That Used To Be Us: How America Fell Behind

That Used To Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World and How We Can Come Back

By: Natalie West

Saturday, April 27, 13

The “Long Telegram”❖ Most famous diplomatic

communication in history of the U.S.

❖ Called for the containment of military power of the Soviet Union and political resistance to its communist ideology.

❖ Served as the charter for U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War.

❖ Basically a “wake up call” for U.S


Destroying Communism❖ By helping destroy communism,

we helped two billion more people want the “American Dream”.

❖ World we are now living in is in fact a world we invented.

❖ Ending communism, rapidly accelerated process of globalization.

❖ Americans now had to work harder, faster, and longer to merely “stay in place”.

Expansion of Communism

1920s and 1930s 1940s and 1950s 1960s and 1970s


The Big Four: Challenges that America Will Face

❖ How to adapt to globalization

❖ How to adjust to the information technology (IT)

❖ How to cope with budget deficits

❖ How to manage a world of rising energy consumption and climate threats


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uYj5YAnE5U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uYj5YAnE5U

Technology❖ Technology flattened the global

economics by reducing the advantages of the developed countries, and empowering the less developed.

❖ Revolution for information technology, which began in U.S then throughout the world.

❖ Led to American overconfidence by living in the past, and failing to see what the rest of the world was doing.


Adjust to the IT❖ Expanded dramatically due to

success of free market

❖ Every American is competing with the Eastern world because of telecommuting, WWW, and free market.

❖ “Engineering, science, education, technology, are clearly within the core of what has to be done...We can only prosper with properly prepared and properly applied brainpower.”- Charles Vest (former MIT President)


Coping with Budget Deficits

❖ Rising national debt and annual deficits since Cold War.

❖ U.S. has borrowed several trillion dollars from China, other foreign countries.

❖ Debt could increase due to interest rates.


Managing a World with Rising Threats

❖ Surge in energy consumption as a result of globalization.

❖ Predicts that Energy Technology (ET) will be the new IT.

❖ “A country with a thriving ET will enjoy energy security, enhance it’s own national security, and contribute to global environmental security”

❖ America needs to “home” these innovative companies in order to have a rising standard of living.


What do they all have in Common?COLLECTIVE RESPONSE

Enhance Skills to win high paying jobs

Entrepreneurs Must Create Jobs

Spend less, pay more, & increase taxes


“Periods of economic prosperity, were also periods of social,

political and religious tolerance.”

Which do you believe affects the other?


That Used To Be Us: How America Fell Behind

Education

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