The Middle Party

A place we can all meet.

[themiddleparty]

Accountability

I'm sorry it has been several days since I have written. Maybe that's a good thing, that nothing glaring has caused me to turn to the keyboard. I just read an article though and while it isn't the subject of this post it did cause me to think about some events last week. The Affordable Care Act is in full swing now apparently, despite unofficially dismal numbers with respect to the number of people who have signed up for new policies using the system as it was envisioned. C-SPAN or CNBC or one of the other networks was showing the testimony of Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius last week while I was at the gym and I couldn't help but turn my attention to aspects of her testimony. There was one critical aspect of it that I did respect and I will revisit that theme of accountability in a moment.

I was disturbed by the Secretary's testimony regarding the lack of testing and the poor assumptions that were made by the Department with respect to how people would access their new system. The lack of professionalism that surrounded this roll out was really distressing. Incompetence is probably the best way to describe it. The best comparison in the business world, where accountability does matter, that I can draw to mind involves the roll out of a new operating system at Apple and the poor response to their new navigation app.

The app was poorly designed and riddled with software glitches and bugs, sound familiar? The result of that poor effort was that Richard Williamson, Vice President of iOS Platform Services, was let go by Apple. Sadly the public interest in that failure was probably greater than it is wit respect to the healthcare system, but that's a subject for another blog. 

Where is the accountability? I appreciate that Sebelius ultimately shouldered the blame for the failures of her department but why did this happen in the first place? Did they think no one would notice?

This brings me to my next point, still on the topic of accountability. We also learned this past week that people who are perfectly happy with their insurance coverage are having their policies cancelled despite promises that they could keep their coverage when this program was originally being debated. I was disappointed that President Obama did not take responsibility for this, instead choosing to blame these issues and cancellations on the insurance companies. It is very difficult to respect someone that cannot take the blame for things that happen on their watch. This has been a recurring (and disgusting) theme with this administration, an overwhelming aversion to being responsible for anything bad that has happened in the last 5 years. I can sit here and write about several instances where this is the case but I would rather go and brush my teeth to get this foul taste out of my mouth...

[themiddleparty]

On Healthcare in America

There's been a lot of talk about healthcare lately, some even say that this topic is partially to blame for the current government shutdown. Not healthcare per se but the controversial funding (or defunding) of the Affordable Care Act. 

In September of 2012 the Institute of Medicine released a report that concluded that over $750 billion healthcare dollars were wasted in 2009 alone due to: unnecessary services, inefficient delivery of care, excess administrative costs, inflated prices, prevention failures, and fraud. By way of comparison, the US Department of Defense budget for 2010 was only $683.7 billion. In 2012, our US Attorney General indicated there was between $60 and $90 billion in Medicare fraud alone and a similar amount related to Medicaid. 

Who else thinks that the US Federal Government does not do the best job of implementing and overseeing complex social service systems? Does it seem likely that this problem is going to magically get better? Certainly not in light of the fact that there are no substantive discussions around creating new safeguards and reforming the current system to cut down on fraud and waste. Wouldn't it be worth it? A small business owner might think so, a large business owner might think so, but government does not have to be accountable to owners or shareholders. They are free to run a deficit and they've been doing it for a long time. By my count there have only been 17 years in the last hundred that our government has not operated at a deficit. 

When, you might ask, does this practice become unsustainable? As long as people and countries are willing to buy our Treasury debt then I suppose it can continue forever. A better question is when will we require it to stop? I can remember doomsday counters tallying the amount of the US debt that each person owed for close to thirty years and yet that number continues to grow. 

Our congressional leaders and our President are currently arguing to raise the mandated debt limit for this country so we can continue to operate, when do we require them to stop adding to that limit? Probably right around the time that accountability and productive incentives for people to contribute favorably to the economy become normal and not exceptional.

It's time for common sense to make its way back to Washington...

[themiddleparty]

They seemed to get it...

The office of the President of the United States has seen some very impressive orators over its history. While you cannot sum up the whole of an administration in a single speech or a single phrase you can read or listen to what has been said and get the sense that at least in that moment they understood what needed to be done and the incredible power that they wielded. They were capable of communicating so personally, so meaningfully and with such humility, like they were reaching out and talking directly to you... In retrospect it gave the impression that the country was being run by adults and not by the circus hucksters that now flood the airwaves with self-serving, meaningless chatter.

Presidents on both sides of the political spectrum possessed these abilities and while some of their administrations are characterized as failures there is still a sense of maturity and wisdom in some of their finer speeches.

John F. Kennedy in his inaugural address in 1961 exhorted us to: "...My fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." 

Calling out for participation and involvement from the population, a far cry from the state we are in today where government seems to be more about promising to do things for people.

Jimmy Carter, while not recognized as having one of the stronger administrations in the short history of our country, did summarize the feelings of the nation in his July 15, 1979 speech when he described a crisis of confidence. He tells us, "The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. It is a crisis of confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. We can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our Nation. The erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of America." 

An especially poignant message and lesson for me to revisit as I feel over the last 7 or 8 years that we have been experiencing our own crisis of confidence.

President Carter went on to say, "Confidence in the future has supported everything else—public institutions and private enterprise, our own families, and the very Constitution of the United States. Confidence has defined our course and has served as a link between generations. We've always believed in something called progress. We've always had a faith that the days of our children would be better than our own. Our people are losing that faith, not only in government itself but in the ability as citizens to serve as the ultimate rulers and shapers of our democracy." 

Does that message from 34 years ago resonate with anyone else right about now? 

One of Ronald Reagan's nicknames was "The Great Communicator" and he did not disappoint on that front. He also seemed to be one of the last Presidents outwardly concerned with accountability.

From his farewell address he reminds us of a different country than we have today, that existed in a different reality than we now have, "And how stands the city on this winter night? More prosperous, more secure, and happier than it was eight years ago. But more than that: After 200 years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And she's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home."

Are we still a beacon? What do all of you think? Have we become a beacon for the wrong reasons?

From his first inaugural address he reminds us that, "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." Referring to the economic and security challenges that faced the United States in the early 1980's. Sound familiar? Economic and security challenges?

He went on to say, "All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price."

What would that be like? Certainly not the same as raising taxes on percentages of the population and then not bothering to include them in any of the polls to see how people feel about these tax increases and leaning on this as consensus. Why wouldn't people who are not affected think that others should bear even more of the burden?

The Miller Center at the University of Virginia has a wonderful archive of Presidential Speeches if you've been moved to read more of the collected wisdom of our Presidents.

Please take some time and think about our great country and our current condition and take action, don't be passive, look where that has gotten us. And remember, we were Americans before we were Democrats or Republicans. Try and understand the world, the issues through someone else's eyes before trying to convince them that your opinions are above reproach. 

[themiddleparty]

Some Rules for Life

Some words of wisdom and thoughts for ways we can all be better everyday.

One of the first and most important rules (and something we all could benefit from working on, I suspect) is to lift up the people around you. It is all too easy to be negative and to focus on negative attributes rather than positive ones. Negativity is the lazy approach to being social.

Another important rule is to not be so quick to take offense. There is a trend in our culture to be very quick to be offended by comments or actions that were not likely intended to cause harm or distress. The whole political correctness craze has created a culture where we miss the point because we are so focused on the container: what words did they use, how was their inflection...we seem to be looking for ways to be offended rather than ways to have open and intelligent dialogue. 

This leads to a third rule about respect. Respect everybody until they have given you a multitude of reasons not to respect them. If you give everyone the benefit of the doubt you might be surprised by what you find. 

The prosperity of the Baby Boomer generation, I fear, has created a sense of entitlement among the generations that follow. This idea that the world "owes" you something or anything is malignant. The American dream used to involve hard work and being able to accomplish whatever you put your effort too, it was to be a meritocracy. The American dream now has more to do with winning the lottery or getting something for nothing. Raise your hand if you think that is a prescription for long term national vitality...I'm not seeing a lot of hands up.

The next rule is situation-specific but if you follow it you are likely to be engaged in many other positive societal behaviors as well. Don't drive in the left lane unless you are going faster than everyone else. If you are in that lane for whatever reason and a car comes up behind you, have respect for them and move over a lane. It's not hard and it in no way diminishes anyone's ego to get passed on the highway. This rule really needs to be exercised in Florida. Being a frequent traveler on Florida's highways I have experienced a lot of the unfortunate need for people to remain in the left lane when they do not belong there. I was in Colorado and Kansas earlier this year, enjoying their lovely interstates and noticing how no one drove in the left lane, except to pass, it was like a breath of fresh air. The only cars I noted that drove in the left lane had one thing in common...Florida license plates.

The next lesson can also be observed and practiced on the roadways, make sure to acknowledge when people do nice things for you, it makes it much more likely that they will occur in the future. 

Finally, for now, I would counsel you to manage your own expectations and the expectations that others have of you. So many headaches and struggles can be avoided if we just make our expectations clear and make sure that we understand what other people expect of us. Communication is the key.

[themiddleparty]

We are The Middle!

If you're like me you've been reading the political news lately with disgust. I was trying to think of a word for it that was less harsh but, to be honest, disgust sums it up for me. What happened to us? When did we start letting news outlets divide us along superficial lines? Right around the time we stopped having opinions for ourselves and our own voices...

We are Americans, first and foremost, and we need to remember that. We are Democrats or Republicans or Libertarians or Green Partiers a distant second. When can we start looking first for the ways that we are alike before looking for the ways in which we are different?

When can we expect our elected officials to hold themselves accountable for their tragic mismanagement of this country? No sooner than we HOLD them accountable for this tragic mismanagement. Our government is broken, mostly full of career politicians looking more to staying elected than to making the decisions that need to be made. We have no long term vision in this country because of election cycles. Why haven't the fundamental challenges in social security and medicare been addressed yet? Because politicians know that the solutions are going to be unpopular among people that vote and they would rather remain politicians than serve the best interests of the people that they represent. These economic challenges have been in front of us for more than 12 years and still we have seen no substantial debate on feasible solutions to address these problems. Yet we waste copious amounts of time debating social issues that impact only a minority of our population. 

That there was any commentary by federal government representatives on the subject of changing the mascot of the Washington Redskins while our government is shutdown displays a frightening (and disgusting) lack of priorities. 

There is a way out of this though and it starts with all of us. Step one involves us all caring about the health and stability of our country. Step two requires us all to acknowledge that everyone is entitled to an informed opinion and that those opinions can be different than our own. Step three requires something that seems to be a bad word anymore, negotiation. If you think that you can get everything that you want, as our politicians seem to think, then you clearly lead a very special life indeed. Life is all about compromises. Let's bring back pragmatism to government. Let's look at negotiated solutions as victories, government isn't war, it's not about domination, it's about doing what is best for the people that you represent. Let's bring back government that reflects the wishes and concerns of the people that it represents while we're at it.