Appreciation for Our Mature Economy

We should appreciate what is right in front of us.

My Filipina wife watches CNBC all day long while doing her other work. I often walk by and see how the markets are doing and occasionally listen to some of the interviews with leading financial experts. Of course, nothing like CNBC or other financial networks existed when I was growing up, not that they would have mattered to me considering our family’s circumstances at that time. However, just watching such networks always makes me appreciate how far our country has advanced in just a few decades.

Despite what some might say, America’s mature, complex economy is a marvel, the envy of the world. I am always amazed, indeed thrilled at the nearly infinite ways that Americans can produce income today. I find it fascinating that one can become a millionaire by designing clothes, not just manufacturing them. Our immense disposable income fuels pro sports to the extent that many young athletes who previously would play for the love of the game or for a very low income, are now multi-millionaires with many approaching billionaire status. I know a recent college graduate in Denver who started a website design company though he knew next to nothing about designing websites. He connected with individuals in far-flung countries who could design them in English, hired them, and he now makes a six-figure annual income working about twenty hours a week. I could go on. What I see from the younger generations leaves me optimistic for America and the American economy.

It is still possible, given favorable circumstances, to become wealthy in one generation. There are few countries that can make that claim. The quality of life in America over the last fifty years has risen dramatically for most of the population due to inventions like the microprocessor and the stunning advancements in healthcare. I also know there are some who cannot overcome their difficult circumstances. The systemic racial inequities and women’s treatment in the workplace will remain a stain on our nation’s history for the foreseeable future. Such mistreatment hurt our economy by not allowing all of America’s talent a chance to flourish. There is still some distance to go to ameliorate this situation, but almost everyone understands it must be done. As a former mayor of a major city, I spent much of my time trying to improve this situation, but even so, I still could not help but notice how far the country and the world have come during my nearly seven decades on this earth.

It is so much easier today to produce income than when I grew up. Technology has flattened the economy to the extent where almost anyone can produce income in multiple ways. After I retired from the Marine Corps, I started a company. I went down to the statehouse and in just a few minutes, with $10 (as I recall) and a signature, I formed a company. When we recently moved, one of the workers helping us had a side gig of day trading stocks on his phone while helping people move. Another was in real estate on the side. Most articles on finance targeting millennials and younger folks mention the value of side gigs. Technology makes it much easier to do such things than my generation could ever have imagined.

Even investing has flattened. Before Charles Schwab and other low-cost traders came about in the 1970s (thanks to the microprocessor), investing in stocks and other financial instruments were controlled by a few men in suits in offices where people like my family never tread. There are now untold quiet millionaires in America who learned how to invest wisely because they now could without gatekeepers, passing on that money to future generations.

Despite our differences internally, Americans should never forget what a marvelous and robust economy we have. Most countries envy the maturity and complexity of our economic system. This will continue as long as we do not forget what our regulated capitalism requires. Some of these include as low a barrier to entry as possible for companies; maintaining low interest rates while controlling inflation; fair and just regulation, without protectionism if possible, which should entail a level playing field so all who wish to participate can; and a more ready access to capital for all. Whatever inequities have occurred in the past, we have an economic infrastructure that beat back authoritarianism eighty years ago, revolutionized healthcare improving the lives and life spans of billions, contributed to countries needing our help, and improved the quality of life of Americans and others around the globe. We should recognize that.