"We do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard."
Thus are President John Fitzgerald Kennedy's immortal words in reference to the notion that in 1961 we, the United States, would put a man on the moon within the decade. At the time, it seemed foolish. Eight years later in 1969, the American people watched the moon landing.
But, the above statement references more than just a desire to put people on the moon. It is a brilliant reflection of American-ness: resolve with humility; manifest destiny; a simultaneous cognizance of the rewards of success and risks of failure. For 200 years, this singular mindset drove this country to be the best in the world.
This mindset, however, has fallen on deaf Baby Boomer and subsequent generations' ears. We now choose to do only the easy things and ignore the hard ones. For the past 30 years, the driving mindset has become "Do whatever you want - someone else will pay for it."
Last year when the economy started to crumble, I thought it might have been an impetus for sea change. We had a Democratic presidential candidate telling us change needed to start with us; he was subsequently elected. Maybe people started to understand that they needed to make sacrifices; banks maybe learned that they should actually hold on to some of the money people trustingly deposit with them; Congress might actually be filled with people who are proactive.
What a disappointment all of it has been. The President now tells us that we can have a totally reformed and more "proportionate" health-care system that we don't have to pay for - unless you make $350,000 a year; then you're paying more for it. On NPR this morning, I heard the results of a poll that Americans overwhelmingly want a better health-care system and overwhelmingly don't want to pay for it. Great.
The President also tells us that if we had too many credit cards and bought things we could never have bought with cash or obtained a mortgage we could never pay on, we will be relieved of our burdens. No, that's not going to encourage people to make the same mistakes they made which got them into this mess.
And California, the Golden State, symbol of 20th Century American prosperity, is ready to jump feet first into the abyss. Despite the threat (and now reality) of having to pay bills with IOUs, the people overwhelmingly rejected tax increases that would have kept the economy there on life support. In the words of The Economist this week: "California thus seems to be doing its level best to come to ruin and, as the nation's largest economy, to drag the country's hopes for a recovery down with it."
As a country, we have decided we like reward so much better than risk that we have cut risk completely out of the equation. And sacrifice, to boot. Banks can behave as recklessly as they would like; someone will bail them out (pun intended) when things get dicey. Sure, GM can go into bankruptcy - but the rest of the country has to shoulder the over-generous burdens they promised their unions. And someone (the other 49 states, probably) will buy California's bonds, despite the very credible risk they will default on some, if not all, of them.
Bottom line: if people want reformed health-care, they're going to have make sacrifices - and not just 1% of people. GM needs to go into bankruptcy the proper way, with unions agreeing to cuts in enormously generous benefits their members now receive. Banks that screwed up need to go; the ones left standing can get some money from the government that they have to hold on to (NOT leverage) until they can repay it. And California NEEDS TO RAISE ITS TAXES!
When I voted for Obama, I voted for resolve with humility. I also voted for road repairs, bridge repairs (Minneapolis anyone?), investsments in new energy technology, and infrastructure investments, in general. I'm afraid I might have Buyer's Remorse.
