This is what the country faces: The confusion of doing good and justice with achievement and success.
What plagues the American economy and its educational system is the constant desire to rationalize the idea of equality of results. By the nature of being human, you will always have a pecking order. Some will be more successful than others. Having taught in a public school in New York City, it was clear years ago, and clearer today, why our educational and economic system is failing.
The focus on mediocrity. Pass at all costs to students who were in 7th and 8th grade reading at the 3rd and 4th grade levels. School unions were oppressive. The older teachers wanted a job. There was no merit system.
Today, we face the most insane economic policies led by a President and a Congress determined to organize America into one great community governed solely by their idea of justice and what they determine is right for us.
The new King, which the constitution sought to protect us against, is taxing us economically, socially, and educationally without true representation.
They encourage the all-too-familiar political game of playing the rich—and successful—against the media and the profiteering poor. In the name of fairness and mediocrity, instead of meritocracy, we are being outmaneuvered by bureaucrats who believe that making a profit and being successful is wrong, i.e. unfair.
However, they douse the entire town with their ridiculous salaries, pensions and benefits. The country is crippled by a double standard where big is okay because they have the dollars to buy politicians through lobbyists and contributions. In turn, politicians vote for them to gain votes and support.
The result is a Federal Reserve controlled by an academic who has little understanding of simple business. He is a political animal who lacks common sense. They think we’re reliving the Depression. However, all predictive models have shown that the future cannot be predicted from the past. You can learn from it, but the future will be different.
The idea that you can continue to borrow your way to prosperity by following Keynesian models is a pipe dream. There are no free lunches.
What I recommend seems more like a wish list:
- Get back to the basics of what made this country great: Support small businesses and entrepreneurs.
- Promote true equity by raising all school standards and addressing the fact that students are failing for a variety of reasons: teaching methods, emotional problems, cultural circumstances, economic reasons, and sheer differences in intelligence.
- Stop spending. Balance the budget. Everyone has to take less.
- Stop raising taxes to cover up wasteful and uncontrolled spending
- stop borrowing
- Politicians and bureaucrats have to be put in a system based on meritocracy and not foolishness. This means an internet reporting system of what they are doing that is understandable.
- Make large companies ally with education and small companies so that they can encourage innovation and job creation.
- Give incentives to small businesses, the entrepreneurs who will create more new businesses, jobs, and long-term investment.
- Create an atmosphere of greater financial certainty by honoring the successful and not bailing out the unsuccessful. It is good to be successful and rich if it is done within the rules (rules that are not onerous)
- Make the government remain as arbitrator and not as a participant.
Do I think this will happen?
No.
Why?
Because we are appealing to the lowest common denominator: justice that sounds moral and wonderful. Justice attracts very bright and idealistic people.
But only by being realistic, by facing today’s reality by going back to basics and taking our current medicine, will we go back to being the economic and social engine the world has admired. By being the world’s policeman in the name of justice, we are being unfair to the Americans we are supposedly trying to help.
Just think of the huge waste of money that goes to wars, hog barrels, bureaucrats, rights, etc.
It reminds me of bankrupt companies where everyone sits around a table and says we can’t cut any spending. But we are losing money, a lot.
Finally, the company is faced with the news: we are going under. Suddenly, numerous proposals for cuts appear, but often too late. Those are our federal state governments today. Equity and mediocrity versus reality and meritocracy.
Bureaucracy versus Entrepreneurship. Unfortunately, I think it’s time to face the fact that we’re sinking. I hope it’s not too late.