The day after chemo is typically a lay-low day and gives me time to think, which I know is a dangerous thing.
The tendency was compounded today by having a budding political scientist (Janice) home for a visit.
We of course have been talking about the elections, and the Republican gains in suburbs around the state and country. It's only a year since a Dem sweep of almost everything but now things seem to be swinging back to the Repubs. It seems possible that the GOP will take back Congress next year.
Just what do voters want?
The NY Times wasn't much help today. On the op-ed page, one columnist (Paul Krugman) said Obama's economic-stimulus plan didn't go far enough, while on the same page another (David Brooks) argued that independents want less government involvement in the economy and in their lives.
Then on the front page of the local paper was a story about how the government extending unemployment benefits for up to 20 weeks is an important lifeline for millions of chronically unemployed people. I suspect many of these people decry "big government.''
That got me thinking about the essentially false choices our system tends to offer - whoever is out of power tends to look better in bad economic times, while incumbents seldom have trouble when times are good - and how making tough decisions (raising taxes or cutting spending) always seems to be a political death sentence.
Take New York, for example. State Senate Dems don't like the cuts that Gov. Paterson is proposing, but offer nothing of their own to deal with the deficit. Paterson's payoff for being the more responsible party is record-low poll ratings.
In New Jersey, Gov-elect Chris Christie promises to cut property taxes, even though state government is facing a multi-billion-dollar deficit, and offers no specifics on how to save money.
The system seems broken. What do those in academia think about such problems? Don't hold your breath waiting for an answer, Janice warned. Those in ivory towers seldom want to get their hands dirty dealing with such real-world issues.
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Jay --
ReplyDeleteAs always, you are on the cutting edge of human thought. I happened to be at an academic conference yesterday (the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management) and there were two panel discussions on the topic of how states can solve their fiscal problems. Janice is exactly right that academics often do not want to "get their hands dirty," but I think this problem is bad enough that people are finally realizing we need to find some answers. If you'll forgive a quick commercial (as I know you will), the Rockefeller Institute is holding a conference on November 30 on this topic. It's in NYC, but if you or Janice can join us we'd make sure you get a good seat. Keep hitting those ivory towers!
Bob Ward