Consider this

You discover your car is leaking oil...not much, so you decide to put off doing anything about it. Over time it gets worse. But, instead of dealing with the problem, you have the car detailed. Car looks great, but wait. What about the real problem, the oil leak? Well, it continues to leave puddles wherever you go. Until the day the lack of oil freezes your engine block. Ah, you cannot ignore the problem now. The car is useless unless you deal with the leak, and you have the added expense of replacing the engine. Ouch!

This is not my story, it is an analogy that Pat came up with...and we were discussing the budget issues in California (grateful we no longer live there). California is in many ways a mini-America. Eighth largest economy in the world. Two thirds majority required to pass a budget...and unable to do so in a timely manner for as long as I can remember. Thankfully one was passed in the wee small hours of this morning. The problem is California mirrors the current American problem.

To deal with the oil leak is like dealing with the economic issues head on. Infrastructure spending...oil is necessary for the car to run. The detail job is like window dressing...ah, tax cuts. Without infrastructure spending you get a sink hole on the 215 freeway..all the tax cuts in the world will not fix that sink hole. But, infrastructure spending will give jobs to the folks who evaluate and repair that hole...and traffic moves freely again. Or as freely as traffic moves on any California freeway.

So, why is this so hard? Some say...debt, huge debt...don't do it!! If we don't, what happens? We have politicians, not elected servants of the public. We have window dressing, "See, we're looking out for you. Saving your kids from massive debt." Instead we will have roads, bridges, schools, etc. that fall into disrepair...or collapse. And routes we used to take regularly are gone, detours must be found. Ah, using more gasoline and increasing our dependence on foreign oil.

It's a long look. Maybe it happens, maybe not. I would rather the extra cash in my paycheck had gone to infrastructure jobs. Stimulus, you know. And, no matter what you do, it needed to happen months ago. Nothing we do will turn things around today, or tomorrow, or next week. But let's not make this a political argument. Let's really make it about helping our citizens. Anyone can be a politician. What we need are statesmen. People who work to provide for the common good and promote the general welfare. For everyone. Period.