Dreamers and Doers

 

 

 

"Words, words, words, I'm so sick of words!"

 

I am glad the New Year is starting off right by remaking one of my favorite movies. It is a movie starring Ben Stiller (who I really like) and is based on the 1939 short story by James Thurber. The movie is The Secret Life of Walter Middy. I know that many folks my age read it when they were in high school. Reading that story started me thinking about the difference between people that dream and people that do.

 

Not much has changed since 1939 when the story was first published. The world is still full of hot air spewed by people who have much more rhetoric than reality. People that talk a good story yet do very little. People in politics who will promise the masses a chicken in every pot and only deliver entropy instead. Yes, we have a surplus of talkers and a deficit of people who like to do.

 

The first major battle on the Hill this year will be over the extension (once again) of unemployment benefits. This issue is dripping with rhetoric from all sides. So what is the truth? Has our economy changed so much under this economic malaise that we need permanent 99 week (or longer) unemployment benefits? The Administration has been beating their chests that the "Bush Great Recession" is finally over. GDP is up, stock market is up, and unemployment is down.

 

Message to the talkers - we can't have it both ways. Admit the economy is still lethargic, the U3 unemployment numbers don't mean squat, and then we will have some room to talk about unemployment insurance. And by the way, blaming economic inequality is not going to cut it either. This is your economy Mr. President. If it is unbalanced, just look in the mirror.

 

The real "doers" of our land are the job creators. You don't hear them talk much - they are too busy growing their business and creating jobs. One of the General Managers I worked for told me this on my first day - "I need you only because I can't do everything myself. As our business has grown, I need more people to make it work." Bingo. I was not hired out of the milk of human kindness - I was hired because the company had a need for someone with my talents. As long as the company gained from me being there, I could stay employed. When the company stopped gaining from me being there, my job was in jeopardy.

 

So to all our fine civil servants, especially those who work on the Potomac, please, enough jargon. Roll up your sleeves to remove barriers to allow this great economic engine to roar even louder. Less talk, more action. We sure don't need more hot air coming from the hundreds of Walter Middy "wannabes" who live in Washington.