Proud to be an American
The US is a truly blessed country, and it is no surprise that the waiting list for green card averages six years (depends on the country of origin). Supply and demand. People want to live here. People want to be American.
“If you are born in the United States, your glass is 95% full.”
This is what Warren Buffett said when he spoke to a group of 100+ MBA students (including me), in 2004. I completely agree. As Americans, we have a lot to be thankful for.
July 4. Today we celebrate
Wave the flag. Shoot fireworks. Be proud.
Tomorrow is a day to improve
There is a laundry list of things that the America needs to fix, if we want a future as bright as our past. Thomas Friedman highlights many of them in his awesome – if a bit depressing book – That Used to be US (affiliate link). Many of the things that made the US great in the past, are sorely lacking today. To mention just two:
Under-investment in Education
In the past, the US was a huge land of opportunity. Immigrants and returning soldiers (GI bill) were guaranteed a good education and a chance at social mobility. Not true any more. If you are poor in the US, the chances of getting a good public education is quite low.
- Education is funded by local real estate taxes; low house values = low taxes = low revenues to fund schools
- Teachers are not afforded the respect, salary, honor they deserve
- Education is more than a teachers job. Yo, parents – listen up.
Under-investment in Infrastructure
President Eisenhower created the world’s best transportation system 60 years ago in the US. The US was 50% of the world’s GDP after WWII and we had the infrastructure to support it. Not so any more. Forbes notes that 1 in 4 bridges is broken. We need better roads, ports, airports, electrical grids, everything.
In the era of cyber (in)security, too many of our infrastructure utilities, facilities, capabilities are vulnerable. We need to spend as much energy protecting our electrical grids as we do protecting our shores.
Crazy trivia. The US Highway Trust Fund gets its money from a gas tax. Unfortunately, it is set in 1993 dollars. Even though the price of gas has risen 3x since then, the tax dollars the US government gets per gallon is the same. No surprise, it is bankrupt.
I want the US to do better
It’s going to be a rough road ahead with all groups sacrificing something. All groups can’t have all their entitlements. The math does not work. Baby boomers are getting older, living longer, and getting sicker. It will strain the system more than ever. We all have to pull together to make this work. If this were a presentation to the country of the United States, the next steps page might look like this:
Unsurprisingly, this is the most daunting next steps I have ever seen.