America to build a stronger, greener, and more equitable global economy after the pandemic:

3 things to start doing, 3 things to stop doing and 3 things to keep doing

Three (3) things to START doing: 

1) Think big: 

• Guided by past successes such as the Manhattan Project, DARPA and Silicon Valley.
• Lessons from history show us that collaboration between the private and public sectors contributes the most to future human progress

2) Reinvest in your physical and technological infrastructure:

• America’s overall infrastructure was graded D+ in a 2017 report by the American Society of Civil Engineers, which weakens the economy.
• US net private domestic investment is 4 percentage points of GDP lower than the average from 1947-90 – and has remained below the average since 2001.
• With government support, China is already leading in areas of technology infrastructure including areas of AI.

3) Double down on education:

• For the first time in America’s history this generation is less educated than the previous generation.
• According to Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), as of 2015, US 15 year-old students ranked thirtieth among the thirty-five OECD members in math skills, leaving them ill-equipped to compete in the global workplace.

 Three (3) things to STOP doing

1) Being the sole underwriter of global public goods such as security, healthcare and foreign aid.

• There are costs to the US economy of being the global lender of last resort.
• There is a need to better balance foreign and domestic needs and imperatives, so that millions of American don’t feel disaffected.

2) Assuming a unipolar world where America leads the setting of global standards.

• The trend toward deglobalisation and protectionism has moved the world to a pluralistic system:
• Be open to the appeal of competing ideologies.

3) Treat China as a peer, not at enemy.

• Better quality engagement can help improve co-ordination of efforts to find global solutions to problems such pandemics and climate change.

Three (3) things to KEEP doing

1) Support innovation.

a. America’s private sector remains at the forefront of solving the world’s most intractable problems including energy transition, combating disease and climate change.

b. The US remains a leader in sectors such as technology, pharmaceuticals, banking, and food production; the world is counting on US innovation.

2) Invigorate the culture of global co-operation:

a. Remind Americans that they too benefit from a world in which everyone engages and then benefits from a global perspective and effort.

3) Promote democracy and capitalism through the prism of ‘show, don’t tell’.

a. While the US remains the custodian of liberal democracy and market capitalism, only America’s continued success will persuade the world that these tenets/ideologies are more appealing than alternative systems.