Editors analyze politics, economy
A Southern View
Issue date: 10/3/08 Section: Opinion
With the upcoming presidential election looming over the heads of voters, the editors of The Southern cannot help but reflect with grief on the state of our nation.
College students take the mindset that after they graduate there will be several job opportunities awaiting them, but that is simply not the case. Students need to recognize the severity of the economy and realize that they need to be searching for job opportunities earlier than ever. On a larger scale, more and more jobs are being shipped out of the country to save companies money on labor costs, but that, in turn, has only further worsened the unemployment rate within our own borders.
Dependence on oil has prevented the United States from being able to successfully develop secondary energy sources and has allowed for a boom in the cost of imported oil. Earlier this week, Wachovia announced that it was struggling to be able to maintain itself and was quickly bought by Citibank. Last week, the bank Washington Mutual failed, and yet it was not the primary topic of news across the nation. That particular day the media was more concerned with the political squabbles involved in what is being called the $700 billion bailout.
Aside from the economic stress that our nation is facing, the presidential election is another cause for concern. What merits are voters using to decide their presidential candidate? Are we looking at the big picture or are we choosing to base our decisions off of petty arguments such as during the recent presidential debate. Both John McCain and Barack Obama spent more time criticizing each other's plans for economic reform than on actually deciding to discuss what ideas would be in the best interest of the country. The voting public should be troubled by the fact that the United States' economy is in the hands of two people that seek to be elected based on their ability to bash their opponent.
The same tactic was evident in the Democratic election a few short months ago when Hillary Clinton made verbal attacks on Obama. When she lost though, she was quick to become an avid supporter of Obama.
College students take the mindset that after they graduate there will be several job opportunities awaiting them, but that is simply not the case. Students need to recognize the severity of the economy and realize that they need to be searching for job opportunities earlier than ever. On a larger scale, more and more jobs are being shipped out of the country to save companies money on labor costs, but that, in turn, has only further worsened the unemployment rate within our own borders.
Dependence on oil has prevented the United States from being able to successfully develop secondary energy sources and has allowed for a boom in the cost of imported oil. Earlier this week, Wachovia announced that it was struggling to be able to maintain itself and was quickly bought by Citibank. Last week, the bank Washington Mutual failed, and yet it was not the primary topic of news across the nation. That particular day the media was more concerned with the political squabbles involved in what is being called the $700 billion bailout.
Aside from the economic stress that our nation is facing, the presidential election is another cause for concern. What merits are voters using to decide their presidential candidate? Are we looking at the big picture or are we choosing to base our decisions off of petty arguments such as during the recent presidential debate. Both John McCain and Barack Obama spent more time criticizing each other's plans for economic reform than on actually deciding to discuss what ideas would be in the best interest of the country. The voting public should be troubled by the fact that the United States' economy is in the hands of two people that seek to be elected based on their ability to bash their opponent.
The same tactic was evident in the Democratic election a few short months ago when Hillary Clinton made verbal attacks on Obama. When she lost though, she was quick to become an avid supporter of Obama.
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