A Rush to Action

Recently the Congress has once again reacted to persuasive news that required an immediate response. They bailed out the financial industry when Paulson and the President told them there was a major catastrophe that would occur if they did not. Rather than prudently going over the books and insisting on due diligence before they rushed to action, they gave the now famous $750+ billion bailout to financial institutions without setting quantifiable goals and requirements.

As the dust settled, it became evident that the financial community did not use the money as the government assumed it would, and so as other sectors of the economy fail, the process of getting federal financing is much less forthcoming – as it should be and most certainly should have been at the first salvo of Paulson’s dire warning.

The reactionary mode of the Congress is not new. And much as we would hope they would have learned from a recent debacle they endorsed because they were warned of dire consequences if they did not, it is incumbent upon us to hold our representatives accountable for actions that jeopardize our country. The prior rush to action based on “irrevocable evidence” of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq cost us trillions of dollars and the lives and well-being of millions of people. Congress was sold a bill of goods then and was probably sold a bill of goods now with warnings of massive losses should the financial institutions not be immediately bailed out. Yet, this kind of knee jerk reaction is based on fear-based assumptions without due diligence, and we must demand better from  those who we rely on to be the overseers of our nation’s well being.  

Being caught up in a frenzy is a dangerous thing. We saw it when the doors of Walmart opened on the day after Thanksgiving when people were trampled in the rush to be the first to get bargains. People lose their sense of reason when they are inflamed by fear or whipped into frenzy by external prompting that sway impulses. It is again a reminder that rushing to action without due diligence and measured thought can ironically lead to the very negative consequences that were assumed would occur if action was not taken.

Washington D.C. is filled with drama and reactionary politics. We have seen it in the campaigns of the last election and we see it daily as one side accuses the other of oversight or incompetence…and the media feeds it with sensational reports that sell advertising. Yet, a voice of reason and a steady hand is needed during these very complex times. The stakes are too high for continuous bating and switching and all the rest of the petty squabbling that goes on ad nauseum. We need grownups in Washington who have reasoned self-discipline, and who are able to separate themselves from the rush to judge in favor of a more prudent line of inquiry that leads to solutions that are steady handed and lead to a meaningful recovery.

Let your congressional representatives know that you want mature leadership on their part, and that you expect nothing less than their best effort for the betterment of the country, not just for their party or re-election!