This isn’t terribly Virginia-specific but I thought I’d share it. Just heard NPR this morning talk with Matt Miller, a Fortune magazine columnist who has written a book titled “The Tyranny of Dead Ideas.”
His thesis is that many assumptions that have been true in America for decades are no longer true. This really rngs true. A fe:
Children will make more than their parents: For years it was assumed that as the American dream unfolded, each generation got better jobs and pay. This is no longer the case as a paradigm shift in the economy takes hold. I know it’s not true in my case but that’s my choice. I wanted to be a journalist and not a doctor. But I think our kids will not have the high-paying jobs that many of us have.
Your company will keep paying for your welfare. Dead long ago. We are the ONLY country in the world that has employers pay for our health insurance in most cases. So, we get really expensive health care that makes our companies uncompetitive in the world markets. Universal health insurance, here we come.
Tax are bad This will be a tough one to swallow to dogmatic BR bloggers but it is true. The current downturn has shown that financial markets can’t regulate themselves and we can’t rely on them for our welfare. Sure we’ll lower taxes to get us out of this mess, but then watch out. All the TMTs of the world are going to have to accept a fndamental shift that will make the U.S>more like tax-happy FRance (or so Newsweek says). Government will be playing a much bigger role in our lives and will need more taxes to help pay for it. Miller says the real issue is tochange who pays the tax. Rather than have a regressive payroll tax that hurts the poor and middle class, tax polluting industries like coal-fired utilities.
BR bloggers. It’s a Brave New World.
Peter Galuszka