In a post dated 8/22/2022 entitled “Trust Deficit”, I wrote that there seems to be an increasing gap between those who govern us and we the people. Unfortunately, this gap appears to be growing as the belief of those who govern in their ability to fool us only gets stronger.
How often do we find that the government, at any level, introduces a program designed with the (hopefully) best of intentions only to see it flounder on the shores of reality? The response? “Let’s form a study group to find out what can be done”, or “we need to fund the program so we can realize it’s full potential”, etc. Often, the correct response would be, “Man, did we screw that one up, how do we stop the program and not waste any more money”.
The attached article by Andy Kessler gives examples of how those in authority never admit (do they realize?) that their actions and programs are the cause of problems. A famous politician once said “you never want a serious crisis to go to waste”, meaning that each crisis is an opportunity to fool the public into thinking the reacting politician is a hero. Of course, he/she is a hero on your dime; they may even claim that the solution is “free”, but never fear, there will be enough people out there to give credit where no credit is due.
I am beginning to doubt the statement by Abraham Lincoln that, “you can fool some of the people some of the time and all of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time.” Even in the age of digital video and real time reporting, we see and hear our political leaders lie and insult our intelligence with a smile and shock when the proof is presented. They must realize that at the least fooling all of the people some of the time is the acceptable standard.
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