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Pathways Advisory Group, Inc.
Dustin Smith, CFP®  |
What is our place in the changing world? We remain the largest economy in the world¹ but other economies are growing fast. We face challenges and uncertainty. We face tough decisions. The history of this nation suggests we are up for the challenge. If you haven’t already watched the History Channel series, America The Story of Us, please do. It’s quite a story…
What technology will influence the direction of the next twenty years? What role will this country play? Where will we make the greatest advances? Healthcare? Technology? Transportation? Energy? It will be interesting. Just consider how far we have come the past 150 years…
Barbed wire transformed prairies and the American dream. Mass production of steel led to vertical cities. The steamboat, railroad and telegraph allowed American commerce to spread. Thomas Edison’s work brought light and power to the masses. Advances in medicine improved life expectancies and quality of life. The cotton gin and automobile assembly lines changed the capacity of industry. Automobiles led to interstate highways and suburbs. Dams, canals and aqueducts provided for a housing boom and expansion of the west. Television, computers and cell phones changed our daily lives. Air travel shrunk the country. The internet shrunk the world. Every generation has brought new ideas. Every generation has improved upon the previous. In each case, an idea and the technology to make it happen have been the driving force.
Are we out of ideas? Have we tapped all resources? Is there no more room to improve? I suspect the next 20 years will be much like the last 150. I suspect this nation will play a role. I suspect Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness will have something to do with it...
Happy 4th of July.
¹ 2010 World Market Capitalization Chart (below) and GDP Top 15 Rankings.
