Monday, August 1, 2011

Planning before acting

In Thomas Friedman's latest opinion piece, he raises some important points about this debt-ceiling crisis that is before us. First though, I do not agree with his comparison of the US government with a business- they are two different entities who function differently because one is based on the idea of efficiency and profits, whereas the other is fundamentally the opposite in that it is supposed to be a democracy, prioritizing the opinions of its participants versus productivity.
However, Friedman does bring up the important idea that we must have a plan of action before moving forward, regardless of what type of ideology any entity is operating under. He names the five pillars as such:

"Yes, we have developed such a formula over the course of American history, and it is built on five basic pillars: educating the work force up to and beyond whatever technology demands; building the world’s best infrastructure of ports, roads and telecommunications; attracting the world’s most dynamic and high-I.Q. immigrants to enrich our universities and start new businesses; putting together the best regulations to incentivize risk-taking while curbing recklessness (not always perfectly); and funding research to push out the boundaries of science and then let American innovators and venture capitalists pluck off the most promising new ideas for new business."

Something to consider, as we move forward with negotiations and talks about this debt situation, if we are serious about preserving American credibility and integrity in the eyes of the international community.