Where have all the Statesmen Gone?

I think we all can agree that America is facing a serious economic crisis, one that is comparable to the great depression of the thirties. We see unemployment and foreclosures destroying the hopes and dreams of the middle-class.

We have a debit and deficit that are threatening the futures of our children and grandchildren. Underlying all this disparaging news is the fact that America is losing ground in every major category we use to measure the status of a nation on the world stage. We can no longer claim the title of number one in many extremely important areas. We have fallen behind in education, specifically in math and science.

The three-yearly OECD program for International Student Assessment (PISA) report, which compares the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds in 70 countries around the world, ranked the United States 14th out of 34 OECD countries for reading skills, 17th for science and a below-average 25th for mathematics.

Although we still are ranked number one world –wide in GDP according to several sources the United States is still the number one producer on the world stage. However, the European Union and The People’s Republic of China are close on our heels.

With that said we can’t forget that China is the United States number one creditor holding over 900 billion dollars of U.S. bonds. This equates to approximately $3000.00 for every man woman and child in the United States. We arrived at this point because of numerous factors and the actions of both political parties.

So why now do we see our elected officials fighting as though they were children on the playground. We see petty political posturing and polarizing rhetoric. We have republicans politicians using terms like “let’s take our country back.” This is a blatant attempt to play the race card and cause even more division among the electorate. We have democrats wanting to raise taxes on the wealth as though it was the fault of the wealthy that we are in this predicament.

So how do we get beyond all the name calling and bitterness? What good does all of the political positioning do when it comes to addressing the serious problems we as a nation now face? What happened to working for the good of the people? What happened to compromise to move forward?

Why have we developed an all or nothing mantra toward each other? What happened to statesmanship? What happened to true leadership? Let’s face the truth we are all going to have to sacrifice if we are to solve our nation’s economic woes.

Look households across the country have to make hard decisions for their financial health. Basically the adults in the home make a plan that will bring the family finances back to a healthy status. In other words they live within their means.

Will the adults in Washington PLEASE STAND UP!!!