Yesterday, I flew from New York to Los Angeles. I make this trip usually about five or six times a year.
Yesterday, something was different--very different. In America in 2005, it was shocking.
I arrived at Kennedy airport in New York, and I walked into a breathtaking, state-of-the-art American Airlines terminal.
I should not have been shocked, but I was. We Americans don't invest in the future any more, so to see this investment in our future was profoundly startling. The American Airlines personnel told me everyone is having the same reaction as me. Shock and Awe.
After five years of George Bush, deterioration, incompetence and corruption have become the norm. We Americans have begun to internalize in some sense, a society on a downward trajectory. So what was once routine is now exceptional.
Jerome's wonderful diary the other day, Bush administration = vicious circle (a philosophical rant) describes perfectly the circumstances which precipitated my awe.
There was a day, when a new airline terminal would not have elicted such a response.
Today, in George Bush's America, such investment in the future (from the private sector or the government) is indeed shocking--and I was rightfully startled.
Just a reminder from Jerome of the proper role of government.
"Investment and consumption
A typical way to improve things for everybody is to invest for the future. Investment allows things to be better - but slightly later. As the resources for investment are the same as those for today's consumption, some sacrifice is needed today to get more later. If you have a narrow, short term or zero-sum outlook, you'll say "Why should I 'waste' money investing today when I can enjoy it more now by spending it on x, y or z?".
Again, it is the State's role to organise investment for the future of our societies. Spending on security (military and police) education, health care, infrastructure is money diverted from today's consumption but meant to improve our capacity to live better in the future."
Here's a link to Jerome's diary:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
