Tweet

Two Views Of America's Future

Guest post by: Michael Hume

Article Overview: Believe it or not, I never cared much for politics. It always seemed like the political machinations of running the country were happening someplace far away, that people who cared deeply about such things were "on it," and that there wasn't much a single person could do to change things, anyway. Besides, I was generally too busy raising kids, running a business, or leading a team to give politics much time or thought....

Two Views Of America's Future

A Divided Nation Must Learn Again How To Lead Believe it or not, I never cared much for politics. It always seemed like the political machinations of running the country were happening someplace far away, that people who cared deeply about such things were "on it," and that there wasn't much a single person could do to change things, anyway. Besides, I was generally too busy raising kids, running a business, or leading a team to give politics much time or thought.

Truth is, most of the folks I've known from my generation felt the same way. They were busy living their lives, and didn't feel the need to pay more than passing attention to the way America's leaders were running the country. But that's changed lately. People are tuned in. And, generally, they're deeply divided.

There are two major views of America's future, and they're very different. Essentially, one view is that the nation needs more government, and the other, that it needs less.

Perhaps not by coincidence, I also think there are two kinds of people out there: the self-reliant, risk taking, personally-responsible "Entrepreneurs," and the dependent, authoritarian, generally-critical "Victims." Yes, we all have both types within is, but in general, we are all dominated by one or the other.

With many exceptions, I believe the Entrepreneurs tend to want less government. They don't need it. In a commercial sense, Entrepreneurs would prefer as little government as possible and the freedom to run their businesses according to their own wisdom and instincts. Sure, they want good roads and a strong Department of Defense to ensure liberty... but mostly, the more government gets out of their way, the better they like it. They don't want to be given anything; what they have, they earn.

Victims, again with some exceptions, want more government. They would like the government to be there at every turn, controlling things, redistributing resources, making sure everybody gets an equal share of everything. "Equal opportunity" isn't enough - Victims want equal outcomes, regardless of effort expended, resources invested, or ideas generated and developed. Their view is that the government should take care of everybody, and make sure no one gets very far out in front of anyone else.

America has always been dominated by Entrepreneurs, and even today, I think there are more Entrepreneurs than Victims out there. But the nation is divided, and the government has grown, largely because those in power have figured out over the last century that they can gain and grow their power by playing to the Victim mindset. Every institution that helps drive public opinion - Government, Academe, Labor Unions, The Media, and Hollywood - is dominated by those who have a big-government view of America's future. So, by influencing the vast middle - those of us who are "independent" and only pay as much attention to politics as we have to - the big-government camp gets a disproportionate share of votes at election time. Sometimes it's enough to drive the agenda (as it was in the 2008 election); sometimes, the Entrepreneurs wake up and wrest back as much power to the citizens as they can (as happened in 2010).

Over the last hundred years, though, the size of government has marched steadily upward. The awakenings still occur, but for every step back from collective statism the electorate takes, they find that the country's elected leaders have already taken two or three steps closer. That's what used to be known as "liberalism," and is now euphemistically referred to as the "progressive" movement.

If you are an Entrepreneur (whether or not you own a business), stay awake. Wake your neighbors. The nation will not reverse the progressive tide without you. And to avoid sliding into the abyss of failure, America must reverse the progression of the "disease" that ails her. Collectivism has failed every time it's been tried, and free-market capitalist republicanism has led the world for two centuries. Not just the next generation of Americans, but even the future of the world's prosperity, depends on the continued vigilance (and action) of Entrepreneurs.

Related Articles
  The Financial Rollercoaster of Americas Economy
  Defining Success Metrics for Corporate Blogs
  Work Life Balance
  How To Get More YouTube Views and Subscribers
  The world we share
  Will YOUR New Year Be REALLY New?
  Daily Data
  Are you watching your Article marketing stats?
  Powerful Strategic Networking Questions From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
  The Positive Benefits of Being More Tolerant
  Interactive Public Relations
  Dealing With Over-Rated Confidence In Employee Performance Reviews
  A MAJOR PUBLIC RELATIONS BLUNDER: CHARGING FOR PROPAGANDA
  Creating Successful Management Systems for Small Business
  Twittering Money Away: API Service Review of Twitter Counter
  Use Website Statistics to be No 1 on Google
  Buyer Personas are the Foundation upon which Demand Generation is Built
  Creating A Business Vision - First Step To Successful Succession Planning For Your Business
  A Closer Look at Money Making Blogs
  Deep Blue, Sea of Change

Article Tags: entrepreneurship, inspirational leadership, personal responsibility, wealth building



Related Forum Posts
Future Financial Corporation - I've never heard of Future Financial Corporation is this a new company?
Re: How do you back up your computer? - Seems like backup has definitely hit a nerve. Evan, thanks for sharing your experience with the Backblaze service. Regarding the time it takes to backup: * The initial backup will take a little while (one to two weeks for most users) depending on your Internet upload connection and the amount of data you have. You can click the "How long will my first backup take?" link to find out the estimate for you. * Future backups will be very quick as Backblaze will only backup new files and the pieces of those that have changed. Thanks! Gleb
Patent Walk-Through - Hello everyone! My name is Alex, I'm 18 years old and I'm constantly drawing up new ideas and inventing stuff. I sketch stuff down everywhere I go and on anything I can write on. I'm a big member of our local Future Business Leaders of America chapter (FBLA). In the future I hope to work my way up to being a Venture Capitalist. I think of myself as a pretty creative person who is very motivated. Some of the ideas and inventions I come up with are pretty far out but others I consider marketable and to have great potential. Being 18, I have little to no connections and no resources. I've been surfing this site pretty frequently for the last year and have finally decided to join the forum group. Anyway, here's my question... Basically, I have no idea how to get a patent together the costs and the overall process. As of now, I think I have a great idea that, as far as I know has not, ever been done before. I'm really excited about this idea. I'm a total novice at this and am willing to learn all that I can. Any information that you can provide me with would be great. Again the main things I want to know are: 1.Overall Process. 2.How Long It Takes. 3.Costs. 4.Anything That You Think I Should Know. 5.Tips/Experiences. 6.Confidentiality. 7.Must I Make A Physical Model of My Idea? Thanks guys! -Alex
Re: your personality type? - Hi Zac, If you're on the fence about 2 and 3, I'd think more about them. Big picture people tend to be oblivious to the detail of what is happening NOW -- the colors on a restaurant wall, the layout of someone's apartment, the color of people's shirts at a party, etc. They instead notice the "theme" -- an upscale restaurant (who knows what color), casual shirts at a party (not sure what style), etc. A "trendy" apartment, but who knows where the bathroom was. Gut feeling people tend to act w/o all the facts, and are comfortable following that instinct. "Thinker" people will choose something even if they HATE it, just because it "makes sense." Where as that makes no sense to a gut person. Thinkers are more "black and white" where as gut instinct feelers are more "gray area" people. But going with your selections... 1. Within 2. Big Picture 3. Gut Feeling 4. Spontaneous The Reflective Seeker of Truth. You are a passionate searcher of big-picture meaning and strive to help others with your empathetic listening skills. Socially, you are usually quiet, but can be a social butterfly when you feel like it, though it can be draining to do so for too long. You have a very silly and goofy side, enjoy people and need time to quietly reflect #1 Strength: Predicting Future Likelihoods #2 Strength: Expressing Social Feeling Predicting Future Likelihoods Predicting what is likely to happen, based on past events, themes, or what has historically been true. Deciding what will happen, based on past events. These predictions are usually spoken with con?dence and certainty. A thread or common idea is drawn from the past, and these ideas are used to decide what will happen in the future. Authorities and past situations are extremely important for deciding what will happen in the future. Expressing Social Feeling Setting an emotional tone, vibrant, energetic, or serious, etc. Concerned with the emotional environment as it?s happening -- the vibe of people at a party, the tone of a situation, other people?s responses. Setting the tone -- dramatic and serious, or lighthearted and a celebration. Emotional displays are important for knowing how others are feeling, whether bad or good. Someone talking in a monotone about feelings seems insincere. Feels should be shown, so they can be read by others. If that is your type, your #1 match would be... The Strong-Willed Go-Getter. You are a bold sculptor of the here-and-now in order to achieve immediate results following a logical system for making decisions. You add a fun, upbeat vibe to social events and are often the most gregarious person in the room. #1 Strength: Commander of Physical Space #2 Strength: Systematic/Rule Logic
How to valuate a business - Hi Garth - here is how we did it at Northern Crown Capital when I was helping them raise venture capital for Toronto-based entrepreneurs. Assume the start date is 2003 so 2008 projections are 5 years out: How Northern Crown Capital Valuates a Business 2008 Financial Projections Earnings Before Tax $5,865,000 Tax Rate 42% Taxes $2,463,300 Net Earnings $3,401,700 Amount Seeking to Raise Today $3,500,000 Discounted Value of Future Opportunity, 5 Years Out 2008 P/E Ratio 15 Value of Company in 2008 $51,025,500 Discount Rate Applied 30% Year 2008 $51,025,500 Year 2007 $35,717,850 Year 2006 $25,002,495 Year 2005 $17,501,747 Year 2004 $12,251,223 Value of Company at Investment in 2003 $12,251,223 Less: Investment Amount $3,500,000 Present Value $8,751,223 Discount for Risk & Private Company 40% Less: Discount for Risk & Private Company $3,500,489 Private Company Value $5,250,734 Present Value (What the Owner Keeps) $5,250,734 60.00% Financing (What the Investor Gets) $3,500,000 40.00% Total $8,750,734 100.00% I hope this helps!


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

How to Sell to the Price Driven Customer

What is an Adaptive Organization

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.