Aftershocks and Afterthoughts about US Economic Vulnerability in 2011

As I write this moment world stock markets are down again -- perhaps over-reacting but reacting nevertheless to a new bout of major uncertainty. Some forecasters believe this is the beginning of another economic meltdown. It is too soon to be making judgments like that but ff nothing else it should remind us about the fragility of the US economy and how vulnerable we are to shocks. In this post I continue my ranting about the urgent need to come to some agreement about future US deficits and debt. To not make progress makes us ever more susceptible to every shock that comes around. We are not making adequate progress largely because our political parties would rather squabble about traditional and sensitive issues than do the hard work of finding a way out of our debt mess. One morning last week, the headline in my local newspaper featured Vi Simpson, a respected leader of the state’s democratic party, declaring that the Republicans had declared war on the working man and the middle class. Yes, this usually intelligent and helpful representative of the Hoosier government used the “W” word. And she said it in public.

So now we are at war in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Indiana. Of course, the war she speaks of also has fronts in Wisconsin, Ohio, and DC. So I will now scream at the top of my lungs – YOU STUPID REPUBLICANS – YOU GOT WHAT YOU DESERVE. And the result is that moderate Americans who just want to see the economy improve have yet again been sucker punched by extremes in both parties. Are we so myopic (nice word for stupid) that we don’t see the game they play to perpetuate their own power? When are we going to recall all these extremists in our government and replace them with people who will focus on the whole country?

Surely when the Republican leadership meets they sometimes discuss the fact that their Democratic opponents and especially the extreme wing of that party can be pretty rough if not loud and ugly. What were the Republican leaders thinking when they decided that 2011 was the opportune time to take back all they had lost in recent years? Let’s make it impossible for gays to marry. Let’s throw water balloons at union members. Let’s re-write abortion laws. Let’s gut really popular government programs. Let’s make schools more like they used to be in the1950s during the Sputnik scare. Did I miss anything?

Really – was 2011 with a divided government the best time to irritate the other party by focusing on all their hot buttons? Really – was 2011 the time to let all the extremes in both parties elevate all their hot buttons so much that the REAL ISSUE does not have a chance to be debated and confronted in a contentious but eventually cooperative environment?

Some people say that this is politics as usual. But I beg to differ. This is politics at its worst because the leaders of both parties let their extremes dominate. I am not kidding when I say that I wish for the time when parties acted like real parties. They always had extreme factions – but there was a time when these extremes were thrown a few crumbs and told to sit in the corner. But look at Reid and Pelosi – they are a joke.  Boehner isn’t much better. They help these extremists throw Molotov cocktails at the rest of us.

The way we all go along with this destructive behavior makes you wonder if there is some elusive or hidden benefit we receive by smiling as the USS Titanic leaves port. Perhaps we like the freedom that allows all sides to express their opinions. Okay – that’s fine. Whether or not the armed forces have a “don’t ask don’t tell” policy is very important to many people. But do we really want to spend all our time RIGHT NOW debating that issue instead of coming to a real compromise on government deficits and debt? When the Titanic was going down people didn’t argue about unions. They focused on how to save themselves. The times require a solution to the most pressing issues. Yet we let the extremes persuade us that it is better to let the ship go down while we spend our last precious moments arguing whether Miller Lite is less filling or less tasty. 

Why do we sanction this destructive behavior? I think there are three key reasons. First, none of us like to admit that we have to go backward before we can move forward again. We got hit by a car, have numerous injuries, face a long rehab, and we are faced with the fact that there is no wonder drug to makes us immediately well again. Second, the rehab program is not without controversy. Good physicians disagree on the best programs because the body is complicated enough that no one can know exactly how a program will work. Third, we know there will be side-effects from the treatments and we fear the unknown. Faced with a very difficult situation it is understandable that we humans may want to postpone decisions even knowing that postponing may make things worse. As a result we are easily distracted and those at the EXTREMES see this as easy fodder for them.

So what do they do as we worry about very difficult and imminent challenges? They divert our attention to things that are guaranteed to arouse us emotionally. Hey guys, don’t worry about the Titanic going down – let’s watch re-runs of Charlie Sheen? Or maybe you would prefer Oprah? Let’s solve poverty today. Or maybe we should make sure rich people pay a larger share of taxes. PLEASE. These ARE important issues and we need to address them – but right now we have to sober up and focus all our energy on deficits and debt. Let’s not be duped by the extremists. We are smarter than that. Spillovers from the recent earthquake and tsunami ought to remind us of that!