chairman; Democratic Party, Steve GROSSMAN,
national committee chairman; several other groups or parties of minor
political significance

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer), ANZUS,
APEC, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE (observer), CP, EAPC, EBRD,
ECE, ECLAC, ESCAP, FAO, G- 2, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINUGUA,
MINURSO, MIPONUH, MTCR, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OSCE, PCA, SPC, UN,
UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNOMIG,
UNPREDEP, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Flag description: thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and
bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper
hoist-side corner bearing 50 small white five-pointed stars arranged
in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom)
alternating with rows of five stars; the 50 stars represent the 50
states, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies; known as
Old Glory; the design and colors have been the basis for a number of
other flags including Chile, Liberia, Malaysia, and Puerto Rico

@United States:Economy

Economy-overview: The US has the most powerful, diverse, and
technologically advanced economy in the world, with a per capita GDP
of $30,200, the largest among major industrial nations. In this
market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make
most of the decisions, and government buys needed goods and services
predominantly in the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy
considerably greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western
Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, lay off surplus
workers, and develop new products. At the same time, they face higher
barriers to entry in their rivals' home markets than the barriers to
entry of foreign firms in US markets. In all economic sectors, US
firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances,
especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military
equipment, although their advantage has narrowed since the end of
World War II. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual
development of a "two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom
lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at
the top and, more and more, fail to get pay raises, health insuran