Saving a nation adrift.

• Author: Riczo, Steve
• Position: American Thought - United States's current conditions

THE U.S. IS AT A CRITICAL juncture in its history as it deals with a multitude of serious issues, including a burgeoning global economy, terrorism, declining popularity abroad, and polls indicating that two-thirds of its citizens believe the country is moving in the wrong direction.

While the U.S. sees itself as the undisputed leader of the world, the 27-nation European Union looks to be closing fast. The EU's gross national product tops that of the U.S., and its population exceeds America's by almost 200,000.000. European countries also tend to take much more of a multilateral approach to solving global problems and. therefore, often are viewed as responsible nations of the world community. For instance, while the U.S. has shunned the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, the EU already has reached its first target on climate change by cutting its emissions to 1990 levels--and is committed to reducing to eight percent below 1990 levels by the year 2012. Conversely, the U.S. is projected to be 30% above 1990 levels by that year.

In addition, many Europeans have criticized this country for its positions on missile defense, land mine treaties, unchecked capitalism and corporate corruption, lack of gun control, failure to join the International Criminal Court, refusal to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, its heavy reliance on military solutions to deal with rogue nations, and alleged favoritism toward Israel.

The U.S. faces one of its greatest challenges in economic globalization, as many citizens who have lost their jobs to workers overseas are wondering what happened to the American Dream. With so many facing the personal pain, anguish, and loss of pride that often accompanies unemployment, protectionism is seen by some as a solution. However. economists correctly point to the advantages of global trade, including lower prices to American consumers, which can help contribute to an improved standard of living. As former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich and others have pointed out. the solution lies. in large part. in better training opportunities for the American workforce. The U.S. needs a bold new initiative in the area of job retraining. Just as there are government-backed loans available for students who want to go to college to start their careers, a similar program is necessary for those who have to restart their careers. However. this should not turn into some big government giveaway program: rather, a loan initiative. Imagine the possibilities for an unemployed worker who cannot find a manufacturing job. for example, to be able to be retrained for a position in which there are shortages here at home. Instead of having many depressed and disillusioned workers who cannot find jobs, opportunities for new careers will be created through retraining at vocational schools, colleges, corporations, etc.

Energy worries are another concern for this country. The U.S. must act to stabilize oil prices, which remain one of the biggest risks for triggering a serious recession. While high prices frequently are blamed on OPEC, keep in mind that almost half of the oil consumed in the U.S. is produced domestically, as well as the fact that America imports far more oil from relatively friendly countries such as Canada and Mexico than it does from the Middle East, in spite of the latter's massive oil reserves. OPEC merely is one factor in the equation of high prices at the gasoline pump. Another more serious problem has escaped concerted debate. Vice Pres. Dick Cheney's energy task force commissioned a report from the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University, which worked on the study in conjunction with the Council on Foreign Relations. The result was "The Strategic Policy Energy Challenges for the 21st Century." However, the report's key recommendation--incentivizing oil companies to maintain much larger oil inventories while building up the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; then using a...