Posts

Showing posts from July, 2018

The Sino-American Trade War: Are Trumponomics Making America Great Again?

Image
The economic policies of the current controversial American head of state have become known for their protectionist nature, individual and corporate tax reforms and, most notoriously, immigration reduction. Since Trump's tax reform plan was adopted as law, there have been mixed results, showing that there is potential for the President to indeed make America great again. For example, in 2017, the nation's real gross domestic product grew by 2.3%, compared to 1.5% the previous year. Furthermore, while job creation, an important element of Trump's campaign rhetoric, decreased by 10.1%, to its lowest level since 2013, the unemployment rate has simultaneously fallen for the eighth consecutive year, and labour force participation among prime-aged labourers has increased for the fourth consecutive year. Equally, the stock market grew strongly, and the United States has seen a growth in household net worth for the eighth year straight. That said, the President's recent trade q

Brexit and Catalonia: The Myths of Nationalism

Image
Apart from a me dia report earlier this morning claiming that Theresa May's Cabinet are  due to set out a concrete customs plan for when Britain properly breaks away from the EU, progress towar ds reaching an accor d with the European mammoth organisation has been mostly stagnant. A dmitte dly, there was a perio d of hype earlier last year when the Prime Minister rejoice d at the prospect of Britain striking bilateral  deals with in dustrial powerhouses, such as Japan, but this was quickly  downplaye d by the corporate giants, who warne d the Japanese Prime Minister  that a har d Brexit woul d not be  desirable given that the European Union houses a gargantuan market with ripe opportunities for business. Following on from my first Brexit article, which touche d upon the issue of nationalism an d imperialist nostalgia that partly fuele d the vote, in this piece, I shall be  discussing the myths of the chauvinism inherent in both the Brexit vote and the Catalonian crisis, with a grea