Risk Takers

“I could easily live in a cave and do nothing for years but read books.”

                             Edward Poniewaz, future Pondering Pole, 1976.

Looks like I found another good one, Unintended Consequences, Why Everything You’ve Been Told About the Economy Is Wrong, by Edward Conard (Penguin Books Ltd., New York, 2012). I’m only a third of the way through but with a title like that, well, can’t wait to find out how it ends.

Edward Conard is the former managing director of Ban Capital, LLC. You know, Mit Romney’s old company. He looks at the current U.S. economic situation from various perspectives and in three parts: What went right, what went wrong, and what comes next. Two of the points that caught my interest are in the part called “What went right.” They are the economic history of the U.S. and the nature and importance of risk in our capitalist system.

Conard picks up the history of the U.S. economy in the fifties and sixties. We look back fondly at this time period like it was something special and in fact, it was something quite unique. Europe and Asia were still shaking their heads from being knocked around, and in some cases like Poland, from being devastated in World War II. In the United States, factories, farms, and businesses were intact and because of this simply was the only player in the market. Our only competition was among ourselves and we weren’t buying, we were selling big time to each other and the rest of the world.  As he says, “The United States was prosperous for a unique set of reasons that are impossible to duplicate today, including a decade-long depression, the destruction of the rest of the world’s infrastructure, a failure of potential foreign competitors to educate their people, and a highly restricted supply of workers” (page 13).

With almost no competition following World War II, it was competition that became the key word that drove the American economy in the 1970s and 1980s. The key word in the 1990s to the present has been the rise in innovation. Increased competition and innovation have produced more equity, assets, and investment and this combination generates more risk in an effort to grow the economy.

So how does Polonia relate to a stable and unique period of prosperity and the rise and role of risk?  The lesson can be summarized in where we have been and where we are going. Our grandparents struggled in a new land, in brutally tough living and working conditions, and with the echoes of a depression staring them in the face. Our mothers and fathers on the other hand started their new lives when the country was experiencing growth, there was a demand for new housing and goods, and competition from women and African Americans frankly was small or non-existent. Our parents moved to suburban enclaves with “country club” or “estates” in the name. They were able to build up equity in their property, increase the number of cars and boats and other stuff, and were able to invest in educating their children. It was quite a move up.

Baby-boomers and their children have bounced off of the material and intellectual sweat of this generation to experience the competition and innovation of the last forty years. For these Polish-Americans competition and innovation are ideas totally ingrained in their psyche. The way to get the edge is to set oneself apart from the pack in terms of jobs, or life style, or success. That is how you can make a difference. Making the difference translates on how much risk you intend to leverage.

The same holds true for Polonia. Poles are not averse to risk taking. They took a major risk getting on a boat and coming to a new land. They took a risk in breaking away and starting a new, Polish National Catholic Church. Poles took risks in building Heritage Centers, starting cultural clubs, and forming dance troupes. A butcher called Jim Kowalski took a risk when he started a specialty grocery chain in Minneapolis and called it “Kowalski’s.” I know a young man who took a risk back in the 70’s by looking back and embracing his roots when everyone else was shunning and abandoning them. We may have to take a number of risks to continue the remaining leg of our immigrant experience in new and exciting ways. It is not an easy thing to do, to take risks. We are in a good place now and I have a good feeling that there will be some of us that will take the challenge and the risk.

Polish Economy Update

Poland GDP (Gross Domestic Product) numbers are in for 2011. The Polish economy grew at a rate of 4.11%. Fantastic and great news!

If you have a thought about this month’s topic, an answer to the question, a question of your own, or have interesting facts to share, contact me at: Edward Poniewaz, 6432 Marmaduke Avenue, St. Louis , MO 63139 ; eMail alinabrig@yahoo.com.

N.B. If you send eMail, reference the Polish American Journal or the Pondering Pole in the subject line. I will not open an eMail if I do not recognize the subject or the sender.