Articles by Alex Spillis

With the United States officially entering into the second month of the longest government shutdown in history, much has been made about partisanship in American politics. While partisanship has long existed in our political system, it has never impacted the United States’ ability to act as a world leader during times of crisis. In this day and age, it may be easy to forget that the United States exists alongside other countries; some big, some small, some friendly, and some not. While every co...

With the United States officially entering into the second month of the longest government shutdown in history, much has been made about partisanship in American politics. While partisanship has long existed in our political system, it has never impacted the United States’ ability to act as a world leader during times of crisis. In this day and age, it may be easy to forget that the United States exists alongside other countries; some big, some small, some friendly, and some not. While every co...

“Bringing manufacturing back to America, creating high wage jobs, was one of our campaign promises and themes” Donald Trump proclaimed to a room full of reporters in early 2017, less than one month after being sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. Trump’s focus on manufacturing jobs dates back to some of the earliest days of his campaign, and served as the rationale for pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and renegotiating NAFTA. It also was the reason he lobbied Foxconn...

Every two years when Americans go to vote, what issues do you believe they are voting on? Immigration has recently become mobilizing factor for both parties, and climate change has as well. But even when considering those two issues, it is clear that Americans wait in line to vote for their economic future more than anything. In fact, immigration and climate change could also be considered economic issues, but that is besides the point. Unfortunately, Americans and our policymakers have been m...

“Look Around the Poker Table; If You Can’t See the Sucker, You’re It” In the year and a half that Donald Trump has served as president, one of his most consistent punching bags (save for Robert Mueller’s investigation) has been US trade relations with China. Almost all of us have seen his tweets criticizing previous administrations for being “dumb,” “stupid,” and “weak” in their negotiating tactics. Additionally, we have also all heard his promises to use his self-proclaimed superior negotiati...

The Marshall Plan was an American investment in the economy and infrastructure of the war-torn continent of Europe after WWII. Vladimir Putin was born four years after the Marshall Plan ended into the world it created. The goal of this plan was to spread democracy, mutual trust, and trade between countries in Europe. Germany, who held most of Europe’s industrial capabilities even after World War II had ended, was a particular focus. Just as much however, it was a necessary counter to Soviet ag...

Abdication (noun): a failure to fulfill a responsibility or duty. How the World Was Won One of the most consequential, yet overlooked achievements of the past 100 years was the successful implementation of the Marshall Plan in the wake of World War II. Not only did the Marshall Plan facilitate the rehabilitation of Western European states like France and Germany, who were ravaged by years of total war, but it also stumped Communist expansion from the Soviet Union. After the Second World War ...

In the study of migration patterns, scholars often times point to different “push” and “pull” factors that have influenced migration trends over time. Historically, the free market structure of the United States’ economy, combined with its stable democracy has been a very strong “pull” factor that has enticed millions of families (including my own) to immigrate here from various corners of the earth. Conversely, dysfunctional governments that have proven unable to serve their people have histo...

The flowing tide of income inequality has been garnering attention in most every country on earth. Aside from being an “American” issue, income inequality has increased dramatically around the globe over the past 30 years or so. In response, policy makers have proposed a myriad of ideas in order to curb the issue. In the United States, programs to provide temporary windfalls of cash to middle and working class families seem to be the most popular amongst Democrats and Republicans. More specifi...