Well, I'm headed off to Europe again for the 18-hour-a-day annual schmoozefest known as "Davos" (with a prior stop in Munich for DLD).
The folks who run Davos, the World Economic Forum, have been kind enough to stick me on a couple of panels this year--so I can bloviate to world leaders.
I would prefer not to make an ass of myself in front of world leaders, so I would be grateful for a little help.
One of the topics I've been asked to bloviate about this year is "What Are The Big Stories Of 2013?"
In other words, what will we in the news media be obsessed with over the next 12 months?
Well, I'm in the news media, and I can tell you that I haven't the faintest idea what we're going to be obsessed with, and I won't know until we get obsessed with it.
But I can't say that to the world leaders.
(The world leaders are paying good money to sit there and listen to me bloviate, so I need to do better than that.)
So please help me think of some good candidates for the "big stories of 2013."
I'll start off with a couple of ideas. Please add some more in the comments below.
THE BIG STORIES OF 2013:
* INEQUALITY: THE WORLD'S MIDDLE CLASS GETS MAD AS HELL AND REFUSES TO TAKE IT ANYMORE. The world's richer are getting richer and the world's middle class and poor are getting the shaft. This story has been going on for years now, ever since the labor-vs.-capital pendulum swung too far in favor of "capital" and all fo the good middle class jobs got shipped off to China, India, and other countries where people are eager to work much harder than Americans for much less money. You can't blame companies for taking advantage of this massive labor pool, and the folks in China, India, et al, have as much right to work as anyone else does. But the upshot is that all the income gains in America and some other developed countries are going to the top ~5% of wage-earners and everyone else is losing ground. That's not a trend that will lead to peace, harmony, and prosperity.
* APPLE BECOMES AVERAGE: Over the past decade, Apple has risen from the ashes to become the world's most beloved and valuable companies. Now, however, with the loss of Steve Jobs, Apple is losing its product edge, and the stock is starting to sell off. This year will usher in what will truly be the "post-Steve Jobs era" for Apple. And depending on how this year goes, Apple will demonstrate that it is capable of continue to be transcendant in Steve's absence...or it will gradually slip into just becoming another good company.
Other ideas? Thank you in advance.
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