The news is full of descriptions of the problem. Few offer concrete solutions.
An article in the current issue of Newsweek titled, “The Troubles” (It was titled, “America May Truly Be Broken” in my news portal.) is depressingly downbeat in the assessment of our chances. They quote studies showing both China and India passing us in economic output. The quote from New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman is the most eloquent, “We are the United States of Deferred Maintenance. China is the People’s Republic of Deferred Gratification. They save, invest and build. We spend, borrow and patch.”
ColorComments.com sounds the same warning a lot, but I prefer to quote hard facts rather than just impressions. For example, in The Best Health Care System in the World?, I document how incredibly far down the list we are in comparison with other countries. But most of the doomsayers (including the Newsweek article) don’t include a prescription for turning things around. Why not? I think it’s because the cure is so awful that people shy away from even talking about it.
I have a cure. (I doubt even a small sliver of it will ever be put into effect, but it’s still the only thing that I think will work.)
Put America First!
This has been a battle cry from conservatives for decades, but it means something entirely different to me. A conservative usually means we should stop ‘waste’ such as providing humanitarian aid to Africa. Like that would save more than spit in a bucket! The real money isn’t spent helping people, it’s spent killing them. For example, the entire rescue effort for the recent Haiti earthquake will cost quite a bit less than just one Stealth Bomber (at about $2 billion a pop – “B-2 Bomber: Cost and Operational Issues (Letter Report, 08/14/97, GAO/NSIAD-97-181.” United States General Accounting Office (GAO).
The staggering cost of projecting military power into every corner of the globe is where the money is going. It’s not being spent trying to cure aids. It’s not buying food for hungry kids. It’s being spent to be the big kid on the block … on every block … throughout the world. At some point, we’re going to have to say to ourselves, if Generalissimo Ihateamerica takes over in Lower Berserkistan, that’s just the way the cookie crumbles. Actually, learning how to deal with that sort of situation without (to steal the idiot Bush’s catchphrase during the Iraq invasion) “shock and awe” bombing would do a lot of good for America’s cultural growth.
Another way conservatives interpret “Put America First” is that the concept of “America” really means a SUV (or two, or three) in every garage and a big screen TV in every living room. That’s not America to me. America to me is a rail system that works. It’s investment in alternative energy. It’s the ability to provide a quality education – that stands up to foreign competition – for American kids. And it’s health care for Americans.
But I’m convinced that we can’t afford both. There is not infinite wealth to go around. If we’re going to regain (notice that I did not say, “retain”) a leading role in the world, we will have to find ways to discourage the SUV’s and large screen TV’s so we can spend the money on real investment in America. The mechanism is not rocket science. Just slap a huge tax on SUV’s and apply the proceeds to alternative energy. Simple … except that every redneck in Alabama (and Washington County, Utah) will scream bloody murder.
I dont think enough people in this country get it. So we will go the way of the Roman Empire, the British Empire and every other empire past it’s prime. The unfortunate reality is that those who do see the coming hardships and are trying to do something about them will suffer along with the folks with their heads in the sand. Note how popular the Mittster’s recent book is & I bet the title alone made many folks shell out for it.
The thought that came to me after I read your comment, Carleen, was about the Palin-lovers (I really dislike that person): the quote about fiddling while Rome burned. If she ever gains any power, that’s what will happen: those enchanted by her will do just that, as we suffer as they party and we all burn.
I’m sure most thinking people are having scary thoughts these days and wish someone would somehow come up with an answer. It’s gonna take more than that and maybe more than we even imagine. But whatever , I think it’s a goodtime to be reminded of what President Kennedy said. “It’s not what my country can do for me but what can I do for my country.” Each and every one of us . Lena
Bravo Dan.
“Put America first” in your point of view is equal in mine to put “UN first” with USA a big kid “retaining” the leading role
Thanks!
Actually, we’re not that far away from your suggestion. The UN Security Council has real power. (International wars have been waged under their authority.) The US is just one of five permanent members with veto power over the Security Council’s decisions and just one of 15 members in all. So all we have in that body is a “leading role”.
The difference is that the UN in general has:
* no taxing authority – Nations are free to pay or not pay their assessments with few consequences and this leaves the UN in the position of begging for contributions from powerful members most of the time. The US “owes” far more to the UN in unpaid assessments than any other country, but the US also pays far more of the UN’s expenses than any other nation too.
* no standing military power – Again, nations contribute military power to UN operations at their individual option. The wars that have been waged by the UN have really been individual wars (largely US wars, like the Korean War) where we have been able to get an affirmative vote of the Security Council as “cover” for a war that the US probably would have waged anyway.
It’s worth keeping in mind that the UN was largely the creation of one person: US President Franklin Roosevelt.
Yes…in theory. UN has no real power. The decisions are only ink on paper unless USA takes a real strong option
By design, the UN has no real power unless the Security Council, including all five permanent members (not just the US) choose to act together. It’s not just the US.
Recent wars have all gone around the UN rather than involving it. The idiot Bush invaded Iraq and Afghanistan without UN approval. The war in Afghanistan is “officially” being run by NATO right now, not the US. According to Wikipedia:
On September 16, 2004 Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, speaking on the invasion, said, “I have indicated it was not in conformity with the UN Charter. From our point of view, from the charter point of view, it was illegal.”
The people of Earth remain incapable of acting together to solve problems.
Thank you Dan.
I agree with all (hum.. most) you have said.
Obama’s speech in Cairo has given us real hopes. May be he will be strong enough to persevere.
The idea of Boutros Ghaly was that UN needs democracy (from Nations) and that it needs to be completely reformatted.