One of the reoccurring events in Peanuts, the cartoon by Charles Schulz, is a scene in which Lucy holds a football on the ground, like “the field goal holder” on a football team. She tells Charlie Brown to run forward, and kick the football. Charlie Brown runs forward, but Lucy’s moves the football a split second before Charlie kicks it. This cause Charlie’s leg to go flaring in the air, moments before he looses his balance and fall to the ground on his butt ― again! She has done it to him umpteen times before: She held the football, told him to run forward and kick it, moved it at the last minute, and laugh hysterically, as Charlie looses his balance (because Lucy moved the football) and crashes to the ground on his butt. Charlie, who is a wonderful, trusting, likable kid, is acting foolishly in these instances; he is subjecting himself to the identical set of circumstances that always culminated with him crashed on his butt. Yet, he believes that the same set of circumstances will produce a different result the next time. This form of blind optimism is the trade mark of a fool! But it is more than that!
First, Charlie has lost sight of his goal ― to kick the football. Charlie, in his mind, has become so hopeful that Lucy will do the “right thing” (allow him to kick the football) that he has lost sight of the fact that he has other options that would allow him to do so. And second, Charlie has lost his sense of self. He fails to realize that he is a pretty neat kid that is well liked by the other kids and Snoopy. Any of them would be happy to hold the football for him ― especially Peppermint Patty, who would probably be happy to hold it as many times as he desired.
We the people of the United States have become lost-sighted, non-self-awareness Charlie Brown. And our government officials, ― particularly the republicans and tea party in Washington, have become Big, Big, Bad Lucy: Once again, for the umpteenth time, they are holding “the promise of jobs for Americans” like a football, while telling us “If we reduce corporate taxes, ― this time ― things will be different. This time the American jobs created (or the football) will stay in place. This time you will be able to achieve the goal” ― unlike all the previous times when they made the same promise to create jobs, and we trusted them and permitted them to reduce corporate taxes, only to have the “jobs football” pulled away at the last moment, causing us to loose our balances and crash to the grown on our butts.
It is time for Americans to stop acting foolishly, by making the same mistake (reducing corporate taxes) while expecting a different outcome (job creation). This plan failed under every republican president starting with Ronald Reagan ― especially in the communities that already had high rates of unemployment. So here is what we should be doing:
First, let’s keep our sight on our goal ― to create well-paying jobs in the United States. And let’s remember that we have other options that will allow us to do so. For example, most of the countries throughout the world that are rapidly becoming our main competitors in the global economy have turned to national programs to promote innovations. We can do this better than any of them. So why aren’t we doing it? Additionally, have you noticed that foreign companies, like Toyota, Fiat, Volkswagen, Subaru, etc. are willing to come and invest in the United States ― in spite of the fact that American companies are blaming all their ills on our high taxes? And second, let’s remember who we are. We are the greatest country on earth. We have the best work force, the greatest number of inventors, and innovators, the largest and most comprehensive education system in the world, and the ability to bring together these institutions and others together as a formidable force for overcoming any and all obstacles.
Let stop investing in American corporations, and start investing in our people and our nation. Let’s think: Innovation + The Greatest Nation = Lots of Job Creation!
