I heard speeches by Madeline Albright and Hillary Clinton today at Wellesley College. It was the kickoff for the first summer institute of the Women in Public Service Project and it was truly inspiring. There were 50 women leaders from all over the world (although the majority were from the Middle East and North Africa) getting together for two weeks of workshops on leadership skills. The energy and commitment was palpable and powerful.
Leaving the conference, I heard about the report by the Federal Reserve on how the Great Recession of 2007-08 affected the American middle class and I went from high to low. In just 3 years (2007-2010), the American middle class lost about 40% of its wealth (income and assets, most importantly the value of a house). This precipitous loss was felt most acutely by younger middle class families. Unfortunately, the economic horizon remains cloudy for most Americans (and for most of the world right now).
And then tonight I read this report from the BBC on looming resource shortages in the world. It is a Malthusian analysis–that is, it assumes a straight line extrapolation of current trends–that I do not believe to be a valid frame of analysis (human systems are incredibly dynamic and ingenious). But much of the analysis deals with the next 20 years, which is a short time period to apply changes and fixes. Needless to say, the report is very depressing. I think it is just time to go to bed.
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