A 21st Century Grapes of Wrath
We’re all familiar with the book The Grapes of Wrath, the depression tale of millions of desperate families during the 1930s that headed to California for promised jobs. I’m not suggesting we’re at this stage yet, but for millions of unemployed Americans, they are finding that the local job market has dried up and they may need to relocate to more prosperous areas. The good news is that there are plenty of jobs, if you know where to look. Jobs these days,... Read More
Stop Fearing the Future and Focus on Innovation
The Business Roundtable, an association of chief executives, recently proposed that the United States is the world’s innovation leader because of a commitment to basic research, a world-class workforce and a climate that rewards innovation. This sense of pride has been eclipsed by a feeling of economic pessimism manifesting itself in a perceived lack of innovation from our private sector, and especially by our entrepreneurs. Let’s look back to one of America’s... Read More
Innovation Drives Our Economy
The Business Roundtable recently proposed that the United States is the world’s innovation leader because of a commitment to basic research, a world-class workforce and a climate that rewards innovation. This sense of pride has been eclipsed by a feeling of economic pessimism manifesting itself in a perceived lack of innovation from our private sector, and especially by our entrepreneurs. Let’s look back to one of America’s greatest entrepreneurs: Henry Ford.... Read More
Economic Pessimism Evokes Great Depression
A new story from The Associated Press stopped me in my tracks. The gap in employment rates between America’s highest- and lowest-income families has stretched to its widest levels since officials began tracking the data a decade ago. Rates of unemployment for the lowest-income families — those earning less than $20,000 — have topped 21 percent, nearly matching the rate for all workers during the Great Depression. U.S. households with income of more than $150,000... Read More
