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In his article, “America Remains the World’s Beacon of Success” Tim Roemer expresses that for many people the “American dream” is still alive. Tim Roemer has written extensively on policy issues for publications including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. He has also served in Congress as a Democrat from Indiana and as an ambassador to India. During his time as an ambassador in India Roemer was able to realize that although many Americans may not believe so, our Country is still admired by many people from other countries. Roemer is not naïve, he does realize and agree that America is facing issues such as greed and corruption, but he points out that many countries are experiencing the same problems. Living overseas he saw other countries face profound challenges of the same or greater value. Roemer points out the good in America by stating that the US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world. Which is why many business ambassadors would like to enter the US market. Roemer does acknowledge that our high schools need to improve but America still remains successful when it comes to higher education. Roemer goes on to discuss that the legal immigrants that come to our country enhance our competitiveness and are a big part in the startup of what becomes big businesses. Some other advantages the US has over other countries include our positive demographic growth pattern, our environmental protections of water and natural resources and our incredible military skill. The overall message Roemer is trying to convey is that America is a great country and although our Country is not perfect it is still great and should be appreciated. I enjoyed reading this article and I respect many of the points that Roemer made. I agree with him in the sense that too many people take America for granted. America is an overall great country, of course we still have some issues but all countries do. Compared to most countries America is one of the best and Roemer points this out in his article when he talks about people in other countries still believing in the American dream. American citizens become too consumed in their own lives to realize how worse off they could be in another country. My favorite point Roemer made was when he was talking about how we should be reminded that our country is worth fighting for by activist’s movements. I liked this point because it reminds people of the improvements our country has made. It shows America is striving to be better and we are able to do so because of our freedom. I believe Roemer’s conservative view contributed to the story because it made people consider changing their views rather than blaming the government for everything that is wrong in our country. Roemer has a unique perspective since he was an ambassador in India and it really added to the story. He was able to meet many people that solidified the fact the American dream is still alive and that America is a great country to live in and it has many opportunities to offer.

Paul Krugman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2008. He also teaches economics at Princeton and the City University of New York. He wrote a book in 2007 which included a chapter called, “Confronting Inequality”. In this chapter Krugman discusses the inequalities in the US economy and expresses how we should fix these inequalities. He strongly believes it is important to fix the inequality in the economy because it leads to unequal opportunities. Growing up Krugman believed the economy was a relatively equal middle class society. But that soon changed as the middle class began to diminish. One reason for this inequality is due to unequal distribution of income to lower-and-middle-income families. Just like Krugman had stated this than lead to unequal opportunities. A study done by the National Center for Education Statistics proved that family status mattered more than scoring high on a test. Students who scored in the top fourth but didn’t come from high status parents were still less likely to finish college than a student who scored in the bottom fourth but did come from high status parents. America’s high inequality is also believed to corrupt our politics and affect our taxes. Government members were beginning to find loopholes on how to pay less taxes, but this only lead to the middle class having to pay more. Krugman states that the first step to restoring progressivity to the tax system is to let the Bush tax cuts expire. This tax cut would help assure American middle-and lower-income families health care. He also suggests closing some of the obvious loopholes in the American system. He then precedes to say we should be raising taxes for the wealthy and raise minimum wage to help the not so wealthy. I believe that Krugman wrote this book and included this chapter in order to show us how economic inequality is negatively impacting the US in multiple ways. Krugman’s Liberal point of view along with his background credentials helped to convey this message. Since Krugman has an extensive background in economics it was easy to believe his concerns and solutions. He is a very knowledgeable man but was able simplify this incredibly confusing and intricate topic to get his points across to someone who may not be as knowledgeable about this topic. It was easy to understand his points and after reading this piece I agree with him. Even though this article is a little outdated many of his points are still true today. Wealthy people still find loopholes to keep them from paying high taxes which makes the middle class pick up the slack. I definitely think that economic inequality is still an issue today and will be for quite some time. It is hard to fix the issue when most people in government are wealthy and are just looking out for themselves....