Western civilization pretty much started with Greece. Can it be poetic justice that it could end there as well? The West as we refer to the United States and European countries has been on a decade long descent versus the East. While our standard of living has fallen, theirs by all measures has risen. Our debt hobbled leveraged hedonistic society appears to be crumbling versus the crawl out of the mud emerging markets. There is a great transfer of wealth and the most important asset mankind has, hope itself. While the West is sinking into that collective quiet state of desperation, the East is building the tallest buildings in the world, the speediest trains, and the fastest growing economies.
I normally don’t care much for politics or religion. I’m all about making money and wanting others to thrive no matter the hand we’re dealt. The political paralysis gripping this country like a malignant cancer about big government versus small government but our politicians are fixated is not the real problem. The real problem is we have a lack of smart and efficient government. The country’s debt problem although numbingly large is not unsolvable. It’s really quite simple. And if you put any number of people in a room, they are likely to agree upon many of these ideas.
Oil junkies. We are addicted to oil. Insitute the Pickens Plan as fast as humanly possible. We spent $41.7 billion on foreign oil. Let’s use our natural gas resources while investing in renewables for the future. It’s a great transfer or wealth. We should stop as soon as possible.
Health Care Costs out of Control Health care costs spiraling out of control are the biggest problem with our entitlement spending, namely Medicaid and Medicare. Social Security is easy to fix. The Government pays a pittance now. How could anyone live on social security alone. It’s health care that is insane. A titanium or stainless steel pin that could be made for $.15 cost $600 when inserted into your arm. That travesty makes the military toilet seat for $2000 look like a bargain. There’s a whole host of things that can be done on the cost side. Before we start making healthcare a national right, we ought to figure out a way to bring costs under control. Healthcare is fast tracking ourselves into the grave.
World’s Unpaid Cop on the Beat If we are going to be the world’s police, let’s get paid for it. Since that’s not going to happen, we need to dramatically downsize our military. We don’t need to be in Afghanistan, Iraq or any other conflict where we don’t understand exactly who we’re fighting and why. It would also be a good idea to reinstitute the draft. Some combination of professional and civilian army just makes sense.
That’s it folks. Boom times. How hard is this to figure out? Seriously. I’d like to see your comments on this. If I really thought we had leadership to move on any of these issues, I’d have plenty of investment ideas on them. I just don’t and what help we may get could be years away. It’ll take a leader in the White House who is visionary and bold and above all not a tool of his handlers. If we don’t find some leadership on these issues,Warren Buffet’s never bet against America is not looking so sage. In fact have you send Berkshire Hathaway stock lately? It’s not acting like a safe haven at all.