Thomas Friedman wishes us a Merry Christmas with advice about revamping America...and he's generally correct as far as he goes.
But there's a much deeper crisis underlying the skills, education, government focus, tax incentives, investment, etc., that Friedman describes. For success, America's makeover must regain it's spiritual, moral and ethical moorings to enable a rise to material success. The foundation is crumbling, not merely the superstructure.
For far too long, the 'get mine now...if it feels good, do it' crowd has held sway and the results are plain to see all around us. The quagmire stretches from government pork right on through the Illinois political corruption morass, the financial sector's crisis of trust, illegal/unethical finance management and more.
Will the Obama people see the true crisis and deal with it or will their remedy be more programs to shore up the superstructure while the moral fabric continues to shred? Perhaps we expect far too much or of our leaders. The true solution to our crisis lies with each of us.
"For all these reasons, our present crisis is not just a financial meltdown crying out for a cash injection. We are in much deeper trouble. In fact, we as a country have become General Motors — as a result of our national drift. Look in the mirror: G.M. is us.
That’s why we don’t just need a bailout. We need a reboot. We need a build out. We need a buildup. We need a national makeover. That is why the next few months are among the most important in U.S. history. Because of the financial crisis, Barack Obama has the bipartisan support to spend $1 trillion in stimulus. But we must make certain that every bailout dollar, which we’re borrowing from our kids’ future, is spent wisely.
It has to go into training teachers, educating scientists and engineers, paying for research and building the most productivity-enhancing infrastructure — without building white elephants. Generally, I’d like to see fewer government dollars shoveled out and more creative tax incentives to stimulate the private sector to catalyze new industries and new markets. If we allow this money to be spent on pork, it will be the end of us."
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