If you read the news, it’s tough to stay optimistic. And because I sit at a computer most of the day, both at work and at home, and because I like to stay on top of what’s going on in my world, it’s hard not to read. There are a few pieces today that caught my eye today.
The first, on CNN, is about the impending oil prices that may have started to kick into gear. Though the prices had dropped over the past month or so, we saw a huge spike today and there is bound to be expensive gas in our future.
The second, from TIME, is a commentary on the state of the union in a post-bailout America. Through a unique comparison between what we are doing and the French system of government, it is apparent that we may be hurting our “capitalistic” ways.
There are problems in this country right now, there is no denying that. And this election can do a lot to define where we are headed as far as fighting those problems. But there is too much work to be done to rely on candidates and government alone. Despite the recent doubt in many large companies, the best solutions to our problems have always come from the private sector.
Innovative minds must prevail. Think long and hard about where we are and how we’ve gotten here. A lot of times there are easy solutions out there if you just approach the problem from a fundamental point of view. We need to solve the energy crisis now, before it becomes as bad as the financial crisis, which is not that far off. And we can do it in a way that helps to rebuild our country.
In the next ten years, what we do as far as energy is concerned will determine the fate of our planet. New companies will form around the clean energy platform. Existing companies will shift focus to address new concerns. Huge amounts of capital will be laid out to develop infrastructure and materials. But in the end we will succeed, and success will come from the ground up. Be innovation, think clean.
Regarding the need for innovative thinking:
The two remaining investment banks (MS and Goldman) are now structured as bank holding companies. Thus all the big finance firms are now essentially commercial banks. This is the situation that existed before the Great Depression. The Glass-Steagal Act (enacted after the stock market crash in 1929) was designed specifically to separate investment banks from commercial banks, but was repealed in 1999. Repealing Glass-Steagal is generally credited as part and parcel of the deregulation that created the current crisis. Interestingly as far as regulatory and legal matters are concerned we are jumping back about 90 years to the situation in the 1920s. It remains to be seen if Congress will enact regulatory changes that would create incentives for banks to restructure in a different legal framework.
Well said. I also find it interesting that the so-called experts that are supposed to be saving us from the current market meltdown are trying to rush a bailout plan that many people oppose. The message from the top is “Just Get it Done or Else”. Maybe they should listen to these opposing view points that say that this type of bailout will do nothing but hide the trouble we are in for awhile.
[...] Change and Energy are the most important challenges that face this country right now. The economic crisis is bad, but we have been there before. [...]