Egomania–Over Believing Our Strengths

Who would have thought Toyota would be brought to its Prius knees because of quality problems?  Who would have thought one of the most disciplined athletes of our time, Tiger Woods, would be so sexually reckless?  Certainly not many of us would have predicted Toyota’s or Tiger’s challenges.  And while it’s tempting to be critical or even condemning, their trials have a common thread that are at the root of all our challenges.  It’s simply this.  Often our greatest failings are found in over-believing our strengths.  And when our strengths are extraordinary we can’t help but think we’re special.  We delude ourselves into thinking that our specialness exempts us from failure, so we ignore the signs of it until it overwhelms us.  The saying is, “Nothing fails like success.”  Which means that extraordinary and consistent success forms mental cataracts that eventually blind us to our failings and weaknesses.  This becomes worse when we are surrounded by an entourage of flatterers who make our blindness darker.

The catastrophe of Toyota is rooted in organizational ego disorder (OED).  For years Toyota led the world in automotive and manufacturing quality.  Business leaders, engineers and researchers from around the globe made pilgrimages to Toyota to learn the secrets of continuous improvement.  Toyota truly set world standards of quality so when drivers started complaining their cars were potential killing machines due to something frighteningly called sudden acceleration and Prius’s, of all cars, had broken brakes, it was natural for Toyota to blame the drivers.  The thinking goes, “We build the best cars in the world; therefore nothing could be wrong with the cars.  It must be our customers.”  When we think we’re invincible or even extraordinary at something we can hardly resist becoming the last place to look when something goes wrong.

First we deny there is a problem.  Next we blame others for it, and finally we say it doesn’t matter.  These three ego defenses give us three off-ramps to seeing the truth and making changes.  When something is going wrong, denying the problem is guaranteed to escalate its damage.  The wisest among us embrace the truth, welcome feedback and hunger for improvement.  Blame of course is always tempting. “She drove me to it” is the common excuse for infidelity or cheating at anything.  Blame is inviting because we are world class at it.  It’s usually rooted in some truth.  The best excuses are always supported by our carefully selected evidence.  After all, I am sure some drivers do step on the gas instead of the brakes when they panic and every spouse provides ample reasons to seek a “better” partner.  But so what?  We aren’t off the hook for all the evidence we choose to ignore.

But our worst ego-failing is the last.  Saying bad stuff doesn’t matter because I am great is the ultimate moral failure.  We’ll see if Tiger can make a heroic comeback.  It’s very tempting for people who are truly great at something to give themselves a free pass on all the things that cripple them.  Just ask any successful politician, singer, actor or sports star.

So what’s the best thing we can do? Be hungry learners.  Seek feedback.  Always invest in our own growth.  Invest in our strengths but always manage our weakness.  Make no excuses.  Don’t blame or rationalize.  Who you are, what you do, what we say all matters.  Most of all we need to take responsibility to clean up our own messes.  That is the essential first step of becoming a decent human being.  And remaining decent is a daily challenge for all of us.

Independence Day and Our American Dream

I’ve been giving speeches and writing about the American Dream for the past 5 years my quest has been to discover what our dream is for the 21st century. Today I have a powerful conviction that deep down we know we have the solutions to our own confusion. Answers seem to be on the tips of our tongues, like a memory that has just slipped our mind. The answers we seek are already embedded in our spiritual wiring; we are merely fumbling in the dark for the switch to turn the lights on.

Amidst the darkness of the evening news, the never-ending war in the Middle East, the decline of the middle class, the tidal wave of national debt, and the corruption of our institutions, there is another voice calling out. A voice calling for a rebirth of vision. A vision in which the greatest good for each and all is once again the ideal. It’s a new model of governing without the corruption of special interest and financial favors. A new model of sustainable enterprise that aims for the Greatest Total Value for all. A new model of personal action based on understanding our own unique design and our most noble human desires.

This is all more than a dream. It is The Dream. The Dream envisioned by the most inspiring human phrase, “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” It is time to dream again. Will you?

A recent survey reported in the Harvard Business Review reveals that Baby Boomers and Generation Y have a lot in common (July/August 2009, p. 71). This is the first time parents (Boomers age 50+) and their children (Gen Y age 22 to 32) have been in the same work place in large numbers. Both generations are about the same total size, 70-75 million. Generally these are two generations that like each other. About 1/3 of Gen Y children talk to their parents everyday! So now Gen Y and many Boomers battered by the world we created have found common ground.

Here’s what we want! The genuine American Dream. The exhausted refugees of Boomer World and their meaning-hungry children find themselves longing for the same five things.

We want enduring relationships and families that work.

Love, loyalty and intimacy are our greatest needs because that’s what has been missing. It’s time for a re-commitment to commitment. For our children and us.

We want a lifestyle we both value and enjoy.

We want to live in a safe, attractive place we can afford. We want to do things that feed our soul and engage our emotions. We want community, meaning and sanity. For our children and us.

We want a career that embodies our Dream.

Neither a job nor a profession alone is a career. Our whole Dream Life is our career. We want real work with real meaning and real rewards. Over 85 percent of us want our work to make an important contribution to society. We want flexibility, autonomy and to be rewarded for results. We want to make a meaningful contribution, express our talents and follow our interests. For our children and us.

We want growth.

We want the tools to reinvent ourselves as often as we choose to in this constantly changing world. We want to learn whatever we need in order to excel at our priorities. We want affordable, efficient, stimulating education and access to enriching experiences. We want spiritual growth. For our children and us.

We want real leadership.

We demand truth, not spin or hype. We’re bombarded daily by a barrage of exaggeration and outright lies. People we should be trusting shamelessly offer denial, blame and rationalizations to worm out of their own failures. We have become a nation of skeptics because our leaders are less than we need them to be. We want leadership of vision, substance and honesty. In our homes, factories, stores, schools, banks and churches…everywhere.

We are that X factor. Our common values are powerful. Imagine how good our world will be when we live according to these aspirations. This is an exciting time in human history. How you and I act, right here and right now, is crucially important. The counterfeit American Dream invented by mass marketers that reduced our vision to a McMansion, a new car and a platinum credit card is up in flames. Many more of us are focusing on improving more than our material standard of living. It is time to create a standard of life that we are willing to pass on to our children. It is time to stop arguing over trivia and stand for our ideals that will inspire future generations.

In the best possible society, everyone can enjoy their Life and their Liberty and pursue real Happiness. We can literally save the future if we act on our beliefs and change our behavior right now. As we change, our institutions change. When we lead, our leaders will follow. We must take the lead. If we hope to change the world, we must change our world first.

It matters. The American Dream will only be reclaimed one dream at a time. Only when enough of us stand up for our real dreams of a sustainable future will the entire energy of our culture rise up to transform the world. Only our noble vision will save our future. All we have to do is start right where we are. Today.

Opposition to New Bailouts (An Open Letter to Congress)

Dear Congressmen:

 

I am writing to urge you to vote no on the proposed bailout of the auto industry. 

Prior to the initial bailout being past we heard the following statements: 

“…There is the possibility that there will be no economy on Monday.”

-Henry Paulson 

“..If we don’t get it solved next week, I may have to go back to delivering papers.”

-Warren Buffet 

Despite promises of transparency, no golden parachutes for executives, infusions of money to revitalize the credit markets, we have received none of these things. In fact the bailout appears to be one of the most expensive scams ever pulled on the American people.  Now we want to bailout the auto manufactures? They continued to resist new fuel standards, and safety standards. In some cases they covered known safety defects, and have used their power to destroy smaller, more advanced and efficient newcomers like the Tucker that could have revolutionized the industry. 

Are these companies too big to fail? I would suggest that perhaps they are too big to succeed. 

If these companies truly have something to contribute to our country, they will find the way to reinvent themselves.  Or they will die and make way for smaller more nimble companies like Tesla motors. 

Bailing these companies out is the multi billion dollar equivalent to repeatedly buying an expensive new cell phone for a careless child. Having learned that there are no consequences for the behavior, the will continue to repeat it, and drain the resources of this country. 

I am very aware of the consequences that the death of one of these giants could have.  I would suggest however that bailing them out will be like handing an alcoholic a bottle of alcohol to help them, and us, avoid the immediate pain of having them face facts. The answer to this nations problems lies not in supporting unsustainable industry, but by encouraging smaller industries that are innovative and efficient. 

Please vote no on the bail out (amendment of existing bail out) of the auto manufacturers and focus on the long term good of the country. 

Sincerely,

Tim Snodgrass

Any ideas or comments we should add prior to sending?

The 4th American Revolution

There are so many things wrong with the world today from economic turmoil, poor education, mass poverty, etc., but we also are living at a great time in history in which we can make a difference.  Today we can ride the waves of change.  And if we are willing to surf the energy of the storm we can enjoy the power of the ever-changing ocean rather than fear it.

Luckily there are plenty of surfers already in the water.  When you see unexpected people do unexpected things, or unexpected organizations behave in new ways, or new institutions begin to blossom, you can be sure change is accelerating.  Let’s look at five areas:

Popular Culture

We see it in our popular culture.  We are not surprised when Oprah calls out for greater social justice and personal integrity.  We are amazed, though, when rock star Bono does it not only with passion but also with intelligent action.  Or when playboy actor George Clooney travels to Darfur or bad boy Brad Pitt and over-the-edge Angelina Jolie adopt orphans and choose to live part-time in Africa.  Whether you believe these are sincere expressions or publicity stunts is beside the point.  Popular culture is shifting.

Philanthropy

We see it in philanthropy.  When Bill Gates resigns from business and convinces Warren Buffet to give his fortune to solve society’s problems or when Bill Clinton’s Foundation brings together a community of global leaders, university students, and private citizens to identify and implement innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges, including poverty alleviation, climate change, global health, and education. And when large-scale giving is built into the core business models of corporations such as Google and eBay, something is up.

Business

We see it in business.  When eco-conscious Patagonia clothing company pioneers the use of organic cotton in tee-shirts, it’s cool.  When they teach Wal-Mart how to do it, it’s jaw dropping.  When the largest for-profit company in the world transforms itself into the largest seller of organic food, fair trade coffee and organic clothing in the globe, when it converts part of its truck fleet to alternative fuel and mandates recycling, we must sit up and take note.

Countries

When countries like Denmark get much of their power from the wind, we are not impressed.  Most macho Americans think Europeans are eco-weenies.  But when big box stores like Circuit City and Target are putting solar panels on their stores and warehouses to cut their energy costs, we take notice.  New companies like SunEdison have created a brand new business by installing the solar panels for free in exchange for a 10-year contract to buy the generated electricity.  Yes, when mainstream entrepreneurs and venture capital firms begin to scale large businesses using new solutions that are better for everyone, something is happening.

Globalism

We see it in globalism.  Fifteen years ago the quality movement took off.  Standards of manufacturing quality were accelerated when international manufacturing standards were adopted.  Soon, large manufacturers and retailers were demanding parts and products built in factories that were certified.  What’s happened is a revolution in quality.  Our expectations of the things we buy, how they work and how long they should last have been dramatically raised because our worldwide manufacturing standards have.

Guess what?  In 2008, SA 8000, which are social accountability standards are being adopted in countries around the world.  They set standards for fair labor practices, overtime and child labor.  What started 10 years ago as protests against Gap and Nike for using sweatshops is now going mainstream.  Of course, there will always be cheaters and outlaws; that’s not the point.  The point is there is a rising tide of change that we can all participate in, that we can all help to accelerate.

Most of all we see it in our personal lives.  When our high school and college-age kids start volunteering more than Americans have in a century, it’s inspiring. When millions of Boomers begin seeking redemption from self-focused lives, it’s downright revolutionary.

What’s the Greatest Thing We Can Do?

Join the Revolution…Are you going to join the revolution?  Why or why not?

Four Qualities of a Great Elected Leader

As we look out across the panorama of world events, it is easy to feel that the world is out of control like a derelict ship with no one at the helm. In such times as these it is easy to look around and focus on what is wrong. It is time to ask, what kind of leader do we really need? Who can take the helm and successfully lead us through the storm of human events?

Listed here are four of the qualities that I believe to be hallmarks of a great elected leader.

1. They see leadership as a position of responsibility, not entitlement.
   Great leaders understand that they are one piece of a greater whole and are careful not to put their needs ahead of those of the community they serve. They understand that the greatest benefit to the individual comes from the success of the group and are willing to make personal sacrifice towards that end. I recently ran across a quote from Ken Blanchard that expresses this concept beautifully.

   “Too many leaders act as if the sheep, their people, are there for the benefit of the shepherd, not that the shepherd has responsibility for the sheep.” –Ken Blanchard
   

2. They have a vision based on the needs, dreams, and desires of their constituents.
   Great leaders understand the needs, dreams, and desires of the people they lead. They also understand that these things do not create themselves. Great things may be inspired by one man or women, but they are created through cooperation, and cooperation requires a blueprint. They envision the goal and surround themselves with the types of visionaries and experts that can help to create that blueprint.
   
3. They inspire people to adopt the vision.
   Although great leaders follow the will of the people, they are not passive. They understand that each man and woman represents the energy to accomplish great things. If that energy is left untapped it can become stagnant or even destructive. They avoid stagnation by capturing the attention of the people and focusing it on their shared greater potential. Because the leader is unafraid to sacrifice, he or she can ask for sacrifice in return. The leader does not ask the people to follow his or her personal agenda but to reach for their own shared dreams, and he has a plan to guide them in that quest. By communicating his vision with passion he breeds confidence and lights the fires of inspiration.
   
4. They adapt, improvise, and overcome.
   “Adapt, improvise, and overcome” is a long held mantra of the U.S. Marine Corp, but it is also a quality of the great leader. They understand the types of obstacles that can arise in the pursuit of great things. They are not inflexible, listen to advice, and adjust their strategy as necessary, while keeping focused on the goals of the people whom they serve. They create an environment in which challenges can be met with innovative solutions. Innovation is encouraged, allowed to progress with minimal interference, and rewarded. The great leader is not constrained by the status quo but seeks to transcend it, and society benefits as a result.

We need such leaders today. Just as they must have the courage to lead us boldly, we must have the courage to choose boldly and to insist upon the kind of leadership we need and deserve.

What is the greatest thing we can do to get the kind of leaders we deserve?

Slaves to Debt

Making money with money, that’s where the real money is. The banks of today are mammoth multinational financial machines.  Interest rate restraints vanished in the ‘90’s and America’s debt soared.  Since our wages stalled years ago, we’ve financed our lifestyle with debt.  Americans have lived on our home equity lines and credit cards.  Our home equity has paid for exotic trips and new cars.  We stripped the value of an appreciating asset to buy depreciating assets.  Then our appreciated assets suddenly depreciated themselves.  We are now paying the price for such greed and irresponsibility with what’s been called by many including the Wall St. Journal as the

“worst crisis since the 1930’s.”

Yes the greed of Wall Street and deregulation is to blame, but so is the excessive American lifestyle that is supported by debt.  In “A Silver Lining to the Financial Crisis” Morgan Housel states,

“The larger picture is that it wasn’t just Wall Street gorging on more debt than they could handle and taking excessive risks. It was nearly everybody. By 2005, over a quarter of Americans’ income went toward revolving debt payments. Debt was the lifeblood of the economy, and the chickens have come to roost.”

The average American household owes $9200 in credit card debt.  Half of cardholders pay only the minimum payment each month.  Creditors send out statements within seven days of the due date, and then suddenly, oops, you’re late - you now pay penalty fees and jump to a 27% interest rate.  Banks make more on penalty payments than on interest. What a business! (See also Credit Card Industry Facts (2006-2007)

You see, when maximizing shareholder value became gospel, everything legal became ethical.  The taboo against predatory lending was labeled old-fashioned.  Predatory lending lures unsophisticated people into borrowing money they have no reasonable hope of paying back quickly.  There used to be laws against it.  Not anymore.  Today there are more strip-mall paycheck loan stores than McDonald’s.  They charge an average 300% interest and their customers take out an average of 13 “loans” per year.   They make Junior Soprano look like Mother Theresa.  Many loans charge interests and fees of over 1000%.

Five billion “pre-approved” credit card offers a year now flood our homes, and lots of them are going to our teenage children.  Our nation’s largest 100 universities make over $300 million a year selling our children’s data to banks for credit solicitation Why would anyone offer credit to impulsive, inexperienced, desire-crazed teenagers before they’ve ever held a job? Simply to create a life-long relationship.

There is current proposed credit card legislation, the Credit Card Holders Bill of Rights, but it faces an “uphill climb on Capitol Hill” and apposed lobbying by the banking industry.  “Credit Card ‘Bill of Rights’ Inches Forward” discusses how the legislation has provisions such as credit card companies are required to give cardholders 45 days notice of any interest rate increases, retroactive rate increases are prohibited unless the card holder is more than 30 days late, and billing statements must be sent 25 calendar days before the due date under the legislation. The article also states that Barack Obama has proposed his own credit card bill of rights as part of his economy plan that would among other things apply interest rate increases only to future debt, prohibit interest on fees, and ban unilateral charges. We could find no specified credit card rules from McCain’s camp.

Regulations may help, if they ever come to be, but the problem is moneylenders are eager to sell us “priceless” experiences followed by years of debt slavery and too many of us are too eager to take the bait.  For moneylenders, the best thing that could happen is that we spend a lifetime in debt.  Our job is just to keep the interest current.  In fact, if we could pass on our debts to our children, they all like that even better.  Want proof?  Watch for 50 and 100-year mortgages.  They are coming.  Eternal, endless balances earning daily interest.  Have you seen the T.V. commercials to buy furniture and TV’s today with no payment for five years?  That’s modern America.  It’s the reverse of delayed gratification.  It’s delayed responsibility.  We start paying for stuff after it’s old, broken, or used up.

It used to be we borrowed to build factories and do research.  We borrowed to invest in our future.  Now we simply borrow our future.

Today, most Americans, maybe 80%, are slaves to debt, the price of oil, and the costs of education.  But increasingly, the top 20% who run business, government and the media tell us it’s our own fault.  If life is stressful, it’s because we made it that way.  The free market is sacred, and it’s what makes America great.  The selfish, lucky and advantaged have always said that, but what if free markets don’t really exist?  What if government favors the big public companies and harms and restrains smaller businesses that actually create jobs, growth and innovation?  What if free trade is not fair trade at all?  What if we allow foreign piracy of our intellectual ideas and encourage the “dumping” of under priced foreign-made goods on our shores to keep consumer prices low?  What if we foster an economy that creates millions of low paying jobs that only a poor immigrant would do because it allows our big employers to avoid investing in the development of their employees’ skills, safety, health insurance, and working conditions?

America’s economic genius has come from public policy that allowed ordinary, hard working, responsible folks to become extraordinary. Unfortunately, the business sector has gotten so concentrated, powerful, and wealthy from the results of technology and globalism it has become the patron of our government, corrupting the very system that originally made them succeed.  And that problem is unlikely to end no matter whose elected.  The financial bailout is causing mergers that will only make the concentration of power, wealth, and corruption worse.

The problem with unrestrained capitalism is that it rewards monopolies, which promotes bureaucracy and exploitation, losing innovation and efficiency in the process.  Using government to tame capitalism’s abuses is a losing battle because government itself is so vulnerable to corruption.  The private business and the public sector have become locked in a lethal partnership that is burning up our trust, our hope, and our natural resources.

What’s the Greatest Thing We Can Do?

We must create our own “Citizen” Economy, which means:

1.  Spend less than we earn.

2.  Create career capabilities that will enable us to earn money until we’re 80 or beyond.

3.  Develop a personal relationship with a banker at a local commuity bank or local credit union.  Most small banks and credit unions do not play the Wall St. game.  Most are responsibly managed by local people.  Often their interest rates are lower, fees lower, and value your relationship.  By supporting local financial institutions, you are making a statement of resistance against money-center banks who play financial casino games an make most of their profit from charging you fees for your mistakes.

Oil Dependence and the Energy Crisis

Oil. Oil. Oil. According to Oil Industry Profit Review 2007, “in 2007 the oil industry recorded revenues of approximately $1.9 trillion, of which 78% was accounted for by the five major integrated oil companies. Profits for the industry totaled over $155 billion, 75% of which were earned by the five major oil companies, with the largest, ExxonMobil, earning over 25% of the total profit.” Isn’t it outrageous that they’re making billions – record profits – while our monthly gasoline bill has doubled?  You’ll be comforted to know that a spokesman for the American Petroleum Institute has stated that the oil companies have a fiduciary responsibility to make as much money as possible.  And they take that responsibility very seriously.  Nearly five hundred billion oil soaked profit dollars over the past five years.  Wow, I feel better already.

Why are we dependent on foreign oil when we had a major energy crisis in 1973?  Why does our economy still run on oil?  How could we allow ourselves to be so dependent on Middle Eastern oil when we have to worry about who is running those countries?

Because there is money to be made.  Our continued dependence on fossil fuel is the single greatest leadership failure of the past three decades.  Almost no progress has been made in our country.  And yet, wind energy supplies nearly a quarter of many European countries’ energy and within a decade will supply half.  There is enough wind blowing in Texas and South Dakota to supply all U.S. energy needs at a current cost of 4 cents per Kilowatt-hour.

Why don’t we change?  Are we really afraid the short-term costs of change are greater than the long-term benefits of fossil fuel free renewable energy?  Is our current stumbling and bumbling really the best we can do?

How can such leadership blunders happen?  Are we really too stupid to see that a reliance on oil and building bad cars is going to hurt all of us?  No.  Corporate and government leaders are smart people.  But we can never underestimate the capacity of smart people to act stupidly if money is to be made.

Who’s really crazy?  We are.  We created this poison and continue to drink it.  We all know the answer and have for a long time.   Some of us are taking matters into our own hands.  A friend of mine, just a regular guy with a small chemical business, just started Pirate Oil.  It is a bio-fuels company supplied with used vegetable oil by In-and-Out Burger and Taco Bell.  It gives a whole new meaning to “trans-fats.”  He already has contacts with local truck fleets for thousands of gallons a week.

But we need more than just wringing oil out of french fries to solve our problems.  We need a full-tilt, no-holds barred national commitment to convert our civilization to renewable energy.   Our current effort is a joke.  Small window dressing.  All we really have are PR announcements and pleas for conservation.  In reality, we have done nothing in decades.  It is time for bold, big action.

So what do the presidential candidates propose?  Here is a brief overview of Obama’s plan.

• Enact a windfall tax on Big Oil, and use money to provide an Energy Rebate to Americans
• Get 1 million plug-in hybrids on the road by 2015, and provide a tax credit for buying these cars
• Ensure 25% of our energy comes from clean, renewable sources by 2025
• Implement cap programs aimed at reducing greenhouse emissions 80% by 2050

Here is a brief overview of McCain’s energy plan.

• Expand domestic oil and natural gas exploration and production
• Focus on wholesale reform of the transportation sector, and enforce current CAFE standards
• Expand “clean coal” programs, and build 45 new nuclear power plants by 2030
• Implement programs aimed at reducing greenhouse emissions by 66% by 2050

So what do you think?  Is it enough?  Can it be implemented?  The imperative for this commitment is beyond question.  Anyone with children knows this.  Of course there are a million “hows” to be answered.  But the “what,” the conversion of our civilization from bad energy to good, is an outrageous emergency.  The only thing at stake is everything we value.

What’s the Greatest Thing We Can Do?  Yes, we must conserve, but also we must make noise.  We must demand our leaders do something real, do something big.  Now.  It’s time to end the energy crisis.

Do Corporations Run Our Government?

Our government has an even bigger problem than granting financial favors to the well connected.  The General Services Agency, GSA, is responsible for managing our massive federal government.  Well, for over 15 years they’ve outsourced the job.  That’s right, beginning under Bill Clinton and expanded by George Bush our leaders have created a 4th branch of government of private contractors that do everything from check our income taxes, run federal purchasing and our governments massive data system.  They run our social services programs, Medicare, social security, make our weapons, serve our soldiers food…just about everything.  Government costs continue to explode not because government employment is growing, but because government contracting is out of control—literally.

Only 48% of government contracts were competitively bid in 2005.  It was nearly 80% five years ago.  Guess who provides contract oversight for you and me?  You guessed it.  A government contractor that’s been investigated for corruption! The same contractor who supplied interrogators to the Abu Ghraid Iraq prison.  No, this is not a joke.  It is our outrageously corrupt system.

Of course, we’re told outsourcing saves us money.  Right.  Audits show that government contracts pay an average of twice the cost of pay of benefits for federal workers doing the same jobs.  Moreover, contractors often don’t have oversight, routinely miss deadlines, and even abandon projects.  So how can a farsighted businessperson get such good work?  Why, pay your dues of course.

The top 20 service contractors have spent nearly $300 million on lobbying and over $20 million on political campaigns in the past 5 years. The most disturbing thing about becoming a “government run by corporations” is that corporate allegiance is to shareholders and executives, not to you and me who pay them with our taxes.  Public servants no longer are serving us.  Rather we’re being had.

Is it any wonder we haven’t been able to provide our soldiers with adequate armor or rebuild hurricane-ravished states?  Our current president is right about one thing–we don’t need more taxes.  Probably 30% of our taxes are just wasted. Yours and my money in someone else’s wallet.

The Congressional elections, which swept up the “bad” Republicans and replaced them with Democrats, had everyone hoping for the best.  We voters sent a message that corrupt politics with special interests writing laws, backroom government contracts, and outright bribery and payoffs was revolting.  So we threw the bastards out.  Or so we thought.  Within a week of conquering Congress, Democrats were crafting high-sounding ethics reforms with loopholes big enough to fly private jets through.  It turns out they are just as dependent on corrupt system of campaign finance as the Republicans. Duh.

We all know there is only one solution.  Sweeping change.  Strict new black and white rules.  Campaigns for national public office cannot be funded except by public money.  Campaign spending limits on money from any source must be mandated.  Congress will never reform itself.  Like alcoholics at a never-ending open bar, they keep making up excuses why one more drink is actually a good thing.  Well, anytime yours and my tax money is spent on ANYTHING that is not openly debated is just not fair.  It’s called taxation without representation.  I believe we already fought a revolution over that one.

Since Congress is too addicted to their votes-for-favors program, there is probably only one way faith in Congress can be restored: campaign finance reform has to happen at the state level.  We must find ways to satisfy the Supreme Courts ideas on free speech by actually protecting it instead of allowing special interests to buy it.  When a candidate has to spend over 500 million smackers on a presidential campaign, democracy is badly broken.

Our states must pass laws prohibiting spending campaign money other than that provided by the taxes you and I pay.  If we don’t make our elected representatives beholden to each one of us, they’ll remain beholden to the deep pockets that already yank their chains.  Before you protest let me remind you this won’t cost us money.  In fact, it will save us hundreds of billions of the unjust tax breaks, subsides, outrageous government contracts, and backroom deals our taxes fund today.  How important is this?  It is essential to save our nation.  Otherwise, our government’s vision of our common good will increasingly degenerate into a parody of democracy.  Don’t write your Congressman.  He’s too busy golfing for dollars.  Write your Governor…?  Is the only way to get change to shame one politician to reform the other.

As Tim pointed out, we need to remove ineffective politicians from office.

What’s the Greatest Thing We Can Do?

Question #16: How do we come up with a solution to remove ineffective politicians from office.  Any ideas?

America’s Future Economy

What is the state of America’s future economy?  Are we fit to lead?  The great ethos of America is to be the world’s leader.  We are supposed to be a great example of values, inventiveness, and hard work in action.  But lately, we are far from this.  The Wall Street crisis is a sobering example. Adam Shell in USA Today discusses the world’s view of Wall Street.  He states,

“[Wall Street] has long been viewed as the triple-A-rated center of the financial world, a trusted place to invest, and a role model for emerging financial centers around the globe.  But that was before Wall Street banks emerged as the central villains in the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression. Before the exotic securities backed by risky mortgages that they created — and peddled around the world to investors — plunged sharply in value, causing economic mayhem. Before banks, insurers and mortgage companies started to fail at an alarming rate.”

If we cannot make our own society fairer, healthier and less corrupt, what hope does the world have?

Despite the sobering picture I have just painted, America is in a strong position to lead once again–if we choose to.  As the world frantically scrambles to be us, we have the unique advantage of already having been us.  We have seen the pitfalls of a “More Is Better” philosophy and are poised to lead the world forward into the “Better Is Better” era.  We are the only nation with vantage point to do that.  We have learned the hard lessons.  Lessons that can be taught.  Lessons the rest of the world need.

Revolution is in our hands.  It’s time to usher the world into the future instead of fighting with other nations for the crumbs of the past.  How do we do it? Let me hear your ideas.

A few of my ideas…

We need the vision and the will to stand for the future we want.  Then we begin to ask different questions.

America’s 20th century economy was built on the automobile.  Even today one in seven U.S. jobs is directly or indirectly linked to the car economy and the fossil fuel energy it depends on.   But lately, more of our economic growth has been tied to advances in both digital and biological technology.  The 21st century could be the bio-digital age.  One thing for sure, depending on cars and oil as our economic engine will only lead to our decline.  It’s time for a new direction.  We have historic strengths that the future of our civilization depends on.  It’s time for us to make new investments, huge investments, in our future rather than trying to maintain the past.  What if those investments were: 1) Revolutionizing life-long education 2) Zero-waste manufacturing and consumption, and 3) Human health and vitality?

Educating the Future

Historically, America has always been a world leader in educating its citizens.  Now it’s time to educate the world’s citizens using low cost, digital multi-media delivery supported by an army of tutors and teachers who will erase illiteracy, promote health, and give the world the knowledge and know-how to create sustainable solutions to their local problems.  The quality of our world’s future depends on the quality of education.  And our new future demands education starts at birth and continues until the lights are out. We need to maximize educational efficiency and impact. We need a new model in which all of us are constantly learning, evolving and contributing in new ways.  If we looked at worldwide education as an economic opportunity we would see an endless market place. And as the global education demand explodes we could lower delivery costs and accelerate value.  What will this industry look like?  No one knows for sure.  What we do know is that it’s the world’s greatest need and that it’s mostly unmet.  So what if we learn to sell knowledge, skills, and ideas the way we have learned to sell Coke and Big Macs?

And one more thing, if we want to win the war on terror, we must win on the battlefield of education.  Ideas are cheaper than bullets and much, much more effective.

Industry the Future

The second essential 21st century industry is how to make and consume what we need and want in a way that heals the planet instead of destroying it.  Imagine a future in which an infinite supply of energy comes from the sun, wind, waves, or background radiation.  Imagine a future in which everything is manufactured from molecules instead of extracting resources from the earth.  Imagine a future in which things never wear out but can be continually improved and rebuilt.  This is a world where there is more than enough for everyone.  We can change the way we create and consume.  If you think this is too “out there”, think again.  It may be the only way we can all survive and thrive.  Yes all these technologies already exist and are being commercialized.  These ideas are no more far out than the Internet seemed 15 years ago.  Renewable energy, zero-waste manufacturing, zero-waste consumption.  If civilization is going to survive, these are the industries of the future.  Shouldn’t we stop moaning that stopping global warming is going to cost too much and become the world leader in creating the technologies to reverse it?  There is a lot of money to be made by saving the world.

Healing the Future

Third, we need to regain thought-leadership, ethical wisdom, and scientific effectiveness in biological and neuroscience.  The health of our bodies and minds is essential to our world’s future.  We need to stem the flow of leading scientists leaving our country.  We must over-invest in our research infrastructure to overcome the newest threats to mankind’s physical health and mental vitality.  With a fast approaching future of 10 billion humans, we must solve the challenges of world health or we will experience mass suffering on an unprecedented scale.  We are still in a position to do this.  But we are wasting daylight.

Don’t these “industries of the future”, education, zero-waste manufacturing, and neuro-biological health sound better than cars and oil?  Just as our nation invested in railroads and electricity in the nineteenth century, and the interstate highway system in the twentieth century to spur sustained, economic expansion, today, we as a nation must make extraordinary investments to create a new economy so our children may have jobs and our world a future.

How do we fund it?  End subsidies to corporations that raise tobacco and tax breaks to old industries like oil.  Invest the revenue in future industries. How about $700 billion intended to the crooks of Wall Street in the bailout plan? We can have an endless river of world-saving ideas if we unleash strategic innovation instead of strangle it.

What’s the Greatest Thing We Can Do?

Question #14: What are your world-saving ideas?

Are we ruining Mexico? Thoughts on Immigration

Immigration is an issue facing the 2008 Presidential candidates, although we haven’t heard much about it lately. John McCain co-sponsored Bush-backed immigration reform legislation, while Barack Obama supported it, which would have increased funding and improved border security technology, improved enforcement of existing laws, and provided a legal path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants. Both candidates also voted to authorize construction of a 700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexican border. Great.  But they aren’t dealing with all of the issues.

I originally posted a similar blog on the American Dream Project site back in March of 2007.  Many of you responded with compelling stories, ideas, and frustration.  I have copied those responses over as comments to this blog, as I felt your voices needed to be heard.

First of all, claiming that it’s all right to exploit Mexican workers in the U.S. because they do jobs we won’t do is twisted logic. If we have jobs only a desperate immigrant would do for exploitative wages, why do these jobs even exist?

There is zero evidence that Americans won’t do hard jobs that are safe and pay fair wages. So if we need Mexicans to do dangerous, toxic, dirty work for unfair wages there is something wrong with the morals of the exploiters. Slave owners also thought they were giving Africans a better life.

More importantly, illegal immigration is killing Mexico. Over half of Mexico’s 100 million citizens say they want to move to the U.S. Is that a good thing? The tens of thousands of young men and women leaving Mexico are Mexico’s most entrepreneurial, most resourceful of their vast underclass. There are entire towns and villages peopled only by the women and children left behind. The whole nation is dependent on the billions of dollars illegally employed family members send home creating a false economy. This creates price inflation in Mexico while robbing our economy of the purchasing power of the wages we are paying. Most of all Mexico remains unable to move behind a corrupt banana republic system of the rich and privileged making a mockery of democracy. The corruption of rich using laws and regulations preventing real capitalism from nurturing a middle class has created a country rich in resources sinking in greed and bribery.

Since it is unlikely we will annex Mexico, we must use our political, economic and investment policy to promote real reform. Access to quality education and capital must improve. The legal system must be made reliable. Misery as a way of life must end, and much more. All this may take decades. But is the alternative to have most of Mexico’s future sneak across our border?

As for us, never in our history has this number of immigrants come to America so fast. Where are schools, roads, hospitals, housing, water, sewers coming from? Is having 400,000 million Americans in the next 35 years really a good idea for anyone but big box retailers and fast food outlets? Is this really the best idea for our future?

What’s the Greatest Thing We Can Do?

Question # 14: Are we ruining Mexico?

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