Let me start by stating none of the economic news in the last week concerning the United States is surprising. A rating downgrade, like jobs or economic growth is a consequence resulting from actions previously taken, not as many appear to suggest, a signal. The actions of our government and citizenry over the last 5 years in particular and the last 40 in general has for many people been like watching a slow motion train wreck one agonizing second at a time, something to be seen but nearly impossible to stop. That it took so long for one of the three major agencies to downgrade US debt merely emphasizes the irrelevance of the whole charade that is “credit rating”.
The President’s reaction to the downgrade was, as is typical of bureaucrats, little more than a collection of sound bites lacking in both substance and insight. In spite of his brevity, I obtained nearly 4 pages of quotes and statements to contemplate. While most could be classified as atypical political remarks, a few were notable for exhibiting the precise mentality that led to the current financial situation. For example, at just :49 seconds he offered this verbal stroke of brilliance:
“We didn’t need a rating agency to tell us we need a balanced long term approach to deficit reduction.”
Just like an alcoholic doesn’t need to be told to drink less. Or at 6:26 he had this bit of sage wisdom:
“There will always be economic factors we can’t control.”
Yea, like all of them. The assumption that we can control anything is exactly what contributed to many of the problems we face today. Maybe if we just acknowledged that the economy can’t be controlled, fixed, or stimulated, real progress could be made toward a healthy economy (notice I didn’t state a growing economy, but I’ll have more on this topic soon). Just :32 seconds prior, at 5:48 President Obama offered up this suggestion:
“We should also help companies that want to repair our roads and bridges and airports so that thousands of construction workers who have been without a job for the last few years can have a paycheck again…”
How does he propose we “help” said companies and construction workers? How is the government going to pay for their services? How do you “tackle deficits” by spending more? That the government wants to “help” is just another demonstration of how we accumulated such a gargantuan deficit in grave need of reduction. However, perhaps no other statement he made demonstrated the arrogance and misguided attitude of our government and citizenry as this whopper at 6:47:
“This is the United States of America, no matter what some agency may say, we’ve always been and always will be a AAA country.”
What? It’s statements like this and “consumer confidence” that have me most concerned. Are we ever going to actually deal with our problems? Or, do we merely want to elevate our national self esteem? The stereotypes of a spoiled rich kid are so fully and completely embodied by this one statement that so succinctly exposes the root of our predicament, I’m forced to consider the possibility that we may have actually deluded ourselves into believing we’re endowed with the right to behave irresponsibly and without accountability, the rest of the world (and subsequent generations of Americans) be damned?
Unless we (politicians AND citizens) stop externalizing the problems we face, accept responsibility for our actions, and make the necessary changes to cultivate a healthy economy, we will likely be remembered as those who squandered the wealth of a nation.
What do you think?