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SOME THOUGHTS ON
THE GLOBAL ECONOMY:
SELL AMERICA!
The global economy is here whether we like it or not. It means that products and services can be delivered virtually from any place to any place on earth. We are not only talking about cheap watches being imported from China, but also about computer programming for American projects taking place in India.
Obviously, American manufacturers in certain product areas will find themselves being overwhelmed by competition from low-wage countries. The other side of the coin, is that American consumers have access to less expensive products than they otherwise would.
Short term, the global competition may lead to very painful situations in less competitive industries, but in the long run there will be an adjustment and a specialization, following the old theories of ‘comparative costs’.
This gradual transition from non-competitive industries to the global economy reality requires long term planning and support, which is too sensitive and too important to be handled by politicians who only focus on the next election. There probably need to be some governmental and private planning boards who can ease the burden of phasing out of some industries and to give incentives to research and entrepreneurship in new areas.
This goes far beyond the NAFTA and tariff wars; it is pretty obvious that this country is doomed to lose many labor-intensive manufacturing industries. The hope is for cutting edge new industries and highly mechanized processes. Service industries are fine, but as long as we only service each other, the US Trade balance is not helped.
However, we do have one great asset which nobody can take away from us, and which has the potential of being the cash-cow for times to come. We have an absolute monopoly on this product, and we could use it to build supporting industries which will enrich our balance of trade. That product is called AMERICA!
We live in a fantastic land with breathtaking views “from sea to shining sea”, and there is an abundance of land available.
When Brita and I were teenagers, living in Europe, the dream for us, and everyone we knew, was to one day see America. In the post-WW2 era, everyone looked up to the US as the leader in technology, entertainment, business, etc. And it helped major parts of Europe to get back on its feet after the war.
Later generations and administrations have managed to turn that admiration into hate of our country in large parts of the world. Hopefully, we have reached the low point of that situation, and that we can start rebuilding our good reputation. That is an absolute necessity for us to succeed in the global economy.
MOVING PEOPLE AROUND....
If we want to make people from other parts of the world to come here and spend money, we need to find a way to bring them here quickly and inexpensively. We should take the lead in developing supersonic mass-transit vehicles. The obvious spin-off of a leadership in that area, is to be able to sell the vehicles not only as a way to bring people to America, but also to other nations interested in building bridges between other continents. Looks like Airbus may have a head start here...
Continuing the infrastructure for selling America, we need to create an American network of rapid-rail transportation, a sort of 21:st. century interstate system. At the nodes of this network, there need to be other ways of moving people to their local destinations. Theme parks, sports arenas, concert arenas, etc. will have local rail systems, leading directly from the mass transit nodes to those arenas.
What about individual local trips? A huge car rental station at each node filled with SUV’s? “Not exactly.” Yes, some way for people to make their own trips from a fleet of electrical or, at the very least, hybrid cars.
Creating and maintaining this network of communications will produce great employment opportunities for engineers, administrators and construction workers. The master plan needs to be created by some ‘blue ribbon’ function above the political parties, and major funding of the infrastructure may have to come from taxpayer money.
The actual implementation of the network and its attractions should be left to the ingenuity and competitiveness of private industry. It should be noted that much of these efforts will also result in a much needed upgrade of our current transportation system.
Once we have created the means to get a mass movement of tourists to our shores, we obviously have to give them a reason to take advantage of this opportunity to see our country. Much of that is already in place. We do have the breathtaking sceneries, and we do have our national parks - and for the families, the theme parks.
No doubt, American ingenuity and entrepreneurship will develop other types of attractions, based on hobbies, interest in wildlife, etc. etc. It just may be possible that some city planners create a new type of urban cluster, recognizing that electronic communications free us from the perceived need to build huge metropolitan areas.
Instead, someone may develop a functional urban unit, free from waste of time, fuel, and wear and tear on human minds in hours of senseless commuting twice every day! Now, if we succeed in using our space in such a wise way, wouldn’t study groups from other parts of the world come and see what we have accomplished? Perhaps, we could set a good example for the world instead of bullying it. A come back for the ’shining city on the hill’?
The list goes on and on. My point is that, in a global economy, we could build our strength around an industry, a resource, that is not exportable, and one that is completely in our control:
AMERICA
HOW CAN IT BE DONE?
Unfortunately, we have a terrible political system with two equally corrupt parties always focusing on winning the next election. Many supporters of the two parties consider elections a ‘ball game’ where everything the home team does is right, and everything the other team does is wrong.
Those two parties are controlled by money from large corporations or other special interest groups, a system that suits the media fine, because most of the money is used to buy TV time to win the next ‘ball game’. What are the chances that one of the two parties is going to launch a long range plan to make the country ready for the global economy?
Not great. But perhaps there is hope. So many things have gone so wrong lately that more and more people realize that ‘business as usual’ is no longer a viable option. Occasionally, the current system produces a leader with vision, who sets up long term goals for our nation. Kennedy and Reagan are two names that come to mind, but they were exceptions.
The hope is that real leaders emerge and turn their backs on the two current parties and generate massive support from the American people. Hopefully, sane people within the two major parties will decide to support what is good for our country, and they will be joined by a good chunk of the 50+ % of our population who don’t normally vote because they either don’t care, or they don’t like what is offered by the two parties.
If that happens, and we get a broad movement aimed at setting up long term goals which benefit the country, then only the narrow minded extremists will remain in the Republican and Democratic parties. (dream on, Kjell!)
WHAT ABOUT TERRORISM?
If we want to bring people from all over the world to visit America, aren’t we increasing the risk for terrorism? We have to assume that we can make a complete change in our foreign policy to regain the goodwill that was squandered. Instead of generating more terrorism, we need to make other people respect us for being open minded and friendly.
It is impossible to stop all terrorism; even if we had found a way to close all borders, even if the CIA/FBI folks never dropped any balls, even if Big Brother snooped all the books people read, there could still be bombings, like the one in Oklahoma City. Those terrorist attacks are the works of severely disturbed people, but they are exceptions.
There is a big difference between those random cases of terrorism and the systematic terror based on national, ethnic, or religious beliefs, triggered by an aggressor.
SUMMING IT UP......
*** Most of our traditional manufacturing industries will not be able to survive against low-cost competition in the global economy. We must carefully plan to move into new areas, where we are more competitive.
*** We have one unique asset which cannot be exported: Our vast and scenic country, which can be the basis for a major tourist industry, which may save our balance of trade.
*** To develop that industry, there needs to be a powerful ‘infrastructure’ to move people to and around this country. This includes supersonic, inexpensive transport between continents, and a network of high-speed rail and/or air transportation between hundreds of major nodes, as well as fuel-efficient local transportation.
*** In addition to spectacular landscape, national parks, theme parks, and other existing attractions, entrepreneurs will develop exciting tourist packages, based on major hobbies and other interests.
*** The plan assumes that visionary leaders of our country will outline this long range effort. It is vitally important that the current arrogant policy, resulting in hatred in many parts of the world, is replaced by a policy that builds respect and admiration for an open, friendly America.
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