WHITHER GO AMERICA

Inayet Ullah

Something happened to the economy of America in 2008 from which it has not yet recovered. The economy suffered a steep downfall that was caused, what the economic and financial experts and analysts say, mainly by (1) Bad Mortgage, (2) Collapse of AIG (the parent Insurance Company which insures the insured), (3) Wall Street financial debacle and (4) Outsourcing.

The degeneration caused in all the above four spheres could not possibly have happed overnight. The process which brought about the downfall must have been operative since sometime past that was not noticed, and if it was, no attempt was made to rectify the situation – a profound neglect the price whereof was so great that the government was forced to bail out the losses

Look at what has been happening in America during the recent past. Bad mortgage: The banks were freely offering mortgage facility to their customers without ascertaining the chances of their recovery resulting in large number of defaulters. The threat of shutting down of big industries like General Motors, winding up of small businesses and industries resulting in large scale unemployment – fruits of outsourcing!! The Bernard Madoff scam in New York Stock Exchange market is unprecedented in the history of the United States Stock Exchange market. The total public debt, outstanding against USA, mainly to China, as on April 29, 2016, was $13.8 trillion and huge amounts are being paid on account of interest every year.

There are conflicting scenario to be witnessed in America. At one side we see the prestigious institute of Harvard University, a seat of learning, where people have long cherished desire to study, and on the other side there was a surprising and unbelievable article that appeared in May 2011 issue of Readers Digest, written by Ed Dante, under the title “The Cheating Epidemic”. The article contains most surprising and startling facts. The writer says he is writing essays and theses on payment for students  preparing for master’s and PhD degrees. He writes: “I work at an online company that generates tens of thousands of dollars a month by creating original essays for cheating students”. He further goes to say: “I have completed 12 graduate theses  of 50 pages or more. But you won’t find my name on a single paper”. At another place he writes: “…..This was not quite a rush order, which we get top dollar to write. This assignment would be priced at a standard $2,000, half of which goes in my pocket”. The brilliant and genuine students work hard and spend lots of money to get a degree and the same degree is on sale in the market at a petty price of $2,000. What a pity!! The article goes on to say: “Last summer, the NewYork Times reported that 61 percent of undergraduates have admitted to some form of cheating on assignments and exams”.

As the above facts are surprising what is more surprising is that these unethical and immoral practices are blatantly and openly being carried on and the authorities or any one takes no notice of the same to rectify the pathetic situation.

America is great, I think, not because of its political supremacy and being world military power – although there is no denying these realities – but its greatness lies in its gigantic economy (that unfortunately is currently dwindling) which promises education and employment opportunities to not only its own people of local origin but to all aliens  from outside world who opt to make America their home. People from all places and of all races come to this country to make their career, to better the quality of their life, to make their dreams come true. It is aptly called the land of opportunities

The engineering feats achieved  in the form of buildings, roads and bridges, the excellently planned cities and villages, a free social order, human rights, freedom of expression, personal liberty and freedom to practice any religion are the salient features of this country.

A question that keeps surfacing in my mind is what happened to America and what is causing the degeneration in this country? What America is today must have been built by the people with the genius, brilliance, talent, vision and the passion for achieving excellence in all spheres of life which distinctive features are not to be found in the present day people of this country. The question is what has caused this unfortunate deviation. America owes a lot to the rest of the world. Perhaps the Americans would do well to conduct a bit of research to identify the areas of failures and omissions contributing to this deteriorating situation in order to address and redress them effectively.