We're excited to inaugurate a new series for our Patch readers: "Dispatches: The Changing American Dream."
Every day the national media is full of stories about how American families, businesses, and neighbors are adjusting to these trying times. There are so many changes happening so fast that it's dizzying: national debates about unemployment, foreclosures, debt, religion, government and private enterprise all touch on fundamental ways in which we see ourselves and our communities.
At Patch, we want to explore that conversation on a daily basis so we can better understand how our neighbors are adjusting to the challenges and opportunities that surround us.
We don't think there's one American Dream, but a multitude of American Dreams that a multitude of people are working toward. Looking at nearly 900 Patch sites across the country, we see businesses holding their breath deciding whether to expand; college graduates returning home because they can't find jobs; and senior citizens bringing boarders into their homes to help pay their bills.
We also see bold new volunteer efforts, inspiring stories of local businesses that succeed because they innovated, and locals who've taken these trying times as a signal to engage more, not less, in their government.
At the purely local level, we want to know where we, as Greater Annapolis neighbors, fit along these fault lines.
Nationally, there's major concern over growing unemployment and families struggling to get by day to day. Locally, we have a growing number of families who .
Also, in Greater Annapolis, we have groups and organizations that have to make sure every students shows up at school with a full backpack.
Nationally, homebuilding is stilll slow to see much growth, a result of tough economic times and years of historically slow home sales. But locally, Annapolis Neck residents find themselves reacting to the opposite end of that coin.
As activity heats up and hundreds of homes planned near Quiet Waters Park are now making their way through the planning process, Greater Annapolis residents —quality of life.
Or more simply—less traffic.
"Dispatches" will be built upon the compelling vignettes and snapshots we unearth across all of our Patch sites.
And, of course, we need your help: Tell us what issues and what stories in Greater Annapolis go to the heart of your American Dream. Please share your stories by sending to John.Wilfong@patch.com.
This is a unique moment in the history of our country, and Patch is uniquely positioned to explore and amplify the stories that capture that moment.
Here's my idea: I have devised a private-sector free market plan to achieve the goal of returning the U.S. economy to full employment. The plan provides a major private-sector-based profit-generating incentive to Wall Street to transfer massive amounts of investment funding to Main Street through the creation of a massive number of new entrepreneurial ventures. The plan effectively "piggy-backs" onto existing financial industry architecture to securitize the entrepreneurial investment process, thus enabling Wall Street to make boatloads of cash in the secondary market. The net result of the plan is the massive creation of new jobs to jump-start the U.S. economy back to full employment. Read the proposal here: http://jpbulko.newsvine.com Joseph Patrick Bulko MBA