by Linda Vega (re-posted with permission of author and Latinos Ready to Vote)

“No complaint, however, is more common than that of a scarcity of money.” – Adam Smith, 18th Century Scottish social philosopher and political economist

The current President won his nomination on his currency of hope. America was a war weary nation in the midst of an economic tsunami needing a rescuer. President Obama’s campaign was a slogan that was not tangible, nothing of immediate value but one of a promised miracle. In essence, it was something he said that could or could not happen. Our nation was in such a desperate need of a hero that it would elect a man based on illusionary values of Change and Hope. Was this man a genius or were we that desperate and void of inspiration that we would believe it, buy into it to elect him our President.

If a candidate runs on these illusionary promises in the 2012 campaign, that candidate will have to create a magic show at this point. We must send the word that we need a person who will put millions of unemployed and underemployed Americans back to work to regain their lost standard of living.

In today’s world, our world here in the U.S., we are concentrating on blame. We blame immigrants for the loss of jobs. We blame big industry for corruption. We blame the Federal government for too much intrusion and not enough problem solving skills. But we fail to understand how all of these factors of government, immigration, and big business can correct our economic crises if we allow them to work for us, not against us. If we shift the blame and take responsibility for having elected a man with verbal magic, we may have the self confidence to take back our country from its current demise.

America was built by free thinkers who envisioned a capitalist free market based on necessity, competition, and free will. The theory came, in part, from, the great economist Adam Smith. It was Smith, who realized that our own thoughts on morality and doing the correct thing for ourselves will also affect those in our society. In other words, the more we do to provide for ourselves the more we will do to provide for others. Although faulty at times, if we look at the likes of Ken Lay and Bernie Madoff mishaps, this theory has been the best one to shape the economy of the United States.

To see its success, we can look to the likes of Dale Carnegie, Michael Dell, Bill Gates, and so on. We also have Immigrants like Albert Einstein, Joseph Pulitzer, and Rita M. Rodriguez who came to this country and made incredible contributions that have helped to shape our industries in mathematics, nanotechnology, culture, and trade. America was built on the theory that each individual, if allowed to choose on his own, will decide for the good of himself which will affect his environment and will then benefit our society. Laissez-faire, if you will. It is all about choice.

The creation of jobs is not an easy task. It is one that needs big industry. It needs new business ideas; new investments that will create these new industries. It also needs government, to a degree, to regulate the growth and protection of this boom. And of course, it needs money. The scarcity of it comes from the lack of all of the other components. Where then shall this come from? Investors from abroad are willing to come into the U.S. and help it grow to create jobs. Will they be our heroes coming in to help alleviate the debt created by mismanagement of money?

We need to keep focused and understand that the next politician who promises hope and change should be ready and willing to explain how this will happen. This politician should be able and willing to tell us the plan for getting the U.S. back into the game of Economic greatness that she once enjoyed.

We as citizens need to be informed, engaged, and participating in our communities, our country, and our world. We cannot afford to be displaced by our lack of understanding how to compete with other markets. We still have the best and the brightest right here in the U.S. We should feel proud that even after all of these years, people still want to come and enjoy our lands and freedom. Let them, then, invest in our economy. Let them create our jobs; let them stabilize the scarcity of money. Let them show us the money.

If we allow our distractions to be Congressman Weiner, screaming talk shows, and reality shows, then we are in a long hypnotized sleep. Let’s awaken to revive our country. We cannot afford anymore false promises of hope and change. Never before in the history of our country has the need been greater for us to “get it” and to get it right in the next election.

Adam Smith, had not a clue, that his treatise of An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations would be the stepping block to how nations began to contemplate growth and prosperity. He worried little about people’s infringed rights and looked at the basics. Labor, Jobs, Valuation, and their effect in human interaction. He looked at the creation of the labor force and how nations would accommodate the growth of their economy based on these factors.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 15th, 2012 at 8:00 am and is filed under Obama. Tags for this post: Adam Smith, Albert Einstein, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Anthony Weiner, Bernie Madoff, Bill Gates, Dale Carnegie, Joseph Pulitzer, Ken Lay, Laissez-faire, Michael Dell, Rita M. Rodriguez. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.