During the decades immediately following World War II the United States was the principal supplier to much of the world’s consumers whose factories, commerce and economies were destroyed by the war. Wealth flowed to U.S. shores and brought unparalleled riches to America. However, by the closing decades of the 20th century, countries to the East and to the West mastered with increasing efficiency the American know-how and began to beat America at its own game. Today, the roles are reversed; past consumer nations have become producers and the U.S. is now the big consumer and borrower of the world.

The tide of wealth is now receding from America’s

shores as U.S. innovations, technology and production

migrate to the low wage regions. Increasingly, U.S.

innovations and technology are researched,

developed, and turned into products and services

overseas. New technologies cannot stop that

receding tide because it is very likely that they too

will seek lower production costs and will bring jobs

and wealth to foreign shores.

No politics or politician can hold back that tide. If innovation is the answer it will have to be innovation of a different kind. First, we need to recognize that while technology is innovating itself with a dizzying pace, humanity is stuck in social and economic models that have not advanced much in centuries. Take, for example, our economic model, capitalism, which has become an unstable, over-consuming and hyper-polluting unsustainable global economic monoculture. Look at our political model, democracy, which has become an overrated but underperforming money-driven, corruptible and polarizing public spectacle. Furthermore, our social norms and practices are still guided by millennia-old cultural and religious beliefs that are out of touch with 21st century scientific and environmental realities and largely at odds with our planet’s carrying capacity.

Retaining the tide of wealth receding from America’s shores is not a simple proposition; no political, technological or market solution exists to do that job. Indeed no conventional solution is conceivable to solve this problem. The road into the future for the U.S. splits three ways:

The Dead-end Road leads to protectionism and isolationism, which is an idea so bad that no sane and sincere politician would touch it, and for good reason.

The Low Road leads to a dark and tragic place. This is the road the U.S. is traveling. Alongside this road are blow-up props erected by economist and lenders with hyperactive imaginations. These make-believe happy facades have relatively short life-spans and when they deflate, the imaginary wealth ends and the road is revealed as rough and ugly. Optimistically, this scenario would lead to a time when U.S. wages would be depressed to a level at which the American worker would be competitive in the global labor market. This would be a logical solution for the competitiveness gap, but it is not likely that this road will take us there. As the country gets poorer, the have-nots in the big cities, where most of the U.S. population lives, will get restless and angry. Social unrest in the cities could sweep across the nation and broke governments may not be able to quell it. Social disorder will kill any hope for attracting capital and jobs back to the U.S.  Consequently, the Low Road will lead to socioeconomic collapse.

The High Road leads to a bright and hopeful place. The Holigent Solution proposes an unconventional model to stop the hemorrhaging of America’s wealth and generate economic security, social harmony and environmental healing. First we must ask, how will innovation and technology help America when most of it will be outsourced? 

After Japan, India, and China, among others, Vietnam and the continent of Africa are waiting in line to be the next low-wage producer of the world. The wage war will not stop any time soon and America will continue to lose until we realize that working for competitive wages is the winning strategy!  It made poor and post World War II defeated Japan rich during the ‘70s and ‘80s and it made a very poor China very rich in two or three decades – which is overnight on history’s timeline. 

Can the U.S. get into the low wage game and win?  YES!  And we must, as there is no other viable game. The Holigent Solution expanded to a national scale would be a winning game plan. The Holigent socioeconomic system secures quality of life by means other than money alone. Its Delta Plans allows employees of participating companies to work for lower wages sharpening their competitive edge while securing their jobs, housing and high quality of life.

The Holigent Solution is proposing a pioneering development of a model Holigent Urban Village to demonstrate a new socioeconomic infrastructure and operating system. When this socioeconomic innovation is tested and demonstrated to provide the solution that American competitiveness needs, the model can than be replicated and expanded across the United States. This will create peaceful and secure conditions with a stable workforce that will attract investments and jobs and turn the tide of wealth back toward America’s shores.

Let’s Do the Math

Why would the Holigent Solution be attractive and how would it improve competitiveness?

A company together with its participating employees would be attracted to set up shop to live and work in a mixed-use Holigent Urban Village. The attraction for employers would be 5 to 15% lower than market rent.  An additional attraction would be the Delta Plan that would provide business security even during economic recessions. The Delta Plan would also make it possible for employee-residents to work for lowered wages to improve their company’s competitive advantage in an arrangement of secured quality of life.

Individuals would be attracted to participate in such an arrangement for the following reasons.  Participating residents’ rent would also be 5 to 15% below market rate. On average, for a $1,500/mo apartment the savings would be $150 per month.  An employee-resident would further reduce rent by a minimum of $150 monthly credit earned in community service. Walking to work, mass transit and car-share would allow car-free living, a further savings of about $450/mo (car payment, insurance, registration, fuel, maintenance). Employee-residents of a Holigent community would reduce their individual cost of living by $750 per month or more.

Since the Delta Plan allows them to significantly lower their cost of living while maintaining their quality of life, employees can agree to lower their wages thus creating a competitive advantage for themselves and their employer in the global economy. This hybrid economic arrangement paired with a sustainable urban village would provide numerous additional social, health, and environmental benefits that would make living and working in a Holigent community attractive and desirable.