Peso for your thoughts

I went to the Casa de la Moneda de Bolivia museum in Potosí today. The mint was built in 1757 by the Spanish to mint silver coins (mined locally) that were shipped to europe to be used as Spanish currency. After Bolivian independence in 1825, the mint was used to make Bolivian currency until 1933. The building is impressive in scale and style, and well restored as a museum.

Our tour guide told us about the transformation from mule power (those old machines were amazing) to steam power. The new steam machinery were imported from Philadelphia. Years later, when the mint made the transition to electricity, new machines were imported from Princeton, NJ.

I must admit that I felt some pride that my country had been at the cutting edge of technology and innovation during the industrial revolution, exporting its products all over the world because they were the highest quality available. Unfortunately, it hasn´t lasted. I´ve been reading Thomas Freidman´s Hot, Flat, and Crowded, in which he argues that The United States needs to become the world leader in developing new green technologies to increase efficiency and produce clean energy. Under a Bush administration, this proposal was laughable. We´ve pretty much been doing the oposite for the las 30 years. But now we have a new president. Obama is pushing hard his budget plan, and, even in the face of opposition from congress, has been unyeilding in his energy proposals, allocating funds for research and experimentation for clean and renewable energy. It sounds like he´s really taking a stand to uphold his campaign promises.

Do we finally have a leader we can be proud of? It would certainly be a first for me. (The first 2 elections I was of voting age elected Bush and Bush again.) I´ve been holding my breath, releived and proud that he was elected, but not ready to celebrate yet. Time will tell, but i´m feeling more hopeful than ever.