What is the main cause of the subprime crisis and the challenges of US economy in the future?

What is the main cause of the subprime crisis and the challenges of US economy in the future?

In 2008, US economy, the world largest economy, experienced the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression in 1930s. During that time, the unemployment rate reached 10.1%, and million of American families lost their houses. The trigger of this economic disaster was the bursting of housing bubble resulting in the plummeting in value of collateralized debt obligation (CDO), which is “a structured financial product that pools together cash flow-generating assets and repackages this asset pool into discrete tranches that can be sold to investors” (Collateralized Debt).

Before the financial crisis took place, CDO that had bundled the housing debt of million American families was popular among banks and financial institutions in the US because CDO could generate high profitability to those institutions in term of interest rate. During that period, real-estate value was estimated to perpetually grow. The housing market was booming and crowded with speculators who aim to make profit in a short-term trade. The price of real estate went up continuously and reached the peak in 2007 (As it showed on the following chart).

 However, when the real-estate prices reached the peak where no one could make profit, the prices started slumping down. When the housing prices was lower than the point that is worth for people to pay their mortgage, people stopped paying their mortgage and sell their homes. The housing price dropped like a spiral until hitting the bottom. Because the bursting of housing bubble led to the drastic decrease in CDO value, the CDO holders, who were mostly giant banks and financial institutions, encountered with the financial problem because the huge loss on their account. One the biggest financial service firms in the US, Lehman Brothers went bankrupt and caused the turmoil in worldwide stock markets and financial markets. As a result, the Federal Reserve needed to inflate billion and billion dollars to stabilize the interest rate and to minimize the effect to the real sector.

Since 2008, the Federal Reserve has spent more than 2,000 billion dollars on buying long-term bonds in the purpose of inflating money into the economy. The economy seems addicted to this financial policy. The stock prices have increased overtime due to enormous money supply in the financial market. However, the challenges of US economy are whether the financial market would slump down again if Federal Reserve stopped injecting money into the economy and whether the US government has any potential plan to cope with the future situation. 

Works Cited

"Collateralized Debt Obligation (CDO) Definition." Investopedia. Investopedia, n.d. Web. 29 July 2014.                <http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cdo.asp>.

How MBA help you succeed in business world?

How MBA help you succeed in business world?

MBA is generally known as an expensive program with the curiosity about whether it helps people succeed or not. Some people claim that people do not need an MBA degree to succeed in business world because many successful businessmen, such as Steve Job, Mark Zuckerberg, and Bill Gates do not have an MBA but succeed in their business. However, this argument takes only one side of the fact. In fact, there are many successful businessmen who have MBA, such as Warren Buffett, the most successful investor. Indeed, business schools provide their students many valuable opportunities that will support them to succeed in business world.

Attending a business school is a great step out of the comfortable zone. During the degree program, MBA students need to intensively study ton of case studies, think critically, argue their points, and work in teams. People have never experienced these things in undergraduate school or even in some kinds of jobs. MBA is like a simulation of business environment, which prepare you before stepping back to the intense business world.

Not only does the getting an MBA provide you those mentioned needed skills for business area, but also good connection and lifelong friends are valuable to get. Going through the tough experience like pursuing an MBA degree tightens your friendship. These friends are not only who you can hangout with but also who will be succeed concurrently with you. They are potential friends who will support you throughout your life.

Why do Christians and Islam fight to each other although they believe in the same god?

Why do Christians and Islam fight to each other although they believe in the same god?

Generally, religions are the instruments for mankind to access the happiness in their life. The core of each religion consist of good purposes to bring happiness to participants as a whole. The true happiness of someone should intimidate those of others. However, I have seen many violent events that has resulted from the conflict between christianity and islam. As a viewpoint of a man who is neither christians nor islam, I am curious why christians and islam have resisted each other and led to several wars and violences although they have the same god and share apart of the belief. 

A root of conflict between christianity and islam is “Crusades War”, one of the greatest war in the world’s history. In 1095, the christians desired to get back the holy city, Jerusalem, from muslims who also believe in the holy city. There were countless deaths related to the wars. In my opinion, the actual reasons behind the religions that created conflict between christianity and islam are political power. In fact, because religionists want to expand their own political power over the other, they just find some excuses related to religions to prove their right to destroy their enemy. 

Personally, I don’t agree with any religion leader who claims that killing other people who have different beliefs is right. I believe that the core of every religion is pure and good. No religion accepts that killing other people is not guilty. In some extend, people might forget why they believe in a particular religion and how that religion is supposed to influence their life. Is it not the happiness that people need?

Hopi Kachina Dolls

Visiting Heard Museum last Friday, I perceived the civilization of Native Americans and understood more deeply about their background. In the museum, Native-American stuffs are separated and shown in a number of rooms. In a room, some strange stuffs that captured my attention was the numerous colorful dolls beautifully arranged on the shelves. I stopped to take a look at the objects closely, and I saw that they are detailed and elaborate. The objects look like a half-human half-animal men, most of which are half-bird. At that time, I was curious what the meaning of these dolls was. I read the description in front of the shelve, which told me that these figures called “Hopi Kachina”.

These strange dolls represents the spirits of deities, natural, and ancestors of the Hopi. Hopi Kachina dolls were generally made before Kachina ceremony by men of the village. The dolls would be passed to their offsprings as a gift and a means of education. In addition, each doll can tell us where it comes from by its materials. For example, a doll made of fur indicates that it comes from a tribe who lived in a cold climate. Dolls decorated with turquoise came from Navajo. For this reason, these dolls can reflect the culture and life of Native Americans from several tribes.

Because Hopi Kachina dolls are beautiful and fascinating, modern artists try to use the same material as Native American use in order to make them as authentic as the originals. Actually, I would like to buy a Kachina doll, but the dolls are too expensive to be afforded. However, they all are valuable and fascinating art.

Recycling habit

What is the incentive for American to separate garbages?

A surprising thing I found in US is recycling habit of American people. Many people are enthusiastic and willing to separate garbages for recycling purpose even though they get nothing for compensation. In contrast to Thailand, people also separate garbages, but they have monetary compensation that is paid by a recycling company for separated garbages. Personally, I am quite sure that many Thai people would stop separating garbages if they can not sell them. From my observation, the factor that made this difference between US and Thailand is higher environmental spirit.

Obviously, American people are more aware of the important of environment than Thai people. I have seen tremendous campaigns related to environment in US. For example, I went to a festival in downtown of Cincinnati, Ohio. Among many stores and restaurants, I saw many group of people who were promoting the benefits of separating garbages, and many people were interested in this campaign. In that event, all trash points had separated trashes for recoiling purpose. From observation, most people did separate garbages correctly. In addition, I also had a great chance to join a church’s activity seeing a movie, Wall-E. After the movie ended, people began discussing about the environmental situation and why it is important to separate garbages. These experience I had represent how high environmental spirit American people have. On the other hand, although there are many separated trashes provided in a festival in Thailand, people still ignore to separate garbages. Just in a festival can represent Thai people treat their garbages, so I don’t need to go further to household habit.

Now I feel worried about the environment in Thailand, especially about garbage issue. Last year there were three garbage dumps got fire and caused pollution to communities. It would be better if Thai people had higher environmental spirit.

The other critical questions.

Why some people love doing graffiti? what is the purpose? How does police react to this problem?

Why some American love eating in their car?

The new Jim Crow

Racial discrimination is an interesting issue that grabbed my attention in the American Culture class. In fact, although this issue seems likely to fade away from American society, there is some unseen forces that keeps the “Jim Crow” system under the society. According to the famous Michelle Alexander’s book, “The New Jim Crow”, the war of drugs is the most influential factor that has undermined the equality and keep people of color in poverty.

The war of drugs has sent a lot of African-American people to jail and kept them in low-class population. Nowadays, people who are convicted as felons are deprived the voting right. In addition, the criminal history is used as a criteria to get a good job. Many black people are suffering from finding a good job and removed from political right. A statistic shows that nearly 90 percent of felons related to drugs is black people. Because of the war of drugs and the racial discrimination in the past, black people have been treated unfairly by police. Some research indicates that police is more tendency to call black people to stop and investigate than to white people. In fact, white people are likely to use drugs as the same rate as black people. Therefore, black people who involved in incarceration are unfairly isolated and lost their future, in term of job and standard of living. This is a true discrimination that is working in a vicious cycle. The one who involved in this cycle is hard to get back to the society.

In sum, it is undeniable that this kind of discrimination has been going on systematically in American society and widening the gab of the society. The future challenge is how American destroy the new Jim Crow and truly clean up racial discrimination.

Why Asians succeed in US

I had a good chance to read the article, "How the Asians became white", on Washingtonpost. The article describes about that nowadays, Asians are treated almost as same as white american people, in term of getting a good job. Additionally, the professor Danielle Ahlberg also presented an interesting statistic in class that the percentage of poor-asian people as low as white people. This makes me continue thinking how the majority of asian people in United States has a good life and is above the poverty line.

In my opinion, most of Asian people who has immigrated into United States are middle-class citizens of their original country. They are educated people and come to United States primarily for a better life. Some people might come to access better education to get a better job in their hometown, but others might come to pursue a good career in US. The reason why I say most Asians who have come to US are high-quality people is that there is some concealed process behind the result.

Obviously, coming to US is costly to most of asian people. Many Asian countries have lower currency value than that of United States. This means that people who aim to come to US need to primarily afford this cost. Additionally, US visa permit is not an easy work to get. In fact, US embassies investigates thoroughly on background of each person who wants to come to United States. They have rejected a lot of people's requests and left only those people who have good profile. This procedure works as an filter that sifts out unreliable people.

From several talks with my Thai friends who are either working or desiring to work in US, they are good educated people and have a good standard of living in Thailand, but they want to have a better life in US. Moreover, my Chinese friends told me that many Chinese people want to get US citizenship and immigrate to US because they think US is better than their own country in many aspects, such as social welfare, environment, and freedom. 

Moreover, "The harder you work, the better life you get" is one of the famous Asian mottos that Asians have brought to US. They work hard with the hope that they will achieve better life.