A collective sigh of relief...not so fast!

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.  Albert Einstein 

What a relief!  It looks like Congress will avert a default and the government will open again.  I feel so much better.....NOT!  This Congress has once again done what it seems to do best, kick the can down the road.  What really makes me nauseous is the fact they claim their short-sighted action is a victory for "the American people."  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said such today, "This compromise we reached will provide our economy with the stability it desperately needs." 

For how long?!  Assuming the House passes the Senate version of the bill, and the President signs it, the government will be funded through Jan 15th and the debt ceiling will be raised until Feb 7th.

Will our elected representatives magically transform into selfless servants between now and then?  I don't think so.  History tells us their self serving interests will again supersede the need to find long-term solutions to our Nation's budget problems?

I am tired of being one of "the American people" our career politicians love to invoke as supporting their shoddy work.  They do not speak for me.  Harry Reid said the current "deal" will provide our economy with the stability it desperately needs."  I reject his message, and I reject the political status quo that has gotten us where we are today.

I have seen it written that we get the government we deserve.  That seems like a reasonable claim given the fact that we do still hold elections.  However, as President Obama himself has said, we deserve better.  But, we will never get better without breaking the political status quo.  In spite of their rhetoric to the contrary, it is not in the interest of Obama, Boehner, Pelosi, Reid or McConnell to be better .  They thrive in a system that rewards them for the dysfunction and the short-sightedness they actually propagate through their leadership.

If, as Obama says, we deserve better, we must break the political status quo by changing our voting behaviors.  We must break the stranglehold the two-party system has on the governing process.  We must reduce the incentives that promote political careerism by forcing rotation in office. 

Also, we must demand a change in the slate of candidates offered, and then vote our convictions.  There are independent and third party candidates with good ideas, but they don't get an honest electoral vetting because everything associated with the political status quo works against them. 

         
    

"It's time to give rank amateurs a chance."

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.  Albert Einstein

Rick Newman, The Exchange, wrote an article yesterday titled: “4 Things Congress Can Get Away With but You Can’t.”*  He puts the “4 Things” in a business context:

“Congress, for better or worse, is not run like a business, which is why we’re once again confronted with the spectacle of a needless government shutdown. No viable company would arbitrarily shut itself down, leaving customers, suppliers and employees in the lurch. To members of Congress, however, these are minor inconveniences compared with the urgent national need to draw attention to themselves. When companies are forced to shut down, it’s usually dire. But when Washington shuts down, it’s a tactic.”  In other words, it all boils down to one thing: politics.

Democrats in the Senate, and the current Democrat that occupies the White House, blame the Republican controlled House for the shutdown.  House Republicans blame the Democrat controlled Senate for the shutdown.  As I stated in an earlier post, they’re all right!  They’re all to blame!

In 1984 Charley Reese stated: “…do not let them con you into the belief that there exist[s] disembodied mystical force[s] like ‘the economy,’ ‘inflation’ or ‘politics’ that prevent from doing what they take an oath to do.”  One of the most fundamental functions of the Congress is to complete a budget process that funds the government for the next fiscal year no later than September 30^th of each year. 

The current shutdown exists because they want it to exist.  They alone are personally, morally and legally responsible for its existence.

Our problems will not be solved with the same thinking that was used when they were created.  But, there is hope.  As Charley Reese said, “There are no insoluble government problems.” 

I will close with the following from Newman’s article: “If the sorry performance we’ve been getting is the best that seasoned professionals can offer, then it’s time to give rank amateurs a chance.”  Think about it.

*Please find the Newman article posted at:

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/4-things-congress-away-t-174904899.html