President Trump believes that he has the ability to boost the economic growth of the United States. According to an article from aei.org, Trump is "just like every other politician". Not many politicians from America address the fact that America is one of the richest countries in the world. There are around 195 countries existing today, and as of 2016, the United States is the 13th richest country in the world. They also do not talk about trying to take the wealth from the top 10%, the richest people, and giving it to the other 90% of the population. Presidential candidate "inequality-obsessed" Bernie Sanders claimed that he could help raise the state of the economy if he was elected president.
French politician Benoit Hamon believed that there was "a disconnect between economic growth and happiness". The World Happiness report 2017 is a study that consisted of asking one thousand people from one hundred and fifty different nations to state their level of happiness anywhere from zero to ten. What was interesting was that the happiest nations were the nations that were growing slower economically, such as Norway, Denmark, and Switzerland. Jeffrey Sachs, an economic writer, wrote, "The predominant political discourse in the United States is aimed at raising economic growth, with the goal of restoring the American Dream and the happiness that is supposed to accompany it. But the data shows conclusively that this is the wrong approach". In other words, many Americans believe that with a better economy and more money, happiness will imminently follow. That is, apparently, not the case.
Not only are the happier one growing slower economically, but their population is lower. The twelve or so countries that are richer than the United States have a population of around eleven million people, with the top five richest countries having an even lower population of approximately five million. The closer the population number is of two countries, the closer the average happiness level will be. For example, take a look at the United States and the entire nation of Europe. Their happiness levels would be a lot closer than the happiness level of the United States compared to the happiness level of a smaller country, such as Japan.
It is true that a larger income and a growing economy can help people go to a better school and get a better job, but it will not guarantee happiness. An investigator for Measuring Happiness said bigger and better incomes "may not buy happiness with life in general, but it gives individuals the opportunity to be healthier, better educated, better clothed, and better fed, to live longer, and to live well". If you compare the economy of the United States today to when it was just recovering from a war, you will see that the economy rose more quickly when it was recovering from a war. If the economy of the United States rose that quickly today, every house would have a bigger income, about $30,000 bigger. We would most likely have more money with a fast-growing economy, but that does not mean that we would be happy.
Article: http://www.aei.org/publication/why-ill-take-economic-growth-over-happiness-any-day/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=pethokoukiseconomicgrowth
There are about 1.96 billion people on social networking sites and people are expecting that number to rise to around 2.5 billion in the year of 2018. Social media can be a way to stay up to date on what's going on in the world, from who is running for president to when the next episode of Teen Wolf is airing on TV. So many people use social media that you most likely can't even walk into a party without someone scrolling through Twitter. A lot of social media users use social media sites, like Twitter and Snapchat, to make new friends and meet new people. But what happens when those people need to talk to people face to face? What will happen when human interaction is needed? You get used to communication over the internet, but actual human interaction will steadily become more difficult for someone the more that person uses social media. I myself am an excessive internet user. I used to be such an extrovert. Now, even when hanging out with friends, I am constantly wondering when I will be able to log onto the internet. Over the years, I have developed social anxiety. Whenever I have to talk in class, my head will start throbbing, my heart will start pounding, and my palms will start sweating. I have gotten so used to internet communication that I can barely communicate face to face.
For some people, social media might fill a hole in their heart. They might view social media as a cure for the emptiness they feel inside. These kinds of feelings can definitely lead to addiction. It also depends on what you view on social media. At the University of Missouri, there was a study done that provided evidence for Facebook use being linked to depression. The study explained that when people see what their friends are doing and what is going on in their own lives, it can lead to depressed feelings. But jealousy is not the only way social media can lead to depression. The more a person uses social media, the more a person will isolate themselves from everyone else in order to stay online. How many times have you said, "Just a few more minutes"? I know I have said that phrase plenty of times. Let's say there are two people: Person A and Person B. Person A and Person B are invited to a party. Person A accepts the invitation. Person B declines because they are "too tired", but in reality they just want to scroll through Tumblr. Person A gets home from the party and tells Person B how much fun they had with their friends. Person B then feels "left out", but they just can't get off of social media. I believe that excessive social media use can possibly lead to depression. I used to be a really happy person, but I use the internet excessively every day and most of my happiness is no longer there.
Article: #1 #2
*I know that this article wasn't on your list for this week, but I have never written on this subject and it's economical*
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| Dr. Paul McHugh |
Allowing people that believe they are transgender to use their preferred bathroom has been an issue for quite some time. Some states, like South Carolina, allow people to use whichever bathroom they choose. Washington, however, requires people to use the bathroom designated for their biological gender. There are even states that are required to have bathrooms for both cisgender and transgender individuals. I do not believe that transgender bathrooms should exist. If someone believes they are a different gender, it is all in their head. According to a man named Dr. Paul McHugh, the suicide rate for people who changed their sex went up by at least 20% and that most of those people, around 70 to 80%, "lost those feelings". I feel like that just reinforces the fact that someone believing they are supposed to be a different gender is just a phase.
There was a case that involved an individual that went by the name of GG. This person, a biologically female individual, believed that she was really a male trapped inside a female body. She argued that since her school did not allow her to use the male restroom, it was sex discrimination. There was even a law professor named Michael Dorf that had the same views on the issue as GG. Dorf wrote in a blog, "Boys can use the boys’ restroom; G.G. can’t because the school regards him as a girl. That’s sex discrimination, plain and simple….". I believe that it was not sex discrimination, but rather sex reinforcement. The school was not discriminating against GG's beliefs. They just wanted her to use the bathroom that belonged to her biological sex. The school regards GG as a girl because GG is a girl. The same thought comes from the rest of the LGBTQ community. They think that if we do not agree with their choices or their lifestyle, then we are "intolerant" or "discriminating". This is most definitely not the case.
Were you born this way? Were you a girl born in a boy's body or a boy born in a girl's body? No, you were not. The issue of trying to create more transgender bathrooms throughout the world is absolutely ridiculous. If a girl thinks that she is not comfortable with certain feminine things, that does not mean she is a boy born in a girl's body. It just means she is a tomboy and she might eventually grow out of it. There could be a great fashion designer who is male that makes clothes for females. Does that mean that, since he manufactures feminine products, he is supposed to be a woman? To put it simply, no it does not. The belief that if you are a girl and your into boyish things, or vice versa, means that you are meant to be the opposite gender is just sickening. It might be a little weird, but being into things that generally the other sex is into does not mean you are supposed to be the opposite sex. Whichever sex people are born as, that is the sex they are supposed to be.
Articles: #1 #2 #3
President Trump believes that he has the ability to boost the economic growth of the United States. According to an article from aei.org, Trump is "just like every other politician". Not many politicians from America address the fact that America is one of the richest countries in the world. There are around 195 countries existing today, and as of 2016, the United States is the 13th richest country in the world. They also do not talk about trying to take the wealth from the top 10%, the richest people, and giving it to the other 90% of the population. Presidential candidate "inequality-obsessed" Bernie Sanders claimed that he could help raise the state of the economy if he was elected president. 
It is true that a larger income and a growing economy can help people go to a better school and get a better job, but it will not guarantee happiness. An investigator for Measuring Happiness said bigger and better incomes "may not buy happiness with life in general, but it gives individuals the opportunity to be healthier, better educated, better clothed, and better fed, to live longer, and to live well". If you compare the economy of the United States today to when it was just recovering from a war, you will see that the economy rose more quickly when it was recovering from a war. If the economy of the United States rose that quickly today, every house would have a bigger income, about $30,000 bigger. We would most likely have more money with a fast-growing economy, but that does not mean that we would be happy. 
