New USA

A BLUEPRINT FOR TRANSFORMING LIFE IN AMERICAFramed within the story of two Americas, OldAmerica and NewAmerica, "e;The New USA"e; is a playbook for restoring America's deteriorating quality of life to the beautiful, awesome life enjoyed by previous generations.Discontent with the way things were, the people in OldAmerica remained blasé and did nothing about it. People in NewAmerica, on the other hand, hired professional business consultants for help. Their charter was to figure out:•    Why Americans today struggle to live well on two incomes, compared with their parents, who could on a single income.•    Why parents in the past were assured of providing a better future for their children, and today they are not.•    What's behind increasing divisiveness and incivility?•    How did we come to accept so much crime? What happened to the honest society where people thought nothing of leaving their homes unlocked?•    How do we put a lid on limitless, uncontrolled taxation? And how do we eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse in government spending?•    Why has the government become all drama, all the time? How do we make it more functional and accountable, and less costly?•    National debt and unfunded liabilities are clever terms for the taxation of America's children and future generations, the "e;can't-vote-yet"e; generation. How do we put a stop to it and protect them from government abuse?"e;The New USA"e; is not just a story. It's packed with real-world, actionable solutions that would restore the beautiful, awesome life that 21st-century Americans are being cheated out of."e;The New USA"e; delivers what may be the most impactful set of ideas for America since the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.The book makes great fodder for book clubs. The ideas presented are an open invitation to America's political and business leaders, thought leaders, constitutional scholars, everyday Americans, and YOU to help redirect America's destiny.About the author: Dinesh Shah is a management consultant specializing in re-engineering and transforming "e;As-is"e; situations into dramatically improved "e;Future states."e; He is a Deloitte alumnus, holds a master's degree in industrial engineering from Stanford University, and has served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of San Francisco and the University of Phoenix.Publisher's Note: "e;The New USA"e; is a revised edition of the previously published "e;USA 2.0."e; EXCERPTED FROM THE FOREWORDIn this essay, written when many in America are celebrating the nation's 250-year anniversary, Dinesh Shah assesses our system of governance-namely, the U.S. Constitution, the three branches of government, and the system of checks and balances. With his background in systems architecting, a system either works as planned and expected, or it doesn't. If it doesn't, it's the job of people like him to investigate why and find solutions. Not just fix it, but strive to make it significantly better. That's what he has attempted to achieve in his evaluation of our system of governance. Presented through a story, he tackles complex aspects of the U.S. Constitution and our system of governance in a way that is easy to understand and interesting for everyday readers, and equally challenging for scholars in the field. It is a bold, ambitious, and provocative undertaking, and a challenge to our elected officials and America's thought leaders. It will be interesting to see their responses. -Daniel Cooperman. Mr. Cooperman is a strategic adviser to Institutional Venture Partners, an active angel investor, and a board member/advisor for several companies.