Adverse Economic Effects of 3rd World Countries

Rick Politician
History 152
Last Paragraph
3/14/02

Although the U.S. may be the strongest economic and political powered country, the economic failure of the poorest countries in the world can still produce adverse effects for Americans.  When the economy of a country fails, its government often follows soon after.  This leaves the people without a basic social infrastructure.  Things like utilities, medical care and a police force become lacking in leadership and funding.  A lack of government and social structure further disable a country’s economy. 
Economically speaking, the better a foreign country does, the more the U.S. benefits from trade with that country.  Developing countries make up “41% of U.S. Exports,” a number that continues to rise.  Even more, the U.S. has $500 Billion invested in these developing countries.  A collapse in the economy of developing nation will hurt the U.S. as investments would become at risk and trade would come to a halt.
There are many other indirect effects buckled governments and economies have on the U.S.  Frequently, as a developing country’s government and infrastructure fail, the U.S. military or the U.N. peacekeepers (of which the U.S. is a member) move into the country to keep order.  This costs U.S. lives and money.
Without an economy, crimes such as money laundering and drug trafficking become attractive options for a weak country.  The drug trade can burden the U.S. financially as the government fights the “War on Drugs” and socially as Americans become crippled by their drug addictions.
Devoid of a government, environmental atrocities and the spread of infectious diseases go unchecked in many weak states.  For example, acre after acre of rainforests are clear-cutted in Sub-tropic countries for farming. The local governments do not have enough money to stop this farming and even if they did these farmers would have nowhere else to go to earn money.  The clear-cutting of the rainforests results in air pollution worldwide.
            According to Sachs, one possible solution to all these problems that the failing of developing countries’ governments cause for the U.S. would be to lessen global income inequalities.  If people in the developing countries and their governments are economically secure, political and economic collapse are much less likely to happen.
As developing countries governments and economies become strong and stable, they will become profitable sales partners for the U.S.  Hopefully, the civil and international wars will cease. Maybe the citizens even will turn from the drug trade and black market to a profitable national market.  These strong governments could even check pollution and disease within their borders.  All in all, the growth of the developing countries would lead to the growth in the U.S. economy and a higher quality of life for Americans.