Home Alone

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Date: Tue, 02 Sep 2003 16:02:45 -0700
> From: Shannon McElyea <Shannon () swisscreek com>
> Subject: Home Alone
> To: David Farber <dave () farber net>
>
>
>  http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/01/opinion/01HERB.html?th
>
> Home Alone
> By BOB HERBERT
>
>
> There was an interesting lead paragraph in an article on the front page of
> The Wall Street Journal last Thursday:
>
> "The blackout of 2003 offers a simple but powerful lesson: Markets are a
> great way to organize economic activity, but they need adult supervision."
>
> Gee. They've finally figured that out. The nuns I had in grammar school were
> onto this adult supervision notion decades ago. It seems to be just dawning
> on the power brokers of the 21st century. Maybe soon the voters will catch
> on. You need adults in charge.
>
> We barreled into Iraq with no real thought given to the consequences, and
> now we've got a tragic mess on our hands. California looks like something
> out of "Lord of the Flies," and yet the person getting the most attention as
> a candidate to clean up that insane situation is an actor with a history of
> immature behavior whose cartoonish roles appeal most strongly to children.
> Maybe he'll shoot the budget deficit. Hasta la vista, baby.
>
> Appalling behavior and appalling policies have become the norm among folks
> entrusted with the heaviest responsibilities in business and government. The
> federal budget deficit will approach half a trillion dollars next year. And
> that will be followed by huge additional deficits, year after irresponsible
> year, extending far off into the horizon. And, of course, the baby boomers,
> the least responsible generation in memory, will soon begin retiring and
> collecting their Social Security and federal health benefits, leaving the
> mountains of unpaid bills for the hapless generations behind them.
>
> What this nation needs is a timeout.
>
> Imagine if we had done some things differently. If, for example, instead of
> squandering such staggering amounts of federal money on tax cuts and an
> ill-advised war, we had invested wisely in some of the nation's pressing
> needs. What if we had begun to refurbish our antiquated electrical grid, or
> developed creative new ways to replenish the stock of affordable housing, or
> really tackled the job of rebuilding and rejuvenating the public schools?
>
> What if we had called in the best minds from coast to coast to begin a crash
> program, in good faith and with solid federal backing, to substantially
> reduce our dependence on foreign oil by changing our laws and habits, and
> developing safer, cleaner, less-expensive alternatives? This is exactly the
> kind of effort that the United States, with its can-do spirit and vast
> commercial, technological and intellectual resources, would be great at.
>
> Imagine if we had begun a program to rebuild our aging infrastructure — the
> highways, bridges, tunnels and dams, the water and sewage facilities, the
> airports and transit systems. Imagine on this Labor Day 2003 the number of
> good jobs that could be generated with that kind of long-term effort.
>
> All of these issues, if approached properly, are job creators, including the
> effort to reduce our energy dependence. The big hangup in the economic
> recovery we are supposed to be experiencing now is the continued joblessness
> and underemployment.
>
> A fellow I ran into recently in San Jose, Calif., Andy Fortuna, said: "I've
> got a college degree and I'm washing cars. I'm working, but I'd like a good
> job. If the idea is for business to employ as few people as possible and
> keep their pay as low as possible — well, how's that good for me? Who speaks
> for me?"
>
> Wise investments along these lines have dual payoffs — they help us take
> care of critical national needs and they help sustain the high levels of
> employment that are needed to keep the nation's high-powered consumer
> economy humming.
>
> One other critical need that is not getting enough attention is homeland
> security. A series of recent reports has shown that two years after the
> Sept. 11 attacks we remain dangerously unprepared for another terrorist
> strike inside the U.S. And one of the major reasons we remain unprepared is
> that so many of the agencies responsible for our domestic defenses against
> terror are undertrained, understaffed and underfinanced.
>
> We are at a stage now where mature, responsible leadership is more essential
> than ever. All of the problems that we have ignored until now remain with
> us. But the money that might have started us on the road to solutions is
> gone. We are mired in Iraq, and not properly prepared at home.
>
> We could use some adult supervision.

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