Today's little tidbit of wisdom. I'm watching Bulls & Bears on Fox News, and Jonas Max Ferris was asked about the debate of slashing public service jobs - like teachers, police, fire fighters. To people in South Carolina, the argument seems ridiculous, becuase teachers and cops are woefully underpaid, and property taxes are low. Up here in Yankeeville, cops get 100k after five years, and teachers are right there with them, along with benefits that would make you puke.
But, to other areas this is a real, real problem. So, back to my point. Ferris was asked is now a good time to lay off teachers and cops, or is there a better time? Ferris answered that four years ago, or four years from now would be a better time. Conservatives on the panel groaned, but Ferris was right, and he made his reasons: the actual cost to government and in turn, the taxpayers...
Here was his point. The best time to drop public service jobs is when the private sector is in the position to absorb them. Drop them when times are good, not when they're bad. Why? If you fire people when there are no jobs, they become unemployed longer, and the costs to people are greater. Fire some when corporations and other municipalities can pick them up, and a much lesser cost. It's simple, and it's true... In one word, Ferris showed a trait that does not exist in DC, Columbia, and most local governments: Vision.
We live in a time where every program is life or death, when every penny of spending is sacred. It takes vision to see what is coming before it comes, and guts to actually do it, and take the criticism today - all in the knowledge that you eventually will get the quiet credit in the end. If our leaders had Vision - and Guts - we would not have looming problems like Social Security, Medicare, Interest Debt and budgetary problems on out plate. DC is asleep at the wheel when it comes to Vision, and they only slam on the brakes at the last second - to find the pedal has been disconnected.
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