|
|
Why is the United States Rich?
10 Myths Exposed
by
Thomas Metz
Hard Cover, Soft Cover and
Kindle, 155
pages
This
book exposes ten myths about our economy. In an entertaining style, it
asks: Is the economy a machine? Does spending drive the economy? How
big are profits? Does growth help the poor? How do the rich recycle
their money? It clarifies the reasons that the U.S. is a wealthy
country. Why do we have a high standard of living? What do we do that
other countries do not?
America’s economy is a dynamic and constantly evolving ecosystem. It is
not a machine that can be “jump-started.” Our economy is comprised of
millions of Americans producing things, buying and selling things. The
economy is not a fixed pie in which one person succeeds only if another
person loses. The pie keeps getting bigger. Our economy is growing with
many new products, new services and new innovations.
Production drives the economy, not consumer spending and not demand.
The myth that demand drives the economy is false. Consumers are not a
special type of economic actor; every consumer is a producer. Demand is
created by entrepreneurs inventing new products and services. There is
no demand for a product before the entrepreneur invents it. What was
the demand for the iPad before Steve Jobs invented it?
We go ashore to Robinson Crusoe’s Island in one chapter to learn why
money does not make an economy go. Robinson can print all the money he
wants, but producing things is what drives the island’s economy.
Profits are misunderstood and profits are much smaller than people
realize. Profits are important; they mean that value is being created.
Profits lead to more jobs, higher wages and lower prices. Profits open
the door for investment and they are the foundation for growth and
innovation.
Markets are not complicated. Markets are simply people connecting to
buy and sell products and services. Markets are not good or bad.
Markets do not have morals. Those are human traits. Competition brings
us marvelous benefits—higher quality, lower prices and a multitude of
choices. Competition promotes higher wages and it is the mother of
value creation.
Growth dramatically improves our standard of living. People take our
growth for granted. Innovation and progress lead to better jobs and
higher incomes. A growing business provides its employees the
opportunity to develop and flourish. Growth helps the poor; more jobs
are available for those with limited skills, often those with lower
incomes. The opposite of growth is stagnation and decline.
All growth is fueled by investment. Investment is required to start or
grow almost every business. Investment is the source of all innovation,
job creation and growth. Investment comes from savings and savings is a
very good thing.
America has a higher standard of living than almost every country. The
average wage in the U.S. is greater than that of workers in Europe.
America is the most productive country in the world. Why is the United
States rich? Wealth comes from imagination combined with discipline and
hard work. It is generated by people starting and building successful
companies. Of the 400 richest Americans, 67% became wealthy through
their own efforts by starting and building companies.
Entrepreneurs are the driving force of the economy. They take the risks
and create innovative new products and services that improve our lives.
We value fresh ideas and innovation. Entrepreneurs create all the
companies in America and all the jobs in America. They are the source
of America’s wealth. Americans embrace achievement, individualism and
individual freedom. America’s culture of risk-taking sets us apart.
Entrepreneurs thrive because the U.S. embodies economic freedom—the
freedom to innovate, to try and to fail. Economic freedom means that
people are free to work, to produce, to consume and to invest however
they choose. Creating value is how we advance as a civilization. Our
entrepreneurs and our economic freedom make the United States a wealthy
country. We should appreciate our high standard of living and our
freedoms. Let’s not take them for granted.
About the Author
Thomas Metz founded the
boutique investment bank T.V. Metz & Co., LLC
in 1983 and has been
an investment banker for more
than three decades. The firm specializes in arranging
mergers and
acquisitions in the technology industries.
Mr. Metz has
competed
transactions across North America as well as in Europe and Asia.
Mr. Metz has a B.S. degree in Mathematics
and Computer Science from the
University of Oregon. He holds an MBA degree from the University of
California at Berkeley. He is a frequent speaker on mergers,
acquisitions and entrepreneurial topics.
He is an avid golfer and heli-skier. In his
younger years he was
a top nationally-ranked squash player. He also pilots his plane, a
Cessna 182 named Loretta, to family and golf destinations.
Mr. Metz has authored four books: Selling
the Intangible Company—How to Negotiate & Capture the Value of a
Growth Firm (John Wiley & Sons, 2009), Perfect Your Exit Strategy—7 Steps to
Maximum Value (Bettencourt, 2016), Defining Excellence—The Discipline of
Company Definition (Bettencourt, 2019) and Why is the United States Rich? 10 Myths
Exposed (Bettencourt, 2021).
Purchase
from Amazon:
|