Today I read and reflected on this article by Republican speechwriter Mark Lange. In it, he places the responsibility for job creation squarely on the shoulders of the pessimistic American. He asserts that yes, there are major challenges to finding employment, and no, we cannot rely on government spending to create the necessary amount of jobs. On these points we agree.
Although I am relatively green in the working world, I have heard from countless people that this is the worst job market in their entire lifetime. I know people from every walk of life that have been laid off. It's extremely difficult to maintain optimism about the country, the economy, and our personal well-beings when faced with such situations. Lange claims that the only the only true remedy is a strong dose of optimism. That seems a repugnant medicine to swallow for many.
Americans feel powerless when faced with being laid off, defaulting on a mortgage, being delinquent on credit card payments, and experiencing anonymity among a labor pool that numbers in the millions. We are ready, willing, and more-than-able to work, but no one will give us an opportunity. What are we to do?
I take comfort in the borderline-sinister words of Rahm Emanuel: "Never let a crisis go to waste." Pundits would argue that the Democrats have taken advantage of this crisis to expand the role of government. Other talking heads would argue that the Republicans have seized the crisis to become the party of "No" and steer the nation in the direction of isolationism. Let's set aside the partisan punditry for a moment and consider what this maxim could mean to us - the American lay-person.
I am a firm believer that when one door closes, two others open. And there is always great opportunity in the face of great adversity. Collectively and individually, we need to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off. Relying on our pessimism and frustration with Washington and Wall Street to reverse our fortunes will only produce mediocre and sluggish results. There is no spoon-fed panacea to cure our recessionary woes and no legislative silver bullet to kill unemployment. Astute and measured policies will certainly help, but we've got to take the reigns on this one. We have to create opportunity, and it starts with one innovative idea at a time. New concepts, new techniques, and new applications of knowledge are requisite in every sector of the economy. Individuals acting in their own self-interest in creative ways are guaranteed produce opportunities. And those enterprises will compound upon each other profession by profession, industry by industry, and city by city.
Common Since: Economic recovery will require an aggregate approach. Erudite regulations and increasingly accessible credit will help. But there is no magic hat from which to pull out a rabbit. The resurrection of the American economy relies upon the renaissance of American optimism. Solutions are not going to come from the top down, but from the inside out. I searched Amazon.com for The Complete Idiot's Guide to Optimism, however it doesn't exist. We'll have to start writing it ourselves, one page and one person at a time.
