A case for optimism
Don't bet against America
Last night, President Biden addressed a joint session of Congress to deliver his State of the Union address.
Did you watch it, last night? I didn’t. It was after my bedtime.
But, I did watch it this morning and have read the transcript a couple times.
This post isn’t really about what the President said, though. It’s more a continuation of my assessment of the state of our union.
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve talked at length about the contraction in America’s economy, in terms of dynamism, and how seemingly the world has lost its mind.*
Despite these dual challenges (the multi-decade decline in dynamism and the seemingly deteriorating situations at home and abroad), Americans should remain optimistic about the future.
We are the inheritors of a legacy of innovative problem solvers and builders. We have overcome terrible challenges over and over. We established the first modern republic. We have faced our brothers and sisters and neighbors in a terrible civil war and reconciled and rebuilt. We have stared down fascists and communists and we have stood as the guarantor of freedom and democracy for all nations. And, through it all, we have demonstrated the same traits and abilities as our forebears.
American firsts are numerous, and it would be tedious to list them all. A few of those firsts, however, do bear mention as they represent the technological progenitors of much of today’s commonplace technology.
We, as Americans, placed the first phone calls and developed widespread lighting solutions. We built the first skyscrapers and pioneered powered flight. Americans split the atom and built the first computer. Our innovators brought forth the internet and mobile phones, shrinking the entirety of the world to fit in our pockets. We are the only country that has put a person on the moon, and with the recent launch of the Artemis-1 Rocket, we are finally returning, 50 years after Eugene Cernan left.
A few, notable American firsts:
1. 1876 - The first telephone call (Alexander Graham Bell), Boston, MA
2. 1897 - The first useful lightbulb (Thomas Edison), Menlo Park, NJ
3. 1885 - The first skyscraper (Home Insurance Building), Chicago, IL
4. 1903 - The first flight (Wright flyer), Kitty Hawk, NC
5. 1942 - The first sustained nuclear reaction (Chicago Pile - 1), Chicago, IL
6. 1945 - The first programmable, electronic computer (ENIAC), Philadelphia, PA
7. 1969 - The first manned Lunar mission (Apollo 11), Earth I
8. 1969 - The sketch for the first internet (ARPANet), Berkeley, CA
9. 1994 - The first smartphone (IBM Simon), Atlanta, GA
There is nothing in this world that is stronger than a fully mobilized America, dedicated to making the world safer and freer.
In his SOTU address, the President highlighted a few key points that fit along with my case for optimism, and I think they bear repeating here:
There were 5.4 million applications for new businesses in 2021 and 5.1 million in 2022 (FRED)
In the past two years, we’ve added 800,000 manufacturing jobs (BLS)
The CHIPS and Science Act has resulted in ~$300B in announced investments for manufacturing (SEMI)
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is leading to ~$550B in federal investments to repair and build American Infrastructure (CNN)
We may have stumbled, but make no doubt about it, America is an incredibly resilient country. We are bouncing back. We will meet the challenges ahead and continue to innovate and build and produce.
Don’t bet against America.
Keep building!
Andrew