Lisa Simpson
Apr 22,2010
In: Finance

Without joint Action Glory of the American Economic Empire would soon Fade into history

Without joint action glory of the american economic empire would soon fade into history.

The recession has cost America nearly 8.4 million jobs. The politicians and media are making only a lot of noise. None was getting to the root of the problem – structural defects. There are good reasons for skirting the main point because to remedy it would require a heavy hand. Meanwhile there is an alarming slide in the living standards of the country that has to be immediately addressed taking a long term view.

Governor Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania rightly focused on this at a conference (The Next American Economy: Transforming Energy and Infrastructure Investment) stressing on the point that if action was not taken quickly America would soon lose her position as the foremost power in the world.

The conference stood out because there were no sulks and accusations. The focus was on finding out new methods of development to set up an economy that would not be founded on financial games. It would have a solid base that would give the country a competitive edge in the world economy. This would give relief to the country from its dependence on outside energy.

All participants of the conference expressed their unanimous belief that without joint action the glory of the American economic empire would fade into history.
To save the economy would be required a sense of commitment and sacrifices. The beginning would have to be made right today. It would expect leaders to bring out the cream among the talented persons from all the streams of activity and not merely business or administration but from all the branches that make up the socio-economic framework of a nation.

The director of the programme Bruce Katz talked about some of the specific steps that had to be taken to remould the economy that has been thrown completely off gear by frenetic consumption driven by a debt culture, speculations, bubbles and dangerous financial tools etc.

The new economy would have to be saner and sustainable oriented more towards export, using cleaner fuels and boosted up by innovations. The driving force was to come from extra focus being made on research and development that would target the producing of an educated work force having exceptional skills.
Katz felt it was difficult but not impossible. He said that the aim was to “shift from 20th-century models of transport and energy transmission to rapid bus, ubiquitous broadband, congestion pricing, smart grid, high-speed rail and intelligent transport.” Transformative changes would have to be brought about in financing integrating public and private finance and the setting up of a national infrastructure bank. The leaders and the public should learn to distinguish between spending that was wasteful and investment that was crucial.