Posted on 12/18/2010 10:40:42 AM PST by Starman417
Over 2300 years ago, birth was given to a myth which in time became a powerful metaphor that has served us well through the ages when addressing seemingly impossible or intricate challenges. Halfway through the current Obama Presidency we face a moment when reaching back for an ancient Greek analogy has become self evidently appropriate.
Legend tells us that Alexander The Great fulfilled a prophecy by bringing a creative solution to the Gordian Knot – he sliced the complex knot with his sword, thereby showing himself capable of thinking outside the box. Gordian, the mythological king of the Phrygians had tied his oxcart to a palace as an offering to Zeus, and an oracle had foretold that whoever untied the knot would conquer Asia. Although he died at the young age of 31, Alexander’s conquest of a continent started with a bold decision.
History has provided ample debate on the event of Alexander’s controversial “solution,” and whether it was actually any solution at all, however, Alexander’s omen, has remained a favorite metaphor.
The present moment in history finds a society struggling with overwhelming unemployment, as well as a worrisome personal and national level of debt. Productive employment is critical to sustenance of a vibrant society, and it is through that employment that the costs of all of society’s “structural and functioning” needs get paid. A majority of Americans also understand that it is business and industry, large and small, that create employment, and the basis for all other employment. Without such employment, government doesn’t get paid. While this should be abundantly obvious, the American taxpayer is being led by an Administration that seems not to understand. America went to the poles during the midterm elections and emphatically voiced its displeasure with the way the Administration and Congress were treating its most serious and urgent concerns. America is looking for leadership capable of making bold decisions.
This week, Obama is facing his archetypal Gordian Knot, IMHO. The current debate over the maintenance of the Bush tax cut has been worthwhile, and pushes economic discussion to the fore, which serves to educate. The solution to America’s economic woes however, does not rest with an extension of the Bush tax cut. The solution rests in the aggressive stimulation of job creation, and leadership that will-not-sleep-until unemployment numbers have been halved.
(Excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net...
Essentially, no solution.
FDR redo.
The answer is so simple — government is using up money which businesses need for capital. Cut entire portions of government. I can think of two right away.
Start with redundant departments. Every state has a department of education. Duplication by the Feds is stupid. Eliminate the Federal Department of Education.
Next, every state collects operating revenue. It would be cheaper for the states to retain what they need and provide a portion to the Feds for national purposes such as defense. It is easier and cheaper to deal with less than 100 accounts rather than millions. Eliminate the Internal Revenue Service.
It’ll never happen. It’s common sense. Once a President is allowed, for whatever is expedient or rationalized as “right” (according to popular opinion), to suspend the Constitution, then from then on it’s downhill all the way. But, don’t despair, get up, shake off the dust, and salvage whatever you can until there’s nothing left to salvage. After that, then I suppose it’s PRODUCE and make the best of a rotten situation as long as you can.
Ambiguous and useless answer.
Jobs are disappearing because business regulations, taxes, and lawsuits are making work cheaper elsewhere.
Increasing, or even leaving static, the current amount of regulations, taxes, and lawsuits will fail to reverse this decline in national employment...
...no matter how much "job stimulation" is employed.
Of course before the 16th amendment (income tax) federal taxes were apportioned to the several states and not to individuals.
Apportioning to the states means each state decides how the tax is to be collected and from whom.
The federal politicians are not concerned about saving money or operating more efficiently, they are concerned about power and who has it. They have it and they aim to keep it, even if it means ultimate destruction for everyone. At least they will have power now.
He's quite capable of providing a solution to his Gordian Knot. He'll simply do as Captain Kirk did in beating the Kobayashi Maru test . . Cheat!
This was essentially the approach taken under the Articles of Confederation, and the utter unworkability of the system is one of the big reasons for why they were replaced by the Constitution.
Good point. But that was over 200 years ago.
I believe it will work the next time around. The Feds also will have other sources of revenue they can tap, and not just those from the States.
I don't. State legislatures are little better at fiscal responsibility than the federal government. There'd be nothing left over.
Sure answers are simple. It is execution that is complicated.
That is the point of this line in the article
America is looking for leadership capable of making bold decisions.
Every Department of Redundancy, every Program of Programs, every loop hole in the tax code created by Congress has its adherents and lobbying group.
You don’t set out to gore someone’s scared cow with raising a posse of cattle herders with their accompanying pitchforks and torches ready to defend their government sanctioned advantages.
The Department of Education was barely a year old when Ronaldus Magnus set to slaughter that milk cow. He was soundly rebuffed by the defenders of the sacred cow of the Teacher’s Unions.
If you are going to cut any program you had better have a huge majority of the American people vocally crying death to that program if you are to have a chance to succeed. If you are talking government; it is far easier to create than destroy.
It is going to take bold leadership; that is a Bold Charismatic Leader who can inspire the people to champion bold action to support killing blood sucking, creativity stifling government programs.
Personally I just don’t see it happening. Almost every person in this country has or has a family member that has become dependant on some part of government largess. Perhaps we will be able to chip away at some of the smaller bits like ethanol and farm subsidies because they have relatively small constituencies but the huge parts like the Dept of Ed I think are dragons to big to slay.
Right,what Policy has Obama Proposed that Has any Hope of turning the Economy around ,maybe The Media can tout this so we can all be enlightened
Obama’s solution is to put gays in the military and hope they all turn out like Alexander.
ping
Too big to slay or too big to fail? The argument is nonsensical. Nothing is to big to terminate, not even the sun.
Freeing our society from the bondage of government requires a love of freedom greater than the love of selfish desire. This requires redefining freedom.
Today freedom is understood as license to do whatever one desires. Promiscuity, drugs, abortion, homosexuality, pornograpy, guaranteed subsistence, universal health care, materialism are all based not on freedom but the suspension of morality.
Freedom is the ability to do what is right and good. License is the ability to do what is hostile and selfish.
Every so called right enforced by government is hostile to a given constituency. It is a right required at the expense of a group that must sacrifice its wealth or its morality.
Turning this ship around will require strong leaders of deep moral courage who are unafraid of the enemies of morality. If we are to be a free nation we must be a moral nation.
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