But the Patient Died
In the seminal film “My Dinner with André” there is a scene when André is telling Wally about the time his mother was in the hospital dying. He was visiting her with his father, her husband. A doctor came out of her room all smiles, sharing his delight that a injury was healing nicely on the arm of the dying woman.
"Unfazed by Reality" the people in real America are suffering mightily. Across our great nation, public education, child welfare, and health care programs are being eviscerated. And at a time when the federal government needs to be creating millions of jobs, they are instead woo-woo-ing about keeping the deficit under control.
It’s akin to our national leaders and the shill economists in their pockets who are trumpeting our economic recovery. Maybe they think that Wall Street is the recovery. Because it certainly ain’t happenin’ on Main Street.
As Bob Herbert wrote about our leaders in an OpEd entitled
Excuse me, but the best way to deal with the deficit is to put America back to work. Working people pay taxes instead of needing public assistance.
Another major step to rebalancing our economy would be to stop spending trillions of dollars on foreign wars. That money doesn’t produce anything...except heartache and long term expenses to care for those of our citizens who are shipped home in pieces.
The failure of leadership at the federal, state and local levels should not be surprising anymore. With rare exceptions, the only people attracted to politics these days are egotists who are more interested in having their name on the door than actually doing the work. Those who can bankroll themselves – Meg Whitman just wrote herself another $20 million check for her campaign for governor – are the likely winners.
Already under the current crop of pols, the American people are losers big time.
So the operation was a success, but the patient died.
©2010 SetonnoteS
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