I know people don’t like change.
It disrupts our lives. It’s uncomfortable. You never know what will happen on the other side.
There’s no reason to change for change sake.
But I’m here to tell you: We live in a world full of change.
One thing is primarily responsible for this: the Internet.
Today we live in something that is more like a global village than separate, disconnected countries.
We outsource jobs around the world. Any business can go online and hire a designer, accountant or web developer from around the world.
This all pushes American wages lower.
A web designer in Akron is in competition with a web designer in Bangladesh.
You don’t need me to tell you that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. We all know that’s the case.
What isn’t talked about as much is the middle class.
As inflation continues this means the middle class gets poorer.
I’m sorry to say but there isn’t too terribly much the government can do to help you with that reality.
Can we cut taxes? Sure. And if that’s something you want me to do I’ll do it.
But the bigger problem is the globe.
Basically, we aren’t just talking about American middle class. We’re talking about the global middle class.
The middle class in India and China is rising while the American middle class is sinking. Where we all meet is anyone’s guess.
But here is where things get interesting.
The system is changing.
I have a friend who loves time banks.
The concept is: you do something for someone and you bank time. Then that time can used to purchase someone else’s time. Brilliant!
Here’s a link to the Akron Time Bank.
While the Internet has probably been a significant force in declining wages in America, it also gives us amazing innovation.
Wikipedia has likely taken over $3 billion away from advertising because it is a free service to the world.
YouTube will teach you how to change your brakes or build a website totally for free.
There is a sharing revolution happening. The prosumer, a person who does a job for free that a paid person would normally do, are everywhere.
- Your parents watch your kids for free.
- Your friend photographs and videos your wedding for free.
- You sleep on people’s couches for free touring Europe using couchsurfing.com
- Your wife cuts your hair for free.
As we all make less money we need to be open-minded to new, creative ways to live.
Now. I’m not saying my political competition is not smart.
But how likely do you think it is those guys are going to help us all adjust to this new, changing way of living?
You will need to be innovative in spite of them. Not with them.
In fact, it’s quite likely they will fight you on it as they cater to big business and “that’s the way we do things.”
If the way we shun food trucks in this city is any indication, how supportive of time banks do you think they’ll be?
Who you vote for in this coming Akron mayoral election will drastically shape how our city handles the vast changes that we all are facing.
I’m not asking you to vote for me because I think it would be “neat” to be mayor.
I’m asking you to vote for me because I’m legitimately worried these other guys are stuck in old thinking and will watch our city just wither away and slowly die because they don’t have a clue how the world is changing. (That’s happening to other cities, you know.)
Please seriously consider me for your next mayor of Akron.