Positive discrimination, or as many call it, affirmative action (AA) has been the subject of many a debate for what seems to have been time immemorial. In the United States, AA was originally set up in 1961 by President Kennedy to: “take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and employees are treated during employment,…
Category: Politics
Dispelling myths about the Death Penalty
In the USA, a debate continues to rage on about the merits of retaining or repealing the death penalty. This can be seen on a federal level, with 31 states that continue to have one, and 19 which do not. In the past 8 years, 7 states have stopped using the death penalty, highlighting the…
Why TTIP would be bad for Europe
Most of you probably haven’t heard of the TTIP, and to be honest, I don’t blame you. While you might think there’s not really a reason why you don’t know, I’d say that certain people don’t want you to hear about it, and I’ll explain why. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is currently…
The fractious world of Indian Politics
In May of last year the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to win a majority of seats in India’s Lok Sabha, a feat which previously happened back in 1984. However, it won only 31% of the popular vote and with in excess of 10 parties making up 544 seats, it can be seen quite quickly how gargantuan…
Radicalism in the UK
Little over four years ago, a series of riots broke out across England. People are still debating what exactly triggered this unrest on so large a scale. Often it is attributed to spending cuts, most notably the Government’s decision to treble the tuition fee cap to £9,000 per annum. Others ascribe it to classism and…
Climate Change and its Persistent American Deniers
Just the other day, I watched the Republican debate. It was being billed as dogfight and it didn’t disappoint, with Donald Trump deriding Rand Paul for having a ‘hard night’ and Marco Rubio audaciously stating that the Democrats can’t even find one good candidate. A notable omission from the broad set of questions thrown at…
Does immigration help or harm the UK economy?
In light of the recent Calais migrant crisis, I thought it would be appropriate to delve into finding out whether the UK’s current level of immigration can be sustained, and if immigrants are generally giving more than they take. So, let’s get one thing out of the way. Net migration into the UK is increasing….
The resurgence of Socialism: Valuable or Vile?
A recent poll has highlighted how the youth and young adults are significantly more supportive of socialism than their older counterparts. This feeling, compounded by the rise of two pro-socialist candidates in the UK and US leads me to believe socialism is making a comeback of sorts. How long this trend will last is another question, but…
Lincoln who?
Lincoln Chafee is running for President of the United States of America next year. If you thought Jim Webb and Martin O’Malley were polling poorly for the Democratic party nomination, Chafee takes it to a whole new level. Many polls have him on 0%, albeit with a low sample of voters. So why is he lagging…
The rise of Jeremy Corbyn.
In my previous post on Labour’s leadership campaign, I mentioned 3 people who were running for the post. Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper, and Liz Kendall. Little did I know that minutes before the deadline, a man by the name of Jeremy Corbyn would slip onto the ballot. Many of the people who nominated him did…
Free Schools and their mixed ramifications.
The idea of a ‘free school’, one which was vigorously championed by Michael Gove during his time as Secretary of State for Education, has attracted both a great deal of critics and plaudits. So what exactly are they and what’s the fuss? These are schools propped up by the government yet are not controlled by a…
The detrimental nature of the London Tube Strike.
A newly qualified tube driver starts on a salary of £49,673 a year. This can rise after five years to anything between £50,000 to £60,000. Tube drivers get 15 more days annual leave than a teacher (43 as opposed to 28), work almost 20 hours less a week (36/55.7), and have a starting salary which…
Pertinent Problems 