What is current macroeconomic situation in the U.S Essay

What is current macroeconomic situation in the U.S - Essay Example Over the period of time, the unemployment rates in US averaged just over 5% however, during September 2011, the unemployment rate reached over 9%1 suggesting that despite measures taken by the government, unemployment level is rising. The overall growth rate of GDP has not been encouraging as the growth during the current year has further slowed down due to depressed aggregate demand as well as higher levels of inflation. The overall forecasts for the growth rates during the current year are less than 4% thus suggesting that the economy may further slow down as the growth rates fall and inflation increases. In order to deal with the problem, US government has undertaken a restricted expansionary policy under which fiscal stimulus has been provided to the economy. At the start of the crisis, Bush administration has introduced a tax cut fiscal expansion program to stimulate the economy. After that a further fiscal expansion package was introduced to save the financial system from collapse during 2009 and a further tax cut and unemployment fund extension package was introduced during 2010. (The New York Times, 2011). These attempts suggest that the US government undertook fiscal expansion in order to stimulate the economy and provide the necessary launching pad for the economy to pick up. However, despite such measures, economy has not responded and as such the overall growth rates remained depressed. The monetary policy also remained expansionary in nature wherein FED reduced it policy rate to almost zero. Reduction in discount rate critically reduced the overall interest rates within the economy thus allowing the economy to get stimulus. Low interest rates were also meant to encourage consumer spending on credit so that the overall aggregate demand could be increased. Apart from this, FED also continued with the policy of quantitative easing under which fictitious money was created to increase the

Slavery as a Cause of the Civil War Research Paper

Slavery as a Cause of the Civil War - Research Paper Example Finally, the expansion westward was a truly strong factor as poor whites migrated from the South to where they could get free land and slavery became a hot issue in the new territories. Even the personal political ambitions of the major figures of the time played a part in creating the atmosphere which finally resulted in the War Between the States. Centering such debates around states rights remains provocative, especially among "neo-Confederates." But, according to Dew, "The secessionists of 1860-61 certainly talked much more openly about slavery than present-day neo-Confederates seem willing to do" (p. 10). (Decredico) So, although slavery was at the root of the war, it was not the root cause. It simply figured into most of the other causes. There is a great deal of disagreement upon the root causes of this war, but it boils down to one simple point, according to Basler , â€Å"The ultimate cause of the Civil War was simply human disagreement, which could not be, or rather was not, resolved by non† violent means. Its roots went at least as deep as the American Revolution, and could be traced even deeper into human history if the effort promised to give any better understanding for the present purpose, which it does not. Mans fundamental disagreement has always been about who shall have what and who shall rule whom, and how and why. (Basler 3) In fact, it is this factor upon which all governments are built and why they are maintained. The War for Constitutional Liberty, the War for Nationality, the War for Southern Nationality, the War for Southern Independence, the Second American Revolution, the War for States Rights, Mr. Lincolns War, the War Against Slavery, the War for Abolition, the Southern Rebellion, the War of the Rebellion, the War for Southern Rights, the War of the Southern Planters, the Civil War, Americas Civil War, the War Between the States, the Civil War Between the States, the War Against