Michael Milken's Strategies For America

This morning on CNBC, financier and philanthropist Michael Milken discussed his six strategies for America. “We forget, in many ways, that Japan was totally devastated after WWII as was Germany, and they're two of the largest economies in the world today,” the Milken Institute chairman said, noting that it was the strength of those nations' citizens that helped them pull through. “They're very focused on” education, disease prevention, health care, etc., Milken said. “Lastly, what we call investing in America – the ability to have a country people want to come to,” Milken said. “First-generation Americans are more than 40% [more likely] to start a new business than those [who have been here longer].” Finally, Milken said that we have to deal with our energy issue and realize that the American dream is not the ability to live in a home we can't afford. Milken also said that for the last 40 years, we've heard eight Presidents tell us that we would not import more oil as a percentage of our oil than what we use. But our percentage of imported oil has risen from more than 30% to more than 60%. “Do we have the will, as a country, to require our leaders to finally make those decisions?” Milken questioned. He says that if America had actually executed on its promise back when Carter gave his energy speech, it would be a different world today. As far as education is concerned, Milken said that people tend to forget that in the 1960s, America was the most educated country in the world, with the average adult having two years more education than the average adult in other nations. “A system that pays people less in current salary, but more in long-term pension, tends to attract people who don't take risks, who don't want to be judged on their ability,” Milken said of our teachers before switching back to the topic of housing. “We have misled the American people,” he said. “We have told them that the dream is how big of a house can you get.” Very recently, Americans were spending 50% of their income on housing and transportation. “A bigger house is not [the key to happiness],” Milken said. “You shouldn't necessarily look at your home as your primary investment.” Milken is, however, in favor of stronger education. He notes that in Asia, education is a consumer market, and that many parents spend 50% more on tutoring their children than they do housing. With regard to health care, Milken said that the weight gain among Americans from 1991 to 2007 has cost our nation $1 trillion.