Some Thoughts on the Political Transition

Despite temptations to remain focused on Trump's cultural divisiveness, we can't afford to lose sight of what has become a substantial economic divide. Is it possible to shift toward a more productive dialogue - one that addresses our long neglected structural dilemma? 

And consider how economic divisions have only grown since Trump's time in office. These issues will continue to impact our political differences if they aren't brought out into the open. Indeed, we need to explore broader perspectives for future wealth creation, while it remains fully possible to do so. From a recent Brookings article re the economic divide:

The data confirms that the election sharpened the striking geographic divide between red and blue America, instead of dispelling it.

Democrats and Republicans disagree on policy approaches, but they both tend to come up empty handed on action based structural approaches. Consequently, the passive aggressiveness of political gridlock rules the day. Even though political gridlock seems the safest option to some, it is a poor substitute for non tradable sector innovation, long term growth potential and economic dynamism. Worse, political gridlock means additional cultural battles, as Democrats and Republicans compete over high income work- especially for careers which include governmental redistribution. 

In all of this, it doesn't help that Republicans increasingly take a protectionist or zero sum approach towards wealth creation. For that matter, many Democrats are doing the same. Plus, some Republicans tend to discount the importance of knowledge based services which are structured as secondary or dependent markets. We recently witnessed evidence of this in Trump's disregard of physicians, due to their need to treat Covid-19 as an income generating source. Once we create organizational patterns for healthcare as originating wealth sources (via time reciprocity), these important activities will finally be independent of endless governmental posturing and the ticking time bombs of budgetary crisis.

Both Democrats and Republicans will need to recognize that in healing the economic divide, left behind regions (urban, rural and suburban alike) will need to approach resource utilization differently. Once supply side solutions are embraced which address the reality of small incomes, millions of citizens can start building more secure futures for themselves and their families. We can all breathe a sigh of collective relief, once broader sources of wealth creation and prosperity become possible. 

Even though we seek common ground with Democrats and Republicans, we still should not rely on their political backing to achieve better economic and social outcomes. It's time to get started on free market templates for new communities, so that political polarization and societal divisions might finally be eased.