In my last post I stated that the U.S. has several big problems which must be successfully addressed in order to avoid national decline. They are:
- National Debt
- Slow Economic Growth
- Trade Imbalance with China
- Global Warming
But which of these problems is the biggest threat? I now argue that some of these problems are less serious than others.
First of all, I am optimistic that global warming, as serious as it is, will be successfully kept under control by all nations working together to reduce carbon emissions. Already 60% of Americans, for example, agree that global warming exists and is man-made. As its’ effects, such as rising sea levels and more intense hurricanes, become more and more evident, the general public will strongly insist that effective action be taken to combat it and our elected representatives will respond accordingly. Further, as Chinese air becomes more and more polluted by the burning of coal, the Chinese government will also decide that strong measures must be taken. This will eventually lead to American-Chinese cooperation to set up worldwide standards to drastically shrink carbon emissions from fossil fuels and perhaps even to remove carbon from the atmosphere.
I am also optimistic that our trade imbalance with China will be successfully addressed in the near future. There is strong bipartisan support in Congress to deal with Chinese theft of intellectual property and excessive restrictions on American exports to China. It is a top priority of the Trump Administration to resolve this problem. Significant progress is therefore likely to occur.
Again, addressing slow economic growth is a major focus of the Trump Administration. Faster growth mean less unemployment, which in turn means more jobs and better paying jobs for American workers. Faster economic growth will likely remain a top priority for both political parties.
I am thus reasonably optimistic that three of our four biggest problems are politically solvable at least in the sense that significant progress can and will be made. How about the debt problem? This is much more difficult. Stay tuned!
It Does Not Add Up 