New Book Discusses the Misleading Economic Numbers that Don't Include Pollution

The new book The Growth Delusion: Wealth, Poverty, and the Well-Being of Nations by David Piling indicates that we may be calculating the wrong thing in determining overall growth of our economy. The premise is that we are not calculating the costs of pollution. His ideas seem to make sense considering these are lost costs that eventually will come out of economic output. 

Local pollution is a cost while global pollution impacts overall economic output over all economies. This is a cost that according to the book isn't well calculated. 

These numbers are just numbers. They are samples and indicators but the real economy is often very different. The real economy is based on human behavior and costs and rewards of opportunities. In this case, we are taking advantage of today and not worrying about the higher cost of pollution tomorrow. 

That doesn't mean we can do much about it but as those costs rise there will likely be innovative ways of reducing pollution and managing waste. These are costs and production factors that should be calculated. 

Whether or not all countries will calculate them in the future is difficult to tell. It sounds like a negative drag on the economy. It already exists but we are not actually looking at them and that is misleading. What leader would like to encourage those numbers in their time at the top?

The 5G Economy

There are new ideas around that the U.S. should engage in a possible 5G nationalized network that is either built by companies or the government itself. While experts have brought forward the idea that companies building this network doesn't protect the economy from foreign hackers. However, there are other considerations why this may be the best long-term approach.

The first is culture. There is a general push back against nationalized anything. We just don't like such powerful institutions being in the hands of government. All of the countries, and much of the worlds, data in one place may not sit well. Having companies manage this network makes more sense from a historical and economic background.

There are some issues of security but there are abilities to regulate the security of this industry by using the largest carriers of the networks to run this system (i.e. shared governance or other industry mechanism) according to government rules/regulations. Smaller industries can rent the system like any others but security is managed by an adaptive independent system.

The biggest advantage is growth in innovation which often leads to more jobs and opportunities. A large system like this will naturally influence on information movement, e-commerce, business networking, and the amount of content for consumption.

This would definitely be a big movement forward in our data infrastructure. It is one of the things that could have a big impact on multiple aspects of society that "connect" into the faster speeds. As data infrastructure improves so does the overall environment that businesses operates in and can have a larger organic approach to improving GDP.

There is also the issue of competitiveness and investment. Companies want highways, roads, sewer, trash, etc... In the United States we have fairly solid systems in place for everything except data infrastructure. We are not there yet in terms of a cohesive system. By putting in place a strong national data structure we are helping to ensure we are covering the needs of businesses in a way that can lead to greater investment on a local and national scale.

Is the economy offering the right kind of jobs?

Economic growth and jobs are all good news right now. Any continued improvement in a bull economy is welcome. The numbers may not be telling the whole story and greater care should be given to long-term employment opportunities that help slow income gaps.

Those with significant education and technology skills are making more but most other people are not. Its a big problem for future sustainability if income distribution isn't fixed.

While jobs are great, higher wages depend on the fundamentals of economic structures. Manufacturing and technical industries have to be lured back into the country. That is a very complex problem.

I think that tax reform is a good step but there is more we can do. We can improve our data infrastructure and rethink government's hand in developing viable and self sustaining industry clusters. Government and business should be partners in coordinating their marketing and development for maximum economic growth.

Visiting the History and Grandeur of the Vatican

The history and majestic grandeur of the Vatican is amazing. Once the seat of the European world it has amassed a fortune of artifacts and statues that range back to some of the earliest known times. A virtual 128 acre museum itself people of all faiths come to see its wonderment for themselves.

It s definitely worth taking the tour and learning about each of the pieces. For example, Michelangelo was a 30+ years old before he picked up a paint brush and in his 60's before he started work on the Sistine Chapel. Your also not allowed to take pictures of it as as the copyright was part of the funding agreement by Nippon Television Network in Japan to restore the chapel.

What are "We" Americans Worried About in 2018?

There are lots of things to worry about but from a national standpoint there are some that seem to make the top list of Americans. It should be remembered that our national leadership and often the news frames what is important to us as Americans. I suspect the same process happens in every country and culture. According to the Pew's Research Centers poll of 1500 respondents the top ten things we are concerned about are.... 1. Terrorism 2. Education 3. Economy 4. Healthcare costs 5. Social Security 6. Environment 7. Jobs 8. Poor 9. Crime 10. Race Relations If you notice a lot of these things have been discussed in the news as a national dialogue. If I had my pick I would say that the long term sustainability of jobs, education designed for a modern world, and healthcare costs would be the top three. These have some of the biggest impacts on people's day-to-day lives.