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John McGowan, December 1, 2008
Terrorist attacks
in Mumbai. Riots
in Nigeria. Ongoing political turmoil
in Thailand. A renewed civil war in the Congo. And the
usual chaos, anger, despair, and killing in the Middle East. We sure have lots
to look forward to in the "happy" New Year. About the only
consolation I can find is in the miracle that the rule of law and the
fundamental stability that comes with it still prevails in the United States.
No matter how divisively partisan our disputes sometimes feel, they very, very
rarely come close to sparking violence. It's that stability that offers us the
best hope for economic recovery. With so much of the world in turmoil, capital
is often going to come to the US as a safe refuge. And it is that
commitment to the rule of law that suggests that new regulatory schemes for
avoiding the abuses that led to the current financial crisis can actually
work. Business leaders in the US moan and groan about regulations, but they
mostly comply with them. The blessings of civil peace are multiple and
should never be taken for granted. They should be appreciated and enjoyed.
John McGowan, November 25,
2008
Now Citigroup
is returning to the $700 billion trough. Apparently it's first helping
of wasn't sufficient. The obvious question is: why do the financial companies
get the government hand-out, but not the auto companies? Arguably, the car
manufacturers were just stupid and incompetent. According to Michael
Lewis, the financial companies deliberately set out to commit fraud.
His lengthy argument makes me feel like I have a handle on how we got into
this mess. And it's enough to make you decide to keep your money in the
mattress.
John McGowan, November 16,
2008
I, in fact, agree with Sen.
Richard Shelby that the government shouldn't bail out the auto companies.
But that doesn't change the astounding chutzpah of Shelby's comments.
"Companies fail every day and others take their place. I think this is a
road we should not go down," said Shelby, the senior Republican on the
Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. "They're not
building the right products," he said. "They've got good workers but
I don't believe they've got good management. They don't innovate. They're a
dinosaur in a sense." Who else but Republican administrations and
Republican members of Congress (aided, it is true, by Democrat Dingell of
Detroit) have refused to push the automakers to increase fuel efficiency and
have undermined those very workers Shelby now praises by giving management
free rein to make disastrous mergers, cut pension benefits and generally
bungle their way to the current disaster? That Detroit doesn't get it
has been obvious to the markets for over 15 years now, but that didn't lead
any Republicans to actually deliver a sensible energy policy or in any way use
government leverage to change to Big Three's self-destructive insistence on
thinking that business deals and getting new concessions from their workers
could compensate for consistently bad products that were a testimony to the
absolute rule of short-term thinking.
John McGowan, November 9,
2008
What happens to a dream deferred, the black poet Langston Hughes famously
asked. His answer: it shrivels like a raisin in the sun. Barack
Obama has raised a lot of hopes. Surely he can't possibly fulfill them
all at once. Will he end up a victim of the huge expectations he has
encouraged? I, for one, hope (there's that word again) that Obama will stick
with a very ambitious program. Health care, tax reform, and Iraq are all going
to prove tough issues to get done right, which is exactly why it would be
foolish to delay tackling them. A
president is strongest in the first few months after election. Obama
should capitalize quickly on the enthusiasm of this fall. He will not have a
compliant Congress forever, but he should get fairly complete cooperation from
his party for at least six months. Making serious headway on the health care
mess would, in itself, be a major accomplishment, one for which a majority of
Americans would feel grateful.
John McGowan, November 5,
2008
The election is over. Now
it's time to get down to business. There are so many things wrong with
our country that you almost have to feel sorry for Barack Obama. He is going
to have to tap into the enthusiasm that his campaign has generated, while he
is going to have to scour the land to find—and bring to Washington—the
talented people who can make our government and our economy functional. As
many historians have commented, when FDR came into office in 1933 he tried
everything and anything. Lots of what FDR did proved unsuccessful, but it the
most important thing was to communicate that the government cared and that it
would not sit by idly while Americans suffered. If he hadn't tried, we
wouldn't have Social Security today. I, for one, hope Obama takes a similar
approach. If he is going to fail, let it be from boldness not timidity. We
have big problems—from the economy and health care to the environment
and the two wars—that require big solutions. Tinkering around the edges
and piecemeal reforms will not get the job done. Buckle your seatbelts,
America. It's already a bumpy ride, now let's see if it becomes a faster one.
John McGowan, November 4,
2008
In the tri-city Triangle of North Carolina where I live - Raleigh, Durham
and Chapel Hill - Durham is the black city. And the city is ready for a
very big party. They're blocking off most of downtown in anticipation of
large crowds. It's a testament to how long this campaign has been that the
fact of Obama's race has been shoved to the background for many - let's hope
all - voters. Blacks
haven't forgotten that this election is special. Here in the South,
the possibility of Virginia and North Carolina going for Obama suggests that
the bitterness over civil rights may be about to fade into the historical
sunset. With the influx of Hispanics and Asians into North Carolina, the stark
lines between black and white have been blurred and the old racial obsessions
seem more and more irrelevant to the way life is lived on the ground—until
you drive through the slums of east Durham. Can an Obama presidency lift the
residents of those slums up? That's a tall order. No other president of the
past 50 years has managed to do them much good. But an Obama victory will give
those people hope and pride, will give them something to celebrate after long
years of hardship. Think about it. When was the last time African-Americans
had something to celebrate together as a pure triumph? It's going to be a hell
of a party.
John McGowan, October 27,
2008
Admit it. You lost interest in this presidential campaign at least a month
ago. You have a life—and wish the news media and the candidates
would admit they've also gotten bored. If
John McCain is on the TV talking it's as if he was trying to remind us
of the weird incomprehensible event called the Iowa caucuses that almost took
place in 2006. Can we do something now, in the full spirit of
bipartisanship, to spare ourselves this 30 month agony? Develop a sane and
understandable nomination process? And while we are at it, could we
standardize registration and voting procedures around the country so we are
spared the law suits, skullduggery, and general mayhem that now surrounds each
election. Finally, since there is no point in dreaming if you don't aim for
the stars, could we get rid of the Electoral College? Maybe
then the candidates might actually put in an appearance during the campaign in
states like California, Texas, and New York, which just happen to be where
lots of voters live.
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