America at the dawn of a perfect storm

Today many of my friends and colleagues just as many normal working (shrinking) class Americans have left to wonder about so many things that they seem lost in all the noise of the current economic chaos. As my book, Who Moved My Smoke Stack? denotes we as Americans face a very uncertain future. Many issues and problems are converging on us at a near fatal point of the next couple years.

We have an out of whack foreign trade and affairs policy that does not address the major trade imbalances we have with our trading partners... largely due to the fact that our political representatives have become the lap dogs of multi-national (mostly American) companies and their special interests. It is in their best interest to keep sucking the wealth out of our American Core and increase profits not necessarily in the voters best interests.

Our media (which is now corporately owned) has focused us on issues that irritate people and get them riled up but have no impact on our major problems such as Trade Imbalances, National Debt, Failed Foreign Policy, Lack of real economic growth and health for the average working class Americans and a failing one sided tax code. Not to say the least our lack of embracing our chance to lead the world away from it's addiction to fossil fuels and rejuvenate our American Economic clout simultaneously. America should be the single most focused nation on becoming "The Green Superpower". Today we as Americans spend more than we make (considerably more like $1.22 for every dollar of earnings) and we have no real meaningful social net to sustain, grown and care for our working class Americans that is immune to inflation and adjusted to actual costs of living. Instead of creating an economic system that can provide real unemployment, disability, retirement and healthcare we have focused on gay marriage, flag burning and immigration. Our political leaders have failed to prepare our nation and our people for the coming wake of the biggest economic tsunami ever to hit our shores... the American Made Perfect Storm!

We have failed to retool our infrastructure to compete globally by making physical things and we have allowed our educational system to slide while now letting others begin to encroach on our sacred economic cow of knowledge and white collar jobs. I believe that our country is headed for a huge economic collision with reality which has already started today. The housing bust is just the first indicative signs of the coming years of problems.  Don't be fooled by some short term relief in 2008 because it is an election year. But in 2009 with no real signs in place to address our energy dependence, rising debt and trade imbalances and our tipping point of baby boomer retirements and lack of healthcare and savings... our country is in for some big corrections in real values.

If we begin to address these issues starting with demonetizing the political system from special interests, lobbyist payoffs to politicians by way of donations and trips (dubbed as education) and employment contracts for friends, family members and politicians post office we cannot hope to male meaningful progress. Once this is done we can address the trade imbalance with other nations (China will reach $300B this year) and create a dual exchange rate to increase our exports values to others and strengthen the American (sliding dollar) so we won't want to be paid in Canadian Maple Leafs...  In addition we can rebalance our tax code to a flatter but progressive tax on citizens not entities (companies) to bolster economic growth and yet pay the real cost of our lifestyles. This would be more consumption based as well by taxing our consumption not our savings or appreciation of our investments until they are withdrawn. By doing so we can provide real healthcare, retirement, unemployment and re-employment training and disability coverage through our payroll systems for the majority of American's as a mandate.

In this new American Renaissance we can produce outcome based education and provide education to anyone who desires to learn and grow their capabilities. Our foremost research focus will be on a new "American Foreign Policy" that will address our addiction to fossil fuels. In addition we will surprise the world by curing many of the most hated diseases today such as Cancer, heart disease and old age (well I can hope for that one).

I know we are up against a huge amount of work and the proverbial chips are not looking good as we approach the tipping point in 2010, but believe me while we sail into this face of this growing Maelstrom, there is no ship I would rather be riding into it on than the USS America.