1776 to 2026: A 250-Year Work in Progress
We will celebrate our country’s 250 years of existence this week. The celebrations will include spectacular displays of fireworks across the country from major cities to backyards in rural towns. The night sky will be lit up by Saturn Missiles and Surfing Sharks, with children running around with sparklers. And yet these celebrations will take place against the backdrop of the constant reminders from the media and politicians about how divided we are in our country.
One of the prevailing narratives is that we are a two-class society where the financial divide continues to grow. New millionaires and billionaires, and now our first trillionaire, seem to be created daily while the rest of the country struggles. Celebrating this sort of achievement seems to be difficult to some. But despite our many flaws and the problems we face, I believe this is a good time to reflect on some of our successes.
- Productivity: Our country has only 4% of the world’s population, and yet we create 26% of the world total GDP
- Energy: We have become energy-independent and the world’s largest producer of oil, with over 13.8 million barrels per day produced. Our closest rival is Saudi Arabia at ten million barrels per day
- Innovation: US companies spend over $1 trillion per year on research and development. This expenditure is one reason why an estimated 57% of the global funds raised by venture capital and private equity firms are invested in US opportunities
- Companies: The US has eleven of the fifteen companies in the world with market caps over $1 trillion
- Global Reserve: The International Monetary Fund states that 58% of global central banks’ reserves are held in US dollar-denominated assets. The next closest are reserves denominated in the Euro at 20%
- Higher Education: Our university and college systems attract more foreign students than any other educational system in the world. 30% of the students at some of our top technical universities are from outside the US. An example close to home is the Georgia Tech Graduate Education Department which reports that 60% of its graduate students are from overseas
To say that our unique American experiment has been a success is an understatement. Moreover, over 100 countries have used our Declaration of Independence as their constitutional model.
We can be hard on ourselves. Our focus is usually on what we can, and should, do better. But this week gives us the opportunity to remember that our 250-year history is full and rich. We have many problems, and we are sometimes not very good at planning for the future, but we are very good at problem-solving. We are an example of the old adage: making sausage is messy, but when eaten, it sure tastes good. So during this week of celebrating our 250th birthday, I will focus on our unique greatness and how good it tastes.
Happy Birthday, America!
Carl Gambrell