Trompe L'Oeil Budgets

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There is no doubt that there is a need for our country to manage our budget and trade deficits more prudently. The problem with election agendas is that, inevitably, we end up with policy changes that are more for show than substance.  The current budget proposals are in essence "more of the same."  There is a great will for change but no one, including "we the people," is prepared to have the difficult conversations.  We cannot make the difficult decisions until we talk about the important issues. The economist article below has an excellent discussion of the details.


Superficial budget cuts will not serve us well in the medium or long term. In fact, it is not certain that there will be a short term benefit.  We need structural changes in healthcare, education and social security. How long are we going to allow the shuffling of chairs on the deck of the Titanic?

As American's we are masterful innovators.  We have to find a way to inject new, creative, out of the box ideas into the political process.  The challenge is that excellent innovators are by definition counter-cultural.  How do we carve out space for the exceptional in a process that pushes towards the center?

http://www.economist.com/node/21016651