One might think they know what it is all about when talking about Europe or more specifically the European Union. But what is behind the Euro and the easiness to travel without boarder control?
Most people's knowledge about this supranational body stops right there. If individuals are not directly affected by the EU’s doing, it seems that they are not being interested further. Most people do not realize that the milk farmer are protesting against EU legislation which needs to prevent over supply and so further secure economies of third world countries. In addition, some people do not understand the value of an Union which consists by now of 27 culturally different countries, which all exist under EU regulations which is already a challenge for itself .
The minor of European Policies Studies will give you an insight of all the background and further will explain the main issues regarding policies as well as historically and presently.
It will give you the understanding on what the EU is based on and how it has been developed. You will learn that there are so much legislation that it might make you wonder how the EU is actually handling everything. Further, you will visualize your own opinion about certain aspects. The European Union is being praised for a lot of things as well as criticized for even more. Most students which take the minor seriously, will argue with you even outside the classroom. Fortunately, you are able to write down some of your arguments about one certain topic in an individual paper.
The most interesting experience you will have in the semester is a trip to a lot of EU institutions which are located not only in Brussels, but rather in Strasbourg and also in Luxembourg. This year the students were able to see the European Council, the Parliament and the European Court of Human rights , next to the European Investment Bank and several other institutions. We were listed to people given us an insight of their work or of the institution they work at as well as we were able to follow some of the ongoing sessions the students were so impressed that you could listen to their wish to work in Brussels on one point in their life.
I personally have gained much more knowledge about the Union we live in and personally feel a little embarrassed not to have know a little more about it before this minor. It opened my mind for thinking across the borders, as well as how the EU is seen outside its territory.
The only discord I am facing in this minor is the ignorance of some of the students. Just imagine that the EU has about 50,000 people working on the same goal: unity and growth.
But when you ask a class from about 35 students to do exactly that, you might be getting disappointed.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Human Nature
The world wide credit crunch busted out over a year ago and was, in economical sense, upending the global financial market. It led to a collapse in the financial, investing and homeowner sectors of the United States and which then spread worldwide. Looking at such advanced nations, should we not wonder, why it is that the financial crisis is actually happening?
Why has no one listened to these people who actually predicted what is happening?
Robert Schiller, an economist who had already precisely forecasted the stock market collapse in 2001, foresaw that home prices in the United States would fall to that extent that global financial markets would be affected by it, was only among a handful of other US economists who forecasted scenarios close to what is actually happening. Maybe the small numbers of “prophets” is a reason why no one has or wanted to listen, but then should we not wonder why there were so few?
Why have people been unethical in their action and why did no one stop them?
The significance this situation created was that after the financial system lowered their interest rates to one percent in 2001 investors would not invest anymore. To keep up the incoming profits, mortgages were sold to the financial system who sold these back to investors. After everyone, qualified for mortgages, was a house owner, they started to give out sub-prime mortgages to keep profits flowing in. Not surprisingly, these new homeowners could not complete their monthly payments which put more houses on the market than there was demand, and which ended in low value houses that nobody wants or can afford anymore.
Here, managements driven by the pursue of wealth and bad skills in risk management put their hands in this area to keep profits growing. To answer, why no one stopped them, is simply because they did not do anything illegal. They created legally a disaster without proper forecast. We sincerely hope they have been now downgraded to mortgage brokers.
And finally, why a recession is likely to happen again. It is obvious, at least since the crisis, that country’s economies have been globalized. Travel, trade, tourism, cross boarder supply created new markets, new companies, new customers. Unfortunately, politics remain on national level which can develop into a policy clutter. This mix, of economic dependents and political disparity, led and will lead again to financial disasters, especially when we look at the rapid growth of nations in the last decades. Without better international policy agreements who can keep up entire global progress?
To sum up, the global financial crisis happened because there were not enough economists who predicted what will happen, because business people tried to increase their capital with immoral methods and because the world is economical connected but political differently.
It can be concluded that there are developing backgrounds which led to the global collapse but no reasonable answers on why people let it happen. One could cite a late music icon who pasted during this global matter, "If they say 'Why, why?' Tell’em that its human nature."
Why has no one listened to these people who actually predicted what is happening?
Robert Schiller, an economist who had already precisely forecasted the stock market collapse in 2001, foresaw that home prices in the United States would fall to that extent that global financial markets would be affected by it, was only among a handful of other US economists who forecasted scenarios close to what is actually happening. Maybe the small numbers of “prophets” is a reason why no one has or wanted to listen, but then should we not wonder why there were so few?
Why have people been unethical in their action and why did no one stop them?
The significance this situation created was that after the financial system lowered their interest rates to one percent in 2001 investors would not invest anymore. To keep up the incoming profits, mortgages were sold to the financial system who sold these back to investors. After everyone, qualified for mortgages, was a house owner, they started to give out sub-prime mortgages to keep profits flowing in. Not surprisingly, these new homeowners could not complete their monthly payments which put more houses on the market than there was demand, and which ended in low value houses that nobody wants or can afford anymore.
Here, managements driven by the pursue of wealth and bad skills in risk management put their hands in this area to keep profits growing. To answer, why no one stopped them, is simply because they did not do anything illegal. They created legally a disaster without proper forecast. We sincerely hope they have been now downgraded to mortgage brokers.
And finally, why a recession is likely to happen again. It is obvious, at least since the crisis, that country’s economies have been globalized. Travel, trade, tourism, cross boarder supply created new markets, new companies, new customers. Unfortunately, politics remain on national level which can develop into a policy clutter. This mix, of economic dependents and political disparity, led and will lead again to financial disasters, especially when we look at the rapid growth of nations in the last decades. Without better international policy agreements who can keep up entire global progress?
To sum up, the global financial crisis happened because there were not enough economists who predicted what will happen, because business people tried to increase their capital with immoral methods and because the world is economical connected but political differently.
It can be concluded that there are developing backgrounds which led to the global collapse but no reasonable answers on why people let it happen. One could cite a late music icon who pasted during this global matter, "If they say 'Why, why?' Tell’em that its human nature."
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