A New Year or Encore? Across the United State, we are seeing an increase of political rhetoric in a presidential campaign that benefits a limited few on candidates' payrolls. The media and advertising sectors are scooping up contributions and absorbing them for a limited few.

There is also an emerging economic challenge for which government, Federal and local, must work with the private sector, which, after all, produces the income needed to fund government services. We need less bureaucracy of red tape.

Across Maryland we see a one-party political wall failing to respond to fears about increasing numbers of doctors leaving Maryland in a lawsuit abuse environment, and "special session" taxes being slid under the door of small computer service businesses critically needed to grow. Technology is becoming the replacement for Maryland's historic smokestack industrial base. The State House in Annapolis seems to be the last to "get the word"!

POLITICAL RHETORIC

At this front end of uncertainty, what is on the near and far horizons?

First, let's look at the political noise emerging from presidential candidates of both parties. Recently, I heard a long respected executive‘s observation that now may be the time to shift the priority from charges to performance. He suggests the viability of a Michael Bloomberg candidacyand the growing independent voter sentiment. Bloomberg is now the subject of a petition drive to draft him for a presidential bid. This comes in a year when increasing numbers of voters indicate anger with both parties in Washington, and at the lack of discipline by both Democratsand Republicans to control spending.

Bloomberg has the track record to cut through the promises of dramatic change to delivery of change. This delivery consists of experience in bringing discipline to America's most complex and largest city government, as well as managing a growing nationalcommunications business in a highly competitive environment. Combined with an independence from campaign contributors' pressures, it is the work product and the results that count if this type of government leader can bring it to cross party lines and GET THE WORK DONE.

Think about this Bloomberg observation in his recent "State of the City" address: "Keeping New York City and America at the front of the pack begins with openness to new energy ... meaning innovation. That's how I built a business and worked to bring to a city government that was insular and provincial and married to the conventional." Perhaps combined with the personal integrity of McCain and the idealism of Obama, the rhetoric can be narrowed down to real results.

And speaking of failure to move to real results, Bill Clinton has demeaned the responsibility of a former President by daily "charge-counter charge" rhetoric thatdoes nothing constructive and feeds the appetites of the "campaign hype" types, those handlers and advertising moguls who make more money the longer a campaign runs.

ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

In terms of direct results from action by a government agency, the Federal Reserve provides reality not rhetoric. The timing of action on interest rates by the Fed may be needed, near term, to stem the growing number of problems caused by the loss of home ownership in the subprime mortgage arena. But, the balance between Congressional calls for further tax cuts and stimulus packages is a delicate one that does not lend itself to promises and rhetoric. Chairman Bernankehas indicated that a 50 to 150 billion stimulus package seems reasonable with funds going to low and moderate income people. This will likely result in more economic recovery than if it only benefited people with high incomes. This means a separation of long term economic policy from short term stimuli, with a careful balance between the two.

The real factor in the longer term must be a discipline inspendingand the avoidance of hidden taxes. The alternative minimum tax and the complexity of deductions only slide under the door, giving primary benefit to tax accountants in their invoices to clients for whom our tax system has added a level of complexity to maintaining a fiscal discipline at the personal level.

The jury is still out on this quiet but increasingly serious impact on American taxpayers and moderate to lower income citizens. We need to stay tuned and avoid further encores of political rhetoric in the coming weeks of the campaign. Even more important, we need to heed action ratherthan promises.

Let 2008 be a real new year for less political rhetoric and more direct work on behalf of the economy. We need a sensible solution for restoring a strong and stable economy, not weakened by the hot air of political promises. We need a solution that is not weakened by the loss of essential doctors and health care providers or the departure of growing technology business in Maryland.

Labels: Bloomberg, Maryland, O'Malley

  10:53 AM •  0 Comments •

FOR OUR COUNTRY: FOR OUR STATE: HAD ENOUGH? FOR OUR COUNTRY: HAD ENOUGH? VOTE INDEPENDANT!FOR OUR STATE : HAD ENOUGH? KEEP POLITICS OUT OF EDUCATION!

First , OUR COUNTRY

As the sun rises on the first cold day of 2008, a welcome to the new year is in order. Remember the days when Presidential campaigns were reasonable in length and not tied to campaign contributions that travel quickly ---

into the pockets of wheeler - dealer political "handlers" of the Karl Rove and the James Carville variety;
into the advertising cash registers of rhetoric-driven television commercials and advertising agencies;
into the relentless candidate sound bites, in Iowa & New Hampshire, out of the mouths of Hillary, Huckabee to all the others that promise a "new dawn" even more exciting than the Times Square image of the new year's arrival.

But, on the last day of last year -- December 31, 2007 -- an independent group of "centrists" / solution seekers have called for forming a "government of national unity"!

Surprise? the answer is "maybe", until the American voter notes who is sounding a trumpet call. As reported by respected Washington Post analyst David Broder, some past and current respected national leaders are calling for change. Look at a sampling of those sounding the alarm, in the spirit of Paul Revere, "Watch out! the partisan politicians are coming! "

Jack Danforth, former Missouri Senator and Episcopal minister who says that politics should not dominate one's faith;
Sam Nunn, former Georgia Senator whose leadership of the Senate Armed Services / Intelligence committees reached out for workable solutions to serious international problems;
Christie Todd Whitman, former New Jersey Governor and EPA Administrator, who saw the need for attention to the "Inconvenient Truth" of global warming being factored into environmental regulations;
Charles Robb, former Va. Senator , who has lent his experience to post-911 bipartisan commission work, based on crossing the line of Democratic -- Republican divide;
William Cohen, former Maine Senator and , as a Republican, served as Secy. of Defense during the Clinton Administration;
Charles Hagel, current Oklahoma Senator and Vietnam veteran, who has expressed concern with rigidity of both the Democratic and Republican party machinery during the current national and international issues, some of which have little past precedant. As 2 examples: globalization of trade and economic issues, the contrast of terrorism that cannot be easily anticipated by traditional military forces that won the 20th century's 2 world wars.

One of this growing group is Susan Eisenhower, personal friend with whom I have had the opportunity to work,as a Board member, of the Eisenhower Institute: a public policy center in Washington, that has takes a leadership role in practical steps towards more cooperation with Russia during the post-Soviet/Stalin era. During his private sector interlude, I worked directly with Chuck Hagel on a election /voting machine reform project that, several years later was proven to be valid during the "chads blizzard" in recent elections. I saw and admired Bill Brock, former Senator from Tennessee, when he -- after moving to Maryland -- worked to bring a broader base to this State's Republican party, then reduced to a narrow minority by the "boss-driven" control of the majority opposition.

What are these people and a growing number of others calling for? Answer and no surprise: Election of a respected leader not embedded to the consultants and the draw-down of millions of dollars being diverted from civic , education causes to which voters might contribute in preference to the online suction of money into campaign advertising and "fix it", overpaid political handlers.

The action line of this new "get the work done", moderate coalition , is to seek an "independent" candidate sufficiently tested in the battlefield of private sector and government management.
The person with whom this group is meeting in less than a week: Michael Bloomberg : no -nonsense Mayor of New York; preceded by private sector business leadership in the communications field and, in Baltimore -- support of higher education as Chair of the Johns Hopkins Board of Trustees and force for funding, by personal example, with the Hopkins School of Public Health and other similar initiatives.

Where will a growing desire for American government, less dominated by partisan bickering , be seen once again? -- in the spirit of once isolationist Republican Senator Arthur Vandenberg crossing the aisle to support the United Nations and the Marshall Plan for European recovery.

We do not know the answer to that question -- perhaps, in the maze of the impending Iowa and New Hampshire voting, a shadow of concern about the manipulated, partisan politics of today will be cast over the voter landscape!

ANOTHER PARTISAN INTRUSION: IN MARYLAND AND PUBLIC EDUCATION

Partisan manipulation is not confined to the national scene; we are seeing a threat Maryland's higher education system, managed professionally by a respected former public school teacher and State Superintendent under 1 Republican and 2 Democratic Governors, now at risk: Dr. Nancy Grasmick does not and has never functioned as an advocate for politics in schools -- whether by the teachers union or by outside forces not focused on the improvement of opportunity for creative learning by students -- particularly in impoverished parts of Baltimore.

Recently, as a volunteer trustee of a privately funded social services community needs organization (Episcopal Community Services of Md.), I had the opportunity to work with Nancy Grasmick in assessing the potential of pre-school help to kids being successfully implemented in ECSM's program to assist kids from broken family and home environments. A half day with Dr. Grasmick and her team, was in a word: inspirational, as she listened to staff and volunteers describe how they worked with little kids to enable them to reach higher, even at the pre-school age. What Nancy is now examining is the application of what the ARK does to what can help strengthen the start of kids in the public schools of Maryland.

How can anything go wrong with nonpartisan and professional leadership of public education?

An unnecessary and wasteful battle appears to be emerging for Maryland public education, as competent leadership is beginning to be the unnecessary victim of politics in the management of our State's public schools.Behind the obvious reasons to continue the service of respected professional Nancy Grasmick is emerging the wrong issue: a the willingness of the Governor and others to reverse the nonpolitical help proposed by Ms. Grasmick to provide a properly funded / improved management over the most troubled Baltimore City schools.

Along with discriminatory taxes on small business, there appears on the Annapolis horizon, a cloud similar to partisan national politics where "crossing the aisle" to work with those of different views, seemsto becoming the norm. THE ANSWER ? WATCH FOR THE NEW YEAR TO UNFOLD!

Stay tuned, citybizlist readers! I will report back to you as we move from New Year's day to the first weeks of January-- as more will be learned about the need to VOTE INDEPENDANT for the future of America-- as more will be learned about the O'Malley -Mike Miller - Michael Busch axis to inject partisan politics into Maryland public education.

In hopes for a sensible and more nonpartisan 2008 , your correspondant -- George Wills

Labels: education, Grasmick, Maryland politics

  6:22 PM •  0 Comments •