The New York Times columnist Tom Friedman looks at our country’s current state of problems and pens a stirring missive, that is worth reading. The following paragraph resonated with me, and you can extend the argument to Silicon Valley, where smart chip heads and networking mavens are creating vapid social apps or yet-another online video service when they could be designing the next generation broadband technologies. 

“To top it off, we’ve fallen into a trend of diverting and rewarding the best of our collective I.Q. to people doing financial engineering rather than real engineering. These rocket scientists and engineers were designing complex financial instruments to make money out of money — rather than designing cars, phones, computers, teaching tools, Internet programs and medical equipment that could improve the lives and productivity of millions.” NYTimes.com

It is all part of the culture of instant gratification that implores us to constantly seek something for nothing, without working for it. This malaise is global, as the current meltdown has shown.