BoN Statment On America

Americans believe in progress. They believe that the world will continue to improve. This is because in the history of America, it almost always has. For every generation after the greatest generation (my grandparents) it has always been getting better. This fundamental belief has become one of the greatest threats to America. The reason is simple, there is a large percentage of this country which now believes that we have improved so much not because of hard work, not because of American industry, but because it is simply what happens in America. They are not sure exactly why it happens, or how it happens, they have never really thought about it that way. Instead, they focus on what to do with all of this progress we have achieved. They don’t look at where we are today and say “wow, look how far we have come, lets see how much further we can go.” They look at where we are today and say “look where we are, the only fair thing to do is share this with everyone.” On its face, it is an appealing concept, and has taken in a large percentage of the population. But in real

America is the 8^th richest country per capita. An amazing achievement even more amazing when you consider it’s the only real economy in the top ten. Number one is Lichtenstein, which is about as large as my bathtub. Number two is Qatar which is practically a floating island on a sea of oil. Number three is Luxembourg, which is Lichtenstein’s fraternal twin but just happens to be squished between two different European powers. Four is Norway, which is the only developed country in the world which could live off its oil assets. Five is Kuwait – oil. Six, Singapore, less than 300sq miles. Seven Brunei, which used to sport the richest man in the world, and does hold the largest private collection of supercars. Nine is Hong Kong, enough said. And ten is Andorra, the third in the triumvirate of tiny European tax havens. Depending on how you count things, Switzerland and Ireland both need to be included, though Ireland is probably a little outdated at this point, and Switzerland is sort of a big version of Lichtenstein – a haven from the EU stuck right in the middle of it.

The important thing to think about here is that America has the highest per-capita GDP of any major country, by a fair margin. And if anything is going to help people, it is a higher per-capita GDP. It does not have the appeal or the ring to it of social security, welfare, medicare or “health care reform,” but it does have the singular advantage of actually working. In 1900, the