I believe that the United States has come to a fork in the road, and that the direction we choose from here will have profound effects on the way our society is structured in the future, the way we earn our living, and the values that we pass on to our children. Every significant event in our individual lives leaves a lasting impression, sometimes a scar, sometimes a hesitancy or dislike, and sometimes an outright emotional affliction. The same is true of nations. The Civil War, the Great Depression, World War II, and like events/experiences leave a lasting impression on us, change the way that we behave in the future, and essentially form our value systems as a nation and even as individuals. The Economic Meltdown of 2008, which may or may not take on that name, but will certainly take on a capitalized name of some form, is of a magnitude that will leave its lasting impression.
We will go down one of two roads. The first is a road where it is okay to fail, where risk will have no reward, nor will it have negative repercussions. The second is a road where we will, in fact, lay down new rules and expectations for risk, reward, and failure, and such rules will augment reward and ensure personal responsibility and loss when failure occurs. Of all the economic and political and sociological and cultural things that make us a bit different from other countries in the world, it is our risk/reward/failure personality that separates us the most. In the past, if you took a risk and succeeded, you would be handsomely rewarded. If you failed, well, you failed and no one bailed you out. This gave rise to great fortunes, great failures, great innovations, and a world-leading, world-changing, economic superpower whose poor are better off than the average citizen in many nations. In the future, rewards might be greatly muted, failures might be supported by the government, and a vast empire of mediocrity might emerge.
I am not a Democrat, but I like President Obama more than I liked George Bush. I am supportive of our President as he tries to find a way out of this mess. But liking someone is not an excuse for letting them change the course of a nation. As we emerge from this crisis, which road will he lead us down? The one where things are so regulated that they creativity is stilfed??…..or the one where risk and reward find new meaning? The first is Socialism and Mediocrity. I’m not saying it’s bad, it’s just something we need to understand if we are indeed going to walk down the road. It is not what I want, but I’m not the only one in this country. The second is Capitalism and more in tune with our past, but it is something that we must figure out a way to stab ilize in order to avoid total meltdowns in the future. Capitalism is a rocky path, but leads to great things.
The polls are clear. Americans, in general, still feel that those who fail should shoulder the consequences. If that is your opinion, make sure President Obama and your elected officials know it. President Obama is, at least at this point, a populist president. Right or wrong, he listens to people and polls of their opinions. Whichever road you want to go down, make sure someone knows about it. Once we go down a road, it is nearly impossible to turn back.
One Comment
I am hopeful that the steps taken to avoid catastrophe now will be, as President Obama has said, “unwound” when the necessity no longer exists. We often tend to believe that current conditions are permanent when they are not — and that goes for either the upside or the downside.
As for risk/failure … a concern needs to remain a shared risk and shared failure on a level playing field. Why are automobile unions being pressured to change their contracts, when contracts for bonuses to financial industry failures are viewed as sacred?