Does the U.S. Face a Japanese Style Stagnation?
This article by one of my favorite columnists, David P. Goldman, known as "Spengler" is a very negative take on the state of the American economy. I fear that it is largely correct.
As I read it, I began thinking a lot about the future of America. I apologize for what follows if it strikes some as a diatribe, but I am deeply concerned that very few are analyzing the core problems we face as a nation. Rather, I think m...any are simply trying to deal with symptoms, not causes.
The question we must begin to answer is what if all our assumptions and orthodoxies are wrong or wrong in their present formulations?
What if we do need a neo-protectionist economic plan focusing on exports to kickstart some form of a new American industrialism?
What if we need to actually cut spending as we cut taxes (something Republicans did not do during their last tenure in power)?
What if we need to reconceptualize the meaning of a sustainable economy to not just mean consume everything in sight but to save and earn as opposed to flash the plastic credit card?
What if we need to worry less about "identity politics" and more about being "in it together?"
These are just a few of the things we should be thinking about. In reality, its not "liberal" or "conservative," its "American."
We should all come to grips that being patriotic is about much more than waving the flag. We should also discard the silly notion that dissent for dissent sake should be a badge of honor.
Patriotism is about more than mere symbols, no matter how important they may be. It requires concrete actions.
Too many liberals complain about the "unfairness of the system" without looking within themselves to understand that often the very system they oppose is also the system that has historically bestowed more wealth upon more people than any other. Too many conservatives act as blind acolytes to the mantra that the market is king without fully realizing that the "market" is an amoral abstraction that does not care a whit about any single individual, but only destroys the old to make room for the new, irrespective of whether it should.
America needs a major overhaul in how it is governed, but it also needs to look in the mirror with each person asking- what can I do for my children and their children. This means that the stale dogma of both the past and the present should be discarded. We should look again and realize that not every tradition is an archaic irrelevancy, but that many can help us to survive better and with more honor than that with which we now live.
We are a tipping point in our history.
There is now the very real chance that America's best days are behind us. This is a new phenomena.
It is not preordained to be this way. Yet with everyday that political leaders avoid the tough decisions and each day that many in this country shrug their shoulder and say "I can't do anything about it," that which is not preordained slowly does become just as inevitable as if it happened through the actions some malign grand architect.
We can all do better, but it means starting now.
As I read it, I began thinking a lot about the future of America. I apologize for what follows if it strikes some as a diatribe, but I am deeply concerned that very few are analyzing the core problems we face as a nation. Rather, I think m...any are simply trying to deal with symptoms, not causes.
The question we must begin to answer is what if all our assumptions and orthodoxies are wrong or wrong in their present formulations?
What if we do need a neo-protectionist economic plan focusing on exports to kickstart some form of a new American industrialism?
What if we need to actually cut spending as we cut taxes (something Republicans did not do during their last tenure in power)?
What if we need to reconceptualize the meaning of a sustainable economy to not just mean consume everything in sight but to save and earn as opposed to flash the plastic credit card?
What if we need to worry less about "identity politics" and more about being "in it together?"
These are just a few of the things we should be thinking about. In reality, its not "liberal" or "conservative," its "American."
We should all come to grips that being patriotic is about much more than waving the flag. We should also discard the silly notion that dissent for dissent sake should be a badge of honor.
Patriotism is about more than mere symbols, no matter how important they may be. It requires concrete actions.
Too many liberals complain about the "unfairness of the system" without looking within themselves to understand that often the very system they oppose is also the system that has historically bestowed more wealth upon more people than any other. Too many conservatives act as blind acolytes to the mantra that the market is king without fully realizing that the "market" is an amoral abstraction that does not care a whit about any single individual, but only destroys the old to make room for the new, irrespective of whether it should.
America needs a major overhaul in how it is governed, but it also needs to look in the mirror with each person asking- what can I do for my children and their children. This means that the stale dogma of both the past and the present should be discarded. We should look again and realize that not every tradition is an archaic irrelevancy, but that many can help us to survive better and with more honor than that with which we now live.
We are a tipping point in our history.
There is now the very real chance that America's best days are behind us. This is a new phenomena.
It is not preordained to be this way. Yet with everyday that political leaders avoid the tough decisions and each day that many in this country shrug their shoulder and say "I can't do anything about it," that which is not preordained slowly does become just as inevitable as if it happened through the actions some malign grand architect.
We can all do better, but it means starting now.
Posted by Greg R Lawson at 12/15/2011 4:47 PM 
Categories: US Japan Economy World
Tags: US Japan Economy World
Categories: US Japan Economy World
Tags: US Japan Economy World
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