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Transforming the U.S. Economy 101
With the overall unemployment rate at a 25 year high, it's clear that America is experiencing a very challenging economic climate, which has affected other nations around the world precipitously as well. For the first time that I am aware of, we have entire state governments facing bankruptcy. If you can no longer rely on the state (government) to pay its bills on time, it really is quite a wake-up call, don't you think?
Month after month, we continue to watch companies fail. We also watch companies entering into "financial restructuring" proceedings (a.k.a. bankruptcy). There are companies that have also cleaved themselves to a government bailout in one form or another in recent months. All of this financial fallout will be passed on directly to the U.S. workers/consumers who keep our great capitalistic machine running. Because of the breakdown of this machine, American workers have been hit with the shrapnel of material suffering, either through direct hits, such as job layoffs, or through indirect hits, such as losses of equity in their real estate or stock values.
The real losses are more than material: they are heavy losses of spirit, that cut like a knife through the heart of many. For many, a sense of happiness is tightly bound up with material assets and desires. Likewise, many Americans young and old, have experienced a "crash" in personal feelings of wellbeing and hope, as their tangible resources began to diminish. In reality, most Americans were utterly unprepared for this dramatic shift in the economy. It has been brewing like a quiet storm for at least the last 15 years. Jobs and technology have been permanently migrated overseas with the future survival of the powerless American worker being slowly undermined. The question now is whether or not the storm has really passed, or are we really only in the eye of the storm?
I would encourage anyone who has not read the book "A Whole New Mind" by Daniel H. Pink, to check it out and read it through. Hopefully it can be found at your local library. If not, perhaps you can borrow it from a friend, buy it used on Amazon, or purchase it new (last resort, because I value frugality). This book really tells you what the "real deal" is. The whole thrust of the American economy over the last three decades has been manufacturing and technology, two industries which have been "shipped" overseas. It looks like our new economy will be all about fixing what is broken: Energy, the Environment & Healthcare.
There are great challenges to be faced in transforming these 3 broken industries. They are all extremely complex "beasts" that are all subject to government regulation. Because these 3 industries are subject to government regulation, it appears that the plight with their transformation, including job creation, can realistically only be driven by government, which presents a great Catch-22: if the government has to transform and regulate these 3 broken industries and the government is broke - how does this work realistically get done? In my eyes, I see no other way than a massive campaign for unpaid social activist or volunteers, if enough are available. If not, then the only other solution might be a "draft" for government service/duty, similar to the military draft, to help fix these 3 broken industries.
Month after month, we continue to watch companies fail. We also watch companies entering into "financial restructuring" proceedings (a.k.a. bankruptcy). There are companies that have also cleaved themselves to a government bailout in one form or another in recent months. All of this financial fallout will be passed on directly to the U.S. workers/consumers who keep our great capitalistic machine running. Because of the breakdown of this machine, American workers have been hit with the shrapnel of material suffering, either through direct hits, such as job layoffs, or through indirect hits, such as losses of equity in their real estate or stock values.
The real losses are more than material: they are heavy losses of spirit, that cut like a knife through the heart of many. For many, a sense of happiness is tightly bound up with material assets and desires. Likewise, many Americans young and old, have experienced a "crash" in personal feelings of wellbeing and hope, as their tangible resources began to diminish. In reality, most Americans were utterly unprepared for this dramatic shift in the economy. It has been brewing like a quiet storm for at least the last 15 years. Jobs and technology have been permanently migrated overseas with the future survival of the powerless American worker being slowly undermined. The question now is whether or not the storm has really passed, or are we really only in the eye of the storm?
I would encourage anyone who has not read the book "A Whole New Mind" by Daniel H. Pink, to check it out and read it through. Hopefully it can be found at your local library. If not, perhaps you can borrow it from a friend, buy it used on Amazon, or purchase it new (last resort, because I value frugality). This book really tells you what the "real deal" is. The whole thrust of the American economy over the last three decades has been manufacturing and technology, two industries which have been "shipped" overseas. It looks like our new economy will be all about fixing what is broken: Energy, the Environment & Healthcare.
There are great challenges to be faced in transforming these 3 broken industries. They are all extremely complex "beasts" that are all subject to government regulation. Because these 3 industries are subject to government regulation, it appears that the plight with their transformation, including job creation, can realistically only be driven by government, which presents a great Catch-22: if the government has to transform and regulate these 3 broken industries and the government is broke - how does this work realistically get done? In my eyes, I see no other way than a massive campaign for unpaid social activist or volunteers, if enough are available. If not, then the only other solution might be a "draft" for government service/duty, similar to the military draft, to help fix these 3 broken industries.
Add a Comment
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Comment by Andrew Devanbu on July 31, 2009 at 9:46am -
Demetria thanks for that post, quiet informative.
There several reasons for this mess we are in.
But the major reason contributing to this mess is selfcenteredness. There is enormous hoarding in oneend while there is little hope on the other. The cycle will never stop because the ones who have the money are making opportunity of the Recession to meet their own ends. Unless resources are shared we will be in a mess
Regards
Andrew
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