Taming the Beast

The latest session of Congress is getting into full swing and much is being said of wrestling the deficit into a more manageable figure. I don't know about you, but I just can't get my head around trillions of dollars. So let's get this down to a level more easily understood: the household budget. After all, each of us is a mini-government and the way we handle our financial challenges should be similar to Uncle Sam's.

A household budget enjoys the freedom of flexibility in that it is not necessarily formalized in writing. I don't itemize my monthly expenditures, but readily recognize whether I have available funds for a specific purchase. Regardless, month in and month out, we manage our cash flow. We do not run a balanced budget as most of us have a mortgage or other obligation that is paid down over time. We do not enjoy a huge cache of reserve funds to cover unexpected expenses, such as a new roof, but have avenues of credit that we would draw upon in the event they were needed. And, most importantly, we realize that this debt must be addressed in a timely manner. We limit our discretionary outlays until such time as that new roof, or whatever, is paid for.

In Washington and our state capitals, it seems that such hard choices are passed on to future administrations. This dearth of leadership has brought us to our current monetary shortfall. How else can one explain the fact that Social Security has gone largely unmodified over the decades? We live longer and rely on fewer to fund the system for an ever growing number of recipients. This is (and has been) unsustainable yet no political will has surfaced to alter the program. A combination of increases in retirement age and decreases in benefits seems unavoidable, but any representative contemplating re-election is loathe to support such a solution. The same mentality extends to other programs that are considered "third rails" and does nothing but deepen our financial hole. In the family, there is no fear of making the hard choice simply because there is no election. The bread-winners make priorities and act accordingly. If only politics was that simple.

We will hear much about a balanced budget amendment. Don't buy into that, either, as it is nothing but smoke and mirrors. New York City and other communities throughout the country have blown through their snow removal budget for the year. A balanced budget amendment would dictate that no more snow removal would occur as the funds were no  longer available. See what I mean? The problem lies not in over-spending to cover unplanned events, but in the resistance to making up the shortfall within the next budget.

Some areas of a budget exceed their allotted amount while others have a surplus at the end of the fiscal cycle. Theoretically, of course, because every agency seeks to spend their funds for fear that, if they don't, they'll get less next year. Yet another example of how the system encourages continued expansion and abuse.

We read about state budgets in similar stress (only four states have no deficit for 2010). Many governors talk about returning power to counties and other, smaller districts. This is yet another way of passing the buck because the state won't be footing the bill any longer. And the county has no money, either. Not much of a deficit reduction plan, is it?

Cities, states, and the federal government get their money from tax revenues that come primarily from sales and real estate assessments. We all know that the housing market has lost much of it's value and, what with the ensuing recession, folks aren't spending as much. It should come as no surprise that every public sector is scrambling for money while trying to maintain an expected level of service.

We can also expect to hear the continued rhetoric of spending less. Last week's State of the Union address spoke of "investing" in our future. Opponents of such largess equated the term with "spending". If you spend $10 for two cups of coffee, you've spent $10. But if you take that same $10 and buy a computer program that helps your kids learn, you've made an investment in their future. Not all spending is bad and, much like our leaky roof, we must continue to invest if we are to hold out any hope for a better tomorrow.

It's time to tighten our proverbial belts a notch or two and suck it up for a period of time until our financial ships are returned to calmer waters. Yes, our ox will get gored, along with everyone else's. And we need leaders rather than politicians. Folks that will ignore politics for the good of the country. I'd say that offers us a better outcome than the partisan-politics-oriented picking fly poop out of pepper, wouldn't you?

Sociopathic Capitalism

Those of you familiar with my musings know that I include the lack of corporate morality as a root cause for many of today’s ills. Today, I’d like to zero in on a more specific area, albeit related: capitalism without conscience.

Capitalism makes our economic engine churn. Historically, entities interested in making money found it extremely advantageous to make something that others would want to purchase. Nothing harmful, mind you, because any success would be short-lived once customers started falling by the wayside. Also, to be considered a good neighbor, there would be no disposing of toxins, etc. in an unsafe manner. In other words: conscience strode hand-in-hand with profitability and long-term viability. And this was a good thing.

Over time, however, “long-term” was redefined as this fiscal year or perhaps even a quarter as executive compensation escalated and golden parachutes became the exit of preference from any boardroom. All of a sudden, making money now took precedence over making money the right way. Manufacturing was sent off-shore because, after all, making something here required commitment and a large, expensive labor force.

Small, family businesses were not immune as they were beset by children loathe to follow in their ancestral endeavors. With no one to carry on the legacy, many enterprises were shuttered or sold to conglomerates who had long ago forsaken any whit of conscience. And the wheel continued to turn.

We now find ourselves in a world where, while we continue to extol the virtues of capitalism, we find much of our “capital” going to (or coming from) foreign nations. We no longer make many things of substance, our unionized workforce is below 12%, the middle class is shrinking, and anyone with something to sell finds that few on the home-front have available cash. Why? It might be because the financial sector has recently grown at an alarming rate as an economic substitute for manufacturing. Banks became too big to fail and enjoyed the luxury of a government bailout as they teetered on the ledge of insolvency. Now they can get almost interest-free money from the Federal Reserve and then immediately put it back into the government through the purchase of bonds. It’s a no-lose investment with guaranteed return. Why loan the same money to some business that may default?

American companies are behaving no better: they are currently sitting on roughly $2 trillion in cash. Why not invest this money into manufacturing, etc? Well, investment is occurring, but not within our borders. It’s just too expensive, you see, and what with the expectations of the shareholders, it makes more sense to build abroad.

The arguments above make perfect financial sense, but leave out the conscience that is most important if capitalism is to flourish once again. In the meantime, the middle class continues to whither from a lack of skilled positions available and the gap between haves and have-nots continues to widen. No longer are managers interested in long-term success for their company or their employees or their community. They are concerned with a bottom line that provides them with the opportunity of early retirement.

Some might argue that capitalism never had a conscience and never will (or should). And they might be spot-on. Maybe globalization has led us to our current malaise. As world economies settle to the lowest common denominator, it stands to reason that ours would suffer the most. If so, is there any reason to expect a return to our golden days?  

Our elected leaders continue to ramble on about job creation, but I’m hard pressed to see how any legislative effort can coerce the commercial world into doing something that seems to reduce their financial gain. Until they realize that there is more at stake than money, this sociopathic model of capitalism will continue to exist. Much to the detriment of those seeking what was once known as the American dream.

Violence and the Media

The past week's coverage of the carnage in Tucson left me wondering: what of the memorials for Bryan Cirigliano? Or Victor James? You may well ask, "Who the hell are they?" and rightly so. These gentlemen are just two of the nine that were killed in the August shooting rampage in a Manchester, Connecticut beer distributorship. Don't feel badly about not recognizing their names: I had to look them up, too. And therein lies my point.

Public mayhem is nothing new. Whether it occurs in the workplace or society in general, numerous cases can be found regularly. The primary difference between these other instances and Tucson is the media frenzy. So what caused the frenzy? Could it be the number of dead and wounded or the notoriety of those involved? I call it a "quantity or quality" question that apparently determines the amount of media coverage devoted to the scene.

Why does a congresswoman need to be shot, or a Federal judge or a nine year old girl killed before we start to have a conversation about events of this nature? Why didn't the nine folks in Connecticut merit the same attention last August? Were their deaths less noteworthy? Were their memorials unimportant? Have we become so callous to seemingly random violence that the more "normal, everyday" shootings fail to move us towards addressing the underlying issues? It sure seems so.

Don't get me wrong: the memorials and media coverage in Tucson are appropriate. I suggest that the coverage of other, similar events is lacking due either due to a lower number of casualties or an absence of celebrity within the victim list. The saddest part, I'm afraid, is the fact that you and I have little or no control over who the media turns towards and how much coverage is considered adequate.

We do, however, have the option of extolling our representatives to delve further into the root causes of such incidents and seeking remedies. Some would argue for greater mental health support services while others, perhaps, would seek greater control over firearms and ammunition. Both have valid concerns (and positions) and I'm sure that other ideas could equally contribute to the debate.

We seem to be an angry, polarized society these days. Some have an axe to grind while others seek only to swing the axe in a random manner. Regardless, we must strive to recognize the danger signs that each and every incident provides rather than ignoring those that fail to live up to some artificial standard of attention.

Prophet or Pessimist?

Of all the expressions of art, I believe that which looks into the future holds the most curiosity. After all, as a rule, art imitates life. A sensible state of affairs when considering that most artists draw their inspiration from people and things in the real world. But that which draws on assumptions of a future day has nothing but guesswork to guide it. Music has “In the Year 2525” and paintings have often dealt with unheard of vistas. Television has “Star Trek”, film has “Star Wars”, and both have much company in their respective fields. Literature has two well known contributions: Huxley’s “Brave New World” and Orwell’s “1984”. Each example portrays a future world and imagines what the respective societies would look like. It recently struck me how eerily prescient Orwell’s vision has turned out to be.

The three tenets of Oceania’s IngSoc were 1) War is Peace, 2) Freedom is Slavery, and 3) Ignorance is Power. I’ll leave it to you should a review of 1984 be in order. In the meantime, allow me to press on with application of this triad in today’s “real world”.

War is Peace

Our current war(s) in Iraq and/or Afghanistan have set a record for duration. Our enemy seems to be a border-less, non-national enemy known as terrorism. As such, this war can continue ad infinitum in any country. “We’re fighting them there so we don’t have to fight them here.” Sound familiar? The next thing you know, our domestic “peace” is surrounded by perpetual “war” against the terrorists.

Freedom is Slavery

The Patriot Act became law shortly after 9-11 and, with it, many of our civil liberties disappeared. Do you think the name of this legislation was accidental? I don’t. We should not be surprised that patriotism surged after the WTC attack. What better way to get everybody on board? “You’re either with us or against us” is yet another quote with a familiar ring. To relinquish personal freedoms in the name of security is nothing more than re-defining freedom. And, once again, the next thing you know, we are slaves to others who limit the unfettered living of our lives.

Ignorance is Power

The incessant bickering, gridlock, and partisanship recently seen in Washington have given rise to the Tea Party movement. This group eschews the conventional wisdom that maintains government is best left to those knowledgeable in politics. In last fall’s election we saw many races with candidates possessing nary a whit of experience in any hall of power. And some of them won. While their motives might well be as pure as the proverbial driven snow, I fear that their ignorance of how politics (and government) really works will result in further frustration among the electorate. Regardless, we have rewarded seemingly ignorant candidates with the power their particular office possesses.

Kinda scary isn’t it? Are we headed for a “rats in the mask” world? I sure hope not, but can’t help but think that it may have been considered nothing more than a “harsh interrogation technique” in the not-too-distant past. Maybe it’s time for yet another read of Mr. Orwell’s picture of the future. Was he correct in his prophecies, albeit twenty six years late? Or was his view simply a pessimistic treatise where hope exists only in dreams? When you get right down to it, the reality of our future depends upon you, me, and the rest of society to dictate which direction our leaders take us.

Marking Moments

New Year’s Day has come and gone and now comes the task of returning to normal, everyday life. Many have said that this past year (or perhaps the entire decade) is best forgotten. I’d be hard pressed to argue that major social and economic upheavals have not touched everyone in some way, but throwing an entire period away is akin to tossing out the baby with the bath water.

Think a minute and recall the times of unparalleled joy in the last year. We’ve all had them, you know, whether they be of the personal or professional genre. We’re not very good at marking our moments anymore, though. Is it because our fast-paced life style has us looking at the next square before enjoying the one we’re currently occupying?

I’m not suggesting we wallow in some hazy-focused memory of better times. But if we fail to take the time to mark the moments that define us, we lose perspective for what is yet to come. And don’t confuse me with the eternal optimist, either. Those that know me would propose that I’m something less than Little Mary Sunshine and that’s fine with me. After all, a pessimist is nothing more than an optimist with experience.

Think of your life as a series of chapters, if you will. We each find ourselves at the close of a chapter from time to time. Sometimes this end-of-phase is completely out of our control. Death or down-sizing, to name two. Others, fortunately, can be more easily foreseen and afford the opportunity to soak in the final days of the enterprise. I am entering the last year of my airline aviation career. Knowing that my time is reasonably short, I will mark many moments over the next twelve months. Some will be good and others less-than-pleasant. Regardless, each marked moment will be available for my recollection after my participation has ceased. And what better way to relive the glory while keeping in mind the shortfalls and frustrations that ultimately accompany any endeavor.

  

Without our marking of important passages, including both good and bad, we can easily slide into thinking that things were better than they actually were.This leads us into second-guessing our decision (if one was involved) to close the chapter. And that takes time away from looking to the future and the possibilities it holds. To simply discard a year (or decade) out of hand is a disservice to the accomplishments throughout the period and to the moments that deserve remembrance. It’s not too late to reflect over the past year (or decade) and sift out those nuggets. And it’s not too soon to resolve marking future moments as they present themselves. It may well be the best resolution of the new year.