Real interesting James Fallows article in the Atlantic. Its about how America gets out of the current mess we are in. Fallows brings a unique perspective, just returning after years living in China. Worth reading!
Fallows makes the point that no matter how bad things appear today, the country still has the best assets to do well going forward. The two he believes matter most: immigrants and our universities. Being the place most open to people from any place on the planet and having the best system of higher education in a world that increasingly will be driven by innovation is a huge competitive advantage.
That these are essential assets to future economic well being is a lesson we are having a hard time learning here in Michigan. We continue to disinvest in our terrific higher education system and, more broadly than immigrants, are not very welcoming to all. This needs to change or we will continue to get poorer relative to the country.
Fallows is most worried about a political system that increasingly is unable to solve the big problems. Too partisan, only willing to deal with the small and easy items, way too protective of big interests rather than tackle what is needed to make us great over the next seventy five years. Sound familiar?
Its at the core of Michigan’s unpreparedness for a flat world. The unwillingness of both parties to do what is necessary to better position us for the future that will be radically different from the past.
Fallows argues that ultimately a strong private sector can not flourish without a strong public sector. Rather than either or, you need both. For both the country and state we need a politics that is aligned with the realities of a flattening world. Its the only path to economic success.
