New Start for Our Brave Troops

When President Obama
said recently that all American troops will leave Iraq by the end of the year,
many Americans were pleased.
About 200 marines assigned to protect the US Embassy in Baghdad will remain.

Whether
the United States should have invaded Iraq to depose Saddam Hussein will be
debated for years. Nine years, 4,400 American and 115,405 Iraqi lives and more
than $1 trillion later, the war has finally come to an official end. And about
41,000 troops will be home to start a new year with their families. Those who
paid the ultimate price will never be forgotten.

What
is your take on Obama’s decision to bring our brave troops home by the year’s
end?

Occupy Common Sense

Living wage, healthcare, free college education,
open-border immigration, and debt forgiveness are just a few of the demands the
Occupy Wall Street protesters want. So what is Occupy Wall Street?

Occupy Wall Street began at Zuccotti Park in the financial district in New York City on September 17^Th. It has since
gained national and global attention and momentum. Similar protests have been sparked
across America and around the world. Those behind the protest are frustrated
because it seems that nothing has changed in the financial sector after the
Great Recession of 2007-09. The protesters believe that economic inequality in
America is growing; that corporate influence over government, particularly in
the financial sector, is too much; and that the middle class is being squeezed.

While some of the claims may have merit, one thing the protest is lacking is a unified goal
and leader. Well-meaning as some of the demands seem to be, they could be
counterproductive. For example, if all debt is forgiven, banks would be
reluctant to lend, making it hard for consumers to get credit to buy houses and
other goods and services, for businesses to expand, or for new businesses to
start up. It could cripple our already fragile economy.

In a competitive global market economy such as ours, free-education and a higher living wage are
unsustainable demands.  Who would pay the
professors?  Who would assume those costs?
Raising the living wage is a good idea, but it could also cause more
unemployment as companies move operations to areas of the world where labor is
cheaper. Raising the wages of some workers could also mean denying other
workers employment.

Finally, increasing input costs for companies mean those higher costs will be passed on to consumers.
The protests have had value, and they have had an impact nationally and
globally by forcing us to take a critical look at problems of income inequality
in society. Could the Occupy Wall Street protests change America and the world?  Let’s occupy common sense and move America
forward.

(Thank you to all readers, please follow me on twitter @GenAppo)

What is GenAppo about ?!!!

Hello, my name is Akporefe“Appo” Agbamu, founder of the blog GenAppo.com. GenAppo.com is a place where anyone can come and give their input on economic and political issues we feel will impact our generation. It’s also a place where our Generation (I’m 19) can come to talk about the state of our nation.

  The idea of starting a blog came to me after many months of observing the mind-state of Young America (GenerationAppo) as well as the actions of those who govern our nation. What many of us are forgetting is that the economic and political decisions being made on behalf of our generation can and will have a big impact on our future. Whether these decisions have negative or positive impact is for us to decide. Many politicians have forgotten that only through compromise can real progress be made. They’ve put their political parties’ agendas ahead of the nation as a whole.

  Let me ask you this: would you allow someone to play with your future or the future of your children? If your answer to this questions is no, I encourage you to keep reading. Everyday decisions are made about our generation’s future. The funny thing is that many of these politicians will not be around when their decisions impact us negatively. It is time for our Generation to wake up and begin to think about what is really going on. It is time for us to come together as one and really make an impact on our future. Let’s unite and reclaim our future.

Follow me on twitter @GenAppo for updates

Also the GenAppo facebook page link is as http://www.facebook.com/pages/GenAppo/118932148215707?sk=wall#!/pages/GenAppo/118932148215707