I went to isitsunny.com to discover how much of the United States is sunny today. According to the site, 3/4 of the U.S. is sunny. I did that because of our remarkably pretty Halloween weather today in the nick of time for trick or treaters. There’s a storm off in the Pacific that is rumored to be a harbinger of rain in the near future but it won’t affect the trick or treating public today where I live in Spokane, Washington.

It may not be all that sunny in the elections this year for whoever the losers are, it may not be all that sunny in the stock market which is whirring and buzzing in various states of alarm because of investments in AI and concerns about liquidity shortages. It may be a little cloudy in Washington D.C. as President Trump worries over this year’s political choices and outcomes. But it’s sunny along the river among the giant tree roots where I walked our dog this morning under green willow leaves dancing in the breeze under a blue sky, with ducks quacking on the water and yellow willow leaves underfoot. This morning despite high tax burdens that I’m facing here in Spokane, this place seemed ideally picturesque.

I have the candy bowl fully stocked. The weather is perfect. Brilliantly colored leaves are still mostly on the trees but not for much longer. I sent out Halloween cards with happy ghosts. What more could be needed?

I am longing for fidelity in our voting system and the SAVE act wasn’t passed. I am longing for responsible spending on a budget in Washington and Congress hasn’t had a real budget on paper or a balanced budget in years. I’m longing for truthful reporting that doesn’t sort people by what they click on into information silos. I wish for less expensive and less complicated cars. I wish that homes weren’t part of an investor’s casino. I wish that online applications were only for authentic jobs (apparently fake job ads are commonplace). I wish job advertisements sounded like they are for real jobs and real people. Since so many buyouts have distorted job availability and displaced American workers, I want corporations to put some muscle into retraining people and I wish that they would be less picky about hiring.

If we are going to move forward and reshore American jobs and if the AI storm is to be harnessed into a positive influence on the American job environment to increase our productivity, we have to change our approach to AI and to employment and retraining. Americans are surprised by AI and they are becoming suspicious of people telling them that they have to pay more for the energy that will be required in a nation that has had a shrinking economy for decades. If more people were working and making money from using AI, maybe more people could afford to pay some more for energy. If AI was less an invader and more of an ally, people might be in a better mood about this sudden technology that everyone says is inevitable. Growth would be faster if we were harnessing everyone’s talents and energies. The days of having a financialized economy that picks losers on purpose is over.

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