The United Nations has offered world leaders and diplomats a forum to express their views on global issues for 72 years. Throughout its long history, the impact of the UN on world affairs has often been overlooked. In recent years, the inability of the International Community to resolve prolonged conflicts, such as the Syrian Civil War and the Korean War, has left many to question the value of the UN. In 2017, one fierce critic of the United Nations, US President Donald Trump, used his time in front of the General Assembly to call for bureaucratic reforms. Reforms to the UN will not, however, do anything to improve its performance as the UN has no real power. All of the power of the UN resides in the individual member states.
The US alone spends roughly $8 billion a year on the UN. It also spends between $50 and 65 billion on the US State Department, which is responsible for America’s diplomatic representation throughout the world. Without the UN, the US would likely have to spend a great deal more on diplomatic and trade infrastructure to achieve the same level of interaction it enjoys with the representatives of other nations. More importantly, the US spends $8 billion on the UN and roughly $60 billion on the US State Department, but around $600 billion on the US military. Even if the UN helps prevent a handful of conflicts between the US and its rivals while helping to diffuse the potential for even more wars, i.e. the need to buildup military forces, it saves money and lives.
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Putin’s Russia Is, Perhaps Unintentionally, Grooming North Korea and the World for Global War9/15/2017 War is a course best pursued when an enemy is weakest and least expects an attack. From individual assaults to military campaigns, skilled predators know they must strike when their victims are most unlikely to beat back an attack or escape. Men like Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-Un, the military leaders of Myanmar, and the warlords of the Middle East are predators living in a relatively peaceful International Community that ineptly confronts conflict with economic and diplomatic sanctions. The leaders and populations of First World countries, which have enjoyed decades of prolonged peace and stability outside of violent crime, have become perfectly adapted to their environment. They appear to have lost their defenses against predators.
The 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia, the 2014 invasion of Crimea, and the clandestine 2014 paramilitary Russian campaign in Eastern Ukraine, among other Russian campaigns, have established a clear M.O. for the Putin government. Russia likes to stage military buildups under misleading pretenses then use any perceived threats or security incidents to rationalize crushing retaliation. This is why Russia’s understated Belarus military games have stoke fears among Baltic states. Putin and his comrades do not care about the economic and diplomatic costs of their policies as their contemporaries in the West and Asia, including China, do. They think more like Kim Jong-Un and the heads of other aggressive, insecure nations. US Senator and 2016 Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has proposed legislation that would expand Medicare to cover the medical needs of all Americans. As a policy solution, this “public option” would certainly simplify the intricate web of private and government insurers Americans utilize to pay their medical bills. It would also ensure Americans are able to pay for healthcare, even when they cannot afford it. In the wake of the GOP’s failed attempts to provide health insurance reform and dissatisfaction with the shortcomings of Obamacare, support for universal healthcare and a single payer system has been growing inside the US. To enact “the Medicare for All Act of 2017,” several political hurdles would, however, have to be overcome.
Not only do conservative Republicans control the House, Senate, and White House, older voters, who rely on Medicare and represent a large voting block, must be convinced that Medicare expansion will not undermine their access to affordable medical care. Like all healthcare and health insurance reform efforts, proponents must also convince legislators and American citizens that the economics of such policy changes are viable. Where older Americans will primarily be focused on any threat to the Medicare system, taxpayers will be concerned about the cost of expanding the program. Healthcare providers will, in turn, be concerned about reimbursement rates. For consumers, the loss of the benefits that comes from choice will be an issue. Hurricane Irma, by mere coincidence, hit the US mainland on the eve of the sixteenth anniversary of the September 11th Terrorist Attacks. Days earlier, Mexico experienced an 8.2 magnitude earthquake. Natural disasters and man-made calamities remind people that government has value and plays a valuable role when people have a need. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Jose certainly did their part to test the ability of the governments in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico to respond to a crisis.
After all, nothing shows the inadequacies and unpreparedness of government than Category Four and Five Hurricanes. Conversely, nothing shows the value of government better than the ability of government to respond to a catastrophe. Those living in the US are fortunate to have a government that was able to prepare and did prepare for a worst case scenario, which was not the case in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina ravished the Gulf Coast and FEMA could not meet demand for disaster relief aid. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Jose have grabbed the attention of the Western world due to the massive destruction they have caused, yet the most devastating disaster unfolding could actually be “Hurricane Equifax.” Hackers may well have stolen the key credentials needed to prove a person’s identity and establish credentials for nearly half of the consumers in the world’s largest economy. Up to 143 million or more US consumers have likely had their most basic credentials stolen from the credit reporting bureau Equifax.
While Equifax emphasizes there was no unauthorized access to its Core Consumer or Commercial Reporting databases, hackers did acquire the main ingredients needed to commit mass identity theft. With social security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and driver’s license numbers exposed, assurances made by Equifax are irrelevant. If the Equifax breach turns out to be a worse-cause-scenario, Equifax is ruined. US Consumers have just lost their ability to easily prove their identities and dispute fraudulent spending done in their name. The US financial system faces an unprecedented threat to its security and credibility. |
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