Andy writes:
After all, when you’re swimming in a multi-trillion dollar sea of red ink, you’ll always be able to say it’s all chump change, not worth squabbling over.
I always enjoy those stories that crop up periodically on the local news where some 700lb guy who can’t get out of bed needs to go to hospital and the fire department has to slice off the second-floor clapboards and framing to winch him out of there. When you’re 50lbs overweight, it’s worth laying off the pasta and desserts. When you’re 500lbs over, you just lie there and wait for someone else to keep the chow coming – the Chinese, Japanese, Saudis, Russians. . . . Hey, what difference does it make? And if the bed sores get too bad the Beijing Fire Department will be there to saw the wall off and get you outta there. After all, it’s in their interest, right?
A Baltimore reader sent me his guide to crisis management in advanced democracies:
Phase 1) A crisis is coming. But we still have time. There’s no need to act yet.
Phase 2) Yes, a crisis is coming. But we still have time. There’s no need to act yet.
Phase 3) We’re out of time. There’s no reason to act, because it’s too late.
Much of the political establishment is officially in Phase Two — sure, this stuff is a problem but not until 2080, 2060, whenever — but substantively in Phase Three. Not a good sign, and it should be resisted on every front.
(More in my weekend column.)
Well put, Mark. I enjoyed your comparison of super-obesity to the body politic. However, it breaks down if you assume getting carted off in a winch is the only way. Many super obese people start their trip back to health by starting with one small step. (I was once over 400 pounds myself, four years and 150 pounds ago, so this is personal experience talking.) The cuts agreed to last night are the first small step. To continue the analogy I've built on yours, it's now up to the GOP to stick with it, and not cheat on the diet. Now that they've cut Twinkies, let's keep the pressure on so they give up more 'pork.'
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWow, in the course of the past 6 months we have stopped a runaway train (democrat spending) and started taking back dollars. Don't be so harsh, you know as well as the rest of us the media establishment is ready to take the tiniest Republican mistake and make it into talking points for the liberal progressive socialists. This is a 180 degree turnaround and I take them at their word, the first step towards additional corrections. Keep on fighting the good fight guys.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseStopped a runaway train letting one trillion dollars of deficit spending go unchecked this fiscal year?
The State of the Union is...delusional.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAh! A rare moment when Steyn is not pessimistic enough for me.
Don't forget phase 4. The Democrats have already telegraphed their move:
Phase 4) Never waste a good crisis.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe American people did not want a shut down. Period. I will take whatever tiny progress we can get towards fiscal sanity for now. The major task at hand is to build a national consensus towards budget-cutting and entitlement reform.
It is all well and good to convince the people that there is a crisis. It is another thing entirely to convince the people that we can be trusted to solve the crisis.
Pushing somebody into a swimming pool may help them adjust to the cold water with less discomfort, but for God's sake make sure he knows how to swim first.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThat it is, R-Bow.
A journey of $1.6 Trillion begins with a single step.
Which is why Dems scream like they were getting waterboarded over the draconian, savage, meat-cleaver, cuts that take spending down to levels not seen since, what,
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseFebruary 2011?
There has never been a more existential threat to American prosperity than the consequences of the current fiscal incontinence and acceptance of leviathan intrusion. The progressives and all the unofficial appendages of the Democratic party are either in total denial or on side with the war on prosperity. We are at a pivotal moment as the Tea Parties and their supporters seem to be matched by their opposites as indicated by polls. Decades of expansive government by both parties may have sunk America to the point where the entitlement mentality of looters and thugs has replaced thrift and reason.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI would only quibble one point with Mr Steyn: Those are the characteristics of advance bureaucracies. I deal with the Federal Government every day as a customer. This is the model for every decision they make down to the lowest level.
This is the way we will either win or the country we know will die: the Feds are openly taking on more than the Government can effectively handle and are about to become paralyzed under its own weight. If we simply bequeath them every facet of our lives we will only have the satisfaction of being the last to drown in our own own lard. It would be better if we use their obesity and resulting sluggishness as a tactical advantage in seizing control back from them.
Oh, a question: is there anyone left with a sentimental attachment to his Republican Congressman or Senator?
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," the mandarins in Beijing will tell you.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWho's acting like children now ? I want bigger cuts and I want them now ... Andy sounded like a spoiled brat who is sure he deserves more of something.
How about someone taking a longer than 6 month view of the fight ?
Last year the government was increasing spending ... this year they stopped that and have started cutting ...
Does anyone above the age of 12 actually think you can balance the budget in 2-3-4 years ? really ?
Get real and realize that this is a win for the GOP ...
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWow, you just added $1+ Tr to the 2012 budget baseline, and wrung out a $40 bn cut.
What's not to like?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIt seems to me that many Republicans are advocating a crash diet for this "obese" economy and they rarely work.
Instead we cut a little, get used to it, then cut a little more and so on and so on. We didn't get this fat overnight, and we're not going to get slim overnight either, but baby steps are better than no steps at all.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWe need to remember that this is spending for the current year - the budget that the Democrats were supposed to pass last year. It wasn't an opportunity to do any of the things that can really make a big long term impact, those are going to come in the next budget that Ryan just proposed. Letting the government shut down over the current year's spending would have been a huge political risk that could have killed any chance of meaningful reform if it had gone badly, but without the prospect of much more than a symbolic victory. Much better to save the threat of a shutdown until we have real reforms on the table. Sometimes a frontal assault is necessary, but better to do it when it can win you the war than just proving you have the will to fight.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbusePhase 5: "The nation is lying in ruins. Does our party still have all the power? Win!"
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWe are not suggesting a "crash diet". That is when someone who wants to lose weight dramatically cuts their food intake below what is sustainable for a brief period. In other words, I'm eating 4000 calories a day now and I'm obese, how about I eat 1000 a day for a month and then go to 2000 after I've shed a lot of pounds. That's obviously not going to be very healthy or pleasant. But that's not close to what anybody is proposing.
What we're actually doing is going from 4000 calories a day to about 3990 and patting ourselves on the back. We're just getting fatter and fatter(more in debt) at a slightly slower pace. We need to cut now to get closer to a SUSTAINABLE level and STAY THERE. Not call it "austerity measures" or act like it's a temporary response to the recession. The bloated US Government does not need to slim down for a few months to get into a wedding dress, only to plump right back up.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI have been listening to folks, including Andy it seems, complain about the fact that we only cut $40 Billion, and how that is not enough and the Republicans caved. Frankly, I agree that it was not enough, but you can't very well cut a trillion dollars with a wave of the wand. We need some thoughtful reduction in our expenditures, and we only now have the Ryan plan. Remember Gov't does not move on a dime, and usually, that is a good thing. Let's stop sniping among ourselves and go after the wasteful spending the Dems want to save. We need to go after this a little at a time, so we don't negatively impact the economy and we don't scare off the Independents. Patience is also the sign of an adult, not just facing reality.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse@Vorpal: no, no, Phase 4 is "Blame Republicans, claim that the only solution is to double-down on what got you into trouble in the first place, then change the subject and hope people forget until after the next election", at which point you reenter @ step 3.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"We are not suggesting a "crash diet". That is when someone who wants to lose weight dramatically cuts their food intake below what is sustainable for a brief period. In other words, I'm eating 4000 calories a day now and I'm obese, how about I eat 1000 a day for a month and then go to 2000 after I've shed a lot of pounds. That's obviously not going to be very healthy or pleasant. But that's not close to what anybody is proposing.
What we're actually doing is going from 4000 calories a day to about 3990 and patting ourselves on the back. We're just getting fatter and fatter(more in debt) at a slightly slower pace. We need to cut now to get closer to a SUSTAINABLE level and STAY THERE. Not call it "austerity measures" or act like it's a temporary response to the recession. The bloated US Government does not need to slim down for a few months to get into a wedding dress, only to plump right back up."
Great post, Diogenes.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMark, you are brilliant. Just brilliant. Love your writing, style & your message!
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"What we're actually doing is going from 4000 calories a day to about 3990 and patting ourselves on the back. We're just getting fatter and fatter(more in debt) at a slightly slower pace. "
Diogenes gets it. Post of the Day.
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