Reading Ron Smith's column ("Bracing for the age of contraction" June 3), I was reminded of Jimmy Carter's "malaise" speech.
It seems to me that whenever economic times are hard, the American media does one of two things: If the party they oppose is in power, they fume and point fingers, pointing out policy blunders like the ones that plagued President Bush and President Obama; however, if "their" party is in power, the tone is subdued woe, and they lament the inevitable decline of America.
Those of us who try to stay objective in the matter fume and point fingers regardless of who's in power.
Snap out of it! The world isn't out of energy. The economy isn't about to go into some perpetual state of reduction. There's plenty of untilled land in America. There are homes to be built. Gizmos to be invented. Who knows, maybe John Galt's motor is being invented as we speak.
No, the problem isn't that we're staring at some inevitable abyss, it's that we've shot ourselves in the foot and are limping. Consider for a moment what our economy would look like if we didn't have to pay the interest on all that debt we've accrued. If we weren't spending all that money on three wars. If we weren't adding 20-30 percent to the cost of every building we put up by slapping all these FSC and LEED environmental fees on top of the raw costs. If we weren't paying for idiotic Cowboy Poetry Festivals and subsidizing things like NPR, which hardly anyone listens to. If we weren't shipping tubs of money overseas. If the people who are supposed to negotiate with public unions on our behalf weren't such gutless pushovers. This list can go on and on, and everyone knows it. We waste money. Waste it like it's a last dollop of toothpaste in the tube we just can't be bothered to squeeze out.
Stop with the "woe is us, we're doomed" already and get angry. Demand that our leaders get our fiscal house in order and prioritize government spending so as to spend as few dollars as possible without cutting off essential, let me repeat, essential services. If we're not paying for all that waste, then there will be more money in everyone's pocket, and we'll drive the economy to new heights again. Demand it from both parties. Don't ask, demand.
Fred Pasek, Frederick