Credit Crisis

”There is no limit to what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit.”
— Ronald Reagan


Now that the mid-term elections are over, the real fun begins, (can you hear my sarcasm?).  The past few weeks since the elections, the Democrats and Republicans have started in on each other once again to pass blame and to criticize the ideas and direction that each side believes is the best way for the country to move forward.  They talk about the “lame duck” session of congress and what they will try to push through.  Will they be able to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell?”  Although this issue may be important to some, its resolution is not essential to turning the economy around.  

During the many interviews and face to face debates on the network and cable news stations, the phrases “The American People” and “The Future of our Children” come up often. Each time they do, my head feels like it wants to EXPLODE! With all of the talk about their concern about the American People it is quite apparent that they care very little about our current and future state.

While they bicker with each other, many Americans struggle to make ends meet.  They’re concerned about the cost of health care, about the economy, about high and burdensome tax rates, and the never ending spending of our financial resources on things that do not keep our people safe or enhance the quality of our lives.

Last week I was walking in our downtown area where I met two men sitting on a bench drinking coffee.  As I began to speak with them they said that this is the worst they have ever seen in terms of the economy.  They spoke of the struggle to find work, to pay bills and to get ahead.  This is what is on the minds of the American people.

Please hear me when I say that I am not expecting the government to take care of me or my family, I can do that myself.  What I am saying is that our elected leaders continue to miss the mark on what is truly important to us. For many of them it is about winning and losing the party fight.  It is about their personal agenda and making the other side look bad.  We must demand from our elected officials to put away partisan political games and get this country back on track, together.

We can accomplish great things when we “don’t care who gets the credit.”  

We...

With the primary elections over, let the mudslinging begin. In an article in the SF Chronicle, Saturday, June 12, 2010, just four days after the election, former California Governor Jerry Brown was said to have compared Meg Whitman, his republican opponent, to the Nazi Joseph Goebbels, the propaganda minister for Hitler. However, according to Brown’s campaign spokesman, his words were taken out of context. Here is the problem as I see it--with California at 12% unemployment, teachers and policemen being laid off, and cities throughout the country facing tremendous budget shortfalls, we have already begun to see the nasty campaign rhetoric rear its ugly head.

Is this what we have to look forward to over the next few months? While many Americans struggle to make ends meet, it is disheartening to sit on the sidelines and see candidates go after each other like we do not matter.

This is not the time for casting aspersions at one another; it is time for authentic servant leadership. Are we, as Americans, getting what we asked for? Do we demand the best of our leaders? Too often we allow them to make promises on the campaign trail but do not hold them accountable when they do not keep those promises. It should not be a surprise then when they do not live up to their commitments.

I believe we can emerge out of the current economic difficulties, but only if our leadership focuses on working through the issues with mutual goals in mind, and that is to stabilize our economy and create a sustainable job market.

As we move closer to the November elections it is going to be critical that we demand that the candidates stay focused on the issues that matter to most Americans, jobs. We must demand that they bring real solutions to the problems we face. We must not allow them to distract us with name calling and made up accusations.

Currently we are not the UNITED States of America, but are divided on so many issues and ideologies, e.g. illegal immigration, gay marriage, abortion, Republican vs. Democrat, etc. This election must be different if we are to overcome the challenges we face as a nation. Unless we hold our candidates to a higher standard we will continue to elect mediocre, self-serving individuals concerned only with their own agenda. Moreover, we will again be left frustrated and angry at the lack of results. We must demand that our candidates focus on what is good and right for all Americans.

You may have noticed that throughout this post I have used the word we frequently. Why? Because we are all in this together.