Real Issues in our World.

The water crisis in Newark is a very serious story. For decades, many American cities have lax infrastructure. With the political climate now, some people desire no investments instead of real investments to help the great people of Newark and in other areas of America. Lead is a nuerotoxin that can permanently harm intelligence and the genes of any person, especially among the young. Newark is also the largest city in New Jersey in terms of population. Bottled water is found everywhere as a way for the suffering to experience some help. This situation is certainly sad, and no city or town should experience this at any circumstance. This comes after more than five years after the start of the Flint water crisis (that continues in Flint to this very day). Flint's problems came by the deliberate switching of the water source. Newark's problem came about by a cover up of the city's water authority and by politicians. The head of the Newark Watershed Corporation is heading to prison for bribery and skimming profits. Years ago, many people without experience in water testing tested the water. Now, we find many tests being found to have lead in the water at Newark, NJ. So, the Watershed Corporation is complicit in financial corruption and ignoring increased levels of lead.

Newark's pipes must be replaced, since many of them existed since the 19th century. that will take commitment and economic resources. The common lie among Republicans and some Democrats is that there is no money to rebuild American infrastructure. The truth is that we spend almost 1 trillion dollars overseas (involving military expenditures), so we do have money to do this. Newark is just a train ride to New York City. It's that close. Yet, Wall Street holds trillions of dollars of financial assets. That is why radical solutions not centrism is necessary. How can centrism or being a moderate end Newark's water crisis (with tons of people being required to use bottles for everyday living or they will experience lead poisoning). That doesn't make sense. Centrism can never solve the water problems in Flint, Michigan either. That is why structural change is necessary in America.

Today, the Trump team has cut much funding that would be used from disaster relief (from FEMA) and is funding the southern border with it. This outlines the callous attitude of Trump. The reality is that Puerto Rico is part of America, and Trump has been notorious for using offensive language about Puerto Rican people and their governmental leadership. He or Trump threw towels at the Puerto Rican people when he came into the island which was highly offensive. We know that austerity historically doesn't work to solve problems. You need investments that help people, compassion, tolerance, empathy, and strength to overcome the evils of oppression. We send great respect to the groups in Puerto Rico saving lives.

Many people criticize neoliberals. These people (who disagree with neoliberalism) include progressives who want a more left Democratic party. What is a neoliberal? A neoliberal is a political person who wants the Wall Street status quo. They believe in the free market that must be utilized to solve every government policy without much governmental involvement. They believe in privatized education, in an more hawkish foreign policy, in cutting the social safety net, in a more moderate approach on economic issues, and they believe in centrism. In other words, neoliberalism is about maintaining the capitalist order at the expense of the exploitation of poor and working class people. So, far right extremism and neoliberalism are enemies of democracy.

The news talk about the G7 meeting. The G7 stands for Group of Seven. The meeting is about the most powerful industrialized nations on Earth having a meeting to discuss about issues ranging from trade to other foreign policy matters. The issue in the conference deals with divisions and disagreements among the G7 issues like climate change, North Korea, Russia, etc. Trump wants Russia to get back into the G7. The meeting took place in France. Trump wants a more unilateral, nationalistic foreign policy, while historically America has a more international foreign policy since the end of World War II. Trump is silent on Brazil's leaders doing little to deal with the fire at the Amazon's rainforest. The trade war with China is detrimental to world society. If this doesn't become resolved, we could face the largest global capitalist economic recession since the Great Depression of the 1930's. France President Emmanuel Marcon wants a more aggressive policy involving climate change. Trump is hostile towards international plans in addressing environmental issues when icecaps from Greenland is melting, and we have record summer heat worldwide. Trump has no legal power to dictate to American companies to not trade with China. France wants Europe empowered without being an American vassal. While this is going on, we shall see what will happen next.



By Timothy