I was happy to have a follow-up discussion with John Dearie about his book, and what has changed (and perhaps more importantly, what hasn’t changed) since we spoke at CES last month.
In this Google Hangout, he gets into more detail about the specific policy proposals he makes in the book, and why it’s crucial for this message to be heard. This is particularly relevant, not only because the jobs crisis is still in full, devastating effect, but for those of us who live within the so-called bubble of Washington, D.C., we understand all too well how closed so many minds are.
What we address in particular is that D.C. is, and has long been, a very conventional town, with conventional thinking and conventional (i.e., failed) ways of problem solving. Indeed, a case could be made, however depressing, that precious little problem solving has been occurring. With so much apathy and so much at stake, it’s imperative that Dearie’s message is heard by as many people as possible.
At CES this year I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with John Dearie about his new book (co-authored by Courtney Geduldig), Where The Jobs Are.
You can find the book here, and I recommend it highly.
Simply put, for anyone who has any sort of interest in –or would like to be better informed about– our jobs crisis (and frankly, this should be anyone and everyone), which is also an economic crisis, which is also a national crisis, which is also in many ways a spiritual crisis, this book is an imperative source of insight and inspiration. During our conversation, John addresses the epiphany that led him to write this book, and it turns out that many of our problems are less complicated than we’d imagine. Of course, that does not mean that they are easy to solve or that the people most responsible for helping solve them (see: elected officials) are receptive to any type of outside-the-box thinking, even –or especially– if it leads to irrefutable solutions.
Here’s one of the crucial, perhaps unexpected and therefore revelatory, findings in the book: research shows that new businesses –start-ups– account for virtually all net new job creation. But, alarmingly, the rate of new business formation has declined significantly in recent years. In Where the Jobs Are, authors Dearie and Geduldig recount what they heard from entrepreneurs at roundtables they conducted across the country and propose policies to unleash the job-creation power of America’s innovation economy.
John Dearie is Executive Vice President for Policy at the Financial Services Forum. Prior to joining the Forum in 2001, he spent nine years at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where he held positions in the banking studies, foreign exchange, and policy and analysis areas. His writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Politico, American Banker, and China’s Caijing magazine. Dearie lives with his wife and two children in Great Falls, Virginia.
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