Policy making is an integral part of every nation's core. It makes it easier to make decisions when faced with a myriad of problems or complicated situations. Decision made in respect to domestic policies are slightly different from those made in respect to foreign policies. The first obvious difference is that foreign policy is made after an extensive consultation and discussion that considers the demands of the other nations. The final decision is therefore as a result of a compromise. The domestic policy making is similar in that some consultation takes place. However, there is no external correspondence that will apply any pressure. The main difference between domestic policy making and foreign policy making is the weight that the nation's political and economic stability holds. Foreign policy will always be more inclined to favor the nation that is more stable and influential in the world's eyes. Domestic policy is more likely to reflect an attempt to get to such influential levels. Basically, foreign policy influences domestic policy although local policy barely influences foreign policy.
The final decision on the making of the US foreign policy lies with the president. The president collects advice from the members of Congress and from the security counsel. Congress advices on tariffs Oz duty that will be charged in foreign import and export and on all the other forms of commerce applicable. This arm of government also advices on all issues of immigration. The Senate advices on the ambassadors to be appointed and on the formulation of various treaties. Consuls whose major role is to influence business decisions are also selected through the Senate. The consuls and the ambassadors make up the diplomatic Corp. Finally, the president can make use of military power all around the world because he is the commander in chief of the armed forces. The president, the national security counsel, the Congress and the Senate are responsible for making US foreign policy (Cox & Stokes, 2018).
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The US is still considered a super power because of its dominance over other nations across the world. Democracy is one of the ways in which America dominates the world. The nation is a hub of autonomy that allows the expression of every kind of opinion. This gives it an air of stability that is unlikely to be disrupted because of political disagreements. The second is capitalism. The US is an industrial and agricultural hub. This makes it the ideal location for anyone who wishes to develop themselves economically. It is called the land of opportunity because anyone who is hard working can built himself up in America. The third thing that makes US a super power is the rule of law. The US prides itself on a robust and inclusive justice system that punishes big crimes like corruption and small crimes like auto theft. This keeps the country easy to manage and run (Ehrlich et al., 2018).
Capitalism is the most important aspect of being a super power. It gives the people the economic muscle that they need to carry out their own personal development. This keeps the economy growing and the population at rest. The US should use its world super-power status to influence other nations into obtaining similar economic policies. This can give the US beter leverage when dealing with individual or corporate investors as opposed to government controlled entities. The US is also in a better position to negotiate for treaties on behalf of their allies. The US can also unite like minded individuals to take up positions of strength in unity.
The US spends more on national security initiatives than it does on many other issues. The national defense budget is only second to the huge budget put aside for welfare. The levels of spending on the national defense budget is excessive. Parts of the budgetary allocation are unnecessary as they are not sustainable in the long term. A good example is the large amount of money that was allocated to pay rises for the armed forces. A better investment would have been channelled into the improvement of mental health care as this is a major way to motivate the forces. Another excessive amount was spend on research to develop additional weapons and complex government surveillance systems. These amounts of money should have been spend on improving the existing systems and then using the rest for more applicable uses. After all, these systems that cost millions are only useful on a small scale (Ferraresi et al., 2018).
The present levels of US surveillance are enough to keep the country safe. The security system does not additional financial investment for the situation to improve. Instead it needs to concentrate its efforts internally instead of externally. Critics point out that developments such as nuclear weapons and other other complex surveillance equipment are made with an intention to support other nations. The US can let go of some of its commitment to other nations in order to limit its financial obligations to the same cause. This is the biggest cause of excessive spending because the programs developed benefit the recipients of humanitarian and military aid. The damage to the US economy cannot therefore be reversed by stopping further investment into aspect of the budget that should be supplementary. Finally, the US should take care of itself first, before extending a helping hand to its allies. This will help the nation to maintain it superpower status for the years to come.
References
Cox, M., & Stokes, D. (Eds.). (2018). US foreign policy . Oxford University Press.
Ehrlich, I., Cook, A., & Yin, Y. (2018). What Accounts for the US Ascendancy to Economic Superpower by the Early Twentieth Century? The Morrill Act–Human Capital Hypothesis. Journal of Human Capital , 12 (2), 233-281.
Ferraresi, M., Gucciardi, G., & Rizzo, L. (2018). The 1974 Budget Act's Impact on US Spending and Debt: A Synthetic Control Study.
