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Smart People Stay Smart - 

Why the U.S Economy Will be Alright in the Long Run

By Brett Danko, CFP®

There is one simple reason why we can be sure that America will get out of the current mess in which it is mired – smart people stay smart. 

What do I mean?  It’s very basic.  America’s brightest and others who immigrate here from around the world will start new businesses either in their own fields or outside those fields.  These talented men and women, most of whom we have never heard of before, will become the future leaders of American business.  They are NOT sitting on sofas around the country eating bonbons and watching Oprah or re-runs of Gilligan’s Island. 

Their minds are racing with ways to create the next economic success story which will blossom into a job and wealth creator.

Many smart people are out of work and others are graduating from colleges and graduate schools.  These future leaders may be unable to work in their traditional field of study.  As a result, they will be forced to adapt. 

One of the most amazing aspects of America is its ability to adapt to adverse conditions.  Call it “The Spirit of America” or whatever else you wish – our country’s energy, drive and hard work can never be questioned. 

Creative and intelligent people from around the globe continue coming to the USA to help start and build businesses.  While we live in a global economy, our country is still the easiest place on earth to start a new company and allow it to prosper. 

America has its issues and has had its credibility tested over the last decade.  But we are still the envy of the world both for our economic engines of growth and our commitment to democracy.

Many of the best minds around the globe went into finance over the last two decades where they produced NOTHING of real value.  Their derivatives and other financial products once thought to create wealth, in the end, destroyed huge amounts of capital worldwide and resulted in tremendous hardships for hundreds of millions of people.  This wealth proved ephemeral as its roots were too shallow. 

The Best and Brightest

One of the ONLY good things about the implosion of the financial markets is that it opens the door for the new “Best and Brightest” to consider other pursuits such as creating new “green technologies” or solutions to our other problems rather than run to Wall Street to stake their claim.

The last time we experienced anything of this economic magnitude, in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, nobody paid attention to the “geeks” in the garages on the West Coast.  Of course, those “geeks” who probably couldn’t get a job anywhere at the time, created the computer industry that has driven this country to greater levels of prosperity than ever before.  

Do you think Gates, Jobs, et. al. really cared about the economy during that era?  Maybe they did.  But they didn’t waste much time thinking about it and they worked around the clock creating the computer industry.  These individuals and others like them ultimately created billions of jobs and trillions in wealth.  Is it any wonder that over fifty percent of the Fortune 500 Companies trace their beginnings to times of economic turmoil?

Longer-term, this economy will get better.  

It always does.  Americans need to maintain perspective.  The pain being felt throughout this country by our citizens is real and we in no way wish to minimize that fact.  However, we must be ready for the sunny days that follow the economic storm.

We need to stay positive and remember that the essence of America is its adaptability. 

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