Learn From The Fall Of Rome, US warned
Aug 19th, 2007 by Don Ray
I have recently received this message in several emails, and some of the blogs I read have included the same message from Jeremy Grant in Washington. This is one email that I think should be sent to everyone, and it is one message that everyone should read and think about.
I have always said that nothing is forever. That is the warning coming from David Walker, comptroller general of the US and the director in charge of the non-partisan Government Accountability Office.
I encourage you to read the article that he has written in the Financial Times. This is a time for all of us to get involved and demand that our representatives in the US Congress to start serving their constituents and stop lining their pockets. The time to act is now, or the US will follow in the footsteps of other great nations that were once considered invincible.
If you have received the email, forward it to those on your mailing lists. If you are a blogger, I encourage you to post it on your blog. This is one message that must be heard and heard soon.
Hi Don Ray:
I’ve always felt a bit guilty regarding my first email to you nearly a year ago when I had opened your blog for the first time. There was an item of a political nature, and i responded to it in a rather vociferous manner. Not until later did I learn that your Chiriqui Chatter is mostly about good things and is of an uplifting nature.
As for your comments about David Walker’s article, indeed nothing lasts forever. It seems to me that the issue isn’t so much whether or not the United States will last forever as the world’s leading nation, but whether we will be able maintain our standard of living while avoiding serious conflicts with rising nations. In any case, people sure do love comparisons to the Roman Empire, but it’s a bit dated and somewhat of a cliche. Seems to me that a much more appropriate comparison is the British Empire
Hi Tom. I have seen a big change in the US, maybe because one can see things differently when you aren´t tainted with living in the US every day. However, my kids and grandkids live there and I can tell that the American dream that was possible for me, is much more of a dream for them.
In the new global economy, more of the world is affected by changes.
Hi Don Ray, I think this may be more truth than joke:
Three contractors are bidding to fix a broken fence at the White House in D.C. One from New Jersey, another from Tennessee and the third, Florida. They go with a White House official to examine the fence.
The Florida contractor takes out a tape measure and does some measuring, then works some figures with a pencil. “Well”, he says, “I figure the job will run about $900: $400 for materials, $400 for my crew and $100 profit for me.”
The Tennessee contractor also does some measuring and figuring, then says, “I can do this job for $700: $300 for materials, $300 for my crew and $100 profit for me.”
The New Jersey contractor doesn’t measure or figure, but leans over to the White House official and whispers, “$2,700.”
The official, incredulous, says, “You didn’t even measure like the other guys! How did you come up with such a high figure?”
The New Jersey contractor whispers back, “$1000 for me, $1000 for you, and we hire the guy from Tennessee to fix the fence.”
“Done!” replies the government official.
jimandnena in Fort Worth
I spent a lot of time in the Washington D.C. area and there is some truth to that joke.