These years, some of America’s famous national parks which were forced to close by the shutdown of the American federal government are going to re-open with the help of local governments’ funding. A large number of workers who used to work for these national park lost their jobs and the local government lost lots of travel revenue because of the close of the national parks. As a result, the GDP growth rate may decrease due to the less revenue and the society may be less peaceful due to the unemployment.

In order to solve this problem, the local states spent money funding those national parks. For example, the re-open Status of Liberty attracted thousands of visitors’ attentions which leads to a large amount of government revenue and the re-employment of the staffs. The revenue which the local states earned is much more than the funding they spent.

In my opinion, it is very wise for the local states to fund the re-open of national parks. Both the citizens and the government can benefit a lot from it.

Links:

Burger King and McDonald are the top two hamburger restaurants in the world. The competition between them is very intensive so that they should try to find some new ideas to maximize their profits.

Recently, Burger King produced a new product called “Satisfries” which contains 40% less fat and 30% fewer calories than the McDonald’s equivalent. This change looks small but it is actually a dramatic change. In terms of health, fries with low fat and calories are better for everyone’s health. People who always worry about their health may change to eat “Satisfries”, instead of McDonald’s regular fires. In addition, consumers who dislike fries because of its large amount of fat may choose to eat “Satisfries”.

Overall, the new technology of  Burger King gives itself a comparative advantage. As a result, the new product attracts more attentions from more consumer segments and leads to huge profits.

Links:

http://www.bnn.ca/News/2013/10/4/Burger-King-tries-to-fatten-margins-with-skinny-fries.aspx

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/09/24/burger-king-french-fries-satisfries-fast-food-restaurant-industry-mcdonalds/2854243/

http://www.bk.com/en/us/satisfries.html

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-09-24/for-burger-kings-satisfries-healthier-is-a-very-relative-term

On October 4th, 8 million 5 cent coins were dumped on the city’s street by protesters in order to strive for minimum income for every Swiss household. Switzerland, one of the most richest countries in the world, does not have any law which aims to ensure households’ income. As a result, more than 100000 citizens signed their signatures in order to support this event.

The enactment of the minimum income will cause both positive and negative effects. As everyone has extra income, all the thieves and criminals may stop committing which leads to a more peaceful society. On the other hand, workers who used to have low income and work in bad conditions may stop working because they have enough money to cover their daily expenses, such as cleaners and builders. As a result, the labour force of the country  decreases and result in the decrease of GDP growth rate. In addition, some of the citizens may spend their extra money on bad things, such as drugs.

Overall, I believe the government of Switzerland should prepare many precautions in order to prevent from the side-effects of the minimum income.

Links:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2443812/Streets-Basel-paved-gold-15-TONS-cent-coins-dumped-citys-streets-protesters-demand-increased-minimum-wage.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/04/us-swiss-pay-idUSBRE9930O620131004

http://www.thelocal.ch/20120803/swiss-population-set-to-hit-8-million-mark

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/switzerland-to-vote-on-2-800-monthly-basic-income-for-adults-slideshow/

2 days ago, over 100,000 people gathered together at the Tiananmen Square to watch the ceremony of the rising of the Five Star Red Flag, which is the symbol of the beginning of the Chinese National Day. What impressed me the most is the 5 tones of garbage lying on the ground after the opening ceremony.

After reporting this news, many people have the similar comments: all of us, as Chinese citizens, should pay more attention to our environment and do not throw away garbage away where anymore. However, I do not fully agree with this opinion. I believe that if people do not throw away garbage anywhere, all the cleaners will lose their jobs and may leads to a more terrible consequence. In addition, other areas may have the same causation, such as the police and criminals. If there are no criminals in the world, the police will lose their jobs. In my opinion, we should consider two sides of every social event due to its effects on our entire society.

Links:

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/305410-national-day-brings-flags-and-trash-to-tiananmen-square/?photo=2

http://www.chinasmack.com/2013/stories/national-day-tiananmen-square-litter-calculated-explained.html

http://www.chinasmack.com/2013/pictures/litter-after-national-day-flag-raising-ceremony-reactions.html

http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1325354/five-tonnes-trash-tiananmen-provoke-questions-about