We Reap What We Sow

(from a loyal reader)

We reap what we sow. In 1980, Americans voted for change. As a result, a trifecta of Margaret Thatcher, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Ronald Reagan brought together a perfect storm that ended the cold war. Yet, two decades of trickle-down economics and rampant deregulation have painted a beautiful facade of happy Americans in beautiful houses and gas-guzzling SUVs while the nation’s infrastructure and real quality of life has crumbled. Profit incentives coaxed the “best and the brightest” to fill their pocketbooks on Wall Street rather than contribute to modernizing the electrical grid or teaching preschool. Greed-laden business practices focused on quick profits for interim CEOs and the stockholders-of-the-week rather than solid, long-term planning strategies where individuals making the decision or writing the contracts would be responsible for failed risks. Tainted goods (often, mortgages) were sold off or bundled to secure additional holdings in hedge funds or other schemes wherein managers were eager to sell them off again for even more profit. For too many, the American dream is now a nightmare of credit card debt and mortgage foreclosures, not to mention the federal deficit we are passing on to our children and grandchildren. So, where are the true leaders who will tell us what we do not want to hear? True change can only come through true sacrifice – not just by our soldiers, but by shoppers too. Where are the leaders who will help us to rise above our greedy past, to spend less than we earn, to invest in one another - in real assets of human lives, not just in paper ones. We’ve asked the market to solve too many issues in which the models are incomplete. The markets of the last 25+ years have rewarded short-term transactions, not long-term commitments to the American family and the world at-large. I recently read, “Where have all the leaders gone?” by Lee Iacocca. In the book, Iacocca reflects on various lessons he has learned in life and challenges us to make our next decisions at the polls based on who we think fulfills his list of the 9C’s of leadership: Curiosity, Creativity, Communication skills, Character, Courage, Conviction, Charisma, and Common sense. Who has these? The Democrats have the strongest field of candidates who exhibit these qualities. We have heard a lot about “personal responsibility” in previous campaigns. However, the Republican version seems to have spoken to the introvert side in all of us. Whatever happened to shared-sacrifice? The Democratic version today truly puts “Country First” rather than self. I believe we crave leadership that will inspire us to rise above ourselves and rebuild this country into one that works for ALL of us and whose light shines bright again around the world.