POLITICS AND THE ECONOMIC TURNDOWN

We are all talking about the economic downturn these days. It’s on everyone’s mind and affecting just about everyone on this planet. And what’s behind it? What are the key factors that has caused or contributed to it?

Last week I wrote about one factor, the culture of consumerism and the wild and crazy idea of a world without consumerism. I don’t know if it is the key factor, but it is one factor. And until we base the purpose of our existence on something other than consuming, the economics of up- and-down will continue to cycle as it has for decades. We will define success and the purpose of life as getting more and more stuff and there will be periods of over-valuing with periods where the markets readjust. As long as consuming more and more is the way we evaluate “the good life,” “winning,” “feeling successful,” “being a somebody,” etc. the economics of consumerism will be driving things.

Behind individual consumerism are yet other factors: businesses and governments are organized to promote more and more consumerism. This current political policy in both business and government sets up as the way these systems operate. So not only do individuals want more and more and more, so do groups (corporations and governments) so that the goal at all levels is always more. And because this is the game of life on Planet Earth, we operate within the politics of scarcity, polemics, self-interest, dis-information, mis-communication, demonizing opponents, etc. And all of that prevents us from having real conversations, true collaborations, honest confrontations, and the ability to changes these things.

In other words we as the human race are still operating at the lowest levels of the Hierarchy of Needs—in the animal needs, in “the Jungle” as Maslow called it. And what are the frames by implication from that? There’s not enough so we have to compete against each other as opponents, as enemies. That then undermines trust, respect, cooperation, and all of the other things that makes for a healthy human community. Then, seeing each other through the eyes of competition of opponents, we aren’t open or forthright; we keep secrets, hide information, put out false information to disorient, and so it goes.

I wish I could say that this does not occur in my country, but it does. And in fact, we are among the leaders in this! And as I watch how Washington is trying to solve the current downturn, I find it very disappointing. While I had hoped more for our new president, it seems that in Washington, it is “politics as usual.”

The first thing the Bush government decided to do and then the Obama government continued is

the “stimulus package,” first 700 billion, then 816 billion. Three weeks ago, the 816 billion dollar stimulus bill was quickly written and then rushed through the senate and house of representatives. When I say rushed, it was rushed through in hours. Not weeks, not days, but hours. And why? The thousand-page bill was delivered in the evening and the Obama administration only gave the legislators a few hours to read it and know what they were voting on! Give me a break. What was that all about?

Obama had promised to go through bills line-by-line to make sure that there would not be pork and wasteful spending. But no. It was rushed through in just a few hours. Then it sat on his desk for 3 days before signing. Hours to read and vote on—which means no one knew what they were voting on which we’re now discovering. This is not the way to bring change to Washington and not the way to solve problems. If you and I made decisions for life choices and spending like that, we would be considered crazy and out of our minds. And I bet that none of those politicians handle their own finances that way!

Last week Obama signed a spending bill with nearly 9,000 earmarks of special interests in it. And that’s costing taxpayers, 9 billion dollars! This is not good. And he did that in spite of all of his campaign promises that he would not do that. This is not the “change that we can believe in,” but the same old politics that has been ruining things in the first place. And it’s the same old vested interests that’s driving this.

Two things make this even worse. One, when confronted about saying one thing and doing another on this, Obama gave his “reasons” why he had to. I say “even worse” because in my book this reveals the lack of courage to stand by one’s convictions. It was easy to say one thing when out with one’s crowds and supporters, it is much harder to follow-through in the challenge of the day. Second, even worse, both Republicans and Democrats put those vested interests of earmarks into the bill! Can they not help themselves? Can they not think of the larger good?

Then last week there was the 165 million stimulus plan dollars distributed as bonus pay to the top executives of AIG. They took the “bail out” money to prevent bankruptcy and gave it to themselves as million-dollar bonuses. Here’s corporate leaders at their worst. People losing jobs and homes, and the fat cats at the top behaving as if they have some divine right to fatten their purses while their leadership created the problems!

All of this shouts that we need new frames of mind and meanings, new politics, and new leaders. Current politicians and corporate executives act as if their election or placement means they are special, god-like, un-accountable to anyone, and can splurge to their hearts content. What ever happened to the servant leader who considered public service or leadership as a special honor for serving people? Until we move beyond the lower levels, until we stop the semantic overloading of the lower needs, until we move into the self-actualization needs of our higher nature, until we unleash our potentials for the human level, we won’t have self-actualizing leaders, companies, and politicians. That’s what we need— leaders who operate way above self-interest, scarcity, and competition. Now is the time for a new vision.