January 10, 2010
By Herman Cain
Whereas I applaud the president’s speech last week admitting that government intelligence agencies did not adequately “connect the dots” to prevent the attempted Christmas Day airline terrorist attack, the next most significant news (unemployment) was glossed over by the broadcast media.
We are all pleased that the president has admonished the Department of Homeland Security and the various intelligence agencies to do their jobs, which they should have been doing in the first place. And we hope they follow through on the common sense collaboration among agencies they shared with the American people, which we thought was already happening.
It is not realistic to expect all terrorist attempts against the United States to be detected and prevented. But for no action to be taken with multiple clues about the Christmas Day attempted bomber, it is very discomforting.
Let’s be prayerful that our agencies will begin to connect the dots, faster and more frequently.
The lack of speed at which the administration responded to this attempted attack has caused some people to question the administration’s commitment to national security as our number one priority. Many more people are questioning their commitment to real solutions to our national economic challenges. The news last week that employers had shed more jobs than expected in December, and that the unemployment rate once again reached 10 percent, should have evoked more from the president than a speech about green jobs.
The economy continues to downward spiral as the administration and Congress continue to try and wish us out of a recession with ineffective spending policies, and pass control-obsessed legislation that will only make matters worse. Businesses and workers don’t need green jobs that may materialize in ten years. They need jobs in existing businesses that are hanging on for survival today. They do not need more tax credits, they need real tax cuts.
The public becomes acutely aware of national security when there is an attempted attack on us, and worse yet, when one actually succeeds.
But when people are out of work, they face it every day while looking for a job. If a business owner sees bankruptcy just around the corner, he or she does not get much sleep at night. And if a family has reached the point of begging for food then another tax credit or green job will not put food on the table.
When I wrote my October 10, 2009 commentary titled How to End the Recession in Twelve Months, the unemployment rate was 9.8 percent. It is now 10 percent. The suggestions presented in that commentary have not changed.
To repeat myself and echo the opinions of millions of other people, we can’t spend our way to prosperity! In 12 months, the administration and Congress have spent trillions of dollars we do not have. Our national debt has topped a new historic level. And yet, the economic news continues to get worse.
There’s a story about a ship at sea that came upon what it thought was another ship during the night. The captain sent a message for the other ship to change course, or they would fire upon them. After repeated messages the “other ship” politely informed the bully ship that it was not a ship, but a lighthouse, and that it would be wise for them to change course.
Our economy is positioned for a prolonged recession. Real people are feeling real economic pain. We do not need another year or three years of “let’s give it more time”. We need a new economic plan from the administration and Congress.
I hope they see the lighthouse.
