The title of this column is an obvious lift from James Carville’s famous line about the 1992 election: “It’s the economy, stupid”.  That is probably the most quoted campaign statement from TV talking heads of all time, certainly since he uttered it 25 years ago.

In this past year [or two] of politics and elections, much has been made about what is going on with national elections.  The pundits have looked at what has happened largely through the lens of traditional political thinking.  The rise of populism and nationalism.  The global elite class leaving the eviscerated middle class and lower classes behind in the rush to embrace globalism.  Well, okay, that is certainly true to some degree.  But these lenses of traditional political thinking do not fully explain the realities of what has and is happening.

There will be more change in the next 20 years than any 20-50 year period in history. In fact, future historians may well look back on this time as a historical transit as significant as the beginning of the Industrial Revolution or the Renaissance. It is hard to imagine any area of life that will […]

Last week I took a look back at forecasts made here about media. This week we look back on forecasts made about technology. Again, as a futurist I post forecasts on my web site, what I forecast and when that forecast was made. February 2008 “We now have “smart” phones. In the years ahead everything […]

In an earlier column in this space, I wrote about the dominant technology trends of 2017 and beyond. Today, I want to address what will be one of the most dominant technology trends in human history. Artificial intelligence is being mentioned everywhere in the media, as it is dramatically developing and being deployed everywhere in […]

This is the Transformation Decade a name I coined on 01/01/10. The dictionary definition of transformation is “ a change in form, appearance, nature or character” Given the current political, social and economic climate in America and the world today, this description certainly pertains. Most institutions, certainly businesses are actively going through some form of […]

The headline is simple: 2016 is the beginning of the end of the two party duopoly in the United States. As stated in an earlier column, when a duopoly brings to market the two least respected and liked “products” in history, it is no longer functional and responsive. More on what 2020 might look like […]

As a futurist I have consistently posted most of my forecasts on my website. I am one of the few to do so. I do this to be accountable and to document what I said and when I said it. 18 months ago, in March of 2015, I stated that: “For the next several years […]

Climate Change is real. It is happening and it is accelerating. There are many obvious indicators to see for anyone not holding a contrived political filter, those that still live in the rapidly eroding state of denial. Sea level rise can now be seen in the present, not imagined decades down the line. Entire new […]

[Note:  This column was originally published in the Shift Age Newsletter earlier this month] We are at the very beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era. The use of fossil fuels will continue for decades but 2015-2017 will be looked back upon as the  beginning of the transition from growth to long slow […]

 [This column first appeared in the Shift Age Newsletter #36 ] Ever since the end of the Great Recession a few years ago, there has been much written about the lack of both economic growth and inflation. Much of this coverage mentions that the post-recession recovery is much slower than the recovery of past recessions […]