Tag Archives: united states

in english

Globalisation, competition and the American way

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The United States is a very exceptional country, in that it was originally founded on ideas, mostly.  I'm sure you've heard about the "American way" and the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness".  The American people are capable of great things, and the 20th century was indeed theirs.

This century, however, seems a little more threatening, with the war on terror and a weaker economy.  The rise of China also means there is another big competitor in the world stage.  To make matters worse, their country also has a little of an image problem currently.

Sadly, I find that the instinct is to close up, to keep on ignoring what is happening in the rest of the world, and to refuse to understand how others see what is going on.  Hardball negotiation doesn't work anymore.

Thankfully, there is also a group of people who understand that the US cannot afford to do that.

in english

Answering Ohio

It is said that Hillary Clinton won Ohio due to her opposition to NAFTA (an initiative that her husband put into force, by the way).  I understand that Ohio has lost quite a few jobs during the last 15 years, but renegotiating free trade is not a solution.

The American consumer on one hand loves low prices, which needless to say are helped by free trade.  On the other side, however, the same person, now as American voter is afraid of the state of the American economy, and would like to protect it as much as possible.

The problem is, however, that the Ohio voter is between a rock and a hard place for one reason: if the United States shuts the door to free trade, many of those employed producing goods for the American market abroad will lose their jobs, and I wouldn't be surprised if they would try to migrate to find a better life.

Therefore, the question is the following: free trade or immigration?

in english

State of fear

I was pretty surprised by the amount of fear I could see in the American media.   I understand the shock caused by the unfortunate events of September 11th, 2001, but I think this doesn't only have to do with that.

The messages you hear in TV, in the news and in the street talk about fear: fear of terrorism, yes, but also of immigration, poverty, bad health, poor eductaion, peak oil, etc.  I find it sad that such an entrepreneurial people can be held back by thinly veiled propaganda of fear.  Awareness is extremely important, but frightening your audience won't take you anywhere.

in english

Service culture

I've talked earlier about the difference between the quality of service in Europe and other places around the world.  I'm happy to report that in the U.S. the service level is in general much better than what we're used in Europe. The downside, of course, if that you need to be aware about how much you should be tipping, which is an arcane art I have pretty much forgotten.

in english

P.S. Mexico’s 33rd state

On my way back from Mexico I picked up Newsweek magazine's yearly edition of the issues that will dominate in the next 12 months.  I was rather surprised when I found this article by former Mexican foreign minister Jorge Castañeda, where he explains a very interesting manifestation of the law of unintended consequences, if such exists.

He argues that the border fence that the United States has started to build to keep illegal immigration out is instead keeping them in.  Before, it used to be a cyclical phenomenon where people would cross, work in the United States for a season and then move back to Mexico.  Nowadays, they cannot risk going back and not being able to return, so when they are able to cross they stay and try to bring their families along.  That's most probably the opposite of what the proponents of this initiative originally wanted.

Whereas I don't agree with breaking the law, the first step in fixing a problem is acknowledging that it exists and what its reasons are.  As we've seen initiatives like this don't seem to help much.