If there is one thing I have learned during my first semester of college, it is the fact that NO ONE knows how to communicate. Teenagers and college students think it is perfectly OK to get in touch via text. It’s perfectly acceptable to text a hello to someone you haven’t spoken to in a while, to make plans in advance or if you are unable to make audible noise, but when something must be done immediately, I do not see the advantage of texting. Speaking on the telephone is much more effective and efficient when trying to make last second plans or accomplish a task.

One situation that made me cringe was when I was working on a group project with three other kids. I told one kid to call the other two and tell them when and where we were meeting. I figured that he would actually “call” them, get an immediate response and get back to me if a team member had a problem with the time or location, but instead he texted them. We get to the meeting spot on time and neither of the two kids he “called” showed up. I asked the kid what the deal was; it turns out he texted them, never got a response from either and thought it was perfectly acceptable. This is where he was completely wrong. One of the kid’s phone was broken and never got the text. If he called, he would have known that the kid did not get the message and should have attempted to get in touch with him via a different method (Facebook, Email, etc…).

I got home from school and its the same deal; people rather text than pick up their phones. This is a major problem for the future. Most people, whether they like it or not, will have to deal with other people in their professions. Some will have to interact, while others will be making sales. What people don’t realize, is that the more personal your interaction, the more successful you will be in a team and the more likely you will get the sale. People don’t respond to spam, telemarketers, etc. They respond to sitting down face-to-face with another person. Sure this is not feasible at all times, but it is certainly preferred for teamwork and sales. I am certainly a proponent of communication via technology, but it certainly does have its pitfalls.

One thing that America likes to complain about is debt. Debt, in the form of mortgages, was the cause of this financial/economic disaster we are currently going through. Financial institutions took on extensive risks by extending mortgages to Americans who were not necessarily qualified. These borrowers defaulted and voila, we have a huge financial mess. As a person interested in all things economic and the governmental, I look at two things, how to fix the economy and where there was a lack of oversight. I’ll start with the latter first; credit is one of the institutions that have allowed America to prosper for the last century or so. I am not going to waste my time writing about greed in the credit industry, but one thing I do want to write about is deception. Most Americans are uninformed about the pitfall called debt; so many financial institutions take advantage of this. Wherever you go, whether it’s the airport or a sporting event, you see credit card companies giving some type of “offer” when you sign up for their credit card. Banks and financial institutions are misleading; when you charge more on your debit card than you have in your account, it magically goes through and you are charged overdraft charges. Americans are surrounded by credit opportunities: home mortgages, car loans, student loans, etc. In other countries around the world, this does not happen. In Mexico, when you charge more than you have in your account it doesn’t go through. When you go to buy a home or car, you cannot take out a loan, you buy it outright. Mexicans do not even think about going to American University if they cannot afford it without financial assistance. For these reasons, America has had exponential growth, while Mexico has had minimal growth over the last two to three decades. While Mexico and America’s difference in growth are two extremes examples, there has to be some middle ground. I admit that a good amount of credit is necessary for America to function, but the root problem in America is the uninformed public. This can only be rectified over time; for now, the government must restrict predatory lenders that target MTVU is taking some initiative by creating a game to inform young Americans about debt; the government should follow suit on educating the rest of the youth and older Americans.

On to the second issue at hand, how to rectify the economic downturn. There are two main problems with the economy right now: credit is difficult to obtain and consumer confidence is at an all time low. Once these two problems are rectified, investors will gain confidence and enter the markets. In order to fix these problems, the government must intervene and buy up some of the faulty mortgages from lenders. This will serve two features. It will put money into financial intuitions so lenders will have more money to distribute, allowing businesses to finance their day to day operations and make investments for future production. This will also help the American people because not only will businesses provide employment, but the government would most likely negotiate the terms of the mortgages. Americans will not be as heavily burdened by their loans and have more income to spend and bolster the economy. Once investors see the sun coming over the horizon, they will enter the markets, providing necessary capital for some companies to expand.

Sure this increases the national debt in the short run, but in the long run this governmental program will benefit Americans and decrease the National debt. Eventually the prices of these mortgages will rise and institutions will want to buy them back, taking cash off the market and decreasing the national debt. Sure some of these loans will still default, but in the long run, rising prices of loans that do not default will pay off the losses. If the government follows through with these ideas, Americans will have the necessary confidence that will get the United States out of this recession.

Edit: I wrote this blog post a good 5 days ago, but just yesterday there was an article in the NY Times about how India was able to avoid a financial crisis; maybe we need a more proactive Federal Reserve Board?