There was a famous comedian known for the following scene. The curtain goes up and there is total darkness except for a little circle of light thrown by a small street lamp. The comic is looking very serious as he walks around looking at the circle of light when a policeman walks by and asks him what he is looking for.
“The key to my house,” replies our hero. So, the officer joins him and they find nothing. Frustrated he asks, “Are you sure you lost it here?” “No,” is the reply and he points to a dark corner of the stage. “Over there.” “Then why in heaven’s name are you looking for it here?” “There is no light over there,” is the reply.
This was a profound skit that relates to many things that each of us do. Namely, we take the easy way out. Deep down inside we may know we should be doing things differently but it would take so much effort to actually do something helpful.
Most of us have belonged to an organization or two in which there are the same few people complaining about and insulting the character of the group’s elected officials no matter what comes up. Yet when there is an opportunity to run for a position on the elected governing group, they are nowhere to be found.
On a national level we see this. The war on drugs which we have been waging as a federal priority for 50 years is clearly a failure. The illegal drug business and culture is bigger than ever in spite of massive expenditures and efforts.
So, what do we do? We keep expanding the program and approach that hasn’t worked since it is easier to keep doing that than to devise a meaningful alternative.
After 55 years of the war on poverty and trillions of dollars in spending, poverty levels for many of the groups affected are higher than when we started all those years ago. So, what do we do? We keep throwing more money into failed programs. It’s the easiest thing to do. We do not have to think and, God forbid, admit that maybe we have been going about this all wrong.
For 75 years, we have maintained a massive military around the world. Again, trillions have been spent by us to “protect” darn near everybody. Many of those that we are protecting can afford to protect themselves — e.g., European countries, South Korea, et al — but are nice enough to let us foot most of the bill. And we in turn continue to spend more and more to do so rather than reevaluate our approach.
Many of the major cities of the U.S. have many substantial problems. The interesting thing is that most have been run by the same political machines over the last 50 to 60 years. So, what do we do? We keep reelecting those failed politicians with their failed policies.
It is easier than biting the bullet and working towards new organizations and concepts to address our needs. The list can go on and on. In general, our approach has been to throw more and more money at things that have not worked.
Why? Because it is the easy thing to do. The hard thing to do is to first admit failure. And secondly, to devise something different that might have a chance of success. As a popular philosopher once said, “You can ignore reality but you cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.”
Dick Sakulich is a retired manufacturing executive. He lives in Doylestown and is a member of The Intelligencer/Courier Times editorial board.
The Link LonkDecember 22, 2020 at 05:33PM
https://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/story/opinion/columns/your-voice/2020/12/22/throwing-more-money-into-failing-government-programs-easy-way/3987404001/
The easy way taken, time and time again - Bucks County Courier Times
https://news.google.com/search?q=easy&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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