Africa

The Issue:
After witnessing the horrors of both falling crop yields and furious farmers, the Secretary of Agriculture has proposed state-funded agricultural education.

The Debate:
Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture, asked for funding for some colleges to “show those city boys how to weed, water, and sow”; Hack Smithers, consultant, proposed getting a degree be mandatory to enter agriculture; Federico Bond, farmer, shoved off the notion of an educational requirement; Severus Han, socialist, campaigned for the nationalization of farms.

The Verdict:
The United States government has decided to not make education a requirement to enter the agricultural industry, but will still require farmworkers to be up-to-date with their paperwork and licenses. The government will also provide some funding to colleges primarily involved in promoting degrees related to the agricultural sector.

The Talking Point:
Bleach is the nation’s most common pesticide.

Trends Expected To Rise (in no particular order):
Economic Freedom, Economy, Charmlessness, Wealth Gaps, Crime, Employment, Economic Output, Average Income, Average Disposable Income, Obesity, Taxation, Human Development Index
Trends Expected To Fall (in no particular order):
Safety, Pacifism, Tourism, Government Size, Food Quality, Industry: Fishing, Income Equality, Weather, Ideological Radicality, Environmental Beauty, Authoritarianism, Intelligence, Scientific Advancement, Public Education

The Issue:
Honeybee populations have been decreasing at an alarming rate, according to a recent study published in Not That Popular Science magazine.

The Debate:
Daisy Scheer, environmental scientist, chanted to clamp down on industries that manufacture insecticides and enforce better environmental protection; Iroh Atwood, local beekeeper, campaigned establishing large-scale bee farms across Mesothallania, and raise more bees so their populations can grow; Miley Gillard, CEO of Bees and Genes, proposed using genetics to modify the bees so they can be made resistant to disease and live longer; “Doctor Bees”, local eccentric, wanted to just release all of the bees.

The Verdict:
The government will review industrial regulations of insecticides, propose legislation to conserve the environment, build bee farms where needed most, and invest in altering bees’ genes.

The Talking Point:
EpiPen sales have skyrocketed.

Trends Expected To Rise (in no particular order):
Sector: Agriculture, Eco-Friendliness, Business Subsidization, Economy, Industry: Fishing, Average Disposable Income, Average Income, Economic Output, Food Quality, Environmental Beauty, Weather, Human Development Index, Government Size, Tourism, Lifespan
Trends Expected To Fall (in no particular order):
Employment, Obesity, Death Rate, Taxation, Charmlessness

The Issue:
Several government aides were fired yesterday after the IT Department found pornography on their work computers. The former employees have fought back saying their privacy was violated and they should be restored to their positions.

The Debate:
Björk Thompson, recently fired, begged for his job back and asked for invasion of privacy to be outlawed; an unnamed IT technician said the aides signed away their rights when they are using employers’ computers; Gruffydd Cheswick, workplace coach, drew up plans to help make workplaces less stressing.

The Verdict:
An investigation has yielded that the government aids were in fact in breach of contract and rules of conduct that they signed, hence their firing.

The Talking Point:
Mesothallanians are regularly fired for looking at MyFace during their lunchbreaks.

Trends Expected To Rise (in no particular order):
Wealth Gaps, Economic Freedom, Food Quality, Average Disposable Income, Economy, Economic Output, Average Income, Industry: Fishing, Social Conservatism, Charmlessness, Human Development Index, Crime, Employment, Authoritarianism, Ideological Radicality, Pacifism, Lifespan
Trends Expected To Fall (in no particular order):
Death Rate, Tourism, Taxation, Intelligence, Civil Rights, Income Equality