Fairytale Logic & Weapons Of Mass Deflation

My father, the wisest man I have ever known, has always told me that “two wrongs don’t make a right”. These insightful words instilled in me, at an early age, a sense of personal responsibility and a general antipathy toward blaming others for the consequences of actions that I control. These are attributes that have served me well throughout my life, as individual accountability is imperative to the building of human character, a prerequisite of, and a steppingstone to, the fulfillment of the American Dream.

That China has made a practice of tying its currency to that of the American dollar is no secret to the world. That the Obama Administration blames this deflation of the Chinese Yuan for America’s economic weakness is slightly more surprising. That the President’s reaction to what he perceives as a snub is to weaken his nation’s dollar is remarkable in its lack of judgment and speaks volumes of the man who initiated it. This “eye for an eye” approach toward global economic diplomacy indicates a lack of principled leadership and an ignorance of the laws of capitalism.

The practice known as “quantitative easing”, in which the Federal Reserve has begun to inject $600 billion of newly printed money into the American economy, is justified by fairytale logic, i.e., that stealing demand from the rest of the world can mask the effects of domestic policy failures. The inevitable result of this type of loose fiscal planning, however, is a lessening of American buying power which, in turn, will necessitate a rise in commodity prices, an increase in unemployment and negative economic growth.

At the recent G-20 meeting in Seoul, South Korea, President Obama, by answering a wrong with a wrong, brought about the most complete and thorough rebuff of a sitting American President at a global economic summit to date. Mr. Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner insisted throughout this summit that they were not to blame for America’s domestic woes, painting the United States as a victim of international bullying, mercilessly perpetrated by economic browbeaters such as China, Germany and Brazil, all of whom are using highhanded export and exchange rate policies as weapons of mass deflation. In an attempt to explain his lack of success concerning his primary goals of cutting trade-surpluses and pressuring China into increasing the value of its Yuan, President Obama stated the following: “Part of the reason the United States is attracting dissent is we’re initiating the ideas.” This predilection for blaming its failings on the passions and the prejudices of others has become a trademark reaction of the Obama Administration when faced with scrutiny or dissent. America’s traditional allies, however, appear to be losing patience with the President’s “blame-game” approach. To wit, French President Nicolas Sarkozy - “Clearly the approach of throwing blame at each other doesn’t work.” and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble - “It doesn’t add up when the Americans accuse the Chinese of currency manipulation and then, with the help of their central bank’s printing presses, artificially lower the value of the dollar.” In other words, two wrongs don’t make a right.

In order for America to effectively maintain its traditional role as leader of the world’s economy, President Obama must rise to the task at hand. Shirking responsibility and blaming others, as the President is predisposed to do, is not the mark of a leader; passing the buck is a luxury reserved solely for those who follow. In lieu of stooping to the level of China, now is the time for America to rise above and strengthen the value of its currency. This can be accomplished through responsible spending and growth, reforming what is broken in our current system, and fostering the innate ingenuity and individual drive that, traditionally, are the hallmarks of America. These are the actions of a veritable leader, confident in his moral standing and proud of the nation he represents. Clearly, the American people have come to expect this brand of leadership from their presidents. Alas, just as my father has taught me that two wrongs cannot make a right, as the midterm elections have recently shown, nor can they make a left.

Governor Huckabee & The Second Kick Of A Mule

At the November 5th meeting of the RJC (Republican Jewish Coalition), in New York City, I had the privilege of speaking with former presidential candidate and television talk-show host, Governor Mike Huckabee. Although a supporter of the Governor prior to this event, my respect and admiration for the man increased exponentially as I sat at a table and conversed with him. What I immediately realized as our discussion progressed was that Governor Huckabee possesses a quality that has become exceedingly rare amongst America’s national leadership - that of character. Character is the most elusive and the least expendable attribute of an effective American leader. Character symbolizes all that is great in our nation and represents the defining aspect of the politicians we most revere, e.g., George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan. It was an impalpable sense of character emanating from these leaders that gave the American people a veritable sense of hope and security amid perilous and trying times, believing as they did, that their national leadership understood their hardships and sufferings and was dedicated to their safety and happiness, irrespective of party factions. It is this high sense of character that is presently missing from America’s national leadership.

While I do not adhere to the theory that the Obama Administration has purposefully weakened America’s global standing and hindered its economic growth, this supposition represents a growing fear among the American electorate. This pervasive distrust of the President is not the result of Tea Party ignorance or endemic simplicity as many on the far-left have claimed; rather it is the natural byproduct of a growing impression that the leader of our nation has reneged on a sacred oath, that his steadfast idealism at times supersedes his erratic dedication to the Constitution, and that he is willing to sacrifice the public-good if its interests run contrary to his agenda.

Perhaps Governor Huckabee summed it up best when he explained to the RJC what he believed to be the essential dilemma concerning our present leadership – a fundamental disconnect between the American people and the leaders they have elected to govern them. President Obama has chosen a path of detachment, cloaking himself in the theories of academia, evading the harsh realities of everyday Americans struggling to pay their bills, forfeiting their earnings to the government and surrendering their independence to the state. This would explain why the grand majority of the President’s inner-circle hails from the public sector, never having managed so much as a lemonade stand, let alone a business or enterprise. A cold aloofness to the public fray allows the Administration to shelter itself from the extraordinary times that we live in and the ordinary people they affect.

Governor Huckabee viewed the results of the midterm elections as a sign of American resilience. A multitude of people with roots in the private sector will soon be entering office. These are people who have proven their character and their ability to lead prior to their lives in politics. Their election represents a shift in the electorate, indicative of a newfound respect for individual drive and a reverence for the American dream.

The isolated world of academia, while providing a service to society, has not and cannot produce the leadership necessary to perpetuate American exceptionalism. By nature, theoretical utopianism and societal idealism do not represent reality. Shrouding oneself in political romanticism and denying oneself the truth is not the mark of a leader. While these theories may find a home in classroom debates, they do not belong in, and in fact prove caustic to, the workings of practical government.

I believe, as does Mr. Huckabee, that President Obama means no harm to America, that his heart is in the right place. It is merely his character, or lack thereof, that precludes the nation’s advancement. For the sake of the country, it is my fervent hope that the Obama Administration takes heed of the message that was recently sent by an increasingly frustrated electorate and musters the fortitude to reinvent itself, face reality and connect with the American people. This course of action would prove beneficial to the interests of the President, as well. Alas, there is an old southern saying that still finds voice in Mike Huckabee’s home state of Arkansas: There is no education in the second kick of a mule.