OBAMAS STIMULUS PLAN: ADMINISTRATION OF CHANGE

Obamas Stimulus Plan: Administration of Change
Rounding the dark side of the moon

EarthriseForty years ago, three Apollo astronauts were the first to orbit the moon, and thus the first humans to see the dark side of the moon. In fact, their photograph of the fragile blue earth taken some 240,000 miles away is credited as a spark for the environmental movement―not a result anticipated in 1968. My hope is that we may be in the midst of a similar mind shift even as we come to grab with the economic scenery we’ve seen this past year, and as we welcome a new administration.

The challenges ahead and the changes we are likely to see under the Obama's administration will Help you find informed perspectives in four critical areas: the economy; health care; energy and the environment; and technology. The fact is, even during this period of change, there are many positive trends, matched by a host of opportunities. Medical technology and technology advances are continuing, and certainly will grow with an administration so committed to the expanded connections and enhanced efficiencies of 21st century digitization. Greening efforts also will receive new focus. Likewise, the administration’s commitment to empowerment, transparency and collaboration will yield a host of innovations and opportunities.

At the same time, as our new president has made clear, it is a time for all Americans to take a deep and sobering look at the excesses that led to this turmoil. Indeed, as we enter 2009, we might well feel like those astronauts peering down upon a dark and alien landscape. The year 2008 saw the most jobs lost since 1945 and the markets have fallen to levels last seen in the 1990s. And so we are confronted with urgent questions. Will we leave mountains of debt and a legacy of irresponsibility and lapsed compassion? Or will we leave, instead, a new system of coherent and smoothly functioning markets in which future generations can thrive and succeed? Time will tell.

The one thing I do know is that hard times do end, hastened by informed decisions and a willingness to look beyond today to better see tomorrow’s possibilities.