My Response to GiGi

Hello GiGi!

I found your response very informative and may have giggled at your closing statement. Your explanation of the Trump impeachment was thorough and clear in its attempt to tell how this proceeding came to light. Trump’s attempts to dodge the claims that he used his powers in office to give him a leg up in the upcoming election are pointless and ridiculous. The information that has been exposed regarding the phone calls between the President and Zelenski should be more than enough evidence against Trump and his allies’ biased defense. The fact that information was withheld from the people and unable to be used in the proceeding was unjust and only brought more suspicion upon Trump’s accusations. I, along with many of our classmates can agree that Trump has proceeded to prove that he does not plan on uniting the nation any time soon and leads in a different manner than most presidents of the past. I also think that his impeachment has been long-awaited by many and the fact that it has taken this long to do so is appalling.

The Importance of Universal Health Care

The powerful argument made in the Opinion essay by Shinzo Abe and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, titled “All nations should have universal health care” is essentially what you’d expect; more nations should invest in universal health care. The two authors behind this article are major advocates for this topic, as well as important figures in the world of politics. Shinzo Abe is prime minister of Japan and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is the director-general of the World Health Organization The article was published to The Washington Post, which comes with its own credibility for scholarly arguments proposed by credible authors.

In the essay, the authors discuss how Japan subsidized the idea of universal health care following WWII and the benefits that have come from it. Abe specifically mentions the improvement of their life expectancy and the prospering economy of Japan. According to the authors, “Investing in health at an early stage of a country’s economic development can create the fundamental infrastructure for sustainable and comprehensive economic growth and social development” (Abe and Adhanom). It is mentioned that other countries have also tested universal coverage, such as Egypt, South Africa, and the Philippines. The authors continuously stress the importance of health care for all, no matter their financial sittuation. They claim that if we focus on the basic health needs such as nutrition, water, and sanitation, we can reduce the issue on the strenuous expenses for hospital bills and visits.

I believe that the authors do not have a target audience for this article, but they are addressing the world’s population. I cannot help but agree with their stance on the lack of attention regarding human health, especially with the threats that humanity is facing today: climate change, infectious diseases, mass migration and widening economic inequality.

An Important Government Reform Today

The Teenage Vaping Epidemic

In the article “This is what the Trump administration should do on vaping”, published by The Washington Post, Scott Gottlieb proposes a plan that he believes will solve the epidemic of teens using e-cigarettes. Whenever the obvious solution to ban e-cigs all together is proposed, it is most commonly joined with the rebuttal by adult vapers saying that this would take away their method used to quit smoking. Gottlieb also mentions another problem that may arise regarding smaller vape shops and their business. However, he also claims that the smaller shops are not the victims of these restrictions, but the culprits, as a study found that they are selling double the amount of vaping products to teens than gas stations.

While there has been a recent ban on JUUL’s most popular flavor with kids, the mint pod, Gottlieb suggests that the government must do more regarding the issue. He proposes that they get rid of the more easily concealed, cartridge-based e-cigs from the market and require companies to file an FDA application if they want to relaunch their products. These applications would need to prove that they provide a net public-health benefit. 

Another important factor with the industry of vaping is the lack of age restrictions being enforced in the stores selling these products. Most of the smaller shops depend on the business of younger individuals who are not of age, therefore giving them more of a reason to ease up on checking IDs. Gottlieb also suggests the FDA requires that the adults-only vape shops must prove that they are effectively enforcing age restrictions. In addition to his concerns toward the smaller smoke shops, the author advises that the FDA helps these shops with the process of completing the applications by allowing some of the vape shops to combine their applications with stores of similar manufacturing, in order for them to be able to compete with big tobacco companies.