What is Upper Marlboro's American Dream?
Introducing a new series of stories looking at how our neighbors are facing challenges and opportunities to build better communities and better lives.
We're excited to inaugurate a new series for our Patch Readers: "DisPatches: The Changing American Dream."
Every day, the national media is full of stories about how American families, businesses, and neighbors are adjusting to these trying times.
There are so many changes happening so fast that it's dizzying: national debates about unemployment, foreclosures, debt, religion, government and private enterprise all touch on fundamental ways in which we see ourselves and our communities.
At Patch, we want to explore that conversation on a daily basis so we can better understand how our neighbors are adjusting to the challenges and opportunities that surround us.
We don't think there's one American Dream, but a multitude of American Dreams which a multitude of people are working toward. Looking out across nearly almost 900 Patch sites, we see businesses holding their breath deciding whether to expand; college graduates returning home because they can't find jobs; and senior citizens bringing boarders into their homes to help pay their bills.
We also see bold new volunteer efforts, inspiring stories of local businesses that succeed because they innovated, and locals who've taken these trying times as a signal to engage more, not less, in their government.
At the purely local level, we want to know where we, as Upper Marlboro neighbors, fit along these fault lines.
Nationally, numerous political scandals involving prominent legislators have rocked the federal government. Locally, we know that Leslie Johnson has resigned her seat on the County Council due to federal charges, and that a special election is scheduled this fall to find her replacement.
Nationally, the recession has closed all kinds of businesses. Locally, we know there's a lack of upscale retail here, and Upper Marlboro residents must travel to other counties to spend their money.
"DisPatches" will be built upon the compelling vignettes and snapshots we unearth across all of our Patch sites.
And, of course, we want your help: Tell us what issues and what stories in Upper Marlboro go to the heart of your American Dream.
Joseph Patrick Bulko, MBA
7:28 am on Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Wow! Upper Marlboro's American Dream? With millions and millions of otherwise hard-working American citizens (perhaps permanently) unemployed nationwide, the concept of the "American Dream" is fading fast into memory. As the tepid economic "recovery" fizzles to a stall and an ideological civil war rages in Washington, the "American Dream" for many millions is simply to have a job and be able to support a family. Without some sort of effective jobs solution, the "Dream" is effectively over. It should be abundantly clear by now that we cannot rely on government to steer the economy back to good health. What we need is a private-sector solution!
Here's my idea: I have devised a private-sector free market plan to achieve the goal of returning the U.S. economy to full employment. The plan provides a major private-sector-based profit-generating incentive to Wall Street to transfer massive amounts of investment funding to Main Street through the creation of a massive number of new entrepreneurial ventures. The plan effectively "piggy-backs" onto existing financial industry architecture to securitize the entrepreneurial investment process, thus enabling Wall Street to make boatloads of cash in the secondary market. The net result of the plan is the massive creation of new jobs to jump-start the U.S. economy back to full employment. Read the proposal here: http://jpbulko.newsvine.com
Joseph Patrick Bulko MBA