"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