Name: Christine Beaudin

From: Illinois

Bio: Technology Consultant for over 15 years & internet user

Area of Expertise: Futurist/Consultant

Topic: Communication

Headline: Yesterday's "Guns and Butter" Equals Today's "Water and Connectivity"

Nutshell: The survival of our species comes down to water, which is defined as satisfying and nutritional in a safe environment, coupled with connectivity, which is how we as a society can exchange information and bridge equality gaps.

Vision: For decades we have been debating “Guns and Butter,” which is the relationship between capitalism, militarism and politics. My professors contended that Production Possibility Curves is the key metric to make tough decisions in the allocation of scarce resources. Public-sector planners remain focused on maximizing the right blend. We must modify my professors’ contentions and state that we need to focus on “Water and Connectivity.”

In my mind, water is defined as a satisfying and safe environment, and connectivity is how we exchange information. If we take care of both elements, our society will remain vibrant and beneficial for many decades to follow.

IT public-sector professionals need to be focused on the following key items to help achieve this vision:
1. Securing connectivity
2. Distributing and managing communication links
3. Prudently allocating public assets
4. Pushing our connectivity to help our foreign-policy goals

Economic academics refer to this as the, “wise allocation of scarce resources.”

Date Submitted: 2/8/2007