Week 12: The Next First (and Only) 100 Days - Thomas L. Friedman, NY Times

This week, Tom Friedman's column discusses the concept of 'The First 100 Days', and the conflicts that the next President will need to address (and hopefully solve) in the next 'First 100 Days'. First off, Tom Friedman mentions the gargantuan job crisis on which the future President will have to focus. He categorizes this crisis into three sub-crises: the crisis that resulted from the drop in consumer demand for goods/services, the crisis that resulted from citizens in long-term unemployment, and the crisis that resulted from I.T. job relocation to countries like India and China. By doing this, Friedman emphasizes the scope and scale of the crisis, and how difficult the resolution of this mega-crisis will be for the next President. To help alleviate this crisis, Friedman suggests the implementation of a short-term stimulus that expands the job markets of the future middle class, which no longer has the jobs in manufacturing American goods to depend upon. He calls upon President Obama and any future Presidents to implement a stimulus focused on 'jobs of the future' and the growth of hubs and networked urban areas.

Source: Friedman, Thomas L. "The Next First (and Only) 100 Days." New York Times. 10 Dec 2011: n. page. Web. 10 Dec. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/opinion/sunday/friedman-the-next-first-and-only-100-days.html?ref=thomaslfriedman>.