Blame is not a Strategy

I am terribly disappointed. It seems the box is alive and well in Washington. As a nation we are facing one of our most trying moments in recent history with the financial crisis. The market is like a death-defying roller coaster, and the resulting credit crunch is going to cause some ongoing and very difficult problems for many. So what is the response from our elected statespeople - point the finger - at anyone.

If I hear one more time, the cause of the crisis as failed Bush administration policies, I believe I will lose my mind. Even if there are some failed policies, does Congress not share some responsibility for not acting on the ongoing White House warnings about the inevitable problems, which have been presented since the early 2000's? Do our so-called leaders believe a lame-duck President is really the sole cause, or more importantly, do they think the average American believes this crisis is solely the fault of one person. Please! Also do they believe that the blame game is helping to achieve a solution?

It appears out political process is stuck in a box, and not a good box at that. Putting forth and tackling politically risky issues before they fully occur is not smart when the goal is re-election. And hopefully I have missed this, but why are the brilliant economists and experienced business people being left out? It seems the last minute solutions are being concocted by a number of life-long, but non-financial expert politicians, without the advice and counsel of innovative and experienced thinkers in complicated financial manners. Why is this expertise being ignored? Are the politicians afraid that the solutions which may evolve may have a negative impact on their re-electability? Or do they just think they are so smart, they do not need the help? Scary, isn't it.

Self and party preservation seems to be the rules of the box, and now we are facing a crisis where those rules are going to cause a catastrophe. I am hopeful that at least of few of our elected officials will choose to let go of the politics box, and create some real and innovative solutions to the dilemma we now face. Solutions to big, tough problems are never found in a box and our officials need to accept that.

So, if it helps, I have an offer for all those self-centered, terrified and finger pointing people in Congress. They can blame me for everything. It will do as much good as blaming anyone else. Then maybe they can get it out of their systems, let go of the blaming box and start resolving the problem.

Steve