Shortcuts

Humans are lazy, in case you haven’t noticed. We will line up to buy the latest labor-saving device despite knowing nothing about what it does or if we need it. If it’s easier or quicker, we’re interested. These doodads all fall under the heading of “shortcut” and we love shortcuts. More than likely, they started out as a geographic means to simply shorten the distance from A to B. I’m only guessing because I wasn’t around when they became popular, but I can’t help but think that someone was looking for a way to shave a few minutes off of the trek from the hunting ground to the tepee.

Like most everything else, the shortcut has taken on an existence of its own, much to the detriment of society. The lottery? A shortcut to riches. The microwave? A shortcut to dinner. The Tivo or DVR? Shortcuts to our favorite programs absent those pesky commercials. Even computers have shortcuts to save the user a nano-second or two in opening a program. Our patience has been overwhelmed by searching for that elusive shortcut needed at a particular moment for a particular purpose. Ironically, when we find our shortcut, we immediately look to find a shortcut to the shortcut!

This never-ending quest has found itself into the political arena, too. As election day approaches, some candidates are painting their campaigns as a way to end our current economic malaise and immediately turn a corner to prosperity. A shortcut, in other words. I hate to break it to you, but no matter who wins what race, our near-term future is bound to be full of stagnation or, at best, a snail’s pace of progress. Why?

Have you ever eaten too much of a given food and then suffered the effects? You know: bloating, burping, hurling, etc. Eventually the “runs” (or “trots” if you prefer) show up to complete the entire miserable experience. No step can be omitted: it is a process that must run its course before we feel any better and there is no way to speed up the recovery. Well, think of our economy having over-indulged on housing. We are maybe half-way through that entire miserable experience and no shortcut exists that will save us from what is yet to come.

You may think I am asking you to vote in a certain manner that might suggest “staying the course”. Not true. I am saying, though, that there is no magic bullet, no shortcut that will allow us to escape the future pangs as our economy recovers. Less stimulus...more stimulus...lower taxes...higher taxes? Beats me as to what formula may at least minimize the discomfort. Regardless, we’re in this to the end and the end is still a ways off.

I’m no more thrilled by this as you. But it is what it is. Who knows: maybe our thirst for shortcuts will be slaked for a time. Probably not, though. After all, we’re a lazy species.