the globe, many different groups are struggling with any financial needs and have a few different ways of dealing with those struggles, which only seems to provide a temporary fix to the issues at hand.
Dealing with this crisis has had an impact on not only America but also other countries around the world as well. The global war on terror has had serious implications on spending patterns in the country resulting in some local expenses being foregone. The price of resources have affected the United States tremendously, our nation is currently suffering a problem with gas prices. Americans have to take on seconds jobs in order to pay for the gas to get to their primary job. Due to the consistent war and political instability in the oil-rich countries, such as Iraq, countries have been held back from providing all valuable commodities to the world market.
Outsourcing is another way our nation is dealing with the economic crisis. American companies have started relying on other countries for employment and production. Outsourcing is a major strategy to help get the financial debt under control. Companies believe that it is cheaper to pay people from other countries than it is to pay American workers, which in turn is costing American employees their jobs.
The economy has had an impact on the way we exchange goods with other countries. The businesses have to pay for the shipping of the products being manufactured, which is also affected since funding hard to come by. The production of automobiles in America is prime example of this outsourcing and has gone down because they cannot afford to pay their employees and parts. This is even further affected since American consumers do not have the funds to purchase those automobiles and are instead purchasing the cheaper foreign automobiles. American businesses and the countries that are being worked with are trying to find the best way they know how to deal with this upset in the economy. If closing down and selling to an external buyer is the solution, they do not have a choice but to sell in order to keep from losing more money.
There are usually theories on every act in life whether it is social, economic, physical, or even unexplained phenomena. There is usually an answer for everything that is given by a person or a group of people that do extensive research on a particular topic. Being that the topic at hand is the Iraq war and its effect on the global economy, it seems that the best sociological theory that is given is the functionalist theory. This theory was created by a well-respected sociologist by the name of Talcott Parsons (1902-1979). With this theory, it is what maintains society instead of what changes it. Although the war is creating many changes in society, it is what the soldiers, government, and everyday people are doing to deal with the changes in society to maintain balance within their homes and the rest of the world. Parsons believes that a thing such as war is just a temporary problem in the social order of things.
This theory extends even further to parsons equilibrium theory. This theory states that changes in one aspect in society means that adjustments in other aspects are highly required. This creates stability for society and helps maintain balance to help social order. It is believed by Parsons and his followers that without this equilibrium in society, social order, which seems to be a must in society, will be threatened or could even disappear. This theory may have the primary theme to be stability and balance in society, but with that progress is also a key concept that plays a role. Maybe with all of the fighting and struggling that is currently taking place, progress will soon follow. (CliffNotes, 2011)
In conclusion the war has had a tremendous impact on the global socialization of the economy. The nation has been impacted with this economic crisis both global and domestic. Life as everyone knows it has changed in a way that may never be the same. With the United States going into a second recession, gas prices will continue to rise, businesses will continue to close, resulting in more money lost. The number of jobs lost every day continues to affect the economy negatively. If this debt continues to grow, other countries will continue to come in to the United States and take American jobs, thus causing resistance to grow. America can only hope for a positive outcome, but there doesn’t seem to be one in sight. It is up to the government to control their spending and get the nation out of debt before there is no way out.

References
Bram, J., Orr, J., & Rapaport, C. (2002). Measuring the Effects of the September 11 Attack on New York City. Federal Reserve Bank of New York Economic Policy Review, 8(2), 5-20. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
CliffsNotes.com. Models of Social Change. 13 Aug 2011
<http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/topicArticleId-26957,articleId-26953.html>.
Penner, R. G. (2011). Will It Take a Crisis to Fix Fiscal Policy? Business Economics, 46(2), 62-70. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Rojas, F. & Heaney, M. T. (2007). The Network Dynamics of the anti-Iraq War Movement. Conference Papers - - American Sociological Association, 1. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Tetlock, P. E. (2002). Social functionalist frameworks for judgment and choice: Intuitive politicians, theologians, and prosecutors. Psychological Review, 109(3), 451-471. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.109.3.451
Goodrich, J. N. (2001). September 11, 2001 Attack on America: Impact on Tourism Security. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 11(4), 1. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

References: Bram, J., Orr, J., &amp; Rapaport, C. (2002). Measuring the Effects of the September 11 Attack on New York City. Federal Reserve Bank of New York Economic Policy Review, 8(2), 5-20. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. CliffsNotes.com. Models of Social Change. 13 Aug 2011 &lt;http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/topicArticleId-26957,articleId-26953.html&gt;. Penner, R. G. (2011). Will It Take a Crisis to Fix Fiscal Policy? Business Economics, 46(2), 62-70. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Rojas, F. &amp; Heaney, M. T. (2007). The Network Dynamics of the anti-Iraq War Movement. Conference Papers - - American Sociological Association, 1. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Tetlock, P. E. (2002). Social functionalist frameworks for judgment and choice: Intuitive politicians, theologians, and prosecutors. Psychological Review, 109(3), 451-471. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.109.3.451 Goodrich, J. N. (2001). September 11, 2001 Attack on America: Impact on Tourism Security. Journal of Travel &amp; Tourism Marketing, 11(4), 1. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.