A better alt-universe question.
In previous item I cited an interesting alt-universe question, then mentioned an unrelated alt-universe question that had been on my mind.

Let's try again with a more appropriate response to the original.

The original alt-universe question from a tech venture capitalist type:

HONEST (not sarcastic): I would LOVE to see the counterfactual world—in a parallel universe (from 1971 to today)—where the price of money, “free markets” and all capital allocation was not distorted by handful of academic decision makers.

Excellent question, gathering the whole problem into one sentence.

Did we have a realistic chance of avoiding Nixon's massive sabotage? As I mentioned in previous item, our offshoring was well under way before Nixon broke real value.

Who recognized the problem in 1958 and could have offered a solution? George Romney.

He was the only sober man in a position of power at that time. Everyone else was passed out, incapable of good judgment. Being the only sober man at a party where everyone else is unconscious has advantages.

He was also firmly committed to SAVING instead of DEBT. Mormon training helped, plus Nash tradition. Nash had made it through the '30s without failing because it avoided debt.

He also had the advantage of Mormon eldership training, which gave him an unusual ability to bring conflicting parties together. He used both his soberness and his negotiating skills to pull Nash up from 'struggling independent' to nearly part of the Big Three, almost knocking Chrysler out of the ring.

At that point someone persuaded him to go into politics. He ran for Mich governor and did the same thing there, fixing problems that nobody had fixed before.

After three terms of success, someone persuaded him to run for president. At that point his sober and accurate judgment bumped into a bigger enemy than GM. When he proposed pulling out of Vietnam, Deepstate destroyed him.

Alt-universe: What if Romney had been a little more sneaky, or had resisted Deepstate's blackmail more effectively? He would have pulled out of Vietnam, turned the country from debt to saving, and countered the threat posed by resurgent Japan and China.

Labels: Alternate universe, Asked and properly answered

  ¶ 11:49 PM