The North American Union - Paper Example

The North American Union is a proposed economic merge of three countries comprising of Canada, Mexico, and the US to form a union similar to the European Union. The union is meant to promote an economic integration between the three countries, which will lead to high economic development and prosperity. The union has a similarity to a custom union with suggestions for the eradication of tariffs among the members and a common tariff for commodities imported from non-member countries. The idea of forming the North America Union is under development and is being facilitated by the North American Trade Agreement (NAFTA). NAFTA has integrated the three countries through trade ties and agreements. Such moves have eradicated the trade barriers between the members. Therefore, the spirit of the North American Union is on course. However, the formation of the union will be an easy task as it has been since the idea was conceived. There have been several oppositions due to fears of losing sovereignty, security, and xenophobic feelings (Rowntree, Lewis, Price, & Wyckoff, 2012).

Since the formation of NAFTA, great economic progress has been realized in the three countries, which are members even though in unequal measure. Some sectors of the economy have benefited more than others. For example, small companies have suffered greatly due to high competition from the more advanced companies within the trading block. On the other hand, the big companies and advanced economies such as the US have benefitted more than a country like Mexico.

The imbalance in economic benefits from NAFTA is one of the factors dissuading some sectors within the three countries from the formation of the North American Union. Those opposed to the economic integration believe that many people will suffer compared to those who will benefit from it. Lack of support from the people and a majority of the political class in the three countries remain as one of the barriers to the realization of the North American Union. Various countries such as the US have passed bills restricting usage of funds towards the development of infrastructure within the spirits of the union. Therefore formation of the union may not come into effect in the near future.

Map Projection & Prejudice

Maps can prejudice individuals. Map prejudice arises from the act of map projection, which involves transforming the latitudes and longitudes of some of the earth surface in a manner that presents a surface of a location at the expense of others. The map projection is used in creating a map. Depending on the location being presented, some distortions are made. Such distortions demean some areas while magnifying others (Dorling & Fairbairn, 2013). For example, the subject of drilling the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for oil may be greatly distorted by the use of map projection. The project map may seem bigger than reality is to show people that the drilling may have a negligible effect on the environment.

References

Dorling, D., & Fairbairn, D. (2013). Mapping: Ways of representing the world. Routledge.

Rowntree, L., Lewis, M., Price, M., & Wyckoff, W. (2012). Diversity amid globalization. World Regions.

Wikipedia. (2017). Map projection - Wikipedia. Retrieved September 1, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection