How Has the NSA'S Surveillance Impacted the Economy?
Southern New Hampshire University
English 123: Composition II

How Has the NSA'S Surveillance Impacted the Economy?
Introduction
The Guardian aired a report on the surveillance programs of the National Security Agency over one year ago. The report based on leaked information from one of the agency’s contractors named Edward Snowden. The national opinions from several interested parties concentrates on simplistic debates evaluating the tradeoff between individual privacy and national security. However, it is an important time for the government and other stakeholders to begin weighing the benefits and costs associated with the surveillance more carefully. In spite of the strong defense by intelligence officials in favor of the NSA programs, the officials fail to table any credible evidence in support of the benefits they suggest. In fact, some initial analysis of the programs indicates that the benefits are dubious. It is true that the United States is a target for terrorist and other malicious groups, state officials often use the threat as an excuse to conduct and promote the activities of the National Security Agency. It may be beneficial in the context of security, but the surveillance programs also jeopardize the activities and operations of other organizations and individuals within the United States. The impact of the activities of the NSA on other parties is a cause for an analysis of the economic effects realized within the economy of the United States by various parties. For the period that the National Security Agency has conducted its surveillance, through its programs, many nations lost trust in the intentions of the USA leading to a strain in economic relations in both private and government sectors. For many years the NSA has used data as a key to preventing attacks. However those practices