We are in a depression, not as bad as 1930, but bad. How can we get out? We need some real leadership, and not just in politics. We need a Big Hairy Audacious Goal that will motivate us. We need hope and motivation.
Things are bad. Employment of the workforce is at the bottom levels since the 1930s. The Wall road Journal reports that citizen no longer believe their kids will have it good than they do. There are homeless families even in Bozeman, Montanna. Corporate profits have recovered on reduced sales, but only because of seriously downsizing. The downsizing results in lower extensive workforce, lower demand, and more downsizing. We're in a depression, not a recession.
Trickle Up Poverty
Economic depression is the corollary of a social mood of doom and gloom that drives down effective activity. High profile spot events, like a stock shop crash, get everyone's attention. citizen then begin to fear for the future, and become cautious in their actions. Consumers spend less, recovery their cash. Businesses cut back on speculation in output and cut back on employees. Banks quickly sense doom, and stop lending, at any rate of interest. The downward cycle begins, and becomes self perpetuating.
With minor recessions, government actions can provide the boost needed to stop a downward trend quickly. Tax cuts, incentives to hire workers, lower interest rates all work with a mere downturn, when citizen still see recovery just nearby the corner. But none of these work when the mood of gloom and doom sets it. Smart business executives won't make that additional speculation unless they think they have hereafter revenues to cover it. Joe and Mary won't add on to the house if they think getting laid off is much of a possibility. Fred won't buy that car. Even when the banks are ultimately ready to lend, no one is ready to borrow because of the risk of being unable to pay it back.
Even in the worst times, some government actions can provide a short term boost. Sometimes a subsidized price is just too good to pass up, like that big rebate to buy a gas effective car. But the corollary ends when the subsidy ends, and big give are always too high-priced to keep going for long. What's worse, citizen start to think things are positively bad if we have to continue the big give away.
Great leaders have helped us get out of tough times. They have provided inspiration and motivated citizen to do better. They have provided hope. Kennedy and Reagan improved the country not through great programs or helping their friends. They both motivated the American people. Their policies were very different, and the country improved under each. The country improved not because of their policies, but because they each provided hope and inspired commerce in people.
Leadership is not confined to government. We have had great business and religious leaders who have inspired and motivated more than just their employees or followers. Lee Iacocca took over Chrysler when it was nearly dead. He convinced his administration team they could succeed, and together they convinced their workforce they could all advantage by working together. The government helped with a loan that by modern standards was a pittance. Martin Luther King, Billy Graham, and Mohandas Gandhi all inspired citizen to do good in their lives, to treat citizen with respect, to help others.
Great leaders also define and promote a concrete, achievable, stretch goal. Kennedy said we should land on the moon, and this big hairy audacious goal inspired people. Reagan said we could win the cold war without a war. Regan even got citizen volunteering while a recession. They each provided hope that tomorrow would be good than today. And it was good because citizen became ready to work for it.
There's a common theme here: hope and goals cause commonplace citizen to make things get better.
So where are the leaders offering hope and goals? They're missing in action, and have been for over 20 years.
There's a way to make things start to happen without government, but the leaders must step forward and lead. Our large corporations or our religions, or both, can take the lead. We continue to be presented with exact challenges, overcoming which is an achievable goal. Many of the challenges are internal, with vague solutions: end poverty, improve education, etc. These things, though worthwhile, are too vague to motivate. We need exact goals.
Here is one idea: Mobilize to provide disaster relief in Pakistan, China, and Russia. If we send money or supplies, the local politicians will keep most of it. That doesn't motivate anyone, here or there. We need to send our own people, with supplies, to help. Not government people, commonplace Americans, dressed and acting like commonplace Americans. We should ask for volunteers who are out of work to go for a month or two. In exchange, their mortgage and other bills get paid or deferred, their family gets food on the table. We should also ask for volunteers to lead it for a month. The citizen need supplies and will have expenses.
All this takes money. Someone needs to come up with the cash to do this, and a way to get the people. That's where our large corporations come in. They can taste their laid off workers and offer a temporary, lower-pay job as a volunteer. Our religions can help be recruiting volunteers and raising funds. Our farms, factories, and citizen can provide the needed supplies. Together, America can make it happen.
But these countries are not our friends, you say. So? What good chance is there to make a friend than to go help an enemy in his time of need? Also, other needs will arise with our friends. Let's institution our helping skills on the enemies first.
What's in it for the corporations? Breaking the downward spiral, and the world's best advertising. This is an speculation (and not a large one) in people. The payback may be small at first. It will require a leap of faith by a single corporation that others will join the exertion and break the cycle of gloom. It is also an speculation in their own communities, where the payback may be immediate in goodwill and productivity. citizen work harder and furnish more when they know they're working for a common goal and for an manager who cares.
Our religious organizations can help. But they can also destroy the exertion if they insist on development it tied to their single religion. Many foreign policies, and most missionary work, fails because it tries to force our views on Someone else. The exertion must provide help with no strings attached.
What I am proposing is effectively "trickle-up" economics: help the social by providing good goals and the means to perform the goals, and profits will follow. "Build it and they will come" works for motivation as well as theme parks.
How do we make this happen? We need leaders willing to work for it. We don't have that now in government. Elections this year are likely to reflect the realization by the social that we don't. We can't leave this for the government to solve, or it won't get solved. Now is the time for corporate leaders to step up to the plate. If they don't, we may sink deeper into the depression and take the corporations with down with the rest of us.
Our churches can help get things started. citizen do occasionally listen to ministers. The risk with the churches is that they will want to promote their own brand of religion. That would be fatal to the task at hand. Some of the clergy will be willing to help with no strings attached.
How can you make a difference? Talk to your minister, get him or her motivated to help. Talk to citizen you know, to find out who can get this started. Tell your boss if you are still employed. Get involved today!
How to End the recession
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