Contemptuous Familiarity

The vacation is over at the Minerals Management Service. No more trading resumes and job applications with the folks you’re inspecting. No more coming to work under the influence. And Elizabeth Birnbaum has resigned. Or was she fired? Sorry, but in today’s corporate or political America, no nabob gets fired. They resign so as to “seek other opportunities” or to “spend more time with family”. No public execution for the citizenry to relish. Rather, a quiet hanging in the back room.

Who cares, anyway? She’s gone and we can finally get back to overseeing those that require constant supervision. Should you think that it is that simple, boy do I have a deal for you! Remember the folks at the SEC? You know, those charged with keeping an eye on our interests within the financial sector? They were watching porn on their computers and god knows what else while our economy slid steadily towards the brink.

When problems (disaster?) like this arise, a scapegoat is always located and the public is led to believe that all will now be well. And it never seems to turn out that way, does it? And you know what? I’m mad...no, I’m pissed off at those seemingly selfless public servants that routinely throw us under the bus for their own gains. And if you’re not pissed, too, you’re not paying attention.

I’ve always espoused smart government over smaller government and believe that its chief role is to protect the general population from those that would pick another route that maximizes personal agendas at the expense of our overall quality of life. I no longer believe that such an arrangement is possible without a complete overhaul of our system of checks and balances.

The fact that Ms Birnbaum is no longer leading the MMS has nothing to do with the underlying culture within our civil servants and corporate sycophants. No one seems to care about the reasons for their position, but rather concentrate on extracting the maximum rewards at any cost. And who can blame them? Corporations outsource manufacturing and other functions to foreign (cheaper) operations so as to make the most money. It matters not to them that the middle class of America is left to languish and eventually die on the side of the commercial highway. Political gamesmanship is centered on getting the most from another while ceding the least. The fallout and future ramifications on the constituents is better left for the next administration, anyway.

So how can we blame the inspector for following the lead of the higher-ups? We will, you know, and we’ll probably fire a few and ask the appointed scapegoat to “retire”, but it’s all for show to convince you and me that all is now under control. In truth, it will take much more effort to truly clean house. How about hiring environmentalists to monitor offshore drilling? And how about bringing on some forensic financiers to keep an eye on the banking industry. Basically, we ask folks who abhor the activity of those they monitor to make sure they do it right. As an airline pilot, the FAA has inspectors to keep an eye on me. I can’t help but think that most of these folks are frustrated airline pilot wannabe’s and their perfect day includes busting me on a check-ride. And that’s how it should be, don’t you think? Would you prefer some lackey in my jump-seat schmoozing me for a job with my airline instead of holding my feet to the fire should I fall below a pre-set standard? No, we need some friction, albeit civil, between the hen-house and whomever is guarding it.

And we need something long missing and little seen in today’s everyday world: ethics. Doing the right thing is easy when the spotlight is trained in your direction, but that has nothing to do with ethics. No, ethics (or integrity, if you prefer) is doing the right thing when no one is watching. Unfortunately, this course correction must begin at the top of whatever framework we’re talking about, be it the White House or the boardroom. It’s hard to maintain anonymity in today’s Facebook, Twitter, and open-mike environment and that’s a good thing, at least within this discussion.

Regulators are nothing more than law enforcement personnel without a gun. And society condemns a crooked cop. The same attitude must be maintained towards all the inspectors and regulators out there and when misconduct is uncovered heads must roll. A tall order, to be sure, but until changes like this come about, don’t be too surprised when our regulators fail to adequately regulate.

They say that familiarity breeds contempt. This usually refers to matters of the heart, but in the case of our regulatory agencies falling far short of their mandates, I’d say it’s fair to equate their familiarity with their corporate counterparts equally contemptible.