Goal-Line Economics

Dr. Errington Thompson

At this time of year, I like to use football analogies, like this one about Leon Lett, a very talented defensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys during the early- and mid-1990s. Playing in the Super Bowl, Lett picked up a fumble and ran towards a certain touchdown. Approximately five yards before he reached the goal line, he began to celebrate. Suddenly Don Beebe of the Buffalo Bills came out of nowhere and knocked the ball out of Lett’s hand. So much for that touchdown!

There are a couple of ways to look at this story. From Don Beebe’s perspective, the Buffalo Bills were losing, and losing badly: they were about to lose their third Super Bowl in a row. Beebe could’ve easily given up; instead, he has become a part of football legend because of his grit and determination – he prevented a touchdown by the opposing team. From Lett’s perspective, on the other hand, he was about to make an easy touchdown, and he jumped the gun in celebrating. Now he’s remembered for being a great player who made a boneheaded play.

As both presidential campaigns sprinted towards finish line, we must
remember that the world didn’t stop on November 4. And fortunately,
nobody celebrated before the results were in. But now we have to
remember: All the problems that existed that day will still be with us
beyond November 5. For almost two years, Barack Obama has asked us to
be an active participant in his campaign. Now that we know who the
winners are (nationally and at the state and local levels), we should
not stop being activists.

For more than 30 years, the American public has been a
spectator. We have been either cheering or booing our politicians. It
is time for us to help our candidate carry the ball over the goal line.
Our goal must be more than just winning a presidential race, but to use
that victory to make a better America.

It is my opinion that “we the American people” need to accomplish five things in order to save our republic:

First, we need to create jobs.  Many of these jobs should come
from the creation of a clean energy industry. Without good jobs, we are
not going to get out of this economic recession.

Second, we need to revamp our tax structure. We need to reward
businesses that hire and pay a fair wage. A century ago Henry Ford knew
that only workers who earn a decent living can afford to buy the
products they make; that’s why he paid his employees a living wage. We
need to do the same today.

Thirdly, we need to extricate ourselves from Iraq in an orderly
fashion. Some troops will need to be redeployed to Afghanistan. We need
to provide Afghanistan with an infrastructure so that the central
government can be effective.

Fourth, we truly need to invest in education. We need to do more
than just throw money at the problem. We need to rebuild our crumbling
schools, which means more jobs. We need to create a system where the
best and the brightest want to go into our public school system and
teach our children, and where every student has a chance not just to
pass a test but to learn – not just memorize facts, but to think
intelligently and logically and creatively. Curiosity might kill cats,
but it’s the wellspring of knowledge, and a love of knowledge is one of
the foundations of a great nation.

Last, but not least, we need to seriously look at health care.
Doctors, nurses, patients, hospital administrators – almost no one is
happy with the way our healthcare system is running. The system needs
to be friendlier to everyone. Is excellent health care a right in this
country? We need to have this discussion. The American people, not just
our politicians, must be involved in this discussion. Whatever solution
we come up with, we’ll all have to live with.
If we are able to accomplish these five things relatively quickly we
can save our wonderful country. Through letters and e-mails, phone
calls and faxes, we must continue to be engaged with our politicians.
We must demand town hall meetings where we see our politicians
face-to-face. We need to remind them constantly that they work for us.
They should carry out our wishes and our desires. Right now, we want
change!