A sobering piece in the weekend edition (July 31-Aug. 1)  of the Financial Times by Edward Luce, “Goodbye American Dream” reinforced my thinking about the future of entrepreneurial endeavors here and the historic role of entrepreneurial finance for innovation. I have recently been speaking around the globe about the apparent decline of venture capital for high growth start ups outside of Silicon Valley and Boston and that article about our stagnant economy only drove a stake in anyone’s idyllic fantasy that a cyclical rebound would soon take hold in the land of Ozzie and Harriet’s economic dreams. The article starkly laid out the flattening of our American growth curve for our life style and economic well being especially for the American middle class and the skewing of wealth to the upper 1% over the last generation.

Unless we find more personal energy and resources to drive a renewed sense of economic resurgence and enthusiasm, we are destined to follow our predecessors in the British Empire and the Roman Empire before them in decline and diminishing of our children’s legacy. The need to focus on savings and optimism and to govern with  clarity toward an upsurge for our  economy,  to reverse our fortunes to a renewed upswing, and not to rely on reliving our past glory and deeds and to end our internal bickering and in-fighting, should be a clarion call for us in leadership positions. We must shed dependence on decade’s old economic models and fictions that the middle class is guaranteed to grow generation by generation as of the old days.

The statistics are sobering – the 70% middle of the economic ladder has been stuck in neutral for over a decade while we have allowed the non-producing financial elite – the 1% of the top earners (wealthy) in the US – to triple their net wealth far beyond their productivity gains. We will have to honestly face our debts, our entitlements and out political mis-alignment or be devoured by our emerging economy partners who only have drive and energy toward progress, not looking back. For our part, the growing non—institutional entrepreneurial financing segment of the economy must pull together and provide time and resource to fledgling high impact opportunities in a once in a generation rekindling of energy. We must regain our momentum or we will face a slippery downward slope toward second rate economic status.  Some news articles light a fire under us and are powerful beacons of light on our stark options – let’s see how the angel community and American entrepreneurs can respond to this challenge.

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