Unleashing the Second American Century : Four Forces for Economic Dominance (Hardcover)--by Joel Kurtzman [2014 Edition] ISBN: 9781610393096

Political gridlock in Washington... the lingering effects of the financial crisis . . . structural problems such as unemployment and the skills gap of our work force . . . the mediocre K-12 educational system. Are our best days behind us? Joel Kurtzman persuasively shows why all the talk about America's decline is not only baseless but dead wrong. Our best days, are, in fact, ahead of us. Four transformational forces -- unrivaled manufacturing depth, soaring levels of creativity, massive new energy sources, and gigantic amounts of capital waiting to be invested -- have been gathering steam. When combined they will provide the foundation for a much stronger economy, robust growth, and broad-based prosperity that will propel the United States to new heights. One endlessly repeated anxiety is that "we don't make anything here, anymore." The reality, though, is that the US is the world's dominant manufacturing power -- and growing. American companies produce 20 percent of the world's goods in the US and perhaps another 15 to 20 percent outside our country. And much of what we make is recession-proof -- such as software, jetliners, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and food. Kurtzman reveals the stories of the unsung heroes who are the creative force leading the second American century, describing the payoff of the investment in our best minds. American companies have stunning levels of talent and creativity at work in the world's fastest growing economic sectors -- biotech, pharmaceuticals, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, advanced manufacturing, materials science, and aeronautical and space engineering. In these fields, Americans are without peer and consistently break new ground. We are coming to the realization that America is no longer beholden to the despots of foreign energy. Thanks to advances in technology developed in the US, we now have among the world's largest energy reserves, and are richer in energy resources than Saudi Arabia and second only to Russia. These three strengths -- manufacturing, soaring levels of creativity, and energy independence -- will be magnified and synergistically combined with the unprecedented amount of capital that now lies idle. US companies of all types are hoarding cash and securities worth more than 4 trillion -- an amount larger than the world's fourth largest economy, Germany. When the money starts flowing and is invested, it will rapidly propel every part of the economy forward. An Optimistic, Fact-based Look At How Four Transformational Forces-unrivaled Manufacturing Depth, Soaring Levels Of Creativity, Massive New Energy Sources, Gigantic Amounts Of Capital Available-will Propel The U.s. To New Economic Heights In Unleashing The Second American Century, Business Expert Joel Kurtzman Shows Conclusively That All The Talk About The Relative Decline Of The United States Is Not Only Baseless-it's Dead Wrong. A Widely-held Misconception Is That America Doesn't Make Things Anymore. But The U.s Is By Far The World's Dominant Manufacturing Power, And Most Of What We Make Is Recession-proof. America Also Has A Stunning Level Of Talent And Creativity In The World's Fastest-growing Economic Sectors, Such As Biotech, Pharmaceutical, Computer Hardware And Software, And Telecommunications. Due To Shale And Gas, America Has The World's Largest Energy Reserves, And Is More Favorably Endowed Than Even The Middle East. Finally, America Has An Unprecedented Amount Of Capital Now Idle-approximately $4.4 Trillion, A Sum That Is About $1 Trillion Larger Than The German Economy, The World's Fourth Largest. As Kurtzman Shows, When The Business Community Fully Grasps The Opportunities In The U.s., Prosperity Will Return-and Much Faster Than We Now Think Possible-- The Foundation Of Joel Kurtzman's Thesis - That We Are Heading Into The Second American Century And The Wind Is At Our Back - Is Based On His Years Of Analyzing And Reporting On The Economy, The Markets, And Business, And An Unbiased Understanding Of Our Strengths And Weaknesses. What's Clear To Him After Painstakingly Assessing Our Prospects, Is That All The Talk About The Imminent Collapse Of The United States Is Not Only Baseless, It's Dead Wrong. We've All Heard The Arguments Before. In Fact, We've Heard Them For At Least 100 Years And They Have Always Been Wrongheaded And False. (remember How Japan Was Going To Overtake Us?) Anyone Who Objectively Looks Across The World's Economic Horizon, Knows The United States Is Strong. In Many Ways It Is Even Insulated From All Those Economic Troubles Abroad - Europe's Debt Crisis And Asia's Looming Slowdown. He Will Be Arguing That Even With So Much Of The World Ailing, America Will Grow Stronger Still - And Significantly So. While America's Problems Are Real, They Are Manageable And Receding. This Is Not Just One Man's Opinion But Analysis Based On Numbers And Trends. America Is A Wealthy, Accomplished, Dynamic Country, And It Is Better Positioned To Shape The Future Than Any Other Nation On Earth. Part Of The Reason For This Is Due To The Luck Of Geography And Geology, But Not All Of It. Our Strengths Are Immense. In Our Downwardly Spiraling Discussions About Our Fate, We Have Done The Economic Equivalent Of Mistaking Weather For Climate. There May Be Economic Clouds In The Sky Today, And Perhaps A Few Tomorrow, But The Clouds Are Fleeting And The Long-term Outlook Is Bright. In Fact, The Farther Out In Time We Look, The Better It Looks-- Introduction : No One Ever Made A Plugged Nickel Betting Against The Usa -- A Stroll Through The Innovation Corridor -- The Rich Man's Depression -- The United States Of Creativity -- Abundant, Cheap Energy -- Money To Burn -- America Makes Things -- Not Everything's Perfect -- California Dreaming -- Opportunities Abound. Joel Kurtzman. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 263-277) And Index. "An optimistic, fact-based look at how four transformational forces-unrivaled manufacturing depth, soaring levels of creativity, massive new energy sources, gigantic amounts of capital available-will propel the U.S. to new economic heights In Unleashing the Second American Century, business expert Joel Kurtzman shows conclusively that all the talk about the relative decline of the United States is not only baseless-it's dead wrong. A widely-held misconception is that "America doesn't make things anymore." But the U.S is by far the world's dominant manufacturing power, and most of what we make is recession-proof. America also has a stunning level of talent and creativity in the world's fastest-growing economic sectors, such as biotech, pharmaceutical, computer hardware and software, and telecommunications. Due to shale and gas, America has the world's largest energy reserves, and is more favorably endowed than even the Middle East. Finally, America has an unprecedented amount of capital now idle-approximately $4.4 trillion, a sum that is about $1 trillion larger than the German economy, the world's fourth largest. As Kurtzman shows, when the business community fully grasps the opportunities in the U.S., prosperity will return-and much faster than we now think possible"-- Résumé de l'éditeur An optimistic, fact-based look at why the wind is at America's back and how four transformational forces " unrivaled manufacturing depth, soaring levels of creativity, massive new energy sources, gigantic amounts of capital waiting to be used - will propel the U.S. to new heights.