My wife tells me I need to get rid of my beloved rotary engine Mazda RX-8. She makes a good case. Our three person, two driver family doesn’t need four cars. Sure, our 16 year old will get a license in a couple of weeks, but she can’t drive a stick shift, and we just got her a new car for her birthday. And, my wife points out, I almost never drive the RX-8. Then she raises the “age” issue, telling me I’ve outgrown it and how it’s more appropriate for a man of my age (she also mentions my “position”) to be driving my comfy luxury car. OK. I get the message. The car has outlived its usefulness.
But, I love my little “Bottle Rocket.” My daughter’s friends and the teenage kids at the drive-thru window think it’s cool. I can take 35 mph curves at 60 and hardly notice that I’m putting my life in danger. So what if it sucks premium gas, gets lousy mileage and serves no useful purpose? So what if it takes up space or costs money to insure and maintain? It’s cute; it’s fast; it’s sporty; it makes me feel like I’m 19 again when I drive it – once a month or so.
Then it hits me. I’m not the only one who has trouble getting rid of something old that brings back wistful memories. Our political parties have the same problem. Republicans still wax eloquent about small government. We haven’t had small government since Cal Coolidge no matter how many Republicans we’ve elected since then. Democrats still try to resurrect the glory days of the New Deal and the Great Society. Haven’t they noticed that those programs are going broke? Let’s face it, there hasn’t been a new idea in Washington since the Laffer Curve, and that was thirty years ago and didn’t work.
Republicans still believe we can solve the ills of humanity by cutting taxes. Excuse me. We have a national debt approaching $13 trillion and entitlement programs like Social Security, Medicare and a drug supplement program that are “too big to fail” and going under.
Democrats still think they can solve the ills of humanity by adding new government programs and shuffling off unfunded mandates on the states. Excuse me. Did I mention that nearly $13 trillion national debt? Then there are those pesky social programs already in place going under water like homeowner’s equity. Oh, and the states are bust, yeah, bust.
Ask these folks, either party, how we can afford old-thinking ideas like tax cuts or more government programs, and you always get the same answer. It’ll pay for itself in the “out” years. Ever notice how the “out” years never come?
Oh, while we’re here, we should probably talk about old thinking about privacy and personal liberty. Ever since the Supreme Court recognized a constitutional right to privacy that expanded our liberties forty or so years ago, Americans have grown accustomed to those notions. Baby boomers and their kids figured out they like spending their own money and making their own decisions in their personal lives.
But, Republicans still fancy the idea of peeking into bedroom windows to make sure sex only happens between a married man/woman couple. “Abstinence only” is the prescription for everyone else. There’s no need for things like abortion, contraception, or accommodation of gay citizens. One man-one woman marriage amendment? Life at conception amendment? C’mon. The halcyon days of puritanical pretense in our sex lives ended sometime in the 60’s.
Not that the Democrats are any better. Their old idea of central economic control, peeking into people’s (and business’s) bank accounts lingers on as liberal gospel. They’ll tell those companies what kind of compensation packages they can give their executives, mandate insurance purchases for individuals and resort to price controls if necessary. No, really, we Boomers and our progeny want to make our own economic decisions, thank you.
…
Well, I guess I do need to get rid of my old “Bottle Rocket” and act my age. And maybe, just maybe, it’s time for our major political parties to get rid of their old paradigms and enjoy some new thinking more suited to the age we find ourselves in as a nation. Sometimes old cars and old ideas outlive their usefulness.
[Author’s Note: The picture is an RX-8 rotary engine.]
Cross posted at Elijah’s Sweete Spot where COMMENTS/DISCUSSION are Disqus™ enabled.
Contributor, aka tidbits. Retired attorney in complex litigation, death penalty defense and constitutional law. Former Nat’l Board Chair: Alzheimer’s Association. Served on multiple political campaigns, including two for U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield (R-OR). Contributing author to three legal books and multiple legal publications.