Hope and the National Security of the United States

Barry, My Liege :

As you know this space concerns itself with the National Security of the United States of America.

In this space, I interpret that concept in the broadest sense of the concept as opposed to a narrow focus on armed forces and international conflicts.

In that respect and in broad terms, I agree with your National Security Strategy of May 2010. [http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/rss_viewer/national_security_strategy.pdf]

The reason for taking a broad as opposed to a narrow focus is that any nation's military power rests on the economic and social strength of the country. The place of economic performance as the underpinning of military strength was thoroughly explored in THE RISE AND FALL OF THE GREAT POWERS : ECONOMIC CHANGE AND MILITARY CONFLICT FROM 1500 TO 2000, Paul Kennedy, Random House, New York, 1987.

In essence, any nation that builds its military strength at the expense of its population's economic well-being is doomed to failure and decline.

Any nation which attempts to lead other nations must, therefore, create a sound economy and a prosperous populace. And, since we in the United States aspire to lead, we must create a successful economy for our citizens.

In order to further the concept of a broad as opposed to a narrow view of national security, I have systematized the interaction of national government policies and the creation of wealth in any political arrangement into a list of 34 specific economic policies. That list of polices is readily available on the website www.mkeever.com.

Further, that website provides detailed studies of how well or poorly the national governments of more than 45 countries including the United States frame and implement each of the 34 policies and contribute to the economic well-being of their respective populations.

As a result of those analyses performed over several years I have reached some conclusions about our national security ; these conclusions may be of interest to you in your capacity as President.

On the plus side of the ledger, the United States is the pre-eminent military power in the world and has no serious challenger. Our economy is rich and generates vast wealth, some of which supports that military power. We are the world's leader in providing jobs and a road to a secure life for families. As a result we are a magnet for immigration for the populations of many countries. Those immigrants bring their energy and creativity and contribute positively to our wealth and security. Our citizens enjoy the admiration and respect of populations of most countries due to our open and generous nature.

But, Barry My Liege, there are clouds on the horizon which may affect our national security negatively.

The central challenge we face is the danger that our basic social compact - known as the American dream - is breaking before our eyes. That compact has been that the children of any generation will have a better life than the parents. A corollary to that compact is that any person can succeed in building a better life with talent and hard work in America.

That is where our Hope comes from - the idea that we can create a better life for our children. When we have that hope, then we work harder with enthusiasism to make the country a better place. Then is the country more secure. When we don't have that hope, we don't care about the country and it is less secure.

Barry, My Liege, we don't have that hope anymore. We don't think that our children's lives will be better than ours.

Even Mexican illegal immigrants are staying home because the American Dream is no longer available to them; it's called 'net zero' emigration.

That is why the Occupy movement exists and why it will continue. I, for one, hope that their energy will encourage positive changes in our national policies.

There are some specific factors which are breaking our social compact.

First and foremost is the recent creation of a huge gap between the Very Rich and the rest of us. The economic effect of the super rich is that they siphon wealth away from the general population ; that also stifles new business formation and job creation by taking away the purchasing power needed to support Aggregate Demand. Without expanding Aggregate Demand, the economy cannot grow.

Second is the inability of the Federal Government to accomplish anything. Our system of government relies on compromise and negotiation to accomplish public good. At the moment, Republican leaders simply refuse to compromise for the good of the country. We cannot be a world leader unless we can accomplish the business of government.

Third, our security apparatus appears to be out of control and to willfully disregard the wishes of the population. Several laws and practices have compromised the Constitution severely. This has led to dangerous national practices and has contributed to the deterioration of our social compact.

Those are the most important factors damaging our national security at this time. Barry, My Liege, I could go on and comment on more specifics and will be happy to do so at your request.

For now, I will be grateful if you consider these thoughts seriuosly since that may contribute to a stronger United States of America.

Your faithful servant,