Becoming China's Bitch and Nine More Catastrophes We Must Avoid Right Now: A Manifesto for the Radical Center Contributor(s):Kiernan, Peter D (Author) Published : February 2012 Reader comments at ipage Publishers Weekly (01/30/2012): "In my youth, we were a nation obsessed with the Soviet Union].Where is our paranoia about China?" If it didn't exist already, former Goldman Sachs senior partner Kiernan seems determined to drum it up with laughably dramatic metaphors like " have developed a vampire's taste for the elixir of our economy oil." In his "manifesto," Kiernan analyzes the reasons behind China's ascension and its potential to overtake the U.S. as the world's primary economic power. As a self-described "Radical Centrist," Kiernan underscores two causes for concern that require America's immediate attention: the growth of China's reserves, and the strength of its currency (the Renminbi, or Yuan). What deeply concerns the author is the U.S.'s lack of a strategy to deal with China once it takes the cap off its currency value. In Part I, Kiernan enumerates five reasons for America's inability to address the potential economic Chinese threat: "the Media Talk Complex," irresponsible political lobbyists, influential and biased think tanks, religious squabbling, and an ineffectual two-party system. In Part II, Kiernan goes on to discuss other challenges America faces, such as the same-sex marriage debate and whether to raise taxes on tobacco. Surprisingly, and despite the hawkish title, Kiernan suggests that the secret weapon to ensure success is not force, but rather an understanding of China. (Feb.) Copyright 2012 Reed Business Information. Brief Description: When it comes to solving our country's problems, we have become utterly paralyzed: bipartisanship has lulled us into a deadlock, preventing us from taking action. Yet we can no longer ignore the inevitable catastrophes or hand them off to Washington to fix--they must be addressed now, or we will suffer the long-term consequences. In Becoming China's Bitch, Peter Kiernan presents an unflinching manifesto in which he explores five factors that have sustained our national paralysis, then uncovers the ten challenges that pose the greatest threat to the future of America. Presented from a fresh yet informative Centrist perspective, these ten impending catastrophes include our semiconscious dependency on China, our lack of a centrally coordinated intelligence effort, our downward-spiraling health-care system, and the continually expanding problem of illegal immigration. In a logical, personal, and persuasive voice, Kiernan offers radical yet common-sense solutions to these challenges--solutions that every American must acknowledge and act upon before it's too late. With provocative insight and analytical depth, Becoming China's Bitch is the answer to securing our country's immediate future and restoring our national soul. Biographical Note: Peter D. Kiernan, former partner at Goldman Sachs, is chairman of his own venture firm and founding Board Member of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. He also serves as an advisor to various corporations, banks, firms, and government officials. A graduate of Darden School at University of Virginia where he earned an MBA, Kiernan has appeared on CNN and The Today Show. He lives in Greenwich, CT. -------------------------------------------- Not that long ago I wrote a paper about proposed Constitutional Amendments and called it a "Radical Centrist Vision for the Future." However, that is only one way to conceive the future and today's previous e-mail was predicated on the view that we need some kind of outlook on how the world might look --if RC could influence events-- a decade or more down the road. It was also based on the view, in Mead's article, that we need some kind of plan --at least as a focus of conversation, even if it never is used as a blueprint-- for what American could look like in 2020 if RC helped shape political developments. Here is still another expert in his domain who self-identifies as a Radical Centrist. To judge from comments his list of problems to solve is minimal and inadequate in any number of ways. But at least it is a start. That is what we need, some kind of start that makes specific how we would like the USA and the world to look in ten years or so, what kind of American and global system should prevail based on the principles of Radical Centrism. Billy -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
