From the Eye of the Storm

Time to Kick the Elephants and Donkeys to the Curb?

What did America need most, a stimulus package geared to assist the people of this country who are feeling the strain of an economy in crisis or a stimulant plan for the 535 politicians that make up the 111^th US Congress? This was my dilemma earlier this year as I watched the President urge our representatives to take immediate action and pass a stimulus package.

As I listened to our politicians explain why no action has been taken, I became somewhat emotional. (Somewhat uncharacteristic of me, as I am generally open and unattached to outcome). During my emotional state, I was overwhelmed with a thought: The people that have our future in their hands need a stimulant plan. Clearly, these representatives do not have the sense of urgency that would be demonstrated by people that understand the feelings or situations that Americans are experiencing. Why this elected body ‘doesn’t get it’ is also the subject of another article. For now, I’ll just say that if my current lifestyle, health benefits and retirement plan were predictable, i.e., my future were somewhat known, then I might have a different perspective on today’s economic situation. Please refer to this link Salaries and Benefits of U.S. Congress Members. After reading, then like me, maybe you will better understand the state of indecision that this collective creates time and time again.

What the 111^th Congress doesn’t seem to understand is that Americans are looking for action, not next week, month or year, but now! By the President’s own admission, no plan is perfect and probably won’t be. There will be more to resolve in the future and our leaders all are paid to make decisions and solve problems for us. What we really need, is the confidence that comes with knowing that our entrusted officials understand our situation and will act on OUR behalf, just like they did with the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). On September 19, 2008, US Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson presented TARP as a comprehensive plan to help mitigate the subprime mortgage crisis. On October 3, 2008 the House of Representatives passed a $700 billion bill or TARP by a vote of 263-171. The Bill was converted into a Law, exactly 2-weeks after it was first proposed by Paulson. To my understanding, not one dime of this money reached any of the people who are in crisis because they own a subprime mortgage. There has been debate about whether passing TARP made any difference in the stability of our financial system and personally, I do not know. My instinct says no, but that’s irrelevant now. The point is that the 110^th Congress took an action to build confidence in our financial system, by allotting $700 billion to be invested with the primary culprits of our current economic crisis. This is important, because it was an attempt to avoid massive panic and from that perspective, it had to be done. The only thing worse than a crisis, is panic during a crisis.

As I continued to listen to the commentary about a stimulus package, I developed my own stimulant plan that I would invite all eligible Americans to participant in. It goes something like this:

• If you are one of the 130 Million registered Democrats or Republicans in this country, make an appointment to change your party status to ‘Independent’. What will this do? It’s the starting point for reclaiming the power that has been blindly given to our politicians. There’s no message stronger than ‘I’m not playing your game anymore’, which is the message our current representatives will start to get if there is a mass exodus from the Democrat and Republican parties. You see, part of the reason that very little gets done on behalf of the American people is because this collective likes to play the game of Democrats vs. Republicans when we need them to be playing “US Representatives representing the interests of the American people”. I say we start playing poker with the people who regularly play political roulette with our lives. In poker, you never show your hand before you have to. Without a party affiliation, you start to send the message, we’re playing poker now and I’m not showing you my hand. In the end, you can still vote the way you want.

• Start paying attention to all politicians with objective ears. You’ll start to notice that about 10% of the Democrats and 10% of the Republicans appear to be working on our behalf. The others are probably playing roulette. Make note of these. You want all of them to know that the game is now poker.

• Do an assessment, developing your own method of quantifying your quality of life. Do this same assessment in October of 2010. If your quality of life has not improved, then in November 2010, vote against all incumbent senators and congresspersons representing you. Have you noticed that our representatives are leaders that are maintain their job for underperforming? They keep their positions by trashing the other person and telling us what they intend to do, not what they have done. As Janet Jackson so eloquently stated, What Have You Done for Me Lately? One week after the Super bowl was played, 11 of the 32 NFL teams already had new coaches in place for the 2009 season. CEO’s are regularly fired (if they don’t decide to leave first) for not delivering shareholders their expected returns or in today’s world, for ruining an company. According to Fortune magazine 1,484 CEOs made an exit in 2008 and I expect 2009 to be similar. You and I don’t expect to maintain employment if we don’t meet expectations. As a matter of fact, meeting or exceeding expectations is no guarantee for maintaining employment but we still give it our best. How can any of us be properly “represented” by anyone who spends most of his or her time differently than all of us? An occasional walk in our shoes might be required.

It is time to hold our representatives to same standards that we all live by. For example, imagine if a temporary party called the ‘No Health Insurance Party’ was created. If we could get the eligible voters from the 46 million Americans who are living without health insurance to follow my stimulant plan, my guess is that we would start to see significant change in 5 years (2014). When it’s time to vote the measurement is simple. If the health insurance exposure has been resolved or tremendous progress made, then vote the incumbents in to continue the progress. If not, vote the incumbents out and let them experience what living without health insurance is like while another group gets a chance to show how it is done. Every two years, we have a chance to make decisions based strictly on performance, not pipe dreams. A similar party called the ‘I Have No Job’ party could be formed also.

If we are honest, we, the American voter, are just as responsible for our current situation for not holding our leaders to a higher standard. We have the power to hold our representatives to the same standards that football owners have for coaches and shareholders have for CEOs. The key is that we have to do it together. Have you ever thought about the possibility that you have more in common with the person who has a McCain-Palin sign in their front yard and the driver with and Obama-Biden sticker on their car than the people who represent you in Washington? If you are struggling, more than likely, there are many others in similar situations. We allow bipartisan politics to blind us and the political roulette game continues. What might our government look like if the average time of service for representatives was 4 years (need 5 to receive benefits at retirement) instead of the 9 that it currently is? I believe that there’s nothing like living in my world a bit if you want to truly represent me. Most of us don’t get in a lifetime what this crew gets after 5 years of  (cough, cough) service.

How serious am I about this? Very. In 1997, I was working in a Sr. Management position of a Fortune 500 company. While conferring with some colleagues about the overall management of the company, I was asked, if you were CEO for one day, what would you do? I responded something like this:

• I would put every Sr. Manager/Executive’s name into a random lottery system that would pick 50% of the total. Of course, since I’m only CEO for a day, my name would go into the lottery also. The 50% picked would be release from their duties. They would be offered generous separation packages and thanked sincerely for their service.

• I would make it clear that the decision was strictly a business move that puts the company in the best situation for future success and sustainability. I believed in this action so deeply that my Sr. Manager job would also be at risk, just like the others.

• Lastly, I would meet with the 50% that were remaining and tell them that the only reason that they are still employed is sheer luck, nothing more. They would be told that from this point on, their job was to lead and make decisions according the purpose, values and vision of the company. By doing this, they would be putting the interest of all above their personal agendas. I would put oversights in place to manage this expectation accordingly and enforce our agreements as required.

This may sound a bit drastic, but the dysfunction that existed in management was beyond repair, similar to US Congress. The only way to a better world was to remove the cancer that had infiltrated the leadership and influenced decisions. I never got the opportunity to be CEO for a day and in 2002, I resigned my position. The cancer was out of control. In January of 2009, this 100-year old company filed for bankruptcy. Need I say more.