Caught Between A Rock and A Hard Place

This week, I moved to the city to attend law school. This will be my first time living within a metropolitan area, so I am experiencing a culture shock (albeit a soft one).

My apartment is a two-bedroom is located near one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city. When reading about the school, many visitors complains about proximity of this environment to the school, implying that it was a horrific learning environment. Yet, having been to several large cities before, I can honestly say that this area is not a violent area that you have to fear entering at any time of the day.

I've been exploring the area on foot since my parents confiscated my car upon my request. The city is no place for a Subaru. However, it is here with me in spirit as I explore the hills and alleys of the areas around my school, particularly, the wilder sides.

The neighborhood I live in and the government buildings have provided me with a first impression of the city - high culture melded with ethnic variety, dancing side by side in an odd, but functional, pair to provide an extremely rich and diverse place to live. From the multitude of markets and restaurants to the symphony, theater, and museum, the combination revealed to me that I have in fact made the correct decision in attending my current school.

In my explorations, I determined that I needed to get deli meat. Having lived in suburbs, this usually consisted of a quick trip to the local supermarket, meaning the local incarnation of Piggly Wiggly or Safeway. There is a Safeway in city, but it is too far for me to transport meat from efficiently. So, my search for a deli began.

My first hit was to a halal market. I was ecstatic to find a cool Muslim deli not too far from my apartment that served clean meat! A closer inspection of the meat market revealed that they focus on beef, goat, and lamb. Unfortunately, I am not a die-hard lamb sandwich fan. My search for turkey continued...

My next hit was a deli at the edge of one of the more expensive parts of the city. It was a bit further than the Muslim market, but I was willing to make the walk to find something decent in the area. Since my transportation pass was burning a hole into my table, I decided it was time to venture out again for some public transportation.

If my neighborhood was a culture shock, getting off the shuttle at the heart of the tourist area of the city was an even bigger one.

After experiencing what I thought was the vitality of the city in all its multi-cultural glory - I walk into what felt like yuppie central at the moment. It was full of tourists walking down streets with massive commercial stores. Everything was clean and shiny and new - belying an undertone of a much more vibrant city that released its full energy in a couple blocks in another direction.

Starbucks was again present in full force. I'm starting to think that you can't escape it because they have formed an evil alliance with McDonalds, with McDonalds taking over low income environments and Starbucks raising an iron fist over the realms of the middle class.

Apparently the fist extends with British steel and all into the city, gleaming over the shops and tourists. I have heard of the the hotels in the area before; however, I didn't think that a supposed landmark of the city would need to be branded with a green circle, demanding to be service by patrons who tolerated gossiping baristas and slightly overpriced, generic, mass-produced flavors.

This duality of the city that I have been growing accustomed to over the past several days was harsh to my budding understanding of my zone of living for the next, at the very least, three years. Understandably, people desire to live somewhere safe, clean, new, and beautiful; in today's crime-laden world, it is completely justified in most cases. But what is the cost of obtaining that environment? The area was not only gentrified, but was commercialized and sanitized of the multitude of cultures that resided in the vicinity, relegating the cultural experience to global tourism. The creation of a monetary, racial, or ethnic haven functionally lobotomizes the very essence of what a city - diversity with coagulation, not one without the other.

Before coming to the city, I would have loved to live in the richer or tourist areas. But after my experiences in those area, I don't know that I could enjoy it to the extent that I am enjoying living wedged between a diverse neighborhood and the city's center. The clean stone of the State watches over the vomit-stained sidewalks, drawing bare a crucial vein shared with many urban environments around the country and world. With this iconic dichotomy of a gold-encrusted, domed city hall and the addict-addled street corners, I think I have once more fallen into a living situation by accident that fits my nature.

This is a place to think, learn, and change.

McCain v. Obama: Economy

During the last several weeks, I have tried to hold conversations on the Presidential election. However, it seems that people are still in the dark as to the individual stances of the candidates, staking their viewpoints solely on misconceptions handed down by various media outlets and generic, liberal interpretations of stances on issues according to the respective candidate's party, particularly in terms of economics. Let there now be light where there was once darkness. I will address McCain's current economic stance first and Obama's second simply due to alphabetic organization.

If you have been reading my blog, this may seem like a shift away from the usual theme. Deal with it, read on, and learn something.

McCain's Economic Policy Paper
On dealing with the bank closings, McCain doesn't want to help failing companies, but rather homeowners. The primary tool of this will be loans provided from the Federal Housing Administration. For students, McCain wants to extend the loan security for student loans..

McCain also has plans to balance the budget, citing Clinton's similar feat in the mid 90s. This would require limited or no additional spending, removal of earmarks, and an intense scrutiny of current government spending.

In terms of taxation, business taxes would be rolled back, as well as government imposed mandates on insurance. Research and development would benefit by qualifying for a tax credit. A big notable is lowering the estate tax, while providing for a $10 million exemption. McCain intends to suspend the gas tax during the summer.

McCain fully supports globalization and an increase in free trade through multilateral and bilateral agreements, similar to NAFTA and the WTO. In the spirit of reducing barriers to trade, he wants to remove tariffs on sugar-based ethanol remove corn-based ethanol mandates (this is probably referring to minimum production/investment). To deal with shifting jobs in respect to increase competition, McCain wants to bolster access to student education and workforce reeducation, including improved unemployment systems to facilitate the process.

Obama's Economic Policy Paper
Obama's approach to the banking and mortgage crisis deals with legislating a fund to prevent mortgage collapses. Simultaneously, he wants to institute new regulation regarding mortgage fraud. For banks, he wants to remove the ability for banks that file for bankruptcy under Chapter 13 to modify mortgage terms. Over the entire industry, Obama touts a more transparent system, citing EU actions for support.

Obama also wants to make some changes to tax methodology. First, he wants to simplify the tax filing system into something that can be done quickly, without an accountant. He also plans to increase tax credits for college payments and child and dependent filings. For mortgage interest deduction, he wants to expand them to all tax payers, not just those that itemize.

For seniors, Obama wants to remove taxes on those that make under $50,000 a year. For low-income families, he also has a plan to promote investment by matching certain amounts that they invest in retirement plans. For those currently without access to retirement plans, Obama wants to institute retirement plans for all people and automatically enroll them in it, allowing for employees to opt-out if they wish.

Obama also plans to grow manufacturing, through providing tax assistance (the assistance isn't defined) and loan programs. Part of this program includes job training that incorporates clean technology.

Trade programs in Obama's policy follow fair trade rather than free trade.

Technology also seems to be a priority, with Obama supporting an increase in investment and making the research and development tax credit permanent.

Analysis
First off, I would like to state that Obama's policy outlines are better defined than McCain's. This really contradicts much rhetoric about Obama having vague policy measures, opting for egalitarian speech instead.

McCain wants to balance the budget, which Obama has not promised to do. However, while McCain claims to support the individual in terms of tax relief, it seems Obama's tax credit ideas are more flushed out to help citizens. If McCain wants to balance the budget, he cannot hope to cut the spending that he states he wishes to - a one-year moratorium on spending sounds close to impossible. He cannot hope to cut the government's income while attempting to balance the budget either.

Obama, on the other hand, has no commitment to balance the budget, which is a bit worrisome. His promotion of fair trade over free trade does adhere to good ideals to preserve worker's rights and good environmental protection, but it also maintains questionable barriers to trade. This is partially due to "fair" trade not being defined by the market, but by what people believe their product is worth. This leads to all sorts of inefficiencies and possible methods of corruption.

Both candidates have goals to increase market transparency and help out homeowners caught in the mortgage crisis. While McCain stops most of his citizen's benefits at this point, Obama goes a step beyond, citing specific pension and tax credits for individuals. These are clearly outlined in his policy, while McCain's initiative to help students is vague at best.

Between the two candidates, it is clear that McCain is a supply-sider. Obama approaches the matter from another end, helping individuals to cope with the market. This highlights a fundamental aspect of Obama's campaign - he wants to specifically help the disadvantaged. While his actions may be well-meaning, they may not actually help poorer individuals who depend on free trade to lower their daily costs.

Obama also wants to promote manufacturing jobs, which is very strange. The US has a high-tech service oriented marketing, moving away from the manufacturing jobs of the past. Obama's protection of these industries doesn't help these people, it just pushes them further into a job that requires protectionism to survive and will eventually hurt the US economy.