PARADE FOR CHANGE: THE US ECONOMY IS THRIVING BUT THE PROGRESS WON'T CONTINUE UNLESS WE MAKE NEEDED CHANGES NATIONWIDE.

• Author: Gochnour, Natalie

Bake the cake. Light the candles. The US celebrates 10 years of economic expansion this summer, making it the longest expansion on record, boding good news for our nation and state. There's just one problem... we haven't made much progress on the critical issues important to our long-term economic prosperity, leaving many to wonder how can we use this time of plenty to make needed reforms.

I'm fond of the saying, "The best time to fix the roof is before it starts raining." During good economic times, it's smart to address difficult issues such as entitlement reform, immigration policy, and infrastructure investment. But where to start?

It's easy to point a finger at elected officials, but it's important to remember that they are a reflection of us. Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute said, "Politicians don't start parades. They find them, run up front, and march in them." We need to start a parade so politicians can begin their march for economic reforms.

The parade I envision does the following:

First, historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham should be the parade's grand marshal. His writings about American history teach us, "For all of our darker impulses, for all of our shortcomings, and for all of the dreams denied and deferred, the experiment begun so long ago, carried out so imperfectly, is worth the fight." This is the spirit of our parade.

Second, the parade must recognize that globalization and technological change have altered our economy for good. Today's economy demands certain skills and we must invest every penny we can find into training the workforce of the future. I'm talking about all forms of education--public and private, secondary and post-secondary, applied technology and university, certificates and degrees. However, it's important to note that advancements in education will also require more than money, they will require innovation. We need to embrace new ways of teaching and learning.

Third, let's create a "BRAC-like" (Base Realignment and Closure) commission for entitlement reform. The key here is not the notion of a commission, but rather a framework that requires action similar to the US military base closure process after the Cold War. The commission should consider recommendations like raising the retirement...