COULD CEOS SOLVE DEBT CRISIS?

I don’t care for the way congress is handling the debt crisis.  I don’t know many people who do.

A few people will profess their disgust with congress and the inability of one party or the other to do anything constructive.  These are usually highly partisan people who recite the talking points of their political party’s leadership.

(It always strikes me as strange that we talk about party leadership in Washington when there seems to be so little of it.  And, invariably, our references to the lack of leadership always concern the “other” party.  I guess that’s human nature, however.)

These shallow-minded people aside, more and more people seem to be totally annoyed with the leaders of both political parties.  I hear repeatedly, “Why can’t these politicians sit down, agree on the scope of the problem and recognize what has to be done?”  The speaker will usually go on to say something along the lines that when ordinary Americans face a debt problem in their lives, they know they have to (1) reduce spending, and (2) come up with some more capital.  They have to pay down the existing debt with extra funds found through an extra job, sale of securities, or some other means.  At the same time, they must cut up credit cards, stop eating out so much, and quit playing golf or whatever it takes to stop creating more debt.

That’s it.  Stop spending and find extra income where possible.  Doctrine, myths and beliefs must take a back seat to reality.

A friend suggested turning the problem over to a super committee, not of politicians -- who have demonstrated their inability to deal with the problem they created – but to a committee of business leaders, people who regularly deal with and solve similar large-scale financial problems in their particular industry.

The idea has appeal.  First of all, as just indicated, CEOs of major companies deal with this problem on a regular basis.  “Deal with,” means they confront the problem and solve it, not kick it down the road to the next CEO.  Doing so is a sure fire way to get fired.  Second, a committee of CEOs is not beholding to voters who (1) may not understand the scope of the problem or (2) may care more about some ideology than they do solving the problem.  CEOs don’t have to worry about appealing to lobbyist or constituents; they worry about getting the job done, something the current crop of politicians in Washington does not do.

This may be too simple a solution to a complex problem, but doesn’t it make a little sense?  And wouldn’t the country be a lot better off if we started electing people to congress based on their proven ability to get things done rather than their religion, their ideology, their presence before the camera, their slick. 30-second TV advertisements, their ability to generate millions, even billions, of dollars for an election campaign, and so forth?

THE FRUSTRATING SERVANT

Computers and computer related instruments drive many of us crazy.  When they work like they are supposed to, they are obedient servants that perform tasks we cannot. 

Computers compute.  They compute at speeds we cannot image.  Hence, they can process millions of calculations in less time than it takes for us to give them the task.  Computers spend a lot of time waiting – waiting for us to type in an instruction or click on a key telling them what to do next.

Many people find it difficult to co-exist with the computers in their lives.  They throw up their hands and exclaim in disgust, “I don’t understand computers; won’t have one in my house.”

The problem with that statement is that computers are now found in so many parts of our lives that we dare not try to fool ourselves that we don’t understand them and won’t have one in the house.  We already have them in our houses and in our lives.  Modern homes with climate control systems are controlled by one or more computers in the heating system and in the temperature control module on the hall wall.  Modern cars will not operate without their numerous internal computers, most of which we don’t know exist … until they cease to function.  The ubiquitous cell phones, now in nearly every purse or pocket, are simply portable computers that perform multiple functions, sometimes the least of which is to make and receive phone messages.

And therein lays the problem: we ask modern devices to perform multiple tasks.

We long for the good old days.  We want to equate the computer and all the computer devices to the simple telephone.  “I did not have to know how the telephone works to make a phone call.  I just picked up the received, dialed my number, waited for the person on the other end to pick up, and the talked.”

Actually, if you re-read that last sentence, you will see that you did have to know how the phone worked.  You had to perform several tasks for the phone before it could perform for you.  But that aside, the phone was mostly a single function implement.  Modern computers, especially those cell phones we have all come to rely on, are multi-function devices.

As with all tools and electronic equipment, it is incumbent upon us to understand how the tool works, not the other way around.  A simple telephone on the wall in the kitchen will not work for you until you pick it up and go through the correct dialing procedure.  Computers in all forms require that we learn how they think, how they do what they do.  They have an algorithm for each task they perform.  That will not change regardless of how often we swear or throw them across the room.  We must learn how the computer, the cell phone, the iPad, or whatever thinks.  These pieces of computer equipment will never learn how we think.

Computers are obedient servants, performing task that are beyond human comprehension sometimes and certainly beyond human ability.  Nevertheless, they can be frustrating servants.  The difference between most of us and the computer geeks we know (our grandchildren) is that they have taken the time to understand what their computer can and cannot do.  When we adults recognize that, we will be on the road to understanding (and enjoying) the various computers in our lives.

A HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT FOR AMERICA

The president is scheduled to appear before a joint session of congress tonight, according to advanced reports, to make a speech on his new proposed jobs program.  Predictably, many Republican members of congress have already signaled that they will oppose anything he proposes.

Now, isn’t that ridiculous?

Yes, they have advanced information on the gist of his speech.  For all I know, they have a copy of the complete text of his speech.  Just the same, to announce ahead of time that you are against anything he has to propose seems to explain in a nutshell what is wrong with Washington these days.

Both political parties are dead set against voting for or participating in any sort of compromise discussions that may allow the other party to take credit for anything.  Our political leaders (?) have adopted the position: If they are for it, I’m against it.  End of discussion.  The result is statemate. 

To make matters worse, and things in Washington are getting worse by the day, opponents never seem compelled to state what they are for, nor to propose a modification of the program or bill they are against.  And then they wonder why the approval ratings of congress are at a historic low.  They don’t even try to explain themselves anymore; they leave that for the right- or left-wing radio and television pundits – who, of course, are not elected officials and can say anything they want.

WE CAN PUT A STOP TO THIS NONSENSE!

Here is a homework assignment for YOU this evening.  First, every adult should vow to watch the president’s speech tonight, regardless of party or religious affiliations.  Second, and this is the hard part, the part that our congress people are unwilling or unable to do, you must find at least one thing in his speech that you can agree with and one thing that you disagree with.  Third, you must send an email to your congress person indicating those two points.

We won’t all agree on the same point, nor will we all disagree on the same point.  But each of these points, the pro and the con, can be the starting point for your representative in Washington to use as basis for compromise discussions.  And you must acknowledge that there won’t just be a couple of each.  A voter in Nebraska may find one thing to agree with that a voter in New York didn’t even notice, and vice versa.  Collectively we will give our representatives some ideas (from their constituents) to begin discussions for an effective jobs-creation program.  They will have no more excuses for sitting around doing nothing other than sniping at the opposing party’s proposal.

Let us, ordinary, man-on-the-street American, take back control of Washington.  It is not realistic to talk about voting “all the bums” out of office.  It is realistic to talk about several million people putting aside our prejudices long enough to actually listen to the President’s speech tonight and picking out one item on which we agree with him and one on which we disagree.  Then we can get on the Internet and send those two items to our representatives in Washington with the clear instruction that we want THEM to act on our views.  No excuses, no finger pointing, no spin, no media moments in front of the TV camera.  Just get the damn job done and get America back to work – now!