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While America Sleeps, The World Does Not

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Bud Morgan

Published: June 12, 2008

John F. Kennedy spoke these powerful words of wisdom that are enshrined in my home, "We have the power to make this the best generation in the history of mankind, or to make it the last."

The United States of America now stands on the precipice of its most perilous predicament since the Great Depression. There are new dangers and numerous frightening parallels in contemporary America with those of the late 1920s. Unemployment is increasing at an alarming rate. The stock market is growing weaker. Banks and lending institutions are struggling to survive. The unhealthy speculation in the oil market by huge pension funds (and others) is similar to the more generalized speculation euphoria of the 1920s, which led to such a calamitous scenario. The dollar is weak against most of the major currencies of world. The cost of a protracted and unnecessary war in Iraq has directly resulted in an unconscionably huge national debt –– a debt of such obscene size that it will place an economic noose around the necks of American children and grandchildren.

The unwillingness of our national leaders to aggressively pursue the development of alternative energy sources to replace the rapidly depleting supply of oil throughout the world places us further behind in our quest to become energy efficient and independent. (No, there is not enough oil in untapped oil fields in Alaska to supply our needs for 200 years. Anyone who truly believes such nonsense, in an environment of worldwide gas guzzling demand, needs to a revisit high school science class and college Economics 101.)

The crumbling infrastructure throughout the nation is a ticking time bomb with enormous economic consequences in the very near future. The reticence of our national leadership to admit to the dangers of global warming has contributed to the constantly rising costs of complicated environmental remediation endeavors.

Many, if not all, of the aforementioned dangers are attributable to misguided priorities on the part of Congress and the president. It was they who placed political and financial greed above their service to the people. It was they who placed partisanship above statesmanship. While spouting false rhetoric of legislative reform, they continue to practice politics as usual. Congress is addicted to earmarks and pork barrel spending and shows no signs of changing.

The current president spent five years in the White House without vetoing a single spending bill. If anyone genuinely believes the partisan nonsense that unnecessary government spending is limited to liberal Democrats, they should look at the top three pork barrel spenders for fiscal year 2008, they are: Mississippi's Republican Sen. Thad Chochran; Alaska's Republican Sen. Ted Stevens; and Alabama's Republican Sen. Richard Shelby. Two Sen.s spent zero tax dollars on pork –– Republican Sen. John McCain and Democrat Sen. Russ Feingold. For the curious, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama was 69th, and Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton was 13th.

The legislative gamesmanship of including unrelated (or unnecessary) provisions in critical legislation is out-of-step with modern legislative reform. Additionally, we do not have essential alternative energy legislation because the president will not approve any energy bill without approval to drill for oil in Alaska. What kind of childish nonsense is that? Give Bush his oil drilling authorization so he'll quit whining. At the same time, give America alternative energy legislation so we can begin to wean ourselves from the ignorant addiction to rapidly depleting worldwide supplies of oil.

It is truly embarrassing for these narrow-minded politicians to have the audacity to criticize political candidates for not having experience in Washington. Intelligence and competence, without corrupting experience, is just what the doctor ordered to correct a failing system in Washington.

Like it or not, the economy of the United States is part and parcel of the global economy. This nation can no longer assume that we will continue to be the economic leader of the world. Our huge budget deficits, our enormous national debt, and the weakness of the dollar abroad make us appear to be economically weak in the eyes of the world.

We must begin to live within our means. I like tax cuts. In fact, I love tax cuts. However, I do not like receiving tax cut checks paid for by the Premier of Communist China or the King of Saudi Arabia. I prefer a tax cut check that comes from a budget surplus in the United States of America. Yes, we must get our economic house in order; however, that alone will not secure our leadership role in the economic world. We must hone our skills in the area of negotiating free trade agreements to ensure that our workers and our businesses are not placed in no-win predicaments.

We must improve the quality and diversity of the education of our young people entering the competitive market place of the global economy. While sitting at their personal computers at home or in computer mega-offices, young workers in India, and other less developed nations, under price and over produce workers in America. Japanese automakers consistently out-think, out-design, and out-sell their counterparts in America.

You can name almost any product, and you'll fine that the vast majority of those products are made in another country. Made In America labels seem to be relics of a bygone era. Hard working Americans deserve better than we are getting from the trade and economic practices of this government. All Americans deserve more than we are getting from the out-of-control and out-of-touch practices of the president and the congress. The powerful will of a concerned citizenry can ensure that we can still become "the best generation in the history of mankind."

Bud Morgan
Avon Park

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