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MANUFACTURING MARVELS
Election Fervor in 2012
ECONOMIC FIX LIES IN MATH, NOT POLITICS
by Fred Zimmerman
One of my mid-20th century history
professors was fond of asserting that
wars were inconsequential to the
pattern of history. He argued that
technology, economics, demographics,
education and moral development
were more influential. In addition to
wars, the professor might have added
elections as less meaningful events in
the long term.
Much of the world is embroiled
in election fervor in 2012. Citizens in
France, Ireland, Egypt, Greece, Russia,
several German states and the United
States are fervently championing one
candidate or another in the hope of
restoring the prosperity and comfort of
past decades.
Yet, given our collective abhorrence
of any sort of behavior modification or
sacrifice, prosperity and comfort may
no longer be within our reach. As an
informed friend has noted, “We have
one party that will never increase any
taxes and another that will never stop
spending. Where will it end?”
Europe, the United States, and
many other countries have something
in common. Many of their citizens
have absolutely no personal interest in
participating in either responsible fiscal
policies or qualitative improvements
in their own activities. Yet, they insist
that greater prosperity is due to them
and harbor the mistaken belief that
deep societal problems such as neglect,
waste, declining production, overcompensation,
premature retirements
and profligate spending can be reversed
by elections. As we all become energized
in identifying the evils of opposing
political parties, we perhaps have
overlooked the dysfunctional influence
that we, the citizens, have played.
Did Greece’s economic fortunes
improve with elections? Will
France fare any better if that new
administration repudiates recent
European initiatives to forestall
financial contagion? Will U.S. citizens
really support the tough remedial
actions necessary to avoid similar
problems in this country?
It is easy to blame elected officials,
and many of them do have grievous
faults. But, perhaps their greatest fault is
listening too much to us, the constituents.
We want to retire earlier than we should
and we want someone else to fund it
because we don’t save anything.
Collectively, we want more
social programs, no taxes, and the
complete freedom to conduct all of
our affairs without regulation—even
if that sometimes results in financial
catastrophe. We want a highly technical
modern society, but we don’t want
to spend any money maintaining
the infrastructure. Almost all of us,
individually, want any economic
adjustments to be borne by somebody
else. We tend to deny any responsibility
for ourselves.
While we fight with one another
about which political party is the
personification of the greatest evil, we
are rocketing forth to an economic
situation that is unmistakably
arithmetic rather than political. The
debts we are accumulating are so large
that they are not payable without
stifling growth, scaling back needed
programs, raising unemployment
and neglecting further our already
deteriorating infrastructure.
Whether we are Republicans,
Democrats or Independents, this
endemic denial of responsibility is
likely to end poorly for us. We forget
that interest payments are part of a
sovereign nation’s budget that has
priority over such worthy endeavors as
education, health care, construction,
maintenance and national defense.
Interest rates are held to artificially
low levels now. But what happens if
the Chinese ever need their money to
address their many unsolved social
problems? What will interest rates be
like then?
The way out of the developed
world’s difficult financial quandary
is unlikely to be solved by electing
anybody. We need to change ourselves.
Serious modifications of our own
behavior are overdue. In order to avoid
financial implosion we are going to
have to work with more dedication and
innovation, accept more reasonable
compensation, retire later, stay
healthier, embrace practical financial
regulation, incorporate reasonable
taxation, collect the taxes we have, and
make meaningful investments for the
future. These steps should not be that
difficult or that surprising. As recently
noted in the Financial Times, “Billions
of people around the world would give
anything for what Europeans (and
Americans) call austerity.”
By taking these needed and overdue
steps, our country and others like
it, will have reasonable chances of
avoiding the long gradual descent to
far more problematic and less pleasant
societies. Then, whoever is elected
might have a chance of succeeding.
This article was orginally published in the
Star Tribune on June 3, 2012. Reprinted with
permisson from Dr. Fred Zimmerman.
DR. FRED ZIMMERMAN
is professor emeritus
of Engineering and
Management at the
University of St. Thomas.
He can be reached at
zimco@visi.com.
PM
September | October 2012 PRECISION MANUFACTURING | 11