This isn’t an economic recession or an economic depression. It’s an economic adjustment.
Home prices have ratcheted lower, to the point where to build a house (labor, materials, buildings fees, taxes, etc.) costs more then it can be sold for.
Homeowners are underwater in their mortgages. Our material producers are in same situation. Why the outsourcing to other countries and so on? Cost of living has increased.
The word “bubble” is used to describe these boiling messes. It’s extremely difficult to detach yourself from the daily stirring of the pot by those who are leading and should know. Everybody is clinging to old habits and the Obama Administration is a prime example. Obama is almost a rabble-rouser. It hasn’t gotten violent, but, I don’t like to project straight-line logic, the overall direction indicates serious unpopularity. That goes for all politicians.
Change is something the American people are able to handle, if the reasons for change are understood clearly.
The government appears to be a “choke coil.” Electrically speaking, where the control of alternating current in an electrical circuit permits the passage of a direct current, but has such a high reactance that little alternating current goes through.
The government is a coil of wires wrapped so tightly around the president that nothing gets done. Then the wires get crossed and short circuit.
The redundancies in the system need attention. Why should we the American people send a substantial amount of our taxes to Washington? To which Washington sends them back to the State, the State sends them to the counties, which disperse them to the cities.
Each time the funds are handled accruing administrative costs.
Not to mention the application and studies that are filtered up the ladder to Washington. Is this permanent job creation? No wonder the states counties and cities have a budget deficit.
The addictions in the system need attention. The game by every city, county, state or institution is to design projects or programs to acquire federal funding. These projects are manipulated in so many ways. Once a fund is received and used the object is to get another for there economic survival. This distorts the economy to become dependant on more funding to survive. It works counter to the need for the funds.
Analogy: It’s like priming a gas engine through the carburetor without having the gas line connected. The engine runs for a while and keeps running as long as you pour gas into the carburetor.
When will the Obama Administration, senate and the house realize there are too many “cherry-picked smorgasbord” skirmishes going on and that the American people have become a stagnating captive audience watching the court jesters taking applause? The “world is a stage,” but you have to get the script in some kind of form that everyone likes and understands. Not an easy task if you keep playing the amusement game of hitting the gopher on the head when he pops out of the hole in the board.
It seems to me we have a problem with the principles of democracy, a big “disconnect.” What you think you are getting is not what you get. Over many years, there has been several “Acts” to this play, each with it’s own cast of characters. Like a revolving door, these characters ride as actors or are there real pragmatists concerned with all the American people?
What is the answer?
We have this big ship, much larger then the “Tanker Valdez,” heading for an enormous economic iceberg. The passengers see the problem. The crew reports to the Captain. What does the Captain do or should he do?
Does he tell the engine crew to stop the engine? Does he tell the wheelhouse to change course? Does he tell the passenger to brace for impact? Does he shift the weight to one side? Does he lighten the load? Does he say reverse engines?
The passengers know they have concerns, but they are more intuitively aware of the situation. They know that the ship has to steer around this obstacle. They also know that if you shut down the economic engine you cannot steer the ship. They know that the lookout or radar is not giving the true data on the position of the ship to the iceberg.
Are they fooled? Or could it be that the problem is with the jesters of crusades for idealism, but the people know that individualism is the American way?
Maybe it is past the time to acknowledge reality and not continue the paths set by the disciplines of educated people who have been trained to think a certain way, but are not thinking.
Maybe the essence of “The Tea Party” movement is this adjustment. This certainly isn’t some esoteric madness, but that movement appears to be flailing in the wind by opportunist to make a buck. Nor has it a solid platform foundation.
Bud Chor is a reader or PublicCEO.com and submitted this commentary.
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