Debt is one of the primary underpinnings of the economic turbulence we are now experiencing.  In the last 50 years debt has gone from something occasional to something universal, embraced and now endemic. Borrow against the future to pay for today.  Debt, debt, debt, debt is like the drip, drip, drip, drip of a faucet that slowing fills up a sink and overflows.  The four debts referred to here are personal, corporate, city and state and federal.  All of them feel as though they are beginning to come home to roost and the outlook, if not faced and dealt with, will come together with dire consequences.

Personal or consumer debt is a relatively recent phenomenon.  Diners Club launched the first widely used credit card in 1950.  Before that, consumers paid cash or made a down payment and had a short term low interest payment.  The idea of the Diners Club card and then seven years later the American Express card was to allow people who entertain or travel to not have to carry large amounts of cash.  It was expected that bills would be paid in full every month.    Up until this point, consumers bought goods when they had the money to pay for them.  Now of course people buy things with cards as they often don’t have money to pay for them.  Immediate gratification in a materialistic society that bombards consumers with literally hundreds and thousands of advertising messages a day.

Companies have long used credit and debt to build enterprises …

Happy New Year to all of you that are regular readers of this blog and to those of you who might be coming to it the first time.  May 2008 be a happy year for everyone.  I can promise that it will be another year of upheaval and change, probably exceeding 2007 in that regard.  I will submit to you my annual predictions, both general and specific, for the year within the next two weeks.  Right now I would like to take a quick look at several late in the year developments of 2007 that provide indication as to where we are going and what will lay ahead for us in 2008. 

As I have stated here several times, a fundamental aspect of being a futurist is to look for patterns to discern the dynamics that will shape our collective future.  Events, inventions, social, cultural and economic developments, trailblazing efforts by individuals and small groups, when looked at collectively can reveal underlying patterns and trends, both macro and micro.  Here are some notable developments that point into our future, some of which will be looked at in greater detail in future columns.
Writers’ Strike
 
The writers’ strike in the entertainment business is now two months old. Its’ length, the animosity it has engendered and the immediate consequences of it are significant.  It has within it the seeds of structural and permanent change in the entertainment business. The annual …

The Bush Administration has always made me think of George Orwell and his novel “1984” from the point of view of language.  While all politicians and all administrations I can remember have been somewhat loose with language and the truth, the current administration has realized the vision of Orwell in that language means nothing and is to be used to manipulate the citizens of the country.

What makes me think of this once again?  The Bush EPA blocking California and 16 other states from enforcing states laws to protect the environment and their citizens. EPA stands for Environmental Protection Agency, yet the Bush EPA has nothing to do with protecting the environment and everything to do with turf battles and giving in to special interests.  As we all know, the Bush administration has shown no respect for the environment and has shown a total absence of leadership in the area of CO2 emissions.  It actually fought and lost a court case where the court ruled that the EPA does have jurisdiction over the issue of green house emissions.  Who does the Bush EPA protect?  Not the environment.

The signing into law of the energy bill last week allowed the Bush EPA to deny California and the other states from enforcing laws that have more stringent regulations regarding CO2 emissions and automotive fleet MPG.  The emissions standards California adopted in 2004, which were never approved by the federal government, would force automakers to cut greenhouse gas emission by 30 percent by 2016.  If …

Thinking a lot about the future as I do, I keep coming back to the fact that there are five or six fundamental and critical issues that face America in this still new century. The degree to which we begin to face these key issues and to start to do so right now will determine whether our greatness as a nation will continue and build upon our magnificent history. 

Will America continue to be the great nation we still think it is?  As a nation will we be able to adjust to the rapidly changing realities of the world?  As we move from the Information Age to the Shift Age will we have the resolve to make some really difficult choices and rise up as we have in the past to meet our national promise and legacy? 

In just the last 18 months the awareness and acceptance of global warming has gone from a minority to a majority of us.  This issue is one that we now see is something that while not greatly disrupting our lives today, might have catastrophic effects for our children and certainly for our grandchildren.  The question for America is how and how quickly we can move from a society and economy based upon formerly cheap fossil fuels to one that is based upon renewable energy sources that are sustainable and non-polluting.  We now see we are at risk and we are starting to take action. 

The issue we must now also face is the alarming issue of …