Cartoon 757: Lie to me

A building with a poor foundation will not stand the test of time. America has entered the 21^st century with a crumbling foundation. There are those on the roof tops and who look out the high windows and shout how grand we are. In the basement it is another story. 

What is likely be the keys of success in the 21^st century? The answer is the same as that throughout history, land, labor and capital. Land translates to resources and infra-structure. For decades our political system at both the local and Federal levels have failed to maintain and effectively augment infra-structure. The roads, bridges, electric grid, sewage and water works are collapsing. It is difficult to get public funding for things out of sight or that serve a public good. The best that has been achieved is incremental funding to patch a dire situation.

We have effectively given up on public education in this country. The last to be funded is the education system. The first to lose funding is the education system. The quality of students being turned out at all levels is a travesty. The problem is something we will not address. Effective learning begins with a stable upbringing, good nutrition, home guidance and a universal culture that venerates education. These are things largely outside the purview of the education system. We are skewing to a disparity of better educated and employable females. It seems impossible now to believe, but females could assume the dominate gender role in our society. The ovation will be fully opening up the combat roles and responsibilities of the military.

We delude ourselves as to where we stand today in the world. Communication technology looks like it will be the delineator of this century. Yet even though America creates revolutionary technology, it lacks the wherewithal to maximize it. Broadband is a prime example. American broadband speeds are so slow they can nor reach the minimum international standards. The reason is the American industry incumbents have no need to keep up when they have a lock on the market. Also, they have diversified to the point where faster speeds is not really in their best interests. Hollywood, the record industry and spy agencies absolutely do not want faster speeds.

The Economist Magazine pointed out that American cell phone companies are advertising 4G networks. But it is purely marketing. The networks cannot meet the speed and performance standards viewed as 4G. 

The next time you are driving along, look at the overpasses. You will see they are crumbling. The steel bridge works appear to need protective paints reapplied. The roads are full of holes and quick patches. This is even true for stretches of the interstate.

The electric grid is a ticking time bomb. It is only a matter of time before electricity is not available in America around the clock. Brown and black out will become routine. Add to all this the graviatating of all the wealth in society to the top 1% and real wages no longer stagnating but falling. A middle class economic America is now an evaporating myth.

Take your own inventory of “public” nation sustaining and bolstering things. The list of foundation crumblings is monumental. Politicians are proposing even less sustaining economic activity in the name of auserity. You can not save your way out of the third world. Every emerging economy does so through “public” investment. Lies about our true state are merely comforting - for now.