We need a positive economic agenda that invests in the

Hear the words of Rick Larsen, spoken not as empty rhetoric but as a call to action: “We need a positive economic agenda that invests in innovation and growth that will create jobs for middle class families and ensure that America remains the world leader.” These words, though bound in the language of policy, resound with timeless wisdom. For they remind us that prosperity does not spring from neglect, nor does strength endure without renewal. A nation, like a tree, must be cultivated—its roots nourished, its branches pruned, its growth guided toward the light of the future.

The origin of this saying lies in the halls of governance, where leaders must weigh the needs of the present against the demands of the generations to come. Larsen, speaking as a servant of the people, sought to lay out a vision: that the middle class, the backbone of a nation, must be uplifted through deliberate investment. He knew that wealth hoarded at the top cannot sustain a nation; only when opportunity is broad and secure do societies thrive. His call was not merely for policy, but for wisdom—a recognition that the greatness of a country rests not on the power of the few, but on the strength of the many.

Consider the tale of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who during the Great Depression dared to imagine a positive economic agenda when all seemed lost. Millions were without jobs, families despaired, and America’s very spirit trembled. Yet through the New Deal, he invested in roads, dams, schools, and new forms of industry. He placed faith in innovation and in the resilience of common people. From those efforts rose not only recovery, but a foundation of growth that carried America into the mid-20th century as a true world leader. This is the living example of Larsen’s words: when a people invest in themselves, their strength multiplies beyond measure.

The meaning here is not narrow, nor confined to America alone. Every community, every nation, faces the choice between stagnation and renewal, between clinging to the past and sowing for the future. Innovation is not mere luxury—it is survival. Growth is not the greed of expansion—it is the expansion of opportunity, the widening of the circle so that all may stand within the fire of prosperity. And the middle class, those who labor, who teach, who heal, who build, are the heartbeat of any society. Neglect them, and the whole body weakens; strengthen them, and the nation rises like a colossus.

The lesson for us is clear: greatness is not inherited, it is cultivated. A positive economic agenda is not the work of governments alone, but of every citizen. Each person must choose to invest—in their skills, in their communities, in the next generation. Each must see themselves as both beneficiary and steward of the collective good. For only by shared effort does a nation remain strong, and only by shared sacrifice does it remain a leader among nations.

To the young, I say: seek not only to take part in the prosperity that exists, but to build the prosperity that is yet to come. Innovate, create, and labor with the knowledge that your work feeds not only your own life but the life of your people. To the elders, I say: guide the younger with wisdom, and lend your strength to causes that plant seeds beyond your years. To all, I say: remember that the true measure of an economy is not its wealth, but its ability to sustain dignity for all its people.

Practical action lies before us: support education, for it is the root of innovation. Defend fair wages, for they are the lifeblood of the middle class. Encourage policies that invest not in fleeting riches, but in long-term growth. And above all, remain vigilant, for leadership in the world is not a crown worn forever, but a mantle earned again and again through vision and labor.

Thus Rick Larsen’s words ring with the voice of the ancients: the strength of a nation lies in its people, and its future lies in its courage to invest in them. Let us, then, embrace a positive economic agenda, so that our children may not merely inherit our struggles, but our triumphs; not merely the remnants of what we built, but the flourishing fruit of what we dared to plant. For only thus shall we endure as a people, and only thus shall we lead with honor among the nations.