To: ild who wrote (41545 ) 9/14/2005 6:38:39 PM From: patron_anejo_por_favor Respond to That's just one example. Change "overnight" to "over 18 months or so" if you want. You get the picture.....<G> Maybe the dollar stays where it is and oil goes to 300 bucks a barrel, and natural gas goes to $50/cu ft (so energy bills consume say half of the average American's income). Maybe Al-Queida takes out the Clowngress (successfully this time), or an 8.0 quake hits downtown LA, or a Cat 5 hurricane wipes out Miami. Same end result......the reaction to that will make the Patriot Act looks like the ACLU Bylaws.....what's happened is that risk of adverse events of ALL types, not just financial, have been "offloaded to Pluto", or so "We the Sheeple" are led to believe. But of course they haven't, they're right here and waiting to pounce like a starving Velociraptor. The reason this has happened is that the focus of institutions in America has over time become more and more intently focused on short term results. In business this is apparent: What company hasn't skewed things to "make the quarter" often sacrificing longer term considerations and needs to do so. The same thing happens in government ALL THE TIME, because after all, elected officials have finite terms, only 2 years in the case of Clowngressmen. So anything requiring longer term planning gets short shrift and pushed aside, as does anything that requires shared sacrifice. Social securtiy? Check. Gutting defense, then overextending the military? Check. Energy policy? ROTFL, check, check, check! Medicare? Check. Pensions? Check. Border security? Check. Ditto for educational institutions.
