N5: American Life

As Americans together, we work to grow, adapt, survive, and thrive in our ever-changing world. Let’s call this group effort our American Life. It’s how we renew the promise of America for each new generation. To support our American Life, we keep healthy cycles going. We avoid damaging extremes and keep a beneficial balance.

Regeneration is key. America’s farmers understand the power of regeneration to produce the foods and the fibers we all need. They cultivate fruitful cycles: energy, water, nutrients, carbon. And the whole system of life gets stronger, more resilient, and more productive. On the other hand, wasteful extraction and depletion of resources results in degeneration, decline, and death.

We regenerate our American Life when we reclaim our Public Gains and cycle them back into America. We keep our engine of prosperity going strong when we renew Public Knowledge, Public Investment, Public Resources, and Public Extensions.

The Counting Class cuts off this healthy regenerative cycle, causing waste and stagnation. Counts hoard the Public Gains of America as Free Income to inflate their extreme Money Counts. They throttle the flow of money and resources. Counts close off Public Knowledge. Counts starve Public Investment. Counts abuse Public Resources. Counts bloat Public Extensions.

The regeneration of American Life may not matter that much to Counts. They’re already holding extreme Money Counts, and it’s easy for them to live in denial of their debts to America. If our American Life degenerates and declines, they can afford to retreat to remote compounds, or take away their Money Counts and flee America to foreign countries.

Some Counts may have the best of intentions. They may think they know best how to run America. They complain if Americans don’t follow their plans. But the problem is with the Counting Class itself. Extreme Money Counts are a kind of extreme waste and inefficiency that threatens American Life. When Counts pile up extreme money for self gain, they cut off healthy regeneration.

It’s easy to make economic issues seem like they’re too complicated to explain. But Contributing Americans get all of this as common sense. Balanced systems are stronger than ones with runaway extremes. Regeneration is how we nourish and nurture new growth. We draw on the best know-how. Get the right tools for the job. Put in the time and money and resources. Stretch and adapt to anything unintended or unexpected.

We repeat it all over again with each new generation. That’s the cycle of American Life.