It Can Always Get Worse

I have never been one to think there are greener pastures elsewhere. Because of this, many classify me as a pessimist, but I am a realist. When times get tough I always remind myself that it could be worse. I held many jobs during my corporate years, but only once did I switch jobs on my own free will. My employer changed my position 12 times. And I always went where my former employer placed me. The last 8 years I was miserable, but I always tried to work out my problems and issues without running away. I stayed with the same employer for 22 years upon my retirement. Maybe there are times I should have changed jobs or even left the company, but this attitude fails to solve anything. In fact, it is highly probable that things will be worse in a new job or at a different company. Loyalty does not mean much these days, but being disloyal benefits no one. The job that best suited my skills was the job I was most miserable doing. Why? Each job depends on leadership and other extenuating circumstances that are beyond an employers’ control. Most people that routinely change jobs will not find the Holy Grail. Besides, a job changer’s problem solving and social skills suffer because they continually run away from their problems. This same philosophy, in my opinion, exists in the real world, especially in politics.
I have been a proponent of term limits, but as a realist I understand that newly elected people can perform worse than their predecessors. Besides, I really do not have much faith in the leadership abilities of our youth. Generation X and Y have done little to inspire any confidence with their problem solving skills. A great example of new blood being worse than the predecessor is Obama. Bush was a highly unpopular president, but his approval ratings have been going up since he left office because Obama has done so poorly. Everything has gotten worse under Obama.

Our economy has unemployment at 10% and the real unemployment rate is around 18% because the jobs market is shrinking since more Americans are discouraged and stopped looking for work. And what’s worse, the White House has thrown nearly a trillion dollars at the economy to create jobs. Obama’s passing of healthcare reform will make healthcare worse for 90% of Americans while attempting to improve it for less than 10%. Under ObamaCare healthcare insurance will be more expensive and lead to a doctor shortage making healthcare worse for all Americans. Financial reform will regulate the private sector, but will not stop another financial meltdown partly because financial entities run by the government are free to continue their wasteful ways. Proposed climate change legislation will destroy the economy, but at the same time the legislation will not reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) in our atmosphere. At best, it will negate CO2 by a mere 1 part per million (ppm) over a decade, but the total CO2 in our atmosphere will go up by 50 ppm. Entitlement programs and their unfunded liabilities will also continue to get worse. Funding for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, low income housing, and other handouts will continue to rise and become a bigger burden on our fiscal budget. The government has made all these economic issues worse by either interfering with bad policy or by ignoring the problem and letting it get worse. With this type of leadership, I am convinced these complex issues and problems will always get worse.

Some argue that if Republicans take over Congress they can do a better job and fix many of these problems. This is highly unlikely because Democrats will more than likely block any conservative reform. Face it; Democrats and Republicans will never agree on how to cut the budget, reform entitlements, or reduce pollution. Thus, problems will fester and continue to get worse.