Jason Cannon
Unit 1-2
10/17/13
Synopsis:
This article addressed whether Republican Senators Mike Lee and Ted Cruz were heroes or idiots during the recent budget issues. They both wanted to defund Obamacare and they promoted the House's rejection of the budget bill containing Obamacare. Many fellow Senate Republicans did not agree with the actions and positions of Lee & Cruz as well as the House Republicans. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said, "The way we're behaving and the path we've taken in the last couple of weeks leads to a marginalized party in the eyes of the American people." Senator John McCain called the Republican stand up "a fool's errand." Despite these contrary views from members of the Republican party, some think that the position and actions of Lee and Cruz are great and that they are heroes for trying to get rid of Obamacare. The article closed by saying that the government shutdown shifted the focus away from the problems of Obamacare.
Detailed Analysis / comments:
In the article it said that Cruz was a possible presidential candidate for 2016. Evaluating Cruz's actions based on this piece of information causes me to wonder if Cruz acted the way he did to set himself up for a presidential campaign. He might have been trying to get his name and his ideology out there. He should not have acted the way he did just to help himself in a possible presidential campaign (even though I don't think his actions helped his national reputation and potential campaign). I think that it is okay for Republicans to not vote for a budget that they feel is wrong, but that it is not okay to just vote against it for personal status. I don't know what the intentions of Lee or Cruz were and so I don't want to call them idiots or heroes. In my opinion, though, the negative reaction of other Republican Senators is justified. I also think that the positive reaction of some Republicans to Lee and Cruz's actions is also okay. The big issue for me is the intentions of Lee and Cruz. No matter what you think, it probably is true that the Republican party
became more divided as a result of the shutdown and actions of
Republicans like Lee and Cruz.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Saturday, October 12, 2013
'Governance Problem' beatable
Jason Cannon
Unit 1-2
October 12, 2013
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865588257/US-will-weather-governance-problem-better-than-any-other-nation-former-Secretary-of-State-says.html?pg=1
Synopsis:
This article covered the speech Condoleezza Rice (a previous Secretary of State) gave in the 27th Annual Utah Women's Conference put on by Senator Hatch and his wife. In her speech, Rice talked about the United States system of government and how it would be able to handle the government problems it was now facing better than other nations. She said that the founding fathers set up "near perfect institutions" and that the federal system set up should help the country in solving the government problems. She covered several topics relating to the system and opportunities in the United States. It was a hopeful speech amid the discouraging situation the US is going through.
Comments / Detailed Analysis:
I think that Rice's comments were perfect for the situation we are in. Instead of bashing on the government and condemning the United States, she expressed confidence in our government and talked about all of the good things in the United States. When talking about the federal system of government and that the states and local governments should help, Rice said, "The states have become labs and incubators of reform and innovation in almost every aspect of life — education, health care or transportation. That's a good thing." The national gov can look at what the states are doing and can learn from their successful and unsuccessful systems.
Rice also talked about the ability of individuals in the United States to improve their conditions and rise up because of education. She said, "The crisis in K-12 education may be our single greatest national security threat." I think that this is a true statement as well and that much of the success of the United States rests upon the education of the people.
I was relieved to find a current event not talking about the consequences and details of the shutdown.
Unit 1-2
October 12, 2013
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865588257/US-will-weather-governance-problem-better-than-any-other-nation-former-Secretary-of-State-says.html?pg=1
Synopsis:
This article covered the speech Condoleezza Rice (a previous Secretary of State) gave in the 27th Annual Utah Women's Conference put on by Senator Hatch and his wife. In her speech, Rice talked about the United States system of government and how it would be able to handle the government problems it was now facing better than other nations. She said that the founding fathers set up "near perfect institutions" and that the federal system set up should help the country in solving the government problems. She covered several topics relating to the system and opportunities in the United States. It was a hopeful speech amid the discouraging situation the US is going through.
Comments / Detailed Analysis:
I think that Rice's comments were perfect for the situation we are in. Instead of bashing on the government and condemning the United States, she expressed confidence in our government and talked about all of the good things in the United States. When talking about the federal system of government and that the states and local governments should help, Rice said, "The states have become labs and incubators of reform and innovation in almost every aspect of life — education, health care or transportation. That's a good thing." The national gov can look at what the states are doing and can learn from their successful and unsuccessful systems.
Rice also talked about the ability of individuals in the United States to improve their conditions and rise up because of education. She said, "The crisis in K-12 education may be our single greatest national security threat." I think that this is a true statement as well and that much of the success of the United States rests upon the education of the people.
I was relieved to find a current event not talking about the consequences and details of the shutdown.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Breakthrough: National parks could be reopened soon
Jason Cannon
October 10, 2013
Unit 1-2
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865588123/Breakthrough-National-parks-could-be-reopened-soon-if-Utah-uses-own-money.html
Synopsis:
Utah Governor Herbert is trying to get the Utah national parks open using state money and resources. The Obama Administration said that some national parks could be opened by states as long as the states used their own money to do so. Herbert says he is, " . . . very concerned about those in rural Utah that are impacted in such a negative way because of the closure of these parks." He is trying to work out the details with federal government officials, including making sure that Utah will be paid back for the money they put into the national parks.
Comments:
I think that the effort being made by Government Herbert to reopen the national parks is a valiant one. I can see why local economies are being greatly hurt by shutdown. Many of them rely on the business the national parks attract, and without it they lose money fast. In the article it mentioned that the shutdown of Zions National Park cost surrounding communities 3.5 million dollars. I don't understand many of the economic consequences of the national parks being shut down, but I know it greatly influences several Utah communities.
As long as the state will get paid back by the federal government after they work the budget out, I think that Utah should put money towards opening the national parks. We should be careful that we don't overdue it and put ourselves at financial risk, but I think the fact that Governor Herbert said, "We'll see what we can afford and what we can do," shows that we will be responsible with the money we put forward.
October 10, 2013
Unit 1-2
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865588123/Breakthrough-National-parks-could-be-reopened-soon-if-Utah-uses-own-money.html
Synopsis:
Utah Governor Herbert is trying to get the Utah national parks open using state money and resources. The Obama Administration said that some national parks could be opened by states as long as the states used their own money to do so. Herbert says he is, " . . . very concerned about those in rural Utah that are impacted in such a negative way because of the closure of these parks." He is trying to work out the details with federal government officials, including making sure that Utah will be paid back for the money they put into the national parks.
Comments:
I think that the effort being made by Government Herbert to reopen the national parks is a valiant one. I can see why local economies are being greatly hurt by shutdown. Many of them rely on the business the national parks attract, and without it they lose money fast. In the article it mentioned that the shutdown of Zions National Park cost surrounding communities 3.5 million dollars. I don't understand many of the economic consequences of the national parks being shut down, but I know it greatly influences several Utah communities.
As long as the state will get paid back by the federal government after they work the budget out, I think that Utah should put money towards opening the national parks. We should be careful that we don't overdue it and put ourselves at financial risk, but I think the fact that Governor Herbert said, "We'll see what we can afford and what we can do," shows that we will be responsible with the money we put forward.
Friday, October 4, 2013
U.S. businesses worry about a prolonged shutdown
Jason Cannon
Unit 2
Synopsis
In the Deseret News article US Businesses worry about a prolonged shutdown , the government shutdown is discussed as well as its economic effects. The article does not go into very much detail about the economic effects, but it talks about the possible and current effects of the shutdown on businesses and individuals. It gives several examples of businesses who are directly affected by the shutdown and talks about those who are indirectly affected by the shutdown. It talks about the importance of the length of the shutdown and how that impacts the effects of the shutdown.
Detailed Analysis / Comments
The article stated that for every week the government is shut down, the economy loses .15% of its "annualized growth." It also mentioned that 800,000 federal workers stopped getting paid, and that this had an effect on how they spent their money. It claimed that they would cut back on things like eating out and hotels, which would effect these industries. Near the end of the article, it said that the federal workers were not the only Americans who would potentially be more stringent with their money. Ordinary citizens might lose their trust in the economy if the government remains shut down, causing them to not spend as much. This in turn would hurt the businesses. The article also mentioned that aspects of the economy directly tied the federal gov (such as the housing industry and defense contracting) are also being greatly impacted by the government shutdown.
I don't know much about the effects of the government shutdown on the economy, but I understand that the effects are not good and that they get much worse with time. Really big problems could emerge if Congress does not get this worked out soon. The article mentioned that some think that people are making a bigger deal out of this shutdown than it is. They don't think that the economic problems will deeply effect all of America. I think that this might be the case right now, but if this shutdown goes on for a long time, all of America could be deeply affected economically. The Republicans in the House could try to tweak the Obamacare funding, but I don't think they will get their way of defunding it. Soon they just need to back down. It would be interesting to see how many Republican citizens agree with what the Republican House is doing.
Unit 2
Synopsis
In the Deseret News article US Businesses worry about a prolonged shutdown , the government shutdown is discussed as well as its economic effects. The article does not go into very much detail about the economic effects, but it talks about the possible and current effects of the shutdown on businesses and individuals. It gives several examples of businesses who are directly affected by the shutdown and talks about those who are indirectly affected by the shutdown. It talks about the importance of the length of the shutdown and how that impacts the effects of the shutdown.
Detailed Analysis / Comments
The article stated that for every week the government is shut down, the economy loses .15% of its "annualized growth." It also mentioned that 800,000 federal workers stopped getting paid, and that this had an effect on how they spent their money. It claimed that they would cut back on things like eating out and hotels, which would effect these industries. Near the end of the article, it said that the federal workers were not the only Americans who would potentially be more stringent with their money. Ordinary citizens might lose their trust in the economy if the government remains shut down, causing them to not spend as much. This in turn would hurt the businesses. The article also mentioned that aspects of the economy directly tied the federal gov (such as the housing industry and defense contracting) are also being greatly impacted by the government shutdown.
I don't know much about the effects of the government shutdown on the economy, but I understand that the effects are not good and that they get much worse with time. Really big problems could emerge if Congress does not get this worked out soon. The article mentioned that some think that people are making a bigger deal out of this shutdown than it is. They don't think that the economic problems will deeply effect all of America. I think that this might be the case right now, but if this shutdown goes on for a long time, all of America could be deeply affected economically. The Republicans in the House could try to tweak the Obamacare funding, but I don't think they will get their way of defunding it. Soon they just need to back down. It would be interesting to see how many Republican citizens agree with what the Republican House is doing.
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