One has become a very big idea. (write more)

• "One" is who we can count on to act, vote, volunteer, or make a contribution.
• Bono, the Episcopal Church, and the United Methodist Church are doing lots on "One", let's describe it.
• "One" trillion dollars keeps showing up as the cost of a mistake due to shortsightedness.
  1. The Savings & Loan crisis of the 1980's cost taxpayers somewhere around one trillion dollars. It happened because lenders saw a chance to make short term profit by borrowing short and lending long. When short term rates went up up up and long term rates were fixed, S&L's needed Uncle Sam to bail them out.
  2. The subprime crisis of 2007 will cost borrowers and lenders and taxpayers around one trillion dollars. It happened because lenders saw a chance to make short term profit by asking their borrowers to accept highly adjustable mortgage rates while their incomes were relatively fixed (constant). Lenders did learn from the 80's and figured out how to make borrowers the losers on a calamity that is not unlike the calamity of the 1980's where they (and taxpayers) were the losers.
  3. Our administration wanted a war and manufactured reasons for having one and that cost us over one trillion dollars. I'm not sure what the short term motive was, but there must have been one.