Next Generation of Opportunities

Next Generation of Opportunities

 

Visionary is a self-fulfilling prophet. Don't predict the future.
Create it -  Leland Kaiser

It seems as though everyday, I read about new companies being created in the economy.  I admire every entrepreneur's willingness to take on risk in this environment; they realize that now is the time to create the next great company. Waiting on the sidelines for things to get back to the way they were, is just not going to happen. This recession has brought with it a transparency into the real US economy.

While the US is still a significant economic power, we can not keep operating as if we are 60+% of the world's economy like we were at the start of the decade.  We are now 45% and dropping.  We are a mature nation that no longer makes money on exporting goods; we export our culture and knowledge.

For the US to maintain its relevance in the future, we will have to make sure our education system is second to none. We must find a way to give a great K-12 and college education to all Americans and residents.  The current system is just not going to work. How can a middle class family afford $40,000 a year for college?  How are we going to stack up 20 years from now against countries that give away their college educations?  

When I was in school the saying was, "Finish your dinner because there are kids starving in India".  30 years later the saying is, "Finish your homework because kids in India have already done theirs.

This recession should be a wake up call for our country and everyone that if we continue to try and do things the old way we are going to be crushed by economies that are moving significantly faster than ours.

At Signature Community, we realize that many of the people being left behind are lower middle class residents, whose jobs have been outsourced to countries with lower labor costs.  We are doing everything we can to help this group learn job skills that will allow them to find work.  Many of the ideas we are researching as part of our Signature Ideas program revolve around helping residents get a leg up in this economy.  One program in particular includes giving residents access to computers, training and assisting them in finding Internet based jobs where they will make more money.  You would think that in the US, every household would have a computer by now, but we just did a study in one market and less than half of our residents had access to the Internet.  We at Signature Community are doing everything we can as a landlord to help change the lives of our 8,000 plus residents that live at Signature Community.

Don't predict the future. Create it.
Nick