What is the purpose of the Future Economy Council?  That is a question that has been nagging me for several weeks now and I’m not sure I have a good answer.  Does anyone?  I doubt it but that’s okay.  There are some things that we do know.  Catawba County is hurting.  There are a lot of people out of work and there doesn’t appear to be many new jobs on the horizon.  We have lost a lot of our industrial base and the reality is, most of that will not be coming back.  We must face that and look for new opportunities. 

We are not alone in our economic woes, the world in general is hurting.  Countries that depend on the US for leadership and for their economy, all suffer when the US has problems.  They too are looking for new opportunities.

Add to that the fact that the world has had unprecedented change over the last thirty years.  The personal computer and all the technological advances that came after it has left many wondering when all this change will subside.  Again reality tells us that the pace of change will only continue to quicken as one invention helps fuel the next one.  That next invention may be our opportunity.

Intermixed with this is a world of social networks, tweeting, blogging, and texting that many cannot comprehend.  A world where many can blossom and grow while others fret about its dangers but secretly fear being left behind.  A world where guns and suppression may not be as powerful as a 140 character message sent out using a service with a cute little bird as its brand.  Another opportunity? Maybe?

So what is the purpose of the Future Economy Council?  I’ve painted a picture that seems depressing and almost hopeless.  The message is far from that.  If we stop and look closely, there is hope and a ray of sunshine in everything discussed above.  We need to look for the new opportunities and quit concentrating on how it use to be.  That will never return but if we look to the future with optimism, we may find a future that is even better than the past.

Could that be the purpose of the Future Economy Council?  

To learn more about the Future Economy Council visit http://project3p.blogspot.com/ .