I’m writing from the beach of Salisbury, Mass., on Labor Day, admiring the crisp waves, the few body surfers and what is nature’s harmony.
In contrast is the national riptide we find ourselves muddling through.
Our country’s in trouble, financial trouble, one to the tune of trillions of dollars of debt, with an unemployment rate north of 9%, an industrial base that has long emigrated from our shores, and interest rates artificially suppressed that once lifted will erect new hurdles for those marginally staying afloat.
That we’re entering a presidential and congressional election offers opportunity, but only if we seize it. So far, neither Democrats nor Republicans seem interested in serious solutions, absorbed instead in hackneyed truisms and political pollution.
Old liberal bromides and Tea Party absolutisms may make great headlines and whoop up MSNBC and Fox diehards, but they do little to build a sound economy. Our recent Outlook Leadership Conference embraced a thoughtful conversation led by Forbes publisher Richard Karlgaard, Huffington Post leader Arianna Huffington, and former Clinton White House official Erskine Bowles.
It is Bowles who is central—and centrist. Bowles and former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) chaired President Obama’s bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility & Reform.
The commission, roundly dismissed by Obama and key GOP leaders, presented a multi-step economic formula that would eliminate earmarks, cut the federal workforce by 10%, knife into discretionary spending, reduce entitlements, modify Social Security and cut into America’s defense, most notably our Cold War hangover of being the world’s protector.
But cuts alone, Bowles says, won’t be enough to restore America’s prosperity. The commission also calls for $100 billion in increased revenues through tax increases and reductions of tax breaks. And to help stimulate growth, they call for cutting the corporate tax rate from 35% to 26%.
The Bowles-Simpson commission isn’t the only serious effort tackling our nation’s most pressing concern. There is the now almost-forgotten Gang of Six—the bipartisan effort by three Democratic and three Republican senators—who coalesced to forge an honest attempt to reduce the $14-trillion national debt and offer a longterm sustainable course.
In a June op-ed piece in The Washington Post, Bowles and Simpson embraced the Gang of Six, acknowledging that we can stand firm on the principles of political extremism and do nothing, or forge compromise that by definition means each side must forfeit something for the betterment of a nation in turmoil.
In this spirit, I was talking with Greg Parker, CEO of The Parker Cos., who is one of our industry’s best minds. What role, we wondered, could our channel play in this great debate? Traditionally, NACS has wisely focused its efforts on industryrelated matters, from credit-card fees to energy and tobacco regulations, while shying away from hot buttons such as gun control and the abortion debate.
What about our nation’s economy? We’re all affected, on both personal and professional levels.
We have a unique opportunity to influence in some way the 2012 election. By muscling our 145,000 stores and $650-billion industry, by underscoring the fact that we’re in every neighborhood, every congressional district, I am proposing NACS create a six- to 10-member committee that drafts a series of economic principles addressing our national debt.
This committee would comprise members of the largest retail chains, some regional and local chains and two to three independents. Like the Gang of Six, the committee would be expected to forge compromise and demographic/ geographic sensibility.
We would seek, as major newspapers do, interviews with the candidates in the Republican primary and with President Obama. In the end, we would lay out what we consider the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates solely on the basis of their economic prescription and ability to deliver a consensus.
Naïve? Perhaps. Hopeful? Always. All I know is that it’s time to get out of the water and make some waves.
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