Five Ways World Affairs Affect Us All

Thanks to Learning Life intern, Ian Ball, for helping to research and write these five facts.  
 
PSY's Gangnam StyleEntertainment: Internet access and sharing technology has enabled people to experience culture and art from around the world. Korean music artist PSY became a global sensation when his song “Gangnam Style” went “viral” on Youtube.  One version of the Youtube video has received over 2.5 billion views worldwide.
 
Travel: International terrorism has had a significant impact on travel.  Airport security measures have slowed the pace of processing in airports across the world, and it has became more difficult for students, workers and tourists to obtain travel visas.
 
Pollution: The environmental policies of one country can affect air quality in other countries near and far. Pollution over a Chinese city For instance, almost one third of the air pollution in the American city of San Francisco comes from Chinese coal-fired power plants across the Pacific Ocean.  (Still, per capita, the USA is and has long been the world’s biggest polluter.)
 
Prices: International affairs affect the prices of things we buy and use everyday. For example, when oil-producing countries like the USA, Saudi Arabia, Russia, China and Canada increase oil production, the price we pay for gasoline tends to fall.  Conversely, when oil demand rises, or when terrorism or war disrupts oil production, gasoline prices tend to rise.
 
Jobs: The movement of companies across national borders affects the availability of jobs in nations throughout the world.  For example, big American companies like Walmart, Ford and Apple have “outsourced” or moved jobs to China, Mexico and other nations where wages are lower in order to increase company profits.  This benefits the country that gets the jobs, and hurts the country that loses the jobs.

AMERICANS’ SPENDING & SAVINGS

Why should one know about Americans’ savings and spending? How much, and on what Americans spend and save affects the whole world because Americans are among the most prolific consumers in the world. Americans’ spending and savings thus affects the availability and price of goods and services, the supply of capital (savings) for investment, and the productivity of economies worldwide, among other conditions. On a personal and household level, Americans’ spending and savings shapes their present and future economic security and well-being. Knowing more about larger saving and spending patterns can offer people better perspective on their own habits.

1. What percent of the total income (gross income, before taxes) of Americans 65 and older comes from Social Security?
2. What percent of income do the richest 20% and the poorest 20% (in income) of Americans spend on food, respectively?
3. Americans spend the most on which of the following goods?
4. What is the average credit card debt per U.S. household?
5. What percentage of American workers in private industry with access to a defined contribution plan for retirement (such as a 401k) do not participate?