US Political System

Lately it has been one of the first news, every day there are new events to add. The presidential election has started. The American political system is somewhat different to what we know from Spain, as well as many other countries. We took a look at it to explain the main differences, focusing on the process currently happening.

Like in many other countries, there are two major political parties in America: the Democrats and the Republicans. There are however other parties, like for example the Green Party, the Libertarians, the Constitution Party etc, but since 1872 only these two forces have been elected.

Also like other countries, there are three branches in the government: the legislative branch, the executive branch and the judicial branch.

The legislative branch is the one in charge of writing the laws. This is done in the congress, which is made up of two parts: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives has 435 members, coming form the different states proportionally to their size. Thus, a big state like California has more members than a smaller state. The members of the Congress are elected every two years. The Senate is formed by 100 members, two from each state.

The executive branch is in charge of making sure that the laws are being followed. The leaders of this branch are the nation's president and vice president, which are elected by the people every four years.

Lastly, the judicial branch considers how the law should be applied under specific situations. It is made of courts. The Supreme Court is the highest in the country, it is formed by 9 judges, appointed by the president.

Unlike many other nations, in the US every party has several candidates that can be elected by the US citizens to run for president. This is called the primary election. The rules to chose the running candidate vary from state to state. Some of the states allow the citizens to choose both the Democrat and Republican candidates, without being registered by their party (this is called open primaries). Other states only allow votes from people registered at any of the parties (closed primaries). Then there are the caucuses, bases on people gathering and choosing together rather than individual votes.

Each state, depending on their size, is given an amount of delegates who are sent to the national convention to declare their people's votes.

Once the nominees have been identified they will start on-on-one campaigning, where they will give reasons why they should be elected. There will also be debates, where the candidates argue their vision of America's future and how the challenges will be handled.

One crucial difference between American political system and many others is the idea that the main political issues are handled locally, that means by the state, and not by the federal government. In fact, not many people in America care much about what happens in Washington.

In terms of different political ideas, the U.S. is rather a "conservative" country. Even the democrats seem much more conservative than the "left" in many other countries. In fact, both parties defend the private sector more than the public. Some examples are industries like communications, fuel or ground transportation; these industries are handled by the government in many other countries, whereas here they are all owned privately.

Another example has been very present in the media, it is the health care. In many other countries, especially in Europe, people pay taxes to finance the health care system. Until not so long ago, this was unthinkable in the US. Even the new Obamacare does not reach the level of European countries, although it made a huge step requesting all citizens to have insurance.

The last thing I'd like to add is how the political system is financed. In Spain, for example, the different parties get an amount proportional to their votes to be spent on the campaigns. In the US, the huge campaigns organized by the different candidates are paid by private individuals or companies. This has a huge impact on how the nation's government works. In Spain, for example, the party with most votes can use the collected taxes for their benefit, which often leads to money misappropriation, thus is very criticized by the people. On the other hand, parties in America are financed by private companies, which often then have a lot of power to change the laws to their benefits.

In conclusion, the differences in government systems are huge, here are just a couple of big ones. A comparison between nation's political systems is very complex due to these differences, but in any case it is interesting to know what the others do and see how our own system could be improved.

Thanks for reading,

Lita & Andres

It's all about food

Hi! We have been a bit out lately, but now we found time to reconnect. And we chose a delicious topic for our come-back: American Food. Yes, many times you may have heard that Americans don't have a real tradition regarding food... but it is also true that this country offers many delicious things that are typical American. In fact, many of those can't be found anywhere else, or at least are not very common. So let's start with some mouth-watering examples.

Cheeseburger: One of the first things that come to mind when talking about American food has to be a cheeseburger. This simple variation of a normal hamburger is sold in every corner in the US, and thanks to Mc Donald's, Burger King, etc, also around the world.

Hot Dog: A simple combination of a "Frankfurter-style" sausage served in a bun as a sandwich, and usually topped with ketchup and mustard. Infinite variations have been invented since its beginning. It is difficult to state the real originator of the hot dog, but it all points out to Coney Island. In fact, still today the places to get hot dogs are called "Coney Island", to signalize its fidelity to the original thing. 

BBQ Ribs: Pork or beef, slathered or smoked -- we’re not about to wade into which is more embraced, what’s more authentic, or even what needs more napkins. There are cook-offs all over the country for your own judging pleasure. Texas smokes its way to a claim as a barbecue (beef) epicenter.

Apple Pie: Although this pie was brought from the British to the American culture, quickly becoming more American than anything else. In fact, there is a saying, "as American as apple pie", meaning typical American style. A typical garnish is a big  vanilla ice cream scoop on top of an apple pie slice.

Cobb Salad: In 1937 Bob Cobb, the owner of a restaurant, invented this salad just putting together what we had in the fridge: a head of lettuce, an avocado, some romaine, watercress, tomatoes, some cold chicken breast, a hard-boiled egg, chives, cheese, and some old-fashioned French dressing. After that, it has become as famous as the chef's or Caesar salad.

Twinkies: Golden Sponge cake with white creamy filling. Twinkies have been around since the 1930s, sold by the Hostess Brands. Its original banana flavored filling was substituted by vanilla during World War II. The original flavor was never really re-introduced. During bankruptcy proceedings, Twinkie production in the United States ended on November 21, 2012, and resumed after an absence on American store shelves, becoming available again nationwide on July 15, 2013. 

Jerky: This dehydrated cured meat is a country-wide snack. It's salty, spicy, tough and has a long shelf-life.

Cornbread: one of the pillars of Southern cooking, cornbread is a real American product. It was originated by Native Americans, and nowadays it can be found at every supermarket. Its delicious sweetness makes it a good side dish for every meal.

Biscuits 'n' gravy: An irresistible Southern breakfast. It consist of biscuits are traditionally made with butter or lard and buttermilk, covered by “sawmill” or sausage gravy. Cheap and requiring only widely available ingredients, a meal of biscuits and gravy was a filling way for slaves and sharecroppers to face a hard day in the fields.

California Roll: An inside-out sushi roll containing cucumber, crab meat and avocado. It became popular in the 1980s, when Japanese chefs started to win the American market. The inside-out roll avoided the nori, which wasn't appealing for the Americans, and the avocado substituted the original "toro" tuna. This roll was the beginning of a great amount of variations that nowadays can be found in the majority of Japanese restaurants.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich: a.k.a PB&J. Peanut butter on its own is a real American classic, but the sandwich has also well known recognition. 

S'mores: this is a typical nighttime campfire treat consisting on a roasted marshmallow, a layer of chocolate, sandwiched between two Graham crackers. There is even a S'mores day, August 10.

There is many more typical American dishes, but this was quite a good list to start with. We haven't tried them all yet, but there is still time :) We hope you enjoyed this overview

Thanks for reading,
Maria & Andres

St. Patrick's Day

When I was 15 I spent a year in Ireland. There I learned about the St. Patrick's Day, one of the country's national celebrations. But when we moved to the US I realized that St. Patrick's was actually much more celebrated over here than in the country of origin.

In Ireland, St. Patrick is the patron saint of the country. March 17 is the date of his death. It was considered a Christian feast day, as it represents the entrance of the Christianity to Ireland. In fact, pubs and bars were closed on this date for a while.

Saint Patrick is believed to be born in the Roman Britain. According to a declaration written by Patrick himself, he was captured and brought to Ireland as a slave. He then converted to Christianity and fled back home, but came back to convert pagan Irish to Christianity. After his death, many legends emerged around him and his acts, and eventually he became Ireland's foremost saint.

The shamrock and 'wearing green' are customs traditionally attached to this celebration. It is believed that St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain to the pagans the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Starting there, the color green has been linked to Irish nationalism.

But it wasn't until the 1990's when Ireland separated the festivity away from its initial ethnic and religious aspect, and started to use this day as an advertisement of Ireland and its culture. This new approached inspired creativity shown in festivals and parades.

But how come in the United States this celebration is so big too? Here it is a symbol of the Irish American pride. On this day, the color green is a constant throughout the country, one example is the fountain located in front of the White House.

But St. Patrick's Day celebrations in the United States didn't start with religious character, but rather as a gathering of the Irish immigrants to honor the country. In New York City, the parades started in the 19th century, becoming not only the largest parade in the United States, but also one of the largest in the world.

Gathered below, some examples of the celebration in different cities in the States:

The video below shows a preparation for the St. Patrick's day celebration in Chicago, when the river is tinted green.

Irish dancers on the streets of Wilmington, NC

Bag-pipers in the NYC parade

We went to the Detroit parade, which despite not being very big, it gathered a great amount of people in the streets of Corktown. It is great to go downtown, because every time we go we see new places open, rebuilt houses, and many construction sites, which signalizes the reviving of a city that has been down for a long time. It will still take a while, but it is moving forth, and with these events you can notice that many people stand for a change in Detroit.

Thanks for reading,

Lita & Andres

The Future of Detroit

The snow doesn't seem to understand that March has come, and will be around for a little while. But yesterday was a sunny and cold Saturday, and we used the opportunity to spend a couple of hours in Detroit. It was a nice opportunity to observe, one more time, the continuously changing and renovating image that the city offers over time. New stores showing up in every corner, places that already have been around for a couple of years acquiring good reputation, and many people supporting new ideas give a hopeful picture for a city that not so long ago, had very little to offer. This thought gave me the idea of writing about what Detroit will look like in a couple of years.  Doing some research one realises that this project is a collection of several entrepreneurial initiatives involving many companies, industries and founders, working in common effort with the same objective: improve the city and make it livable, safe and beautiful. I would like to go over some of the projects taking place to make this possible.

Detroit Future City (DFC)

This initiative works on listing and prioritizing the steps needed to arrest decline and stabilize the city. DFC focuses on long-term projects, combining them with near near-term efforts to improve the image and possibilities of Detroit and encourage stakeholders to keep believing that change is possible. The top aspects they are focusing on are:

• Economic growth:  DFC proposes strategies to encourage industrial and digital sectors that have shown success to create new jobs and attract new residents and business.
• Land use: The company wants to take into account the current challenges and future needs of land in the city.
• City systems: Listing strategies to overcome current challenges in supply services such as water, electricity, energy and waste.
• Neighborhoods: DFC wants to set a diverse variety of neighborhoods to appeal a wide variety of residents, working in common to ensure a high life-quality throughout the different communities.
• Land and building assets: The goal is to have a collective approach to use lands and buildings in the city, whether publicly or privately owned.
• Civic engagement: The DFC initiative wants to encourage participatory intervention in different levels of society, from individuals to neighborhoods.

Detroit Collaborative Design Center (DCDC)

The DCDC is a non-profit, collaborative project dedicated to create sustainable spaces and communities. This architectural and urban focused firm has been working with several organizations to fulfill its mission since its foundation in 1994. Examples of their projects are recovering parks, creation of livable corridors in different city areas, education projects etc.

Kresge Detroit Projects

This foundation helps Detroit make a change towards a socially equal city, re-establishing Detroit as the vibrant center of the Michigan region. Some of the initiatives are already in place, in fact we have been participants of the changes made.

• Detroit Riverfront Conservancy and Detroit Greenway Coalition: Between 2002 and 2008 this project of improving the riverside took place. The result is palpable, especially in the summertime, when every weekend the cultural offer multiplies in this area of the city.

• Eastern Market in Detroit: Although this market has been on operation since 1891, the firm helped improve the infrastructure to make it a more attractive to residents and foreigners.

Small Businesses

Detroit was hit very badly during the 2008 recession, especially because the city relies on the automotive industry as the main economic factor.  But due to the lack of enterprises, many small businesses have arisen that create new jobs and give the city a new variety of entertaining options. Some examples are:

• Autobike: a bike that changes gears automatically
• City bird: a crafts store dedicated to Detroit
• Green Dot Stables: a bar where every item costs 3$.
• iRule: a store selling a remote system for all your gadgets.
• TechTown Detroit: a enterpreneur-incubator, it allows people to participate as new business or supporter.
• And many, maaaany others

With all this movement towards a positive future, it seems almost certain that the city will enter a new era with renovated energy, allowing social stability and providing the needed services to all its inhabitants. It will take a while, and there are many challenges on the way, but it is always nice to see that many people working together with a common goal of re-establishing the value that Detroit once had.

Thanks for reading, 

Lita & Andres

How important is the Super Bowl to Americans

The Super Bowl is the final of the National Football League (NFL), and it is one of the biggest events in America. Every year around the same time, millions of Americans gather in front of the television and watch the game with family and friends. The Super Bowl is the most watched program, and it is also heavily followed in other countries.

Apart from watching the game, which can be very interesting, like it was this year, but also boring and predictable, like last one's, there are many other traditions related to this day that are almost as important.

One of them are the commercials. Due to the high numbers of viewers watching the game, companies interested in advertising their product during this time pay a very, very high price for air time. In fact, every ad costs around $4 million, that just counting the air time, to which you have to add the production, advertising campaign etc.... Just crazy. But also worth it, since many of the companies that advertise during this time rapidly increase their revenue. And it is logical, there are more than 100 million people watching your ad! But also due to the high audience, there is a lot of pressure for the companies to be innovative, creative, and develop an ad that is memorable, funny and clever. If you want to take a pic at them, visit this website: http://www.superbowlcommercial2015.com.

We had 2 favorites: the funniest one was from Fiat

And the most socially concious was the one form Always

Another important aspect of the Super Bowl Sunday is the food. After Thanksgiving, more food is eaten on the Super Bowl day than any other day of the year. Across the country, people would eat more than 1 billion chicken wings, 4 million pizzas, and 325 million gallons of beer (source).

A third argument for watching the Super Bowl is the half time show, which is normally performed by a super star, or several. Initially, the mission of the halftime was to fill time and entertain fans while the game's break. However, with the time this evolved. From "simple" musical bands, to super stages with incredible visual effects and the most famous artists of the time, like Michael Jackson, the Rolling Stones, Prince, the Black Eyed Peas, Beyonce,... This year it was Katy Perry's time, together with a short intervention of Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliot.

The other matter that gathers so much people is, well, the TV itself. It is convenient, it is always there for us, and for once, nobody says "There's nothing good on television". Even if the game is not good, people like to gather to watch this game, even if their team is not playing, or if they don't find the good commercials funny, or if the half time show is not their favorite of all times. It is an event that joins friends in front of a television, with food on the table... Simplicity and enjoyment always go hand in hand.

In conclusion, the Super Bowl is an unofficial National Holiday.  People gather to watch TV in good company, rate the commercials they see and await for the half time show. And in between, there is also an interesting game where the best two teams play the last game of the season. What is not to like?

By the way, although the game may be secondary, this year it was really interesting until the end. The Seattle Seahawks (blue shirt) played the New England Patriots (white shirts), and it seemed like Seattle would win until Butler, from the Patriots, made this interception, one minute prior to the end of the game. This changed it all. Final score, 28 vs. 24 for the Patriots. Overall, a really good show!

Thanks for reading,

Lita & Andres

International Economic Complexity

Nowadays the whole world is connected. Products we can buy at the convenience store are manufactured miles away of our homes. We can buy online things we otherwise could only get far away in their local country. And this enables us to be able to have tomatoes all year around, independent of the freezing temperatures outside.

But not everyone of us understands how deeply interconnected this whole system is, and what is needed for a country to have a neutral balance between imports and exports. It is understood that a country has a healthy economy when it doesn't buy more products from abroad than what it sells, but how can it be measured?

Trying to answer this question, I found a site that allows to assess the Economic Complexity of every country, it is http://atlas.media.mit.edu. It is a great tool to visualize and quantify the economic complexity of every country.

Let's start reviewing just a few facts from a couple of countries.

United States

• United States' imports are higher than its exports, with $1.8T vs. $1.23T respectively.
• Looking into specific products, both the most imported and most exported items are cars. 
• United States exports the most to Canada, Mexico, China, Japan and Germany (in decreasing order)
• Unites States imports the most from China, Mexico, Canada, Japan and Germany (in decreasing order)

China

• China exports $2.12T, and imports only $1.41T. 
• The most exported product is computers, the most imported is crude petroleum. 
• China exports the most to United States, Hong Kong, Japan, Germany, and South Korea. 
• China imports the most from Japan, South Korea, United States, and Germany

Germany

• Germany imports $1.09T, and exports $1.32T
• The most exported product is cars, the most imported is crude petroleum
• Germany exports the most to France, United States, China, United Kingdom, Netherlands
• Germany imports the most from Netherlands, China, France, United States, and Italy

Japan

• Japan imports $793B, and exports $749B
• The most exported item is cars, and the most imported is crude petroleum
• Japan exports the most to China, United States. South Korea and Thailand
• Japan imports the most from China, United States, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea

Mexico

• Mexico imports $295B, and exports $349B
• The most exported product is crude petroleum, the most imported is broadcasting accessories
• Mexico exports the most to United States, Canada, Spain, China and Colombia
• Mexico imports the most from United States, China, Japan, Germany and South Korea

Spain

• Spain imports $319B, and exports $270B
• The most exported product is cars, the most imported is crude petroleum
• Spain exports the most to France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and the United Kingdom
• Spain imports the most from Germany, France, China, Italy and Netherlands

This can go on forever, but let's stop right here.

• One observation is the fact that a country doesn't import from the same countries that it exports to. For example, Chinese products are within the top 5 imported items in all countries analyzed.
• Another important consideration is that 4 of the countries have cars as the most exported items. In total, the top 5 countries exporting cars are Germany, Japan, United States, Canada and South Korea.
• Also four have crude petroleum as first imported product. In fact, there are not many countries exporting petroleum, the top 5 in the world are Russia, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Canada and Norway.
• The third point to consider is the balance between the imported and exported amount. In a commercial world, the country that exports more than it imports, has a "positive income". Of course, this doesn't consider previous debts that the country may have, but having a surplus, like China, Mexico or Germany can only be better than having a deficit, like US, Japan and Spain.
• Products like cars, petroleum or computers involve many sub-products needed for its production, manufacturing etc. For instance, manufacturing cars involve vehicle parts, iron sheets, electrical equipment, and textile fabrics, etc. At the same time, textile fabrics can be used for other purposes, for example rubber materials. This means that if a country is to import textile fabrics, it can be used for several purposes, which interconnects the production within a country. 

In fact, the image below shows "the product space". The products are colored depending on the industry. The products located more in the middle are more complex and require more connections (like machinery), the products in the edges are simpler (like cereals). Every country has a "product tree" like this one that represents the product space in this country during a specific year. Over the years, the trees would look differently, depending on the products developed in the country.

The economic system is so complex that just looking at the whole connections that a product has, it seems impossible to understand it even superficially. Even if you just try to focus on one specific industry, it won't be possible, because it will have connections with other industries or products. But this site really helps for the visualization.

Reading the part of the atlas, it is explained why the economic complexity is needed to maintain a country economically competitive. And it is related to how the country creates an efficient structure of industries that holds and combines the knowledge. According to this, it is not good for a country to focus on one product, but rather be connected to as many products as possible. Another aim is to be connected to products that are less ubiquitous, since their production implies more knowledge. Below you can see the world map colored with the Economic Complexity Index (ECI) ranking. The most red-colored countries have a higher economic complexity than the more yellow-colored.

This map doesn't only show the countries with more knowledge because they have more means (higher GPD), but it also implies that high-ranked countries tend to grow faster than those that are “too rich” for their current level of economic complexity. In this sense, economic complexity is not just a symptom or an expression of prosperity: it is a driver. In short, economic complexity matters because it helps explain differences in the level of income of countries, and more important, because it predicts future economic growth. 

The book even makes predictions for the economic complexity in 2020. The map then looks drastically different.

Well, I will leave it at this point, since it is confusing enough already, but the report goes on to show the ECI ranking over the years, really interesting.

I hope this useful information wasn't too boring, I think it is an interesting point of view, and it helps understand though visual representation the complexity of the country's economic potential.

Thanks for reading, 

Lita & Andres

Last Year in the US

Source

After spending a couple of weeks in Europe with our families, we came back with recharged energies and reserves of heat, that we really need with the cold temperatures that were waiting for us in Michigan.

2015 will be the last year that we spend in the United States. We have made some trips around, but the States are huge and have so much to offer, that we really need to start making a list of things to do before moving back to Europe.

But it is not only about visiting new places. Also some experiences are worth living in the States. Festivities like the 4th of July or Thanksgiving will be well remembered by us, or good radio stations like NPR will be missed. Because every place where you live offers some things that are just great, and would be perfect to have them somewhere else. For this reason it is important to squeeze them, to experience them while you can, before it is too late.

I will list a couple of things, kind of a bucket list of plans to fulfill this year, . Hopefully at the end of the year the revision will show that all of them were done at least once. Because we will come back, but who knows when??

1. Visit the Mammoth Caves in Kentucky. These subterranean tunnels are the longest passage systems in the world.

2. Visit the Upper Peninsula (UP) in Michigan. It should be great in summer, but also winter must be beautiful in the northern area. Let's see if we have the guts to travel where it is even colder than home...

3. A last visit to Chicago, to enjoy great music, museums and food.

4. Enjoy a music event in Detroit. It may be in the opera, or in any of the many Jazz & Blues places, or even the Motown museum... We should attend as many events as we can while we are living so close so a musical iconic city.

5. Last fall with reds and yellows: Fall is the most beautiful station in this area and adjacent states. I wish we can enjoy the landscapes one more time, with the vivid colors and still mild temperatures, before the last winter hits us.

6. Go to a supermarket at 3 AM: Nowhere like America has so many services open 24 h every day of the year. It is also amazing to visit a supermarket at late hours, especially because very interesting people do groceries at that time :)

7. Get a meal from a drive-through: This country has conveniently designed many services around a car. Nowadays, you can not only get your food without stepping out of your car, you can also get your money from the bank, get your medication from the pharmacy, and yes, even get a bottle of alcohol from a liquor store.

8. Get an "American-style" Milkshake: This is just a classical, seen in so many movies, that we just have to try it in a typical diner before leaving the country.

9. Visit the Shinola workshop: This Detroit-based watch maker is one of the many businesses trying to revive the city out of bankruptcy. It would be great to see a day in the factory.

10. Hawaii: This is the big bonus of the list. Will we be able to make the dream trip to Hawaii?

A year goes by very fast, let's see how many things we got to do at the end on 2015.

Thanks for reading,

Lita & Andres