Wednesday, June 15, 2011

The Washington Lobotomy Facotry Is A Central Problem

For all of the talk about the economy, one of the real problems is Washington -- that is, the bickering between both parties as they argue over ... whatever it is they argue over. Consider this:

When asked about the “single most important problem” facing their businesses, about one in four cited “poor sales,” according to the federation’s survey. Uncertainty over regulations is also mentioned frequently. About a third of businesses blame either “taxes” or “government requirements” for their current troubles, leading some economists to attribute the recent slide in overall business optimism to Washington’s protracted debates over tax policy, financial changes and health care.


Let's take an example. The debt ceiling debate -- which should be a non-starter -- is turning into an utter fiasco. The intractability of both parties -- the Republicans who refuse to raise taxes and the Democrats who refuse to change entitlements -- are yelling past each other in an effort to score political points. As they dawdle, Rome burns. Businesses looking at this have to wonder the following:

1.) Why do something positive if Washington might blow it up in the near future?
2.) Will Washington actually ever solve a real problem in the future?

Here are the answers to the above questions.

1.) Why indeed
2.) No.

And that is one of the central problems we face right now.

Let me add -- I blame both parties equally for this garbage.