Shadowing Practice: Every Modern Economic Problem Explained - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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You know, a hundred years from now,
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You know, a hundred years from now,
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historians will look back at the 2020s as a global turning point.
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Because, look around, prices are going through the roof,
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it's getting harder to find a job,
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we've got wars, people worth hundreds of billions of dollars in the world as literally more than 300 trillion dollars in debt.
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Put all of this together and you get the picture of a global economy under immense strain.
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Honestly, the future feels more uncertain than ever,
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but that's why we have to try and understand it.
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In this video we're taking you through the five defining economic challenges of our time,
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why they exist, how they affect you,
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and where they could take us in the coming decades.
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Welcome to ALUX.
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Okay, so the first economic problem,
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and you are definitely feeling the impact of this one,
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is inflation and the cost of living crisis.
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Now, at its core, inflation just means the price of things you need is going up,
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and the value of your money quietly is shrinking.
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The thing is, lots of people think a little bit of stable inflation,
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like 2% a year or so,
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is actually a good thing because it gives people a small incentive to spend and invest their money instead of hoarding it.
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But over the last few years,
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that number has shot through the roof.
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We can trace this back as far as 2008 after the financial crisis.
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things really started ramping up in 2020 when the pandemic turned the world upside down.
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When demand collapsed because, well,
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people weren't going out, weren't traveling and weren't spending,
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governments around the world responded by printing trillions of dollars and making it cheaper,
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or in some cases, free to borrow money,
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but more on that later.
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By 2022, when things were mostly back to normal-ish,
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there was so much more money circulating in the economy that inflation hit levels not seen in decades.
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In the US and Europe,
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prices were rising at nearly 10% a year,
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and this often forces ordinary people into making impossible choices like,
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do we heat our home this winter or buy more food,
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do we send the kids to college or not.
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In developing countries where basics like rice,
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corn or cooking fuel are basically unaffordable,
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millions of people have been pushed into abject poverty.
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And even in wealthier nations like the UK,
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some surveys found that parents were skipping meals so their children,
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or even their pets, could eat.
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Now, on average, inflation is definitely not as bad as it was a few years ago,
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but remember that inflation going down doesn't mean that prices go down.
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Prices are still high, and they're still going up,
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just maybe a little bit less.
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No matter where you look though,
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all around the world, food,
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energy and healthcare are substantially more expensive than they were 5 years ago
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and young people are largely unable to afford a home.
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As for the future, the main tool for combating inflation has been raising interest rates,
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which makes borrowing more expensive and slows down spending.
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But the thing is, if spending slows down too much,
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you're risking a recession and if you ease off too soon,
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prices could start spiraling again.
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Most forecasts expect inflation to cool off over the next couple of years,
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but the truth is, one new conflict or supply chain shock,
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and the cycle would start all over again.
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No one can say for sure when stability will return.
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Now, the next main problem we're facing is rising global inequality.
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Now, obviously, inequality has always and probably always will exist.
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But recently, that gap between the haves and the have-nots has become… almost surreal.
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On paper, the world economy has grown for everybody,
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but let's look at the real numbers.
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Since 2020, the richest 1% of people have captured nearly two-thirds of all the new wealth created worldwide.
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That's about $26 trillion flowing to the very top,
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while the remaining 99% of humanity shared just $16 trillion.
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Or, to put it another way,
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for every time someone in the bottom 90% became a dollar richer,
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a billionaire became $1.7 million richer.
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Meanwhile, more than 700 million people still live on less than $2.15 a day.
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These numbers paint a picture of an economic system that's heavily tilted toward the few,
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with both extreme wealth and extreme poverty rising side by side.
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So why is this happening?
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One side effect of inflation,
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which we just talked about,
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is that when prices of stocks,
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estate and other assets rise,
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that actually benefits the people who own those assets.
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Pair that with tax cuts for the wealthy,
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weaker labor protections, deregulation, globalization,
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technology and the winner-takes-all economy where a handful of companies dominate entire markets
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and wealth is naturally going to concentrate at the very top.
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Many economists believe that even if we're all getting wealthier on paper,
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inequality actually leads to less economic growth in the long run.
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And even beyond the numbers,
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it's difficult to believe that we're all in this together or something like that when families are skipping meals,
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and Jeff Bezos is renting out the entirety of Venice and his $100 million superyacht is parked outside.
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Plus, just open up any history textbook and you'll see that unchecked inequality can lead to populist politics,
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destabilize societies and, in extreme cases, even lead to revolutions.
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Just ask the French, or the Russians,
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or the Chinese, or anyone for that matter.
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Now look, okay, inequality can get political and we're not trying to take sides here.
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The underlying point we're trying to make here is that inequality is a real economic issue,
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with real economic consequences.
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And maybe fixing that isn't as easy as telling people to learn to code.
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The data shows that societies
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that are more equal on average have tax systems where the ultra wealthy pay more of their share,
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higher investments in public services like education and healthcare,
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and stronger protections for the working class.
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For now, rising inequality just seems to keep on rising though.
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But here's the thing, ok,
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these economic problems are real and they are serious,
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they shape the world that we live in and yeah,
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they affect you too.
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But look, you are not powerless in all of this.
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You don't have to sit back and let the economy dictate your life.
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Here at Alux, we believe that if you're willing to adapt,
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learn and take your fate into your own hands,
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you can achieve whatever you set your mind to.
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And we wanted our viewers to have everything they needed to become successful even in the toughest economic times.
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So that's exactly why we built the ALUX app,
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the ultimate tool for wealth building, personal development and success.
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Inside you'll find hundreds of resources,
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daily insights and courses designed by industry experts to help you level up financially, professionally and personally.
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Hundreds of thousands of ambitious people already use the ALUX app every day to grow smarter and wealthier.
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So if you're serious about taking your future into your own hands,
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scan the QR code on screen or click the link in the description to get 25% off your yearly membership.
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Invest in yourself, Aluxer, because no matter what the economy is doing,
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you will always be your greatest asset.
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Alright, so moving on now,
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the next major economic issue we're talking about is aging populations,
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okay, because demographically we're living through one of the most profound shifts in human history.
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By 2030, 1 in 6 people on earth will be over 60 years old.
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By 2050, that number is set to double.
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You see, because our societies have grown wealthier and more urban,
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we don't need to have like 8 kids to help us work the field anymore.
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Raising a family is expensive,
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and so people tend to have fewer children and later on in their lives too.
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For instance, South Korea's fertility rate is just 0.8 children per woman.
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At the same time, lifespans have soared.
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A century ago, the average human lived into their 30s,
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but But today, global life expectancy is over 72,
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and in many developing countries, it's closer to 80.
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But if you're wondering why this is an economic problem,
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well, it's because old people are kind of expensive.
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You know, they need to eat,
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get medical treatment, keep a roof over their heads, but they're also retired.
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So they're usually not working for it.
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Instead, young people take on that burden.
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In most countries, this usually happens through some version of a pension system,
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but if not, it's usually your younger relatives directly taking care of you.
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Either way, it's the younger generation supporting the older generation.
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But what happens when there are too many old people to support and not enough young people to support them?
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Well, that is basically the problem that we're facing on a global level.
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Much of Western Europe is already below the replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman.
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South Korea, like we said, is just at 0.8.
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Japan, where nearly a third of the population is already over 60,
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has spent years grappling with spiraling pension costs.
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However, today's seniors are healthier than past generations,
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meaning they can increasingly work into their 60s and 70s,
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although sometimes this is less by choice and more out of necessity.
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Many governments are already trying to combat this problem by raising the retirement age,
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Though, not without pushback, lots of it.
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Others are encouraging immigration to bring in younger workers or investing heavily in automation.
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Japan, for instance, is using robots not just in factories,
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but even in elder care.
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And of course, they're also trying policies to encourage more people to start families,
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although there hasn't been much success on that front.
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Ultimately, this is one of the few global problems we can actually see coming.
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The question is whether we use this time to prepare
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or just pass the problem along to the next generation until it blows up in their face.
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Speaking of screwing over future generations,
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our next major economic issue is domestic and private debt.
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Did you know that in 2023,
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the total global debt, which includes governments,
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companies and households, hit a staggering 307 trillion dollars?
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That's multiple digit trillions, it's actually three times what it was three years ago,
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and more than three times the size of the entire global economy.
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And there's.. well, there's a lot of threes here, okay?
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So let's start off with governments.
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Each year, governments have to pay interest to investors who lend them money by buying government bonds,
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like US treasuries.
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Other countries just take out flat rate loans,
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which they have to pay back in full with interest on top.
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now, the World Bank says that over 100 countries are already cutting essential services like health,
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education and infrastructure just to meet those repayments.
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Hopefully some countries just won't be able to pay it back.
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Sri Lanka, for example, defaulted on its debts in 2022 and according to the World Economic Forum,
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about 60% of low-income countries are at risk of default right now.
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If you look at the United States,
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they're going to spend over 1.2 trillion dollars in interest in 2025,
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which is around 17% of everything the government spends.
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On the private side, many families with floating-rate mortgages are seeing monthly repayments double and in the US,
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credit card debt has passed $1 trillion with interest rates north of 20%.
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And a lot of companies are also fueled by debt.
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Of course, debt is a risk.
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You use the money to bet on something that is supposed to come back to you with more money,
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but just think about what What happens if slowly,
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and then more and more often,
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those risks don't pay off.
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A few people start spending less,
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a few companies go bankrupt, a few governments default.
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The ripple effects are easy to imagine,
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but the thing is, solving it is far from simple.
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Debt is a double-edged sword.
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When used responsibly, it allows governments to invest,
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businesses to expand, and families to buy homes.
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But you don't want to borrow too little,
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because it means the economy stops growing,
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but if you borrow too much,
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the effects can be disastrous
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and you end up with generations who have to make up for the mistakes of those who came before them.
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Currently, debt is threatening to become a trap and that is the risk that we're running right now.
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Alright, moving along to the next economic problem and it's geopolitical fragmentation.
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So basically what this means is that for the past few decades the world seemed to be moving in one direction.
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More trade, more travel, more cooperation, globalization, right?
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But recently the global economy has been pulled apart into rival camps,
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with China and Russia on one side,
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Europe on another, and… well,
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Trump is stirring the pot and driving everyone crazy.
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So right now, instead of one interconnected marketplace,
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we're moving towards separate spheres of influence,
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with each of its own trade rules, tech standards and alliances.
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Economists call this trend geopolitical fragmentation.
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But what it really means is that countries trust each other less every day,
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and you can already see it happening.
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The U.S has restricted China's access to advanced semiconductors
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and pushed American companies to move their supply chains closer to home or to friendlier countries.
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China has responded by doubling down on its own tech independence and restructuring exports of critical minerals.
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After Russia invaded Ukraine, they were cut off from much of the Western financial system
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and they retaliated by cutting energy exports to Europe.
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Even Brexit is part of the larger trend.
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The IMF says trade restrictions have nearly tripled since 2019 with almost 3,000 new barriers in 2022 alone.
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But why does this matter?
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Well, because the costs are huge.
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The IMF estimates that if the world de-globalizes significantly,
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we could lose up to 7% of global GDP in the long run,
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about $7 trillion, which is roughly the size of France and Germany's economies combined.
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For developing countries, the outlook is even worse.
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Many of them rely on open trade to export goods or on global finance to attract investment.
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If the world fractures, they might be forced to choose sides and risk losing access to key markets altogether.
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The impacts of this are already visible in daily life.
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For example, the invasion of Ukraine caused an energy crisis in Europe,
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and the resulting grain shortages made food prices across Africa and the Middle East much higher.
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Basically, fragmentation creates friction everywhere.
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Trade, investment, travel, even education and scientific collaboration.
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And let's not forget that whether you were born in Ohio,
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Chengdu or Lagos, we are all people.
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The world would be better if we were all friends.
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Geopolitical fragmentation just generally is not a good thing,
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but it's a man-made problem,
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fixing it won't be easy,
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but it's entirely within our power to keep this from spiraling into a permanent divide.
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Alrighty luck sir, those were the 5 defining economic problems of our time.
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If you learned something from this video,
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make sure to hit that like button and subscribe down below.
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And remember, if you're serious about taking your fate into your own hands and investing in yourself,
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come and join me inside the ALOX app.
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You can get it when you scan the QR code on screen right now,
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you'll get 25% off that annual membership.
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But with all that said,
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my friend, we'll see you back here next time.
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Until then, take care.
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Why practice speaking with this video?
Practicing your speaking skills using this video can significantly enhance your English proficiency. The topic of modern economic challenges provides a rich context filled with relevant vocabulary and expressions. Engaging with such real-world discussions allows learners to emulate native speaker patterns, improving both fluency and listening comprehension. As you learn English with YouTube, you’ll often encounter complex topics that challenge your understanding and encourage you to use advanced language structures. Switching between viewing and repeating phrases can help solidify your use of specialized vocabulary while keeping your conversations engaging and informative.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
This video explores several grammatical structures and expressions that can enhance your speaking skills:
- Present Simple Tense: "Prices are going through the roof." This structure is commonly used to describe general truths or current situations. Try to incorporate it when discussing ongoing events.
- Conditional Sentences: "If we continue like this, we could face severe challenges." This structure is useful for discussing potential outcomes and can be particularly effective in IELTS speaking practice.
- Modal Verbs: "Governments should respond quickly." Modals express necessity and possibility, making your speech more persuasive and nuanced.
- Comparatives: "Prices are still high, and they're still going up, just maybe a little bit less." Using comparatives enhances your ability to compare and contrast different situations, which is essential for dynamic communication.
Common Pronunciation Traps
While practicing with this video, you may encounter some pronunciation challenges. Here are a few to focus on:
- Inflation: Pay attention to the stress on the second syllable—/ɪnˈfleɪʃən/. Mispronunciation can lead to misunderstanding in discussions around economics.
- Abject: The word "abject" can trip up many learners. It is pronounced /ˈæb.dʒɛkt/, with the first syllable stressed.
- Exponential: As discussed in the context of rising prices, "exponential" can be tricky. It's pronounced /ˌɛk.spəˈnɛn.ʃəl/ and requires clarity on each syllable.
Using a shadowing app can be immensely beneficial in rehearsing these words and phrases. As you practice, try to match the speaker's intonation and rhythm for a more authentic sound. Engage in shadow speech techniques by repeating sentences after hearing them, which can boost your confidence in using complex vocabulary and expressions.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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