2039; HBS 50th Reunion Edition MBA Class of 1966,
Meet Martin Shapiro, Section G, , Huffington Post contributor and author of 2039. In his novel, set 24 years in the future, a senior couple tries to escape to Canada for medical treatment denied by Medicare. Martin will discuss with the attendees his vision of the future of Retirement, Social Security, the Affordable Care Act, the national deficit/debt and other issues of today as he sees them in 2039
Plan to retire? Retiring or retired? - Relying on Social Security, Medicare? - In the military or the Defense Industry? -
WHAT WILL IT BE LIKE IN 2039?
Will the US become energy independent? - How will that change our foreign policy? - Will alliances be altered?
WHAT WILL IT BE LIKE IN 2039?
Energy self-sufficient or dependent? - Environmentally aware or careless? - Believe global warming or not?
WHAT WILL IT BE LIKE IN 2039?
Democrat or Republican? Libertarian? - Assimilated American or Ethnic; Racial Resident? - Does political intrigue ever stop?
WHAT WILL IT BE LIKE IN 2039?
Christian, Jewish? Supporter of Israel? - Have Jewish friends, family? - Can Israel survive without US help?
WHAT WILL IT BE LIKE IN 2039?
Will Iran rejoin the world as a rational nation? - Will the disintegration of the Mid East continue? - Will Israel survive or be annihilated?
READ ABOUT IT IN 2039.
We all need to think about the future. - We, our children and grandchildren all have a stake. - Don’t speculate about the future…
READ ABOUT IT IN 2039.
2039 2nd Edition
Author’s Motivation
Between 2011 and today,
• With the political gridlock in America, with no end in sight,
• the high rate of unemployment and underemployment,
• the growing number of Americans on public assistance,
• the millions of illegal aliens working here, and the political football it is causing,
• the wind-down, and maybe another wind-up––of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,
• the sequestration and proposed downsizing of the US Defense Department,
• the energy boom from fracking, followed by volatile fluctuations in energy prices,
• the continuing CO2 pollution of the atmosphere,
• the fear of global warming,
• the Affordable Care Act implementation,
• the government deficits and rising, massive total debt,
• the quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve bond buying,
• Iran going nuclear, threatening Israel with extinction,
• the unrest in one after another of the Arab nations,
• the declaration of a caliphate in portions of Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Somalia and others,
• the never-ending Israeli-Palestinian conflict,
• gold and silver prices rising to new highs, then falling into stagnation,
• marijuana and drones going mainstream,
• China ascending, and
• Russian resurging,
–had me wondering how these issues might look in twenty-four years. I intensified my study of energy issues, emerging technology and the domestic/world issues that would have to play out in some fashion over the coming decades. They are not just going to disappear!
So this story proceeds by extrapolating these entangled conditions and events, entangled within the story of a senior couple, Jon and Ida Kadish, trying to live their lives as we know it today. I present a picture of their issues and hopes within a United States and world that you will not recognize until 2039.
Martin Shapiro is a graduate of the Harvard Business School (MBA Class of 1966, Section G), and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. As an industrialist he built a multiplant company from Mississippi to Mississauga, Ontario to manufacture a specialty tooling system for the decorative printing industry. He also created an air charter company for his business use and made independent real estate investment. Since the sale of that Company in 1993, he has pursued other investment opportunities, while becoming a leader of civic and religious activities in his community. He has an extensive history of civic and religious work, and is a retired director of a Nasdaq traded regional bank, and a publically traded HMO on the NYSE. He remains a director of a mutually owned property/casualty insurance company. As an author, Shapiro explores the full expanse of mankind’s journey, from our ancient past to our not-too-distant future. His Scroll of Naska series consists of four books that tell tale of intrigue and adventure in biblical times, while his most recent entry, 2039, 2nd Edition heads in the opposite direction to follow a married couple’s struggle to escape from America in the not too distant future. Against the backdrop of how the US and world have changed, a Connecticut couple, in their early 70’s, try to escape America to seek medical care denied them by the Medicare system then in place. Shapiro is a member of the Poet and Writer's Circle at the Harvard Club of NYC, the Christian Writer's Guild, and the Connecticut Author's and Publisher's Association. He regularly attends the Writer’s Center at the Chautauqua Institution and Canyon Ranch in Tucson, where much of his writing takes shape. He also writes for The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/martin-shapiro A Past President of the Norwich Rotary Club (2006-2007), he has nearly two decades of service to Rotary Clubs International. Contact the author at: mshapiro2039@aol.com