On April 12, 2013, Bob Burnett writes on OpNews.com:
The future is arriving faster than expected. According to a report by the National Intelligence Council, “Global Trends 2030,” seventeen years from now the world will be remarkably different. How does America plan to deal with this change?
“Global Trends 2030” predicts that four megatrends will reshape our world. The first is “Individual Empowerment.” The National Intelligence Council (NIC) believes that more areas of the world will be democratic, “owing to poverty reduction growth of the global middle class, greater educational attainment, widespread use of new communications and manufacturing technologies, and health-care advances.” We’ve seen evidence of this in “Arab Spring.”
The second megatrend is “Diffusion of Power.” The NIC observes, “There will not be any hegemonic power” and asks, “Will the US be able to work with new powers to reinvent the international system?”
The third megatrend is “Demographic Patterns.” The report predicts, “Economic growth might decline in “aging’ countries. Sixty percent of the world’s population will live in urbanized areas; migration will increase.”
The fourth megatrend is “Food, Water, Energy Nexus.” The NIC observes, “Demand for these resources will grow substantially due to an increase in the global population.” Population will increase from 7.1 billion, in 2012, to 8.3 billion people in 2030, resulting in a 35 percent increased demand for food, a 40 percent increase for water, and a 50 percent increase for energy.
We see evidence of these trends in contemporary America. However, while the world may see more “individual empowerment,” inequality is rising in the US with a corresponding loss of power for millions of citizens.
The problem for Republicans, and Americans in general, is that Reaganomics has failed. The market has not provided for the middle class, but instead produced economic instability, the most severe inequality in the last 100 years, and enormous environmental damage. Furthermore, the 2008 economic crash proved, once again, that markets are not inherently self-correcting, as Reaganomics promised and common-sense regulations are needed to protect citizens against Wall Street misdeeds. And finally, the market doesn’t have a strategic plan; instead it follows the path of least resistance — the easiest way to make money. While this behavior makes bankers rich it does not protect the interests of the average American.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Future-is-Coming-What-by-Bob-Burnett-130412-5.html
