Wouldn’t It Be Nice If…

Written by Jeff Thredgold, President, Thredgold Economic Associates

September 2

…the President’s health care plan would include two critical components not being discussed by the Democrats—tort reform and eliminating barriers which prohibit insurance companies from competing across state lines

…teachers received more admiration and respect from students and their parents

…more people would recognize that the U.S. recession is essentially over, and companies would begin hiring again

…your garbage disposal didn’t eat better than two-thirds of the world’s population

…“far left” liberals and “far right” conservatives would back off a bit

…President Obama and the Congressional leadership were more focused on providing incentives for wealth creation and less focused on wealth redistribution

…America’s silent majority (our parents and grandparents) received greater respect for the enormous wartime sacrifices they made to help protect the freedoms we all enjoy today

…Jon and Kate were never heard from again

…the Castro brothers would bite the dust and be replaced with a move toward democracy

…we actually got serious about U.S. energy independence with a program geared to 1) conservation, 2) alternative sources of energy, 3) access to much more oil and natural gas in Alaska and on the Continental Shelf, and 4) developing massive deposits of oil shale in the West

…American military personnel could see their families more often

…the nation’s tobacco companies would leave our kids alone

…we would all get more involved in enriching the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves

…more working people would save seriously for their Golden Years (an estimated one-third of the U.S. population saves zero for retirement)

…the Federal Reserve’s upcoming attempts to unwind unprecedented monetary stimulus would be successful, with inflation staying under control

…residents of the Middle East could get along with each other

…“government” would recognize that it is there to serve the people, and not the other way around

…the problems in schools today were still spit wads, gum chewing, and truancy, as opposed to violence, drug use, and pregnancy

…airlines that lack serious competition in various markets didn’t gouge the public

…American voters would send a clear message in November 2010 to incumbents of BOTH parties as to what is expected of them in Washington DC

…energy prices would stabilize near current levels…one that works for both producers and consumers 

…our 401(k) balances would continue to rebound nicely in coming years

…the news media would run positive stories more than once a generation

…the Administration and the Congress would stop bickering and take the modest steps required now to “fix” Social Security and Medicare for the future

…fewer people were killed each and every year in the name of “religion”

…American corporate and consumer confidence would continue to rise solidly in coming months

…U.S. firefighters, police officers, and military personnel received our respect ALL of the time

…Johnny Carson was still king of late-night TV

…our illustrious Congressional representatives actually knew what was in various bills they voted on

…politicians were elected based on experience and ability, not on who can spend the most money and sling the most mud

…the $787 billion stimulus program contained more in the way of real economic stimulus and less social engineering

…Paris Hilton’s 15 minutes of fame were over

…members of Congress would finally recognize that reducing tax rates typically increases tax revenue…and increasing tax rates typically reduces tax revenue

…market corrections of various types were a little less painful

…we could make real progress in “clean burn” coal technology

…the Administration and the Congress would get very serious about reducing budget deficits in coming years

…America’s Vietnam War veterans would finally get credit for serving their country

…there was a stronger collective effort to improve opportunities in America’s inner cities

…men and women were from the same planet

…our presidential campaign season was much shorter and less exhausting…for candidates AND voters

…we could benefit more from years of practical business experience of millions of retirees, rather than simply “putting them out to pasture”

…each long-term member of Congress was required to take a year off, start a new business with limited funding, meet a payroll, and then deal with the complexities and hassles THEY have created

…drive-by shootings were replaced by drive-by moonings

…the game of politics in Washington D.C. involved a little more cooperation and a little less confrontation

…Wall Street “high rollers” had greater legal and financial accountability for the financial market abuses of recent years

…stronger Mexican economic growth would provide more good jobs at home

…the outcome of many lawsuits was determined more by the facts and less by who has the deepest pockets

…we didn’t have an $11,700,000,000,000 gross national debt, and we weren’t spending over $1,000,000,000 DAILY just to pay the INTEREST on that debt

…the Osbournes were never heard from again

…incompetent corporate CEOs who drive companies into the ground were not rewarded with multi-million dollar “golden parachutes” to simply go away

…the role of “peacekeeper” wasn’t associated with so much violence

…there were less irritating ways to bring buyers and sellers together than junk mail, spam, pop-up ads, telemarketing, and endless TV commercials

…the violence and language in today’s movies could be toned down a bit

…“old fashioned” common courtesy between people made a big comeback

…F.I.C.A. (Social Security/Medicare) taxes were less painful…four out of five American workers now pay more F.I.C.A. taxes than they do federal income taxes

…primary and secondary schools had to compete for teachers, students, and funding—just like colleges and universities

…many spoiled and pampered athletes in MLB, the NFL, the NBA, and the NHL had to get regular jobs at regular wages (at least for awhile)

…we would all keep in mind that despite the problems and challenges we face in the U.S., this is still one of the greatest countries in the world