Sea of Red: What's Going on With Stocks
America's economy is highly influenced by those of other world superpowers, such as China. As the Chinese economy seems to be rapidly and dangerously slowing down, slower than their government suggests, American stocks are not looking their best. According to these reports, The Dow dropped over 1,000 points this past week. I don't have to understand exactly what that means to know that it is definitely not good. That drop makes this past week the worst week in the stock market since 2011. There is no apparent sign of anything getting better anytime soon, because this has led to some pretty dramatic worldwide effects that can't easily be reversed. This is all happening because China's manufacturing activity. It is said to have gone down to its lowest point in 77 months, which sounds pretty scary to me. This must mean that they are not getting the imports they need or they don't have enough jobs to get the work done. This ultimately leads to a slowed down global economy because now America and other trade partners with China aren't getting the imports they usually get from the superpower. Something that will definitely be looked at is China's imports, because that is a key factor in other countries being able to determine China's trade dependability.
This, paired with cheap oil, at its lowest point in six years, is not doing too many good things for the U.S. economy or the world economy. This is all causing worldwide problems that make it extremely difficult to find one simple solution that fixes it all. The good found in all of this negativity and loss is that the U.S. stock index had actually reached a record high earlier this year that offered a little cushion for this plunge. It makes it just a little more bearable, though still very bad. A humble correction would definitely do no harm, but at least its not as bad as it could be.
America will continue to carry on for now, in hopes that there is a way to help China get back to where it was. This is a little scary for American stocks, but I hope that people don't loose hope because of it. The stocks change all the time and go up and down with extreme unpredictability. We depend on other countries for a lot of things, so we can't be too surprised and freaked out when things like this happen. All we can do is search for solutions and ride it out.
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Close the Gap, Please.
The Pay Gap
The pay gap, in my humble opinion, is becoming way too prominent is our working world today.It has always been seen between jobs, like the difference between a physician's assistant and a brain surgeon; however, more upsettingly, it is still seen between genders. While yes, often women are employed in lower paid jobs or positions, but it makes me and many others upset to hear that a woman can be at the exact same professional level as a man and be paid a lesser salary. This is something that makes me extremely upset, because I strongly believe in equal treatment for all people; however, businesses seem to think it is okay to pay a women less for doing the same task as a man. Different levels of education may play a part in this, which is understandable. If a women only has her high school diploma and a man has a masters in international business and communications, yes, he should make more because not only will he be ranked higher, but he has more experience and knowledge to do his job better. On the other hand, women are beginning to seek higher education and that can no longer be an excuse to pay them less.
There will always be new excuses that come up to validate the pay gap, but none of them are valid in my opinion. Some say that women don't have a family to support or that if they move up and get a higher salary in a company they will just get married and pregnant and leave the company for her family. This definitely happens, yes, but it is not always the case. There are plenty of women who are and will be 100% focused on their work and loyal to their employer, regardless of family obligations. Also, if a family of four had a woman and a man coming home with a high salary, that family's consumer confidence would sky rocket. In no way could that hurt the economy, it would only help. They would live life extremely comfortable and this would really feed the service economy.
I don't really understand why the pay gap is still an issue, with all of the equality that America preaches. Businesses as a whole don't seem to be making an effort to change things, and ultimately they are just hurting themselves, the economy, and the people who live in it.
The pay gap, in my humble opinion, is becoming way too prominent is our working world today.It has always been seen between jobs, like the difference between a physician's assistant and a brain surgeon; however, more upsettingly, it is still seen between genders. While yes, often women are employed in lower paid jobs or positions, but it makes me and many others upset to hear that a woman can be at the exact same professional level as a man and be paid a lesser salary. This is something that makes me extremely upset, because I strongly believe in equal treatment for all people; however, businesses seem to think it is okay to pay a women less for doing the same task as a man. Different levels of education may play a part in this, which is understandable. If a women only has her high school diploma and a man has a masters in international business and communications, yes, he should make more because not only will he be ranked higher, but he has more experience and knowledge to do his job better. On the other hand, women are beginning to seek higher education and that can no longer be an excuse to pay them less.
There will always be new excuses that come up to validate the pay gap, but none of them are valid in my opinion. Some say that women don't have a family to support or that if they move up and get a higher salary in a company they will just get married and pregnant and leave the company for her family. This definitely happens, yes, but it is not always the case. There are plenty of women who are and will be 100% focused on their work and loyal to their employer, regardless of family obligations. Also, if a family of four had a woman and a man coming home with a high salary, that family's consumer confidence would sky rocket. In no way could that hurt the economy, it would only help. They would live life extremely comfortable and this would really feed the service economy.
I don't really understand why the pay gap is still an issue, with all of the equality that America preaches. Businesses as a whole don't seem to be making an effort to change things, and ultimately they are just hurting themselves, the economy, and the people who live in it.
How May I Help You?
Growing Service Industries Shows Improving Economy in U.S.
The service industry has always been one to thrive, as people love to be served, but in recent months there has been a large growth seen that is really helping the U.S economy. This article states that the report is "consistent with moderate growth in the economy- not exactly booming, but not weak either". This seems to be a much more healthy way for the economy to grow because it is a strong and steady incline, as opposed to a weak and unpredictable spike. Hearing this makes me think that the population is in an overall better general mood because they are spending more and accepting services more than before. I think that this is sort of a snowball effect; when one starts to buy and spend more, it makes them feel better and want to buy and spend more. Personally, when i start eating out or i go to get my nails done, I begin to do it more often because of the satisfaction I get. In the end, we are all seeking after constant gratification.
This article states that the growth is mainly seen in the entertainment, real estate, hotel, and restaurant businesses. I think that this also may have to do with the summer months. People have more time to travel and do leisure activities when school is not in session. I wonder if this growth will diminish once the school year rolls around. However, as I said before, it is reassuring to see that this growth has been steady month after month and not a recent spike. This slow, incremental growth really is much more promising for these service industries. Another thing that may be causing this growth is that as people begin new jobs with the economy improving, families are bringing home more money, thus increasing their consumer confidence. They buy more and do more.
However, there will come a time, I think, where everyone will reach their own consumer capacity. The only thing that will continue to fuel the growth is people making more and more money so they can spend more and more money. I personally think that is a huge problem with America, we are constantly seeking growth and wanting more. Some may believe that this is how to keep the country thriving and healthy, but does taking away the simplicity of life truly make one healthy and happy?
The service industry has always been one to thrive, as people love to be served, but in recent months there has been a large growth seen that is really helping the U.S economy. This article states that the report is "consistent with moderate growth in the economy- not exactly booming, but not weak either". This seems to be a much more healthy way for the economy to grow because it is a strong and steady incline, as opposed to a weak and unpredictable spike. Hearing this makes me think that the population is in an overall better general mood because they are spending more and accepting services more than before. I think that this is sort of a snowball effect; when one starts to buy and spend more, it makes them feel better and want to buy and spend more. Personally, when i start eating out or i go to get my nails done, I begin to do it more often because of the satisfaction I get. In the end, we are all seeking after constant gratification.
This article states that the growth is mainly seen in the entertainment, real estate, hotel, and restaurant businesses. I think that this also may have to do with the summer months. People have more time to travel and do leisure activities when school is not in session. I wonder if this growth will diminish once the school year rolls around. However, as I said before, it is reassuring to see that this growth has been steady month after month and not a recent spike. This slow, incremental growth really is much more promising for these service industries. Another thing that may be causing this growth is that as people begin new jobs with the economy improving, families are bringing home more money, thus increasing their consumer confidence. They buy more and do more.
However, there will come a time, I think, where everyone will reach their own consumer capacity. The only thing that will continue to fuel the growth is people making more and more money so they can spend more and more money. I personally think that is a huge problem with America, we are constantly seeking growth and wanting more. Some may believe that this is how to keep the country thriving and healthy, but does taking away the simplicity of life truly make one healthy and happy?
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