Ron Paul? Really? I've got to believe it's Barack Obama in the political sphere. He's getting people to follow his vision and inspiring them to believe in something outside themselves, and has the crowds and delegates to prove it. It's a component of leadership that I think the electorate has been craving. Don't get me wrong, I think Ron Paul has certainly stirred the pot...
As we have pass the first 1/4 milestone of 2008, an unfortunate truth has become the greatest challenge. Whoever the leader is that provides a clear vision to overcome this economic depression or severe recessionary period will make the greatest public impact in 2008.
In the depression of pre-World War II Germany, that leader was Hitler.
Today, as Americans cut back on imported LCD TVs and Starbucks coffee, the U.S. consumer slowdown will undermine the global economy.
This consumer slump in the U.S. will affect business investments overseas, including factories that are springing up in China and elsewhere to feed American demand.
The rule for a prudent individual is simple: Don't spend more than you make. For a long time, the U.S. economy obeyed that rule. As far back as the 1960s, personal spending, adjusted for inflation, has basically tracked the overall growth of the economy, as measured by gross domestic product (GNP).
That pattern changed in the 1990s. As of the third quarter of 2007, the 10-year growth rate for consumption was 3.6%, vs. GNP growth for the same period of 2.9%. This difference represents an enormous gap. If consumer spending had tracked the overall economy over the past decade as it has in the past, Americans today would be spending about $600 billion less a year. The extra spending has amounted to a total of about $3 trillion since 2001.
The question now is how much of that extra $3 trillion we will have to give back?
John's point about the gap between what Americans make versus what they spend is right on the mark. The real question is why does this gap exist?
Before we see a real turnaround in our economy, we have to see the equivalent of a moral revolution in our society and marketplace.
Our society has been marketing and sales heavy for such a long time that Joe American started believing the hype and trying to buy happiness and fulfillment through stuff. This is the logical conclusion for a society that can best be described as materialist. Materials and stuff are necessary and have their place, but when having newer and better stuff becomes the benchmark for success, we have real core issues.
Will Barak pave the way for such a revolution? Not likely. In fact, by its nature, modern politics, being a function of what the polls dictate, will not be the mechanism for change. As a member of the education industry, I blame us for allowing our youth to be inculcated in the systems that have little to no moral metrics. Education in American has gotten so morally neutral that there are no rights or wrongs resulting in the economic and social realities that currently confront us. The truly disconcerting thing is that virtually everyone that is in a leadership position is a product of this system meaning that the probability of real lasting turnaround is quite low.
John's point about the gap between what Americans make versus what they spend is right on the mark. The real question is why does this gap exist?
Before we see a real turnaround in our economy, we have to see the equivalent of a moral revolution in our society and marketplace.
Our society has been marketing and sales heavy for such a long time that Joe American started believing the hype and trying to buy happiness and fulfillment through stuff. This is the logical conclusion for a society that can best be described as materialist. Materials and stuff are necessary and have their place, but when having newer and better stuff becomes the benchmark for success, we have real core issues.
Will Barak pave the way for such a revolution? Not likely. In fact, by its nature, modern politics, being a function of what the polls dictate, will not be the mechanism for change. As a member of the education industry, I blame us for allowing our youth to be inculcated in the systems that have little to no moral metrics. Education in American has gotten so morally neutral that there are no rights or wrongs resulting in the economic and social realities that currently confront us. The truly disconcerting thing is that virtually everyone that is in a leadership position is a product of this system meaning that the probability of real lasting turnaround is quite low.
John's point about the gap between what Americans make versus what they spend is right on the mark. The real question is why does this gap exist?
Before we see a real turnaround in our economy, we have to see the equivalent of a moral revolution in our society and marketplace.
Our society has been marketing and sales heavy for such a long time that Joe American started believing the hype and trying to buy happiness and fulfillment through stuff. This is the logical conclusion for a society that can best be described as materialist. Materials and stuff are necessary and have their place, but when having newer and better stuff becomes the benchmark for success, we have real core issues.
Will Barak pave the way for such a revolution? Not likely. In fact, by its nature, modern politics, being a function of what the polls dictate, will not be the mechanism for change. As a member of the education industry, I blame us for allowing our youth to be inculcated in the systems that have little to no moral metrics. Education in American has gotten so morally neutral that there are no rights or wrongs resulting in the economic and social realities that currently confront us. The truly disconcerting thing is that virtually everyone that is in a leadership position is a product of this system meaning that the probability of real lasting turnaround is quite low.
Replies | 8 Total
January 11, 2008 at 2:14pm by Tim Tymchyshyn
Ron Paul will, for some reason I see this guy riding the dark horse throughout the American Elections
February 9, 2008 at 5:45pm by Ellen McGirt
Ron Paul? Really? I've got to believe it's Barack Obama in the political sphere. He's getting people to follow his vision and inspiring them to believe in something outside themselves, and has the crowds and delegates to prove it. It's a component of leadership that I think the electorate has been craving. Don't get me wrong, I think Ron Paul has certainly stirred the pot...
February 12, 2008 at 7:47pm by Steve Rosenbaum
This early in the year I guarantee you it's someone you never heard of. Predicting the future is a tough gig.
March 19, 2008 at 9:43am by John Agno
As we have pass the first 1/4 milestone of 2008, an unfortunate truth has become the greatest challenge. Whoever the leader is that provides a clear vision to overcome this economic depression or severe recessionary period will make the greatest public impact in 2008.
In the depression of pre-World War II Germany, that leader was Hitler.
Today, as Americans cut back on imported LCD TVs and Starbucks coffee, the U.S. consumer slowdown will undermine the global economy.
This consumer slump in the U.S. will affect business investments overseas, including factories that are springing up in China and elsewhere to feed American demand.
The rule for a prudent individual is simple: Don't spend more than you make. For a long time, the U.S. economy obeyed that rule. As far back as the 1960s, personal spending, adjusted for inflation, has basically tracked the overall growth of the economy, as measured by gross domestic product (GNP).
That pattern changed in the 1990s. As of the third quarter of 2007, the 10-year growth rate for consumption was 3.6%, vs. GNP growth for the same period of 2.9%. This difference represents an enormous gap. If consumer spending had tracked the overall economy over the past decade as it has in the past, Americans today would be spending about $600 billion less a year. The extra spending has amounted to a total of about $3 trillion since 2001.
The question now is how much of that extra $3 trillion we will have to give back?
April 10, 2009 at 12:28pm by Ken Wiseman
John's point about the gap between what Americans make versus what they spend is right on the mark. The real question is why does this gap exist?
Before we see a real turnaround in our economy, we have to see the equivalent of a moral revolution in our society and marketplace.
Our society has been marketing and sales heavy for such a long time that Joe American started believing the hype and trying to buy happiness and fulfillment through stuff. This is the logical conclusion for a society that can best be described as materialist. Materials and stuff are necessary and have their place, but when having newer and better stuff becomes the benchmark for success, we have real core issues.
Will Barak pave the way for such a revolution? Not likely. In fact, by its nature, modern politics, being a function of what the polls dictate, will not be the mechanism for change. As a member of the education industry, I blame us for allowing our youth to be inculcated in the systems that have little to no moral metrics. Education in American has gotten so morally neutral that there are no rights or wrongs resulting in the economic and social realities that currently confront us. The truly disconcerting thing is that virtually everyone that is in a leadership position is a product of this system meaning that the probability of real lasting turnaround is quite low.
April 10, 2009 at 12:28pm by Ken Wiseman
John's point about the gap between what Americans make versus what they spend is right on the mark. The real question is why does this gap exist?
Before we see a real turnaround in our economy, we have to see the equivalent of a moral revolution in our society and marketplace.
Our society has been marketing and sales heavy for such a long time that Joe American started believing the hype and trying to buy happiness and fulfillment through stuff. This is the logical conclusion for a society that can best be described as materialist. Materials and stuff are necessary and have their place, but when having newer and better stuff becomes the benchmark for success, we have real core issues.
Will Barak pave the way for such a revolution? Not likely. In fact, by its nature, modern politics, being a function of what the polls dictate, will not be the mechanism for change. As a member of the education industry, I blame us for allowing our youth to be inculcated in the systems that have little to no moral metrics. Education in American has gotten so morally neutral that there are no rights or wrongs resulting in the economic and social realities that currently confront us. The truly disconcerting thing is that virtually everyone that is in a leadership position is a product of this system meaning that the probability of real lasting turnaround is quite low.
April 10, 2009 at 12:28pm by Ken Wiseman
John's point about the gap between what Americans make versus what they spend is right on the mark. The real question is why does this gap exist?
Before we see a real turnaround in our economy, we have to see the equivalent of a moral revolution in our society and marketplace.
Our society has been marketing and sales heavy for such a long time that Joe American started believing the hype and trying to buy happiness and fulfillment through stuff. This is the logical conclusion for a society that can best be described as materialist. Materials and stuff are necessary and have their place, but when having newer and better stuff becomes the benchmark for success, we have real core issues.
Will Barak pave the way for such a revolution? Not likely. In fact, by its nature, modern politics, being a function of what the polls dictate, will not be the mechanism for change. As a member of the education industry, I blame us for allowing our youth to be inculcated in the systems that have little to no moral metrics. Education in American has gotten so morally neutral that there are no rights or wrongs resulting in the economic and social realities that currently confront us. The truly disconcerting thing is that virtually everyone that is in a leadership position is a product of this system meaning that the probability of real lasting turnaround is quite low.
November 13, 2009 at 7:00pm by Stephen Peters
That was the year that was.