America 250: Pursuit of Happiness SV
Americans know by heart the inalienable rights listed in the Declaration of Independence - Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. No other constitution or founding document lists this right - Opportunity - as the enduring right which distinguishes the USA. Often described as the American Dream - if you work hard, you can succeed here despite wherever you’re from, whatever your background or ethnic origin.
Industrialization turned the U.S. into a superpower, as innovation after innovation scaled in America - electricity, cars, aircraft, food, movies, television, oil, etc. Growing up in Silicon Valley, I’ve lived through waves of innovation - semiconductors, PCs, dot.com bust, iPhone, social media, and now AI. Silicon Valley innovation fuels S&P500 growth - that’s been the American Dream in the Golden State.
Only 4 in 10 U.S. adults feel proud about America’s 250th anniversary
We’re only one of two houses on my street flying the American flag. Political polarization has resulted in hostility and undermined America’s confidence in our institutions. I get it - 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and our government seems dysfunctional. Nearly 8 in 10 say signers of the Declaration would be disappointed.
So what did Jefferson and Adams expect?
Exactly 50 years after signing the Declaration of Independence, co-authors Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on the same day July 4, 1826. Both early Presidents and leaders of opposite political parties, they began corresponding again during the War of 1812 against the British, when the country’s survival was again tested:
Quotes from Thomas Jefferson in blue from his letters to John Adams 1812-13
The Bicentennial was jubilant
The Bicentennial seemed exciting here - many parades, events and Elton John sang Philadelphia Freedom. I’m not sure things were that different in 1976. We lost Vietnam, Russia/Soviet Union was our enemy, and Iran would soon take Americans hostage (read Cold War 2.0). Our economic competitor was Japan, not China. Manufacturing started to leave, as the term “Rust belt states” was coined.
After the oil price shock from the OPEC embargo during the 1973 Yom Kippur War in the Middle East, inflation ran at 5.76% in 1976. 30-year fixed rate mortgages were 8.85% after falling from 16.64% in 1972. Democrats controlled the House, but Republicans often were in the White House. The only difference was Reagan could have dinner with Speaker Tip O’Neill and work out a compromise.
What’s the Good News?
Gemini sources: US National Accounts, EU World Bank/IMF, China National Bureau Statistics
The Gross Domestic Product per capita in the U.S. is nearly twice Europe and 6x China. Our economy continues to grow with innovation driving productivity, much due to Silicon Valley. Well-functioning and efficient capital markets with limited governmental regulation facilitates this innovation.
Celebrate the Semiquincentennial America 250!
About 7 in 10 Americans believe the country is achieving the ideals for which the country was founded, shared by a majority of Democrats, Independents and Republicans, according to the same recent Gallup survey.
