State of the Union

"We are oft to blame in this,--
'Tis too much proved--that with devotion's visage
And pious action we do sugar o'er
The devil himself"

In my daily work I have come to understand a great deal about the economic status quo of our country. I believe I am justified in saying we live in extremely challenging times. About a month ago I began to think about Barack Obama's State of the Union Speech and I became concerned that Obama would frame the issues to drive a political agenda.

So, over the past month, I wrote my own State of the Union address. I sought to strip out the political element of the speech, and address the economic issues we face, frankly and honestly. This is my explanation of the state of our union, as well as my ideas about the ways to improve our economy and the major risk we face. I am sending it to my friends, as well as the Opinion sections of the Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, The Financial Times, and The Economist.

The quote is from Hamlet. It is Polonious telling his daughter Ophelia to put on a "devoted face" and "pious action" so that they may hide their "devilish" intentions to manipulate Prince Hamlet. I believe it says a lot about our government, republicans and democrats alike.