So the big debtbacle is finally over.
You wish. This is just the start. This is the new normal. Everything from here on out will be negotiated until the final hours. That is until we set the debt and fiscal trajectory on a better path and for a period of time up to the final passage of the Balanced Budget Amendment. Then the negotiations will spill over the deadlines and the new outrage will not be whether or not there is a surplus but how large is it.
A generation from now.
It will take a generation of time to change to new normal. This is not quite the “fundamental transformation” the president had predicted. But it is coming.
Greater restraint on government power is coming. It’s long overdue and it will take time so that the societal transition is not nearly as disruptive as it could be. A dramatic transition out of massive entitlements will not happen. Think of a long glide path – like a plane landing after flying at 38,000 feet. It. Takes. Time.
But…but….
Look. There is no more money. The bill is due. The party is over and the hangover is upon us. From here on out the path to recovery and renewal is reform.
If you think for a second that the next generation of political leaders is not willing to make the hard and sometime dangerous decisions that were nearly made this week, then I dare say you should look to retire to Costa Rica.
Washington DC has been changed, but not by the president who ran a brilliant and inspiring campaign in 2008. No, it was changed by the winners of the election 2010.
The health care legislative battle was won by Obama in Old Washington, the debt ceiling battle was won by those who had nothing to lose – in New Washington. Out manned in a political structure 2 to 1, the minority won. Big. Big Big.
The narrative will try to be turned on them as to how irresponsible they were and how they should not play chicken with the economy, the full faith and credit of the United States and their political careers. Maybe it will stick…probably not.
They got sick and tired of being sick and tired and said “not to my kids and grandkids you don’t.”
The songs of the 60s and 70s were reflective of the realities of the youths who wrote them.
Fast forward to today’s music. Much of it is useless noise but some artists capture the times. Few do it as well as Eminem.
Eminem (a.k.a Marshall Mathers) asks during the introduction of his hit “Lose Yourself”
Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity
To Seize Everything you ever wanted, in one moment
Would you capture it, or just let it slip
Raw and powerful lyrics from a new generation. Not the stuff of 1968 to be sure.
The uninformed will say “Yeah, but Eminem is just a kid from Detroit.”
That kid turns 40 in October. Like too much of his generation, Mathers learned life the hard way with a father gone before he was two and his beloved uncle committing suicide via a shotgun to the head before Eminem was 20.
The children of Vietnam and Watergate are going to have their turn at the plate and they don’t plan on drawing a walk or bunting to get on base, they are going to swing for the fences or die trying.
Yeah, but home runs are so hard to hit….yes, a 95 mph four seam rising fastball is impossible to hit 400 feet.
Taking a political piece of maple to the federal budget for the sake of their children’s future is like hitting watermelon off of a tee.
Those recently awakened to the cold reality of the kids who grew up watching Dirty Harry say “Go Ahead, Make My Day”, are going to be astonished at the clarity and purpose of the next generation.
They really don’t care – about themselves. They care deeply about their kids and they are going to make damn sure that they have a future in this world. Just watch when the issue of K-12 education spending comes up. If it comes down to the Pentagon or K-12 funding, bet on the schools – every time.
Very few rappers write lyrics worth a plug nickel. Eminem, however, does with stunning clarity and jarring anger. The now born again Christian is “down with the Bible” and writing songs with Old Testament verses. That would be the “eye for an eye” portion of the most popular book in human history.
The new normal is under way. Everything is on the table.
Reform of our governing policies will be the new grail. Every politician worth their salt will be looking at new and improved ways of delivering essential government services to those who truly need help.
This is not easy sledding by any stretch of the imagination but thankfully the states have been leading in this effort for decades. They’ve had to because they have had deadlines for balanced budgets. They have no escape hatches. They have to deal with the cold, hard reality of the battle between revenues and costs.
The next generation knows all too well cold and hard realities. Making those decisions will not take very long for them. It won’t require polling or focus groups.
They are fine with the idea to “Lose Yourself.”
How serious were the winners of the Great Compromise of the Summer 2011?
Many of them didn’t even vote for it!
The next battle is over the federal budget that is due to be passed by the beginning of the fiscal year – October 1st. Buckle up and start the office pools again.
Did I mention that Eminem is a Born Again Christian?
“For The Times They Are A Changin….”
Irony noted.
Column by Chris Saxman
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