"Scoreboard"

An election is just weeks away, and most signs predict disaster for Democrats.  My friend K. and I were therefore engaged in the traditional liberal pastime of diagnosing what ails the country, and progressivism in general.  It was during that long IM conversation that I finally found my voice for my frustrations with the President, but even more importantly with the state of my country.

The economy is in the tank, and is likely structurally flawed for the foreseeable future.  Economic opportunities continue to evaporate and families continue to fall on hard times, with costs to society that extend far beyond what economics can measure.  To stave off total disaster, the government was forced to channel massive resources to undeserving industries, many of which made off like bandits, and few of whom made any pretense at attending to the public good to which their salvation was owed.  Not un-relatedly, wealth disparity continues to grow at an alarming and infuriating rate.

American soldiers continue to die in faraway lands, largely forgotten or ignored by a country inured to war but happy to engage in petty and cynical exploitation of the tragedy that sent us to war in the first place.  The chief exploiter?  The nation's leading media force, a conservative propaganda machine that consistently steamrolls the now-discredited "mainstream media".  Not un-relatedly, nativism and intolerance stalk the land.  

Government is increasingly dominated by corporate interests and money.  Both parties are increasingly in thrall to various narrow interests.  Not un-relatedly, government appears incapable of addressing fundamental systemic risks like our nation's long-term fiscal health and climate change.  

Against this backdrop, the President implores me to appreciate his many accomplishments: the health care reform liberals have fought decades for, a stimulus package that averted economic disaster, a drawdown of troops in Iraq, new comprehensive rules for the financial industry, progress on education reform, Supreme Court justices I can be proud of.  The President's staff tells me that I am ungrateful for what has been done, or unrealistic to expect more.  Or more likely both.

I am a baseball fan, so I will use a baseball analogy.  The President hit a towering home run with health care reform (and some nice doubles too).  I am neither ungrateful nor unappreciative of the accomplishment.  But the forces of selfishness and division ran up the score on us over the past several years, and I want to know what the game score is.  Is it ungrateful of me to ask?  Is it unrealistic for me to focus on winning the game?

Mr. President, we as a nation are losing the game, by a significant margin.  And sadly (and frustratingly), I fear you will only realize it after the election.  

Comments

[K]

[i think i accidentally deleted my previous comment]

Thanks for sharing this, Mike.

I see it a little differently. To continue the baseball analogy, I think we've got a team of scrubs that's been a reliable loser for the last eight seasons.

We're finally in the playoffs, but we're outgunned. The other side has freaking steroid monsters and incredibly higher team salaries.

The President is the only guy on our team that's scoring runs. The rest of us are pointing fingers at each other, whining, and have lost the commitment to win.

The President's not saying, "See this home run? Celebrate me." He's saying, "You asshats. It's only the first half -- maybe even the first quarter -- of the game. Don't get upset with me because I'm not knocking it out of the park every time I'm up to bat. Sometimes you just have to settle for less to win the game. Either way, I can't do it alone. GET IT TOGETHER and play like a team. It's much, MUCH too early to walk away."

[MJL]

Observations and (some) opinions:

1) A home run is not worth a whole lot if you mortgaged your country away to China just to build the stadium.

2) Americans are understandably upset about the lack of jobs in this country. People want to work but all the jobs went to where workers don't expect to get paid enough to buy McMansions, Ford Expeditions, and iPods.

3) Unfortunately, you cannot legislate away the structural problems with the cost of doing business in America (in fact, legislation has only increased the cost of doing business in America).

4) Average unemployment benefit in California state per week = $299

5) Average weekly wage of a worker in Guangdong, China = $105

6) Market economies operate most efficiently when all the constituent inputs/resources which drive those economies are allowed to flow to where they are needed. The global political/economic system allows two major components to flow freely: goods and capital. Not allowed to move freely are laborers. If labor were in fact allowed to move (more) freely, there would be a much less dramatic imbalance of job growth/availability around the world.