Demographics is destiny. — Arthur Kemp The political destiny of the U.S. for the next 25 years is sealed. Here’s how: In the United States, the proportion of the population aged >65 years is projected to increase from 12.4% in…
Complexity, its burdens and its risks
I read a good article on the radical re-making of the advertising market today: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/151/mayhem-on-madison-avenue.html The article referenced a classic post by Clay Shirky that I’d read before, but was worth revisiting: http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2010/04/the-collapse-of-complex-business-models/ Clay, in turn, referenced a book by Joseph…
Great post on lessons learned from world travel
As most of you know, we spent most of the time between 2003 and 2009 exploring the world. We’ve got our own list of lessons learned from those travels here: http://www.hackneys.com/travel/index-lessons-byarea.htm Gary Arndt, who spent the last three years doing…
Facing the Future
I compiled my thoughts on the primary challenges the United States faces in the coming decade, and ways to overcome them, here: http://www.hackneys.com/docs/facingthefuture.pdf The primary focus in this collection is on domestic challenges, although some geopolitical issues are addressed. .
Intro to Geopolitics – Public Opinion
Following is a good overview of a current geopolitical situation from Stratfor, a public domain intelligence analysis firm. If you are interested in the particular issue and region at hand, Israel / Palestinians / rising Turkey / etc., you will probably find it…
Elia Kazan’s America
As part of our effort to reintegrate into American society and its culture, we’re spending part of our summer in the air conditioned retreat of the Paramount, a faithfully restored theater originally built in 1915 to host vaudeville as…
4th Floor Walkup
Yesterday, an entrepreneur told me of his father, who died at 81. The father lived in a 4th floor walkup until he was 79, when a fire in the building forced a move to a new building. The new building came…
Circles in Circles
Much of the story of humans and groups of humans, as well as the challenges that face America, can be told with circles. The core of the story is an individual. The first unit of human organization is the…
What We Can Afford
During America’s brief tenure atop the world’s pecking order between the end of WWII and the beginning of the current era, the country enjoyed an unprecedented run of prosperity and abundance. The country was so successful while producing copious wealth…
Ranking America
The United States of America enjoys many riches, inherent capabilities and positive attributes, as well as shortcomings, unresolved issues and a converging set of existential threats. The challenge is to be aware of the upsides of the United States without…