July the 4th is Independence Day in the United States. It’s exactly the right time to reflect on what it means to be American, and how America fits in the world. Yes, its more than fireworks, BBQ, and swimming pools.
Exactly six years ago, I blogged saying July 4. Great Country. Lots to Do. Even though I am 15% older, my sentiments have not changed. I ended the blog post with this list of “Next Steps” for this country I love. Well sadly, we have not made a lot of progress in the last 6 years. My comments in red.
- Improve balance sheet; gross federal debt increased from $16.7Trillion (2013) to $21.4Trillion (2019) here
- Resolve political grid lock; fairly awful. Hostile political environment. Low legislative productivity here.
- Reduce healthcare costs; rate of healthcare spending growth has slowed (good), to match economic growth (oh, not that great) here
- Double down on education and infrastructure; Dept of Education appropriation up from $65B in 2013 to $71B 2019 (win?) here and infrastructure spend from $430B in 2013 to $440B in 2019 (flat-ish) here
- Create equitable immigration policy; answer = no
- Reduce violent crimes and murders; yes, violent crimes are down (good) here. Note the economy is great.
- Encourage trust between diverse people(s); answer = no.
- Reduce the sense of entitlement; answer = no.
- Steward natural resources for future generations; answer = no.
Here’s a few thoughts on what is great, and not so great about America.
We need more G.E.Ms
Yes, we are going through some acronyms I just made up. G.E.M.
G = Generous
The US is a bountiful place, the breadbasket of the world. A net exporter of energy, education, and technology. This is the land of immigrants. The only people who “deserve” to live here are Native Americans, and Howard Zinn will tell you in History of America, (affiliate link) that settlers killed 90% of them. Americans are massively philanthropic. Think of the Giving Pledge here, where billionaires agree to give away 50%+ of their wealth before they die. There are a LOT of Americans on that list. Also, philanthropy is alive in well in the sub-billionaire group too.
E = Enterprising / Entrepreneurial
America has always offered opportunities to immigrants and people willing to learn, hustle, risk, and sell. The US has benefited from the inflow of human capital for a long time. Ambitious people want to live here. However imperfect, the US is based on market economics – which allows people to specialize and do what they do best. It (generally) rewards them for their efforts and self-corrects over time.
M = Many
There is not a country that is more heterogeneous (big GMAT word for diverse) than the United States. This is not Sweden, Japan, or Korea – where almost everyone is Swedish, Japanese, or Korean. My 3 neighbors’ parents all come from countries far, far, far from Atlanta.
- Neighbor on the right: 9,300km
- Neighbor across street: 3,900km
- Neighbor on the left: 13,000km
- My parents: 11,500km
Built for the future
For all our differences, I firmly believe that the US was built on a vision for the future. Not the past, not the present, the future. The Declaration of Independence (1776) was not just for the 2.5M people who lived in the budding country. The Constitution (1787) was a harbinger, not just for the 3.9M people in the 1790 census. Let’s not fool ourselves and think that our actions are only for today. Let’s think a little bit more strategically folks. Are there GEMs – generous, enterprising, many – in every state, income bracket, profession, and political party? Yes. Am I a GEM all the time – no way.
Too much F.E.A.R
So what’s the other side. What’s the side of the ugly that I see on the news all day?
F = Few
Yes, there are a few people (not 50% of the country), but just a few people on both sides of the political aisle who are ruining it for everyone. With 24/7 news, and a flood of social media, most of this is all noise. Sadly, vapid people with vitriol tend to gain audiences.
E = Entitlement
This echos for hundreds of different interest, and affinity groups. It is continually US vs. THEM. “We deserve ABC.” This is a difficult way to run a pluralist liberal democracy of 330 million people. If the game is just to atomize everyone into polarized groups, well, we ain’t got much of a country folks.
A = Anger
Self-explanatory. If we cannot have civil discussion with nuance and sincere discussions of trade-offs, then we all need to go back to remedial economics class. Also, it means our parents all did a bad job of raising us.
R = Resignation
Not sure when this started, and maybe I feel this way because I am getting old. Maybe, just maybe, this is not really true, but too much of the talk in the US is about how things can’t get better. Sometimes, it feels like “giving up” is the default setting. I disagree. Public education, can be reset. See Success Academy here. US Healthcare, can be solved holistically. See InterMountain Healthcare here. Are there fearful – few, entitled, angry, and resigned – people in each political party. Of course. Do I hit emotional low-spots and have F.E.A.R – of course.
What’s ahead?
The world is a better, safer, and more fair place than it has ever been. If you read Hans Rosling’s book Factfulness (affiliate link), or read Bill and Melinda Gates annual letters, you will be encouraged. Do great work, learn, have fun. Let’s start.