America's Economic Status & Problems

The world is "shrinking." This is the cliche of contemporary thinking - and the reality of improved transportation, communications and international political stability. Prior to the international mobilization of major portions of the globe in the pursuit of World War II, transportation and communications within "First World" countries were weak at best. For "Third World" nations, largely under the thumb of imperialist First Worlders at the time, telecommunications were practically nil, roads unpaved and foreign trade was generally ground to a halt by the Great Depression. The post-War era changed all that, powered by the Capitalist v. Communist "competition" of the Cold War. First World nations were rebuilt rapidly. Third World colonies became, first, independent, then (on a case-by-case basis) prosperous. By comparison with the pre-War model, from the 1960s on the world became a humming marketplace - motored by a self-sufficient U.S. economy.

Despite the political arguments , the United States' international trade position is where it has always been since the end of World War II: squarely in the middle

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fessor of economic history at City University Business School in London, points to the protectionist legislation of America's Hawley-Smoot Act of 1931 as one of the aggravating factors of the Great Depression. He cites the following statistic resulting from those legislated trade barriers: ... in 1938, world output was up 20% over its 1929 levels - yet trade was clamped down to a level 60% lower (Morais 49). The message is clear: trade barriers - protectionism - inhibit world trade and true economic growth. Still, if a trend in U.S. foreign trade policy must be identified, then "protectionism" is the word to use. Despite the evidence cited against such policies, in its early months the Clinton Administration chose to block E.C. companies from bidding on United States government contracts. Simultaneously, the U.S. government raised tariffs on European steel to an amount that virtually doubled its price. All this was done in the cause of retaliation for "intolerable European Community trade practices," according to U.S. trade negotiator Mickey Kantor (Morais 49). What is surprising in this development is how limited the "centrist" Clinton Administration's economic vision appeared to be. It certainly ran counter to the
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3270
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page)

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