Politics
Alternative View: “Pretty Good” Choices to Deal with the Mess We’re In
Jul 5, 2010
By Steffen Schmidt
By Steffen Schmidt
We read and hear a lot about the economy, business, oil spills, taxes, genetically modified crops, scandals, corruption, big money, too much bureaucracy, lack of confidence by consumers, job losses, closings and vacant storefronts and rentals, a terrible housing slump, mortgage defaults, consumers not spending enough to restart the economy, credit card companies ripping off consumers, people desperate and “under water” in debt, drug abuse, teen pregnancies, domestic violence, massive tides of immigrants coming across the borders, nuclear proliferation, war and death in Afghanistan. Well, I could go on but you already know the mess we are in.
I got e-mail with alternative suggestions on how we can take back our lives and take back our country. No, it does NOT come from the Tea Party Movement! Progressives also want to take back the country and we never hear about them so I hope you enjoy this treatise from the Fallons. If you don’t know them here are some links:
Read on and post your comments below.
From:
Ed & Lynn Fallon, The Fallon Forum, PO Box 13421, Des Moines, IA 50310
In response to our radio discussion last week about debts and deficits, a listener followed-up with this sobering comment:
“This is what I mean by no good choices: If we focus too much on the budget, we plunge back into the abyss (like what happened in 1937-38). If we spend too freely, we suffer from debt issues for years to come.”
Fair enough. There are no “good” choices, if by “good” we mean easy and without consequences. But if we’re able to accept that today’s crisis (of which living on borrowed money is but one aspect) demands individual and collective sacrifice not seen since World War II, then there is a good choice.
That choice is to simplify. Everything. Starting now. With an unparalleled sense of urgency. It’s a choice that partisan operatives in both major political parties refuse to discuss and don’t want to hear.
1. Simplify our personal lives. Eat less. Eat local. Travel less. Heat and cool our homes more moderately. Evaluate how much stuff we need; clear the clutter that not only blows our credit rating but gets in the way of true happiness. In short, give up quantity for quality. Abandon the religion of consumerism for a deeper, more meaningful spiritual living.
2. Simplify our government. Merge governments at the local level. Downsize government across the board. Those 2,000 plus jobs the State of Iowa recently cut using federal stimulus money? Apparently, they weren’t all that necessary, since there’s no talk of needing to replace them. There's lots of government spending and plenty more government jobs that wouldn’t be missed . . . except by those who currently hold those jobs. Which brings us to . . .
3. Simplify our economy. Dismantle Wal-Mart and every similar monstrosity. Dismantle Big Ag. None of these colossi would exist in a true free-market economy with functional anti-trust laws and an adequate regulatory framework. Think of all the jobs that innovative, freedom-loving entrepreneurs are dreaming to create! Get government out of the pocket of its corporate overlords (and off the backs of small business owners) and watch millions of Americans now working as wage slaves go into business for themselves and their communities. The sooner we realize that our economy and our government have been hijacked by big-monied interests the sooner we’ll muster the political will to restore the checks and balances that make a true free-market economy the best system in the world.
4. Simplify our impact on the planet. Seven billion Earthlings is not sustainable. We don’t have the magic number, but over time there needs to be an individual and collective commitment to bring our numbers in check with the planet’s carrying capacity. Side benefit: this probably solves the immigration problem, too.
Perhaps our good choice can be summed up as this: “Put others first, especially future generations.” That’s something we haven't done a very good job of over the past few decades. We baby boomers do a lot of taking, a lot of borrowing, with abject disregard for the future. Embracing real change involves sacrifice. But it means our kids and grandkids get a chance to breathe fresh air, drink clean water, eat healthy and affordable food, and work at meaningful jobs paying livable wages. Really, there can’t be a better way to enjoy living in the present than doing our part to assure future generations have the opportunity to provide for their families, with time left to worship, play, laugh, create, sing, dance and love.
There. Now that we’ve offended everybody from labor unions to corporate executives to tea partiers to Marxists, tell us what YOU think. What’s YOUR tough choice for dealing with debts and deficits, both monetary and resource-based? America has been the birthplace of so much innovation, creativity and inspiration. Yet we’ve become fat, lazy and privileged. We’re a nation of snobs. We expect to be pampered. We want it easy. Yet no one ever said being the world’s superpower was going to be easy. Despite our many set backs and mistakes, America is still in a unique position to provide the inspiration needed to steer the world’s nations in the right direction.
Join Ed & Lynn Fallon for the fusion of politics and civility at 98.3 WOW-FM and on-line. Call (515) 312-0983 or (866) 908-TALK to participate in the conversation. If you miss a show you can hear it as a podcast. And don’t forget to listen to Bradshaw, weekdays from 1:00-4:00.
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Steffen Schmidt is a Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at Iowa State University. He provides weekly political analysis for Iowa Public Radio, and periodically in Spanish for CNN en Español. He also serves as chief political and international correspondent for InsiderIowa.com.
