LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Talk about looking into the future and making predictions on what credit unions can expect to see, author and futurist Peter Leyden sketched a positive future from now through 2020, a forecast he says bodes well for credit unions. "Finance has undergone a revolution," he said. "Essentially we are democratizing financial services. Who, a few years ago, watched stock reports on CNN? "This is about as good an economy as you've experienced and it shows no signs of slowing down. During the next decade this boom will take off on a global scale. We're talking about a 4 to 6% growth rate globally for the next 20 years. We can't really predict the future, but there are some strong probabilities." Leyden sees the United States as well-positioned to prosper. In fact, "You could not have designed a country better suited for the 21st Century than the United States. This is a time for the United States to think generously." Yes, there are challenges, he acknowledged. We must find a way to integrate Russia into the global economy and to spread prosperity to Africa. If we migrate away from oil, there could be chaos in the Middle East. In addition to computers continuing to impact work and personal life, Leyden sees gains in: Biotechnology, with human lifespans increasing to 100 years and more; New, clean fuel technology based on hydrogen fuel cells; Nanotechnology, allowing manufacturers to build products one atom at a time. Leyden predicts prosperity will spread globally, with an interconnected, interdependent world enjoying lower levels of violence. As for your investments, Leyden acknowledges not every stock will do well, but thinking long-term, over the next 20 years, he believes many will. "We have to make certain nobody is left behind. The more people on a network, the better for everybody. If you want e-commerce to work, you have to make sure everybody is on the Internet," Leyden said. -
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