Some Longer Term Thinking…

You know The 87th Lie really got me thinking… I do feel that the economic crisis has unveiled many weaknesses in our economy. I have a very simplified view of some potential solutions and I’m going to exercise my First Amendment rights here for a bit.

Job creation. Essentially, the US economy is driven by consumer spending. The first thing we must do is to stimulate job creation in new sectors that would give us a competitive global edge over the longer term. We have to not only create a sustainable domestic market, but must also be able to go on to become suppliers to the world in these sectors. Somewhere down the line, clean energy, clean water, and clean air will be the most important and most essential aspects of human life on an increasingly polluted earth. If you ask me, our water is not clean enough. Traces of drugs and other unhelpful contaminants could be found in water in many communities. And a simple Brita does not help that much. Imagine if the US can claim leadership in the cleanest and most cost-effective energy and water sources, as well as own the most advanced air filtration technologies. Building an industry like this would not only create many new and sustainable jobs, but would also improve our quality of life exponentially.


Better education system. In order to build a stronger economy, we must have a better education system. Aside from a few years of Catholic school, I attended public school up until high school and then attended a private university. When I was in college, I always felt my public school education put me at a disadvantage compared to classmates from Andover and other elite schools. Now it’s all water under the bridge, but the subjects covered in our classes up through high school are much too narrow. Moreover, did you ever learn anything in school that has still been applicable today aside from doing some simple math? Our education system needs to evolve with the times and this involves the creation of some new subjects that will gear tomorrow’s leaders towards greater creativity and innovation. In the short term, if we create some new subjects, many qualified people who have become unemployed could now have a new career opportunity as teachers. Over the longer term, the leaders of tomorrow will be much more educated and intelligent, which benefits the economy in the future.

Legislation that encourages local employment, including lower corporate taxes and if really necessary, higher taxes for companies that outsource jobs to foreign countries.

Lower income taxes and gradually phase out social security. I was a bit unfair to The 87th Lie. John R. Talbott made a very critical comment in favour of Generation X & Generation Y. We are being over-taxed whilst the Baby Boomers remain one of the wealthiest demographic groups in the universe. Everyone knows social security is like a junk bond anyway. By the time Generation X & Generation Y retire, it’ll be worth pennies on the dollar. Why should we have to fund the Baby Boomers’ retirement accounts? I would rather take the money now and save it (i.e. for my very first Hermes Birkin or even just stash it in my IRA – potential 88th Lie right there). In my opinion, only the Baby Boomers who have no retirement savings should receive any Social Security payments. I'm sure they were not counting on Social Security to pay the bills anyway. Generation X & Generation Y would then receive nothing in the future, but it would just be like cutting our losses. We still have years to prepare for retirement.