State Of Our Economy Essay Research Paper

State Of Our Economy Essay, Research Paper

Our current economy is experiencing strong economic growth and rapid expansion. The data show current gross domestic product (GDP), consumer price index (CPI), and the unemployment rate to support findings. The Federal Reserve is concerned about inflation and consumer spending. However, overall inflation is not bad and interest rates may continue to increase.

One indication of a strong economy is the current increase in GDP of 6.9% for the fourth quarter. There is a new measurement for GDP is now including software as an investment. It is estimated that this change will boost future GDP. Throughout this year, our GDP has gone through a heavy growth. However, the first and second quarter growth was not as high as that of 1997 and 1998. In 1997 first and second quarter growth reached 4.9 % and raised to 6.9% in the first quarter of 1998. (shown in Chart 1) However, the current 6.9% increase in the fourth quarter was 1.0% to 3.8% higher then the previous years. This is a tremendous jump and clearly indicates that many aspects of our economy (such as inventory investment, personal consumption expenditure, fixed investment, exports, and government) are doing well contributing to economic expansion.

It is still true that approximately 70% of all deaths in the United States are from heart disease, strokes, and cancer. Other diseases, accidents, and violence account for the rest–but not age. These same diseases and Alzheimer’s disease account for much of the disability attributed to aging. As these diseases are conquered, far more people will live to their full potential life span and remain active and healthy for life.

A lot is known about the diseases that affect people and cause death. Much less is known about real aging because it involves fundamental cell processes that are quite complex. However, this mystery of life is being unraveled and will offer opportunities in the future that were once considered to be only possible in science fiction. It is hard to improve on the advice given by Seneca (4 B.C. -65 A.D.) to eat moderate amounts of well-balanced foods, get plenty of fresh air, exercise, and live a stress-free life-style.

Your life literally depends upon the ability of your cells to regenerate. They do this in a manner similar to one-cell organisms that simply divide and go on living as two “daughter” one-cell organisms. Before your cells can divide to reproduce themselves, they must first produce a duplicate copy of the genes. One of the most important examples of replication is of your blood cells. Your red blood cells live only an average 110 days, and they must be constantly replaced. Without replacement, you would soon develop serious anemia. The lining of your small intestine is completely replaced every three days. Your skin is constantly regenerated with the new cells formed in the deeper layers, while the old cells move to the top and are shed. It is this constant state of regeneration that enables the body to be young. It also enables healing to take place, as occurs after an injury.

WHY DOESN’T THE BODY

JUST CONTINUE

TO RENEW ITSELF

INDEFINITELY SO THAT

WE DON’T GROW OLD.

There are a number of theories for this big question:

The regeneration process is under the control of a genetic script that determines when certain events should occur in your life. It controls when speech will begin, when teeth will erupt, the onset of puberty, the onset of menopause, and other changes in the stages of life. The nature of this script, sometimes called the biological clock, is not determined, but it is suspected that it is part of the brain’s function.

Organs and tissues often undergo changes because the cells used to form them no longer function in the same manner that they once did when young, or in the first years of duplication. For example, ovaries are not activated until puberty arrives. What activates them. Then the ovaries begin to sputter to a stop. What stops ovarian function. The timing of these events depends on the genetic script a person inherits at birth.

Some investigators believe the immune system is responsible for aging. As people get older, two things happen related to this. The body produces more autoimmune antibodies. Sometimes these antibodies attack the body’s own tissues as if they were foreign substances or bacteria. In extreme states they cause many diseases, called autoimmune diseases. Other changes occur when the body’s immune defenses decrease. The thymus gland, which prepares white blood cells (the T-cells) to carry out their defense actions to protect the body, deteriorates. The decrease in immunity can cause a person to be more susceptible to diseases, like pneumonia, for example. In other words, the body just stops functioning, maybe because it accurately reads an unconscious signal from the brain that this person is discouraged and depressed and no longer wants to live.

There are other theories like the “free-radical theory” and the “cross-linked theory” that tells us what happens but does not tell us why. In fact, no theory really explains why the body ages.

SENILE DEMENTIA

A major concern of many people is the possibility that they will lose their mental abilities as they grow old. The extreme of this is senile dementia, which can result in a person

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