by Winston Bennett, Independent Writer
I have always posited that there are basically three types of people in
the world, the Creators, the Coveters and the Appreciators. The
Creators believe that there is an infinite amount of pie and take joy from
the success of others. The Coveters believe that there is a finite amount
of pie and if someone else gets any it diminishes the amount they can
receive. The Appreciators basically stay neutral, operate within the
system presented and take the pie they are offered regardless of who is
serving. It would be too large a generalization to type people by
profession or outlook but there are tendencies that you the reader can
deduce.
My observations are that Appreciators are probably the happiest of the
lot due to their general outlook that they persevere and prioritize in
the sanest way. Creators are optimistic but frustrated by the Coveters
pessimism in the belief that success is always suspect. Coveters are
the most miserable of the lot; they take no joy from anyone’s success
even their own. Example: You could tell a Coveter that you would give them
a million dollars if they would allow the person standing next to them
two million and they would focus on what they would not get.
The psychology of these archetypes is most probably rooted in the
self-esteem of youth but conversion can also occur due to later life
experience or training. The drafting of our United States Constitution was
done by Creators; it has since been interpreted and malformed for the most
part by Coveters. Creators believe that each person should have the
opportunity to have what they have if that person is willing to do what
they did to get it; Appreciators understand that philosophy and make
choices. Conversely, Coveters believe that they the system is inherently
unappreciative of their worth and seek to change the system to reward
them based on how they see their worth. In the end it is a battle between
the belief that obstacles can be overcome and rules and laws created
to control success.
The weight of history becomes daunting after a time in a system
uninterrupted. The United States now has the longest standing form of
government in the world and with that a voluminous amount of laws, regulations
and the agencies that support their enforcement. It occurs naturally as
each new participant in the system tries to leave their mark on the
time they served and usually it becomes what my father likened to the
result of a committee designing a race horse: a camel. We no longer
recognize the original intent and the costs become weighted to the price of
enforcement over the benefits received. I have never experienced a
bureaucratic agency volunteer to get smaller nor a regulator to agree to
fewer rules and law. They believe what they do is important even if many
do not understand the law of unintended consequences.
1. DDT was banned in the United States because of bad scientific
conclusions in the early 60’s. The environmental movement used DDT as a means
to increase their power. Charles Wurster, chief scientist for the
Environmental Defense Fund, commented, “If the environmentalists win on
DDT, they will achieve a level of authority they have never had before. In
a sense, much more is at stake than DDT.” It is now scientifically
understood that the DDT scare was just that but no politician or agency
wants to take the heat for pointing that out. In Africa this year 1
million people will die because of malaria and the insecticide DDT would
save an estimated half of that number but no one will make it.
2. Union leaders demanded more and more out of the auto industry in
Detroit, the auto makers did not have the intestinal fortitude to
challenge their workers to think strategically. We now have many fewer union
autoworkers and an unprofitable Detroit auto industry but the same amount
of cars being made in the US, just not in Detroit and not by US
companies.
3. France forces Germany into a depression with hyper-inflation by
holding them to the restitution terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Germany
turns to a Nationalist out of desperation and we get WWII
4. Beginning around 30 years ago the US and European countries shipped
tremendous amounts of aid in the form of food to the Middle East and
Africa to off-set pestilence and drought, in a PR campaign battle the
Soviet Union also sent aid. What occurred is that the population
expanded to these new resources and out grew their countries ability to
provide for them during normal conditions. This new young population finds no
opportunity, subsistence living and has become radicalized.
Economics is no different; throughout the history of the world you can
track economic development as it seeks the opportunity and appreciation
for its effect. Watch the rise and fall of societies and governments
Sir Alex Fraser Tytler (1742-1813) wrote in his lectures of 1801 : “A
democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only
exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largess
from the public treasury. From that time on the majority always votes for
the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury,
with the results that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal
policy, always followed by a dictatorship.”
As we enter into our Presidential Election cycle, the preceding quote
becomes ever so much more poignant. All of the candidates are not only
promising a chicken in every pot but multiple fowl. However, none of
them are speaking to how we are going o fix the government programs we
have now that are underfunded like Social Security.
The Creators are going to be under new attack, constrained by new tax
burdens, regulation and bureaucratic red tape. Those that impede
progress wrapped in the trappings of the power that rules and regulation
provide will find the wealth they hope to redistribute disappear.
We are now teetering on the brink of a national recession and we will
not be insulated in St. Joseph from it if it occurs. Now is the time to
demand a more thoughtful take from your local, state and national
leadership but not with your individual pocket in mind.
New capital will be scarce for the next few years, banks have been
stung by the housing crisis and have become risk-averse and money from
local, state and national agencies will be inadequate for new initiatives.
Having St. Josephians spend their money locally will become more
important, managing limited resources for on-going development spent more
efficiently will become more critical and new fiscal demands on city
government for expanded service and cost less compelling.
It will no longer be strategically prudent or responsible to let
process overtake results. There needs to be an “us against everybody else”
philosophy for our community enjoining the public, private and
educational sectors of our city to create a common goal to attract every dollar,
student, job and taxpayer possible. I propose that our City Manager,
City Council, Chamber of Commerce, Missouri Western, Northwest, Vatterot
and Hillyard school heads and other business leaders plan a summit to
plan now so that we might not have to react later.
Posted by: admin on Saturday, March 8th, 2008
Filed under: General |
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