Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Bob Stannard, a lobbyist and author.
The year 2011 is now behind us. What an amazing year. I suppose this could be said about every year fading away in our rear-view mirrors, but this one really was something.
In the spring of last year our president attempted to raise our debt ceiling so that our nation would not go into default. Other presidents before him had done this. His predecessor, George Bush, had raised the ceiling seven times. Ronald Reagan raised it 18 times without a lot of fanfare and/or acrimony.
Last year would prove to be different. Deficits, which former Vice President Dick Cheney told Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill “don’t matter,” suddenly became the only thing that mattered. Newly elected Tea Party members to Congress suggested that our nation would be better off defaulting than to raise our debt ceiling. The issue was used as a tool to cut funding for programs that help people.
It was another example of a self-induced crisis. If you cut your income and don’t reduce your spending you have a shortfall. If you maintain your income and your spending you’re fine. Congress reduced its revenue stream by allowing tax cuts for the richest people in the nation. These folks weren’t clamoring for a tax reduction; at least not publicly, but got one. Spending wasn’t reduced. If anything it increased. Under the Bush administration we created the Agency of Homeland Security, one of the largest bureaucracies ever created, in spite of the fact that we have a CIA and FBI. Apparently those two bureaucracies weren’t enough.
No one said a word about this until we elected a new Democratic president. On the way out the door, President Bush left the new president with the worst fiscal mess in our nation’s recent history; a mess that would nearly collapse the world’s economy. He also left the new president a stimulus plan design to fix the mess, sort of. It was a take it or leave deal and leaving it would have most likely resulted in the collapse of our banking system. Some say that would’ve been the right thing to do; others rightfully disagreed.
Since this debacle we have seen companies like MF Global, headed up by former Democratic New Jersey Gov. John Corzine, sail off the cliff. Among other things this corporation provided financing for large, Midwestern farmers, who presumably are in tough shape right now.
We watched, one after another, as Greece, Italy, Spain, France and others teetered on the brink of collapse. Were it not for implementing some very tough measures they may very well would have gone under and brought us down with them.
Toward the end of the year we were treated to a pre-Republican primary contest consisting of about the most bizarre set of candidates ever witnessed on stage. We saw Gov. Rick Perry fail to remember three key agencies he’d cut. We watched wild-eyed Michelle Bachmann shoot to the top of the pack, crash and burn. Herman Cain (remember him?) was the next hopeful only to be discovered to be a serial adulterer. Speaking of serial adulterers, we finally got to see Newt shed a tear, only to be topped by Mitt Romney steadfastly claiming that corporations truly are people, too. The bad news for the chronic flip-flopper Romney was his endorsement from none other than Tea Party candidate Christine O’Donnell. You may recall that she is the one who declared that she was not a witch. In her endorsement of Romney, she was asked about his flip-flopping on major issues. She replied, “He’s been consistent since he’s changed his mind.” Nice.
Throughout all of the crises, self-imposed and otherwise, the flailing stock markets, the failed corporations, the loony political campaigns and the out and out madness infecting the world at any given time, what have the rest of us been doing?
Trying to hang on. It’s what Vermonters have done for 250 years. The year 2011 was tougher for many than other years. To add to our overall difficulties of simply existing we got hit with the worst environmental disaster that anyone can remember. Irene really knocked us down. It tore away our roads and bridges. It wiped out our homes and personal belongings. It tried to knock down our spirit. It succeeded in the first two; failed miserably at the third.
How did Vermonters respond to this storm? They hung signs reading,“Thanks Irene” all over the state. If there was ever any doubt about Vermonters’ commitment to their neighbors and their state Irene cleared that up overnight.
The difference between Vermont and any other state is that we know how to do it. We know how to run cordial elections as well as we know how to fix our roads. We know how to fight and how to come together. Others around the world can learn a lot from this little state if they’d pay attention.
So as we say goodbye to 2011 it’s most interesting to note that after all was said and done the stock market was even for the year. Things may not have been so bad after all.
