I was listening to NPR radio today and heard that the founder of PAYPAL is now paying kids 18 to become entrepreneurs rather than to go to college. Having been an entrepreneur wishing someone would do that for me in my 20s I can appreciate this idea. It wasn't that I didn't want to go to college it was that I knew I wanted to own my own businesses. So, for millions of young people who could save our country once again by starting amazing businesses I think this is a really great idea (if they have the option of going back to school by their early to late 20s as well if their ideas don't pan out for them.)
The main problem with college is that although it teaches critical thinking it also stifles creativity (unless partying with a bong is your idea of creativity). So, we now need people who have had 18 years to think about what this country needs. If they are partnered with more experienced business men and women you might have not only a winning combination but also a hiring engine that would put all the people back to work once again in this country.
Though it is true those ideas would be stolen and sent overseas this likely would take a few years and by then the new companies might get entrenched enough in the U.S. to withstand this. So, just like the draft into the military when I was growing up, having kids volunteer their time and ideas for $100,000 might just be what the country needs right now so those ideas can employ the 8,000,000 that lost their jobs in the last 3 to 4 years here in the U.S.
The easiest way to set something up like this would be companies paying kids to do this. I think some of the most innovative would be kids that were home schooled and self starters who have been all over the world and so have international points of view to begin with. This kind of kid who might also have good technical knowledge of computers, internet, social media and worldwide internet habits might be very useful to large companies looking for entrepreneurs to invest in. As long as the 18 year olds (16 to 20 year olds were partnered with experienced business people to help them navigate the treacherous waters of starting a business, patents, etc. which includes for example obtaining State or Federal mandated DBAs (doing business as) and all that this interface of money and ideas could be successful for everyone.
A natural entrepreneur is an idea person but that person also has to be practical enough to know that they need to study about what they are trying to do enough to accomplish their goals and to ally themselves with people 1 to 5 to 10 years or more older than them that have already made some of their ideas successful. This could be a win Win combination not only for the U.S. but for the whole world.
Some of the useful directions of businesses would be around "How do we grow more food cheaply so so many people around the world don't starve?", and "How do we replace oil and still make it useful for someone to make a profit doing that?" and "How do we protect ourselves from our loss of privacy worldwide?" This last one I personally would pay about $1000 a year for just all by myself if it really was proven to work in all ways ongoing. There are countless other ideas like: "How can I never die?" as in 2045?" then the following thing might be important (How can we colonize and mine other moons and planets?" By the way one 18 year old right now is trying to set up a business to mine the moon. You see, right there. And older person would say, "That's impossible!" But a younger person will say, "Let's give it a try and half the time they will succeed!" That is why 16 to 20 year olds would be the best at giving us new ideas to change the world. Those 21 and older would be best to facilitate it actually happening.
Remember, these kids have been thinking about everything and being exposed to the latest stuff for those 18 years. They are now in the best seat to see the "Synthesis" from all angles and to come up with the revolutionary ideas to change the world. Let's give them a chance to save the U.S. economy. Okay? And if they save the U.S. Economy then maybe they can work on the world economy too.
The people who save us will ALWAYS be people that think outside the box. People that think inside the box can then take those ideas and reproduce them by the millions. And the people with college degrees tend to think inside the box more because of the kind of mental discipline that college brings to minds. It's not that college students can't also think outside the box it's just that they have been messed with by so much school. So, you have to get kids while they still have originality so amazing things can still happen for this country and hopefully the whole world!
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