Where does America's wealth lies?

[Gary H]

Over the last 70 years, much of our wealth came out of WWII. The American homeland was mostly spared the devastation that blanketed Britain, continental Europe, the perimeter of the Mediterranean, the western portion of Russia, parts of Scandinavia, huge swaths of China, Indochina, most of Japan, and islands across the western Pacific. American industry rapidly switched from the largest producer of military hardware to the largest producer of commercial hardware.

Partly because it was the humane and ethical thing to do and maybe partly because it was a long term strategy to foster future markets for those commercial goods, the U.S.A. invested very heavily in rebuilding countries devastated by the war including the homelands of our former enemies: German, Italy, and Japan.

These good decisions and strategies included two significant items: the GI Bill and the investment in math and science education. The GI BIll permitted, perhaps for the first time in world history, an enormous portion of the military veterans to attend college. This increased supply of college graduates coupled with the growing job opportunities in manufacturing resulted in an extended period of economic success, probably the greatest in history. The "Space Race" motivated the investment in public education with specific focus on math, science and technology. This happened at a time when young families were, in general, in really good economic shape and were having lots of children.

So... In many respects, America's real wealth lies in the cultural and social values that were established and reinforced during this period. Hopefully, our current and future generations will recognize the wisdom that was evident in these government programs and will apply similar wisdom gong forward.