A wise man.
Alan Greenspan is brilliant. Absolutely off the wall brilliant. He is a credit to the economy and democracy that we all know and enjoy. Listening to him discuss Social Security on my way to work this morning on NPR was incredible. This man can take the most complex, sometimes overly complex, questions about the state of our nation and economy and turn them into intelligently articulated answers. Answers which defend the most simple economic building blocks of this society. Predominantly, he speaks like he is quoting Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, defending economics itself. Listening to this as an Econ major, is almost a treat (Did I really just say that?).
At one point, a senator questioned him about his opinion on the export of jobs and resources overseas to places like China and India. How will this effect us in the long term? What competitive advantage do we have? Greenspan was articulate and concise in pointing out that the wealth of our nation lies in our intellect and the laws that protect us. He then continued to remind the congressmen that without concentrating resources on the development of our education system we are putting ourselves at a serious risk in the increasingly competitive global economy. Our ideas, our people, the constitution that protects our civil liberties. This is what makes this nation great. Without Education, we would not have what we have. I think he is wise (as always) to point out that Congress needs to spend time reconsidering the investment in education in America.
I’ll finish by saying, I believe in education. I believe in innovation and evolution in education. That’s part of the reason I my work involves education.
Social Security. Medicare. These are all important issues. But, will we spend time…and money…to ensure the future ideas that are ingredients of the American dream?
