Today’s brief statement revolves around the thought that we are at an important crossroads when it comes to returning to our prior role as the world’s leader in both innovation and inspiration. Many Americans seem poised to join the ranks of their progressive European peers, creating 21st Century models in areas such as transportation, energy, and the environment. Our decade long focus on fighting terrorism at home and abroad, while necessary, has drained both our coffers and our economic leverage. The economic leverage we had coming out of the Clinton Administration, with a balanced budget aimed at paying down the national debt, was intended for use in areas such as science and math, college grants for research, and improved everyday services. However, as a result of 9/11, the Iraq War, and our continued response to terror in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and elsewhere, the majority of our national energy has been spent on fending off threats at the expense of the well-being of the homeland.
As we near the official trillion dollar point with regards to our 21st Century war spending, the impending transition to a more focused counter terrorism effort will open previously tied off money lines for national priorities which can positively empower all Americans going forward. We need to begin catching up with nations like China when it comes to developing and implementing green technology, and we need to invest in high speed transit systems to assist in our transition from oil to other legitimate sources of energy. In addition, increased investment in our colleges and universities to promote research and development, and a commitment to making higher education the norm in America, will be of the utmost importance if we are to emerge as the leader in future technologies going forward. Our private sector requires increasingly skilled workers, which with the proper levels of funding and motivation can become once again populated with American graduates of institutions of higher learning.
Our next generation will be in a better place if we are mindful of our priorities upon the conclusion of the large scale wars we are waging. We must pay down our debts while ensuring that our economic system is playing by rules which are set up to help all American’s succeed, not just those with enough money to gamble on the livelihoods of their fellow citizens. Wall Street must make the best of the flood of money which will head its way during the next American economic boom. Our willpower has been tested over the past decade, and the overwhelming sense is that America is due for a great comeback. With an emerging collection of new deal style policies in place that are aimed at making the rules of the game fair for American citizens of all economic backgrounds, it is my hope that we will take the initiative and reinvest in our intelligence and harness our traditional ability to bounce back from the most difficult of times. In doing so, I believe that we can become an extraordinary example of perseverance, functionality, and ingenuity for all emerging and existing democracies, in the 21st Century and beyond.
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