HippoBLOGamus

Since May 31, violence and unrest have erupted in 67 of Turkey’s 81 provinces. What began as a peaceful demonstration against the planned demolition of Gezi Park quickly turned aggressive, leaving thousands injured and some dead. The government’s recent apology for its inappropriate behavior was not enough to subdue the riots, especially since the Prime Minister still plans to destroy the park.

Cheap labor in other countries around the world has negatively impacted the U.S economy and its manufacturing industries.  In some countries, the cost of labor is very cheap, which lowers the cost of manufacturing goods.  As a result of these lower costs of production, millions of manufacturing jobs have been driven out of the U.S. to nations overseas such as Bangladesh and Singapore.

A college education is more important now than ever before, but the rising cost of tuition is drowning  our students in debt. In fact, student loan debt in the country this year tops an astounding one trillion dollars. Right now, many of my friends and fellow Tricom interns are working hard to pay off their loan debts. Legislators are now trying to pass a bill that could make the debt crisis even worse. The current fixed 3.4 percent interest rate on government student loans will double to an overwhelming 6.8 percent if some members of Congress have their way.

There are over 300 million people in the United States. One person is born every eight seconds and one person dies every 12 seconds. But, to most people, that does not really mean much. Those are just numbers. Unless you know that one person who died 12 seconds ago when you started reading this, you don’t really care.

The “Gang of Eight” created an immigration bill that passed 13-5 in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The “Gang of Eight” consists of four Democratic senators and four Republican senators who worked to create a bill both parties would approve. The bill includes a 13-year path to full citizenship.

The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) celebrated its 20th Anniversary on Monday, May 20, in remembrance of the day in 1993 when former President Bill Clinton signed the bill into law. The Act was created to increase voter turnout rates among low income and minority citizens.

Boy Scouts of America (BSA) claims to provide programs for young boys that build character and train them in the responsibilities of participating citizenship. They also state that they help youth build a more conscientious, responsible and productive society.

Regardless of who the president is, Republican or Democrat, we as Americans turn to him when there is any blame to be assessed. Recently, we’ve seen a lot of animosity directed towards the president regarding our nation’s debt, but I believe our president is personally stepping up and giving back.

Rahm Emanuel, mayor of Chicago, and Barbara Byrd-Bennett, CEO of Chicago Public Schools, recently announced the proposed closure of over 50 Chicago Public Schools in order to invest in “quality education.”

I have news for Republican House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan. This Responsible Budget Plan is far from responsible for the people that you were elected to serve.