Points to Ponder

Thomas L. Friedman, "China and India have been catching up to America not only via cheap labor and currencies. They are catching us because they now have free markets like we do, education like we do, access to capital and technology like we do, but, most importantly, values like our Greatest Generation had. That is, a willingness to postpone gratification, invest for the future, work harder than the next guy and hold their kids to the highest expectations. In a flat world where everyone has access to everything, values matter more than ever. Right now the Hindus and Confucians have more Protestant ethics than we do, and as long as that is the case we’ll be No. 11"

Martin Peretz, "Why do not Muslims raise their voices against these at once planned and random killings all over the Islamic world?" This world went into hysteria some months ago when the Mossad took out the Hamas head of its own Murder Inc. But, frankly, Muslim life is cheap, most notably to Muslims. And among those Muslims led by the Imam Rauf there is hardly one who has raised a fuss about the routine and random bloodshed that defines their brotherhood. So, yes, I wonder whether I need honor these people and pretend that they are worthy of the privileges of the First Amendment which I have in my gut the sense that they will abuse"

Steven R. Pearlstein - Since 2007, the manufacturing and construction sectors have each lost 2 million jobs, with finance, hospitality and retailing accounting for 2 million more .. For the past two decades we have allowed our industrial and technological base to deteriorate as talent and capital were grossly misallocated toward other sectors of the economy, even as other countries were able to attract the investment, the technology and the know-how to serve the U.S. and global markets

“Our community focused on education, not politics,” said R. Chandramogan, a Nadar entrepreneur who built India’s largest privately owned dairy company from scratch. “We knew that with education, we could accomplish anything.” Southern India has rocketed far ahead of much of the rest of the country on virtually every score — people here earn more money, are better educated, live longer lives and have fewer children

A case for stimulus

"OUR national debate about fiscal policy has become skewed, with far too much focus on the deficit and far too little on unemployment" - Laura Tyson

Ms. Tyson's essay merits attention but doesn't address the American need fully. China and India are rich because they export product and import opportunity. We need to copy that economic model because ours is not working.

American Apocalypse

David Stockman, Ronald Reagan's Director of the Office of Management and Budget, equates GOP's economic policies with the "American Apocalypse"

He is equally critical of Democrats' large government and spending process.

Andy Grove has expressed a similar sentiment, as has Robert Reich.

Protecting our own interest is not any more protectionist than protecting our borders. Protecting American economy therefore Americans is a matter of national self interest and needs bipartisan committment to boost local manufacturing and job creation. If that means taxing imports and job exports then that needs to be done strongly like our response to the Soviet Union during the Cold War.