If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Changes to American higher education are both important and necessary. But unless they are based on an accurate understanding of both the present and the past, they are likely to be changes for the worse.
Contradictory economic forces have merged to intensify a growing trend in travel: the mass pursuit of meaningful experiences.
Without a new trade policy that effectively opens closed foreign markets and brings the U.S. trade accounts in balance, the United States will be unable to create the millions of new jobs our economy so desperately needs.
We did what we thought was best for our kids -- and I believe the majority of our kids are trying to do the best they can for themselves as well.
Every $1 billion invested in public transportation creates and supports 36,000 American jobs. That is real job growth.
The parallels between what happened during the Great Depression and what is happening now are striking. You would think that we would learn from history and apply some of the solutions that worked before. You would be wrong.
This is not just a government issue; the average American has also taken on an unmanageable level of debt. This addiction to debt contributed to the recession and financial crisis a few years ago, and the fundamental problem has yet to be addressed by the government or most individuals.
If you think Americans look out of shape, you should see their bank statements.
I'm not looking at economic indicators, unemployment rates, or trade balances, mind you. My optimism is fueled by the way some of my favorite businesses seem to be treating their customers.
It's common to say we are now living in a post-industrial information or knowledge economy. But the shift is actually deeper and more thorough-going than that.
For the economy to grow robustly for a number of years, Washington needs to move simultaneously and boldly on a number of different policy fronts. Otherwise, actions taken in any one area would be quickly undermined by lack of progress elsewhere.
You might think corporate money corrupts our political system, but the international trade system is where money really talks. The White House is touting the Trans-Pacific Partnership as a "21st century" trade deal, but many activists see it as a regression into economic imperialism.
Many years ago, on one of my first dates with my now-husband, he purchased discount movie tickets for us using his AARP card. Now as much as I hate getting ripped off by movie ticket prices, what I learned that day was that I hated being called a senior citizen even more. I made him return my ticket and pay full price.
Economic growth benefits those who are lifted from poverty, but how can the world really cope with billions of new drivers all expecting their own car?
I remember graduating from high school in 1981. There was this sense of possibility, of beginning, of hope, a belief that my future was bright and limitless. Recent high school graduates in the U.S. face a far bleaker landscape.
The solution to living a balanced life doesn't lie in changing the world around you. It lies in your ability to change the way you respond to the world.
