Congress Badly Needs a Shot of Churchill

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I am so sick of it.  Every businessperson I know is sick of it.  Every taxpayer I know is sick of it.  “It” is the political gridlock, posturing, cowardice, and selfishness which Congress has been exhibiting in supposedly trying to find a solution to the impending Fiscal Cliff.

This collective failure to find a compromise is costing the Country billions of dollars.  Do they not realize this?  Businesses will not hire or make investments in a climate of uncertainty.  Government agencies and their contractors cannot plan for the future not knowing whether their programs will be funded.  Investors will sit on the sidelines until they can quantify what their tax rates are.  The economic recovery is stymied because overall confidence diminishes when things are uncertain.

Our elected representatives are certainly not looking out for Main Street, or Wall Street, or small business.  What Congress needs is a shot of Winston Churchill.

Yesterday, I received an awesome greeting card from Philip Niedermair featuring 5 of his favorite quotes from The British Bulldog, as Philip writes, “so that you may arm yourself for the coming year and be best positioned to succeed in the market place of ideas and opportunities!”

1.  Courage:  “Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality that guarantees all the others.”

2.  Listening:  “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak.  Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”

3.  Commitment:  “Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.” 

4. Loyalty:  “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”

 5.  Simplicity:  “All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in single words: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.” 

These inspirational quotes caused me to wonder why so FEW of this generation’s politicians exhibit the courage and moral imperative to do the Right Thing.

For the sake of the Country and the economy, I hope they step up and get a deal in place so we can all move forward and get off to a good start in the New Year.

Featured image courtesy of johnnycon7, licensed via Creative Commons.

18 thoughts on “Congress Badly Needs a Shot of Churchill”

  4. Tien, many thanks for sharing the wise words about courage & perserverance from Churchill, who at many points was alone even in his own country in warning of the dangers to come, facing down fascism… I hope we are not as desperate today, but the news out of DC is not encouraging. Yet we need to do more than just build our businesses, IMHO… I think we need to look around us and engage in the messy world of policy and also mentor rising generations, or the world will surely sink all around us and drag our painstakingly constructed civilization down.

    That said, let’s not underestimate the power of a group of unselfish committed individuals. As the saying goes, it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.

    Happy New Year and best wishes for 2013!!!

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    • Thanks Mike. Great points. Agree the problem is bigger and more systemic, and also that the group of unselfish committed individuals will prevail….eventually. Let’s all hope it’s sooner rather than later. All the best for a great year!

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  5. Tien, this is so true. And yes, so frustrating. I can’t tell you how many prospects are on hold because of this uncertainly and they will not make a move to work with my team or build a new website, or hire that next new employee until someone shows some leadership and gets this job done. They signed this sequestration into law and they’ve been playing with each of our pocket books ever since. I am truly shocked at how disfunctional and unqualified this Congress is economically – I am concerned for our future.

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  6. Absolutely true. So easy to have predicted that this whole fiscal-cliff business would still be with us on the last day of the year. So little courage, so little concept of doing what’s right. It’s a result not least of gerrymandered Congressional districts that make each Representative more extreme than he/she might otherwise be, thus less open to compromise. Bismarck once said that “politics is the art of the possible” — no longer true in this climate.

    Best,
    Kevin Moore

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    • Thanks for the comment, Kev. It’s a shame, but I am optimistic that progress will be made soon and we can all get on building our businesses! Hope you and the family have a great and prosperous New Year!

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  7. Churchill is one of my heroes. He would be flabbergasted by the present leadership in the Congress and in the White House. He is one of the most quoted people because he spoke the truth, something sadly lacking in today’s politicians. Thanks for posting this. Happy New Year.

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    • Thanks for the comment, Bart. Given the crisis we have been in (and still are in), you would think that our leadership would be united and galvanized. Unfortunately, they are mired in gridlock and the long term effects could be quite nasty. Hope you and your family have a happy and successful 2013! Hope to see you soon!

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  8. True unselfish leadership is needed. Leadership of the few that hold the power to decide. Forget the politics of one upping the opposition. The leadership must speak of one mind for the good of the country. There are hard choices to make. Government can not continue to bring in $6 and spend $10. We are competing with the world. We must understand that it is a war of commerce. Government must create the environment for economic growth. Sometimes the medicine tastes bad but is necessary. Let’s get some small successes to grow upon. Increase the sin taxes such as alcohol and tobacco. Decrease the government spending by 10% to start. Provide incentives for business growth. Take a hard look at eliminating free trade with countries that pay wages one tenth of our own. It’s hard for American workers to compete on an uneven basis. Don’t export our natural resources, instead export finished products. The solutions are keeping it simple. Reward business manufacturing growth because everything else grows out from creating manufacturing jobs. Just my thoughts, Ernie Coates, former military, now real estate sales.

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