Curing America’s Xenophobia
What disturbs me most about the often bitter arguments regarding America’s immigration policies is we continue to disregard the millions of immigrants that have contributed to our leadership in science, product innovation, medicine, computers and literature. We have a short memory in this country, considering that nearly all of us originally came from somewhere else. The difference is most of us chose to seek legal citizenship. I read an interesting essay recently by Darrell West, in which he pointed out that: “In the years leading up to World War II, the United States recruited top talent for our nuclear programs. Scientists such as Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi and Edward Teller immigrated to America and played an instrumental role in securing our country’s future... Read More
Another Reminder How Conscientious Equity Heals the World
My new book Conscientious Equity spells out why it is important for the US to engage the rest of the world to improve living conditions for everyone. Conscientious Equity is about a new kind of transaction and interaction between America and its trading partners. At its core is the enactment of Conscientious Equity Accords that tear down the manipulations, barriers and distortions that prevent the natural flow of goods, services and ideas. If you need a primer on the value of trade, the malaria epidemic ravaging Africa will serve as a life lesson. More than 800,000 Africans die each year from malaria. Most of them are children. The tragedy is that most of these deaths can be prevented with something as simple as mosquito nets and regular spraying of homes. Medications and... Read More
Morphine Economics
Morphine Economics I own a large collection of antique engravings and maps dating back more than five hundred years. They tell a fascinating story that divines the future if you are perceptive to their wisdom. Clipper ship entrepreneurialism was the strong, steady wind that propelled forth the Age of Discovery. The embassies, merchants and holy men billeted on these magnificent ships faced incredible hardship as they searched for undiscovered trade routes that could potentially change the balance of power while enriching themselves beyond imagination. Chinese Qianlong Emperor Included in my collection is a large engraving that mapped a British Embassy sent to Beijing in 1798 at the height of the Chinese empire to meet with Emperor Qianlong. Emperor Qianlong had no use for foreigners. He derisively... Read More
It’s Not Just World Trade — It’s Human Development
If you think of world trade as the exchange of products for money, its real power is the exchange of ideas to create innovative breakthroughs. In fact, a recent Wall Street Journal story characterized international trade “as the most momentous innovation of the human species; it led to the invention of invention.” The editors suggest that the new buzz word is “collective intelligence.” They define this as the notion that what determines the inventiveness and rate of cultural exchange of a population is the amount of interaction between individuals. You will be amazed to know that the oldest evidence of human trade comes from roughly 80,000 to 120,00 years ago, when shell beads in Algeria moved 100 miles from the seas and obsidian tools in Ethiopia came from a particular volcano. What... Read More
The Faster the Patent – The Greater the Theft.
As I have maintained through the years, no other country can out-think and out-innovate American entrepreneurs. There is a reason that the rest of the world looks to the US when they want the latest, greatest inventions and technological breakthroughs. The trouble is that America also has a propensity for red tape that puts obstacles in the way of these innovative developers. Now comes word that the US Patent and Trademark Office is looking at a way to fast track the granting of patents. Can you guess the secret? If you guessed that adding an additional fee on top of the $545 filing fee would expedite review, then you would be right! According to a story in The Wall Street Journal, “The system will allow applicants to essentially select which innovations are the most important for patent... Read More
America in Wonderland
There is a new film rendition of “Alice in Wonderland” at theaters and it got me thinking how appropriate it was that “Alice in Wonderland” which was written by Lewis Carroll as a satire on English government and society, should be playing now. As I see it there are quite a few parallels between Carroll’s book and America today. First, it is not Alice that fell down the rabbit hole; it is the American people. We woke up after an election and found ourselves in a weird Wonderland. It is a place where up is down and down is up. Where play money is being used like real money. Where jobs disappear and cannot be found. Where all the people who like their health insurance are at risk of losing their coverage. Where citizens that simply wish to exercise their democratic... Read More
5 Things That Must Happen in 2010 To Spur American Entrepreneurship: The Year of Engagement
Although encouraged by President Obama’s pledge during the State of the Union Address to double exports and open up new markets, we are not seeing any progress toward meeting these critical objectives. I wish he was being sidetracked by job creation –but that is not the case either. Once again the Obama administration has failed to understand that the key to stabilizing the economy and job creation rests with supporting the nation’s entrepreneurs, especially small business exporters. As a public service, let me humbly suggest that there are five initiatives that must be considered in 2010 to move this country forward. 1) Pass the three pending Free Trade Agreements Did you know that for every dollar invested in exports by small and mid-size companies through export... Read More
Faulty Allies & Forgotten Friends: Realpolitik
Remember when President Obama first took office and then proceeded immediately on his “International apology to the World” tour? Instead of making friends, it showed America as a weakened partner. And the damage has been done. We have put all of our support behind President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan as the country’s future, despite widespread corruption. We have spent billions of our treasure and thousands of American lives, only to have Karzai threaten to join the very enemy that we are fighting on his behalf. Then we pick a fight with Israel – the only democracy in the Mideast and a staunch ally that may play a role in stopping Iran’s nuclear program. It’s folly. We try to make friends with our enemies and ignore our real friends. The New York Times recently... Read More
Recovery Cover Up: Temp Jobs
When talking about truth, are we really going to believe that jobs are being created because the economy added 162,000 jobs in March? The truth is that most of those jobs were temporary positions with the Census Bureau. Those aren’t jobs. Those are federal paid internships. And by this fall, those jobs will disappear. You know what other jobs will be disappearing? State jobs, because states need to shed workers to deal with huge budget deficits. Already in March, state and local governments shed 9,000 jobs. Come on folks, the government doesn’t create jobs. We all know that private-sector temporary jobs won’t become permanent unless employers see steady economic growth. And that’s not something we’ve seen with the ineffective stimulus plan. We all know the solution. We talk about... Read More
When You Lose This Game, Everyone Loses
Let’s say your favorite football team announces that they have fired the entire coaching staff. In their place, they have hired a staff where only one new coach has ever played football. The rest just followed the team by watching games from the safety of their couch. Would you be looking for a Super Bowl appearance this year? But suppose the country elected a president whose primary job was to jumpstart the economy by creating jobs –especially in the small business sector where 75% of new jobs are created. Wouldn’t you expect him to surround himself with a staff with deep business experience that have actually run companies and understood the dynamics of P&L? Then folks, welcome to the Obama Bowl. A recent study took a look at past administrations to identify those US presidents... Read More
