Come on, its not that hard

It’s been a while since I have written here, several years in fact. Since 2008, we have been in a recession, I have gotten older, and the world keeps turning and the apples keep blooming in the spring.

Meanwhile, in Washington, hope has turned to gloom. Many people that I respect believe we have entered a paradigm shift that will bring down the current form of economic development and how we define growth. On top of it all, the weather keeps doing weird shit. Believe me, if you work outside all summer on the farm, you understand how hot and dry it was and why the apples came off the trees, two-three weeks early.

We know what we have to do about the climate. The science is there, despite what the Republicans say. We just lack the will, just yet, to get it done. We have bumped into the "limits to growth" just like Meadow's said we would. We are beginning to see innovation as a repercussion to banging into these limits (just like Hart and Gilding and many others said we would). Civil unrest, as the masses realize just how rich the rich are and how poor the rest of us are becoming, is just beginning. The behavior of the markets, consumers and enterprises all reflect a total lack of faith in the future, or we would not be so hard pressed to make the good long term decisions. I think that most have decided that the future will be worse than the past, so the general consensus is to get it while you can. This fundamental lack of faith in the future is the under lament driving our behaviors. It’s kind of sad really, because we really do have a great foundation and a great planet, and we know what to do. We just lack the will, just yet.

The answer to the economic issue is just not that hard to see. As a country, we have lost all of our production and manufacturing jobs. There are some things that are just basic to any modern society. We need to be self reliant for energy, transportation, food, water, and manufacturing of items critical for a resilient country. In the textile industry alone, since 1995, over 700000 jobs have been lost. Add to that steel production, auto production, food production, energy production, and you can hear Perrot’s great sucking sound. That's right; it sucks for most of us. I am not anti globalization but I am pro self sufficiency and resilience. So, if government would lead and set a goal of 75% internal sufficiency for food production, 75% internal sufficiency for energy production, 75% sufficiency for critical component production for critical systems, we could have more balance… and create the jobs we need. Would costs be higher? Yes, I think they would, but not over the long haul, only for the short term. Over the long haul they would be steadier over time and more truly represent the real costs of living in a place. What are the real costs of these peaks and valleys we keep creating in the economy? I think they cost a lot, but the losers have not yet started killing the ones that made money during the bad times. This may come.

So, all you powerful people in Washington and Wall Street take note. It just ain't that hard to make things right, just yet. It does take leadership and guts with a vision for the future that includes a brighter picture for what is possible and a longer view of things.

Sam