by Susan E. Carr

Created on: August 10, 2011   Last Updated: August 12, 2011

Who is in control is fundamental to how well an economy is managed – or sometimes mismanaged. The economy in most countries is dependent on the expertise, knowledge and resultant decision-making of those who have been placed in power to monitor it. Weakness in this area can make or break any country in the world, and today, some are coming precariously close.

In modern times most countries look to their government to provide solutions such as jobs creation, social programs, and security. Most citizens have come to view the government and/or political party as the culprit when something goes wrong, when they are dissatisfied, when they don’t like the way things are being handled. It is true that we should be able to place these responsibilities into the hands of our politicians and assume that they are responsible for the outcome. It is also true that the responsibility be assumed by individuals to know who they are electing and what there representatives stand for.

Too often, the citizens are not quite as well-rounded or educated as they should be when it comes to the administration of their own country– their own backyard. Today, everyone is bombarded with news and news reports that are resplendent with propaganda and often it is difficult to determine what is real, what is propaganda. and what is special interest, even in a free democracy.  While democracy upholds freedom of speech and so it should, it also allows one to become confused with reports coming from all sides and at every angle. Therefore, everyone is left to determine what is best for their country as a whole, the area in which they live and of course, their own special interests. 

The politics leading up to the recent credit rating downgrade in the United States was viewed and reviewed by every country in the world. While the downgrade was surprising to the American people it was likely not surprising to others outside of the US. The events leading up to this action took place over several months, if not years. What may be a shock to an observer is that the American people were taken off guard and were in disbelief. The world, in this particular case, came to a decision not based as much upon the financial situation but on the obvious political imbalance and an inability of the country (regardless of political party) to bring forward a concrete plan

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>