Americans feel isolated from the leaders that they sent to Washington to represent them. Therefore, it is imperative, more than ever, that our leaders in Washington focus on addressing and confronting the problems that afflict America today- with both foresight and determination. I am a firm believer that what the American people deserve is a clear and concise explanation from our leaders as to how they do plan solve the most pertinent issues facing the country.

1. Where is our government?
MyopicNegligence or Operational
Inefficiency
1
As we approachthe next electionandthe candidates are once again appealingtoaverage citizensand
positioningthemselvestobecome the next Presidentof the UnitedStates,Ithinkit isworthyforus to
stepback and askourselveswhere ourgovernmenthasbeenoverthe last15 or 20 years.There isno
bettertime forus to reflectbackthannow before castingourvote. Foremost,there are too many
questionsastowhythe governmentdoesnotappeartobe workingforitsconstituents,but way toofew
answers. Americansfeelisolatedfromthe leadersthattheysenttoWashington torepresentthem.
Therefore,itisimperative,more thanever,thatourleadersinWashingtonfocusonaddressingand
confrontingthe problemsthatafflictAmericatoday- withbothforesightanddetermination. Iama firm
believerthatwhatthe Americanpeople deserve isaclearand concise explanationfromourleadersas
to howtheydo plansolve the mostpertinentissuesfacingthe country. One suchissue thatcomesto
mind, as hardit isto believe,forithaslingeredonfordecades, isthe questionof whoisresponsiblefor
the economicrecessionof 2008. The governmentmustacceptthat the U.S. iscontinuingtoface a
structural problemratherthana cyclical one,and needstoimplementfiscal policiesinconjunctionwith
monetary onesinorderto address itand move thiscountryforward. The Federal Reserve Bankcannot
do italone. Washingtonneedsto fulfil itspromisestoitspeople.Lastly,the governmentshould make it
a priorityto improve itsownefficiencyforthe countrycannotcontinue tooperate like itdid20 or 40
yearsago.
There had beenagreat deal of discussion aboutthe recentfinancial crisisandwho the actors
responsible forcausingitwere. The governmentconvenientlyplaced the blame onWall Street,which
was an easytarget.Although Wall Streetwasbyfar withoutblame,ourgovernmentshouldbe upfront
aboutits ownfailure. Likewise,itisimportanttomentionthatthe accommodatingand/orlax regulatory
environmentof the bankingsector beganduringthe Clintonadministration. The bipartisanpassage of
the Gramm-Leach-BlileyAct,alsoknownasthe Financial ServicesModernizationActof 1999, repealed
part of the Glass-SteagallActof 1933 and wassignedintolaw by PresidentClinton. Anotherimportant
change that complementedthisstate of affairswasthe followingoccurrence: “in2000, the Clinton
administrationdramatically cutthe minimumdownpayment requiredfor a borrower to qualifyforan
FHA guarantee to 3 percent, increased the maximumsizeof mortgage it wouldguarantee,and halved
the premiumsit chargedborrowers for the guarantee.” Indeed,one more relevantidea thatneedsto
be highlightedisthatClinton and Bush worried thatgrowth wasleaving largesegmentsof the
population behind,and theirsolution wasto expand homeownership.TheClinton administration did
anotherthing beforeleaving office,which wasto increase themandateforlow-incomelending from42
percentof assets in 1995 to 50 percent.

2. Where is our government?
MyopicNegligence or Operational
Inefficiency
2
Undeniably, Wall Streetplayedacritical role inthe recession, because,aswe are acutelyaware, theydo
utilize theirfinancialresourcestotilt certainlegislationsintheirfavorthroughaggressivelobbying.
However,whenone looksmore closelyatthe situation,one cannotice that the governmentis vastly
responsible forthisscenariotakingplace byallowingthe bankinginfluence todictate the legislative
process. It isthenno wonderthatmany people are still askingwhy all the responsiblebankersdidnot
go to jail.Ihope youdo have a betterunderstandingof the answertothisquestion now.The cumulative
effectof all these “short-termfixer”policiesoverlappedwith the greedandpowerof the bankers on
Wall Streetwasthe “monster”thatcame to be knownas the Great Recession.Althoughwe are
convincedthatmyopicvision(short-termism) onlyaffectsWall Street,ourgovernmenthasbeen
impactedbythe same short-sightednessaswell,andthere are numerousexamplesthat substantiate
that throughoutourhistory.
Evenwhenthe financial crisiswasuponus,the governmentfailedtotake appropriate fiscalmeasuresto
alleviate and/orrectifythe structural problemthatournationwas,andstill is, facing.Itwas clearfrom
the verybeginningthateconomicissuesimpactingournationwere indeed notcyclical innature. Asthe
BIS,whichhas beenadvisingthe EuropeanandU.S.governments forquite some timenow, statedinits
mostrecentreport “monetary policyhas beenoverburdenedforfar too long.It must be part of the
answer, but cannot be the whole answer.” EvenBenBernanke statedthat“if fiscal policymakerstook
moreof the responsibilityforpromoting economicrecovery and job creation,monetary policy could be
less aggressive.”Ithinkwe do have a general consensus inthiscountry thatthe government,and
especially the fiscal policymakers, shouldincrease itsinvolvementinsolvingthe mattersathand.
The governmenthas relied onthe Federal Reserve Bankandits monetarypolicies forfartoolongin
orderto addressthe economicmalaise thatshould have beenaddressedwithacombinationof fiscal
and monetarypolicies.Manyof youare alreadyfamiliarwiththe QEprogramwhichis the acquisitionof
bondsby the Fedwithnewlyprinted“fiat”money. Anotherstrategythatthe Fedhas implemented in
the lightof the financial crisis ismonetaryeasingbykeepinginterestratesartificiallylow. AlthoughIdo
understandthatthe expertswill claimthatthisisanarrow sense because the Feddoesnothave full
control overthe rates, the BIS advisedusonitslatestreportthat perhapswe are overly concernedwith
the inflationtargetatthe expense of financial boomandburst. However,the mainissue thatcannotbe
emphasizedenoughishow beneficial thislow interest rate environmentisforWall Streetandthe U.S.
government.Let’snotforgetthatthe government isable toborrow at 1.9 percentfor10 yearsand 2.5
percentfor30 years,as statedrecently byBenBernanke in hisblog.Thisis quite a bargain,giventhe
amountof debtthat ourgovernmenthasamassedwhichis estimatedtobe between $14 and$17

3. Where is our government?
MyopicNegligence or Operational
Inefficiency
3
trillion. “TheBankforInternationalSettlementsestimated in June2013 thatif the rate rise by just2
points,then America’sdebt-GDPratio would reach 200 percent of the GDP, up fromthe current100
percent.”
Wall Streetlikewise tendstobenefittremendously fromlow interestrate,whichhas a tendencyof
pushingassetpriceshigherandencourage risk-takingbehaviorinthe financial sector.Aneven more
profitable waytomake money bybankersis to borrow moneyat near-zerointerestratesandthenlend
the moneyto the governmentat3 or 4 percent. Throughthis backhandmethod,one can make a
substantial amountof moneywithout havingtoundertake ahuge amountof risk. Some experts have
gone so far to state that the financial marketshave become addictedtolow interestrates,whichspells
bad newsforMain Streetif the mortgage crisisisany benchmarktothisaddiction’soutcomes.
The overreliance of fiscal policymakersonmonetarypolicytoaddressthe economicmalaise isvery
apparentto anyone followingWashingtonandthe economyveryclosely.The idealscenarioisforthe
fiscal andthe monetary policytowork hand-in-handtoensure some semblance inthe socioeconomic
realm,butmore importantly,toprovide concrete andsustainable solutionstothe manysocial and
economicproblemsfacedbythe nation. Andthisis precisely whatthe BISmeantwhenitsaidthat
monetarypolicycannotbe the onlyanswer.
We come to the perfect segwaycharacterizingthe thirdissue thatisdominatingthe discourse inthe
U.S., particularlyinthe lightof the police brutalitycasesthathave surfacedacrossvariousstates.
Namely,itisthe needforadditional investmentsinlow-incomecommunities.Here,manywould
disagree withme thatthe needisas acute or evenmore sonecessaryininfrastructural improvements
(an example thatcomestomindisthe highwaysystem). My intentionisnottoinitiate adebate asto
whichismore important,because both issues are extremely important;rather,mygoal isto emphasize
somethingthatmanyseemtooverlookbutwhichisessential - improvingthe efficiencyof ourfederal
government. Itwouldbe ideal to tackle the efficiencygapissue,butIdo thinkthe nationis not willing
to waitany longerandwouldideally likethe governmenttoaddressall of themat once. Thismeans
that the governmentwillhave toputtogethera legislationthatencompassesall of the mostpertinent
issues- efficiency,additional investments inlow-incomecommunities, andinfrastructure.Thisideahas
the potential tomake the legislationmore appealingforall the representatives,asitwill be addressing
somethingof substance forall the constituentsratherthanaselectedfew,nowadaysthe common
practice in Washington,D.C. We are a one nationandshouldbe workinginunisontomove thiscountry
forward. Luckily, the governmenthasalready takenthe necessarystepsinthisdirection,startingwith
the passportoffice inNewYorkCity, whichwasselectedas the mostefficientofficeinthe world. My

4. Where is our government?
MyopicNegligence or Operational
Inefficiency
4
pointhere isthat we alreadyhave anexcellentexample tofollow.Itisjusta matterof exchangingbest
practicesamongfederal agenciesandscalingthe nature of the operations of the passportoffice
nationwide. There willalwaysbe minoradjustmentstobe made,butwhatappearsto be missing from
thisequation inmakingthisacurrent realityisthe will and the necessary leadershipof ourleadersin
Washington. Securingthe efficiency of ourgovernmentshouldbe apriorityforeveryone inAmerica,
because itsramificationscanbe feltineveryone’slivesand beyondthe bordersof ournation. Thishas
the potential of helpingusaccomplishamore transparentandseamless government,reducingthe
numberandmagnitude of lobbyingactivitiesinthe process.Itistime forour representativestoproudly
communicate totheirrespective constituents,ratherthanpayinglipservice to, the followingphrase;
the governmentisof the People,bythe People,andfor the People,apatrioticphrase coinedby
PresidentLincoln whousuallyendedhisspeecheswith it.
It iscurrently imperative thatthe governmentplacesitself inthe driver’sseatinordertostrengthenthis
countryand move itforward.As blindinertiashouldnolongerbe the answertothe manysocial and
economicproblemsafflictingthis nation.Althoughthe economicindicatorskeepinsistingthatthe
economyisheadinginthe rightdirection,Iam not so optimistic.Firstly,the fundamentalsare notas
strongas they oughtto be,andsecondly,let’snotforgetthatthe governmenthasfailedtoaddress the
structural problems.Itisnot a secretthat the governmentshouldreturntoitsoriginal rootsof serving
all itsconstituents ratherthana selectfew inorderto provide solutionstothe manyproblems the
nationisfacing.Thisaim isbecomingmore difficulttoaccomplishgiventhe increasinginfluence of
moneyinpolitics.However,peopleare fedup,and if our electedleaders keepignoringthe manysignals
that the constituentsare sendingthemonadailybasis,theywill exacerbatethe country’s problems,
rather thanprovidingthe much-neededreliefthatthiscountry desperately needs.
I will keepemphasizingthatefficiency inourgovernmentshouldbe addressed concomitantwith the
needforadditional investmentsinlow-incomecommunitiesandthe desperate state of our
infrastructure (e.g.,highway/freewaysystemandbridges),makingthe legislationmore appealing for
everyone inthe process. One neverknowswhatincreasingefficiencyinourgovernmentcanleadto.
Perhaps,the surplusfundsof betterefficiencycanthenbe usedtotackle the othersocioeconomic
issues.
You mighthave noticedthatI didnot mention the issue of jobautomationand/orcomputerization that
the governmentisindeedrequired toprovide some guidance.Today,robotsare more thanever
performingthe tasksthatusedto be carriedout by humans.Iam not ignoringthissignificantissue,but
will notgo furtherwiththistopic,since itwould detractfromthe primaryissuesIwantedtodiscuss.This

5. Where is our government?
MyopicNegligence or Operational
Inefficiency
5
coulddefinitelybe animportant subjectmatterof anotherpaperinthe near future.HarvardBusiness
Review (June 2015) and Martin Ford- the author of The Rise of the Robots - have done a phenomenal
joboutliningthistopic. Ihighlyrecommend toeveryone toreadwhattheyhave tosay aboutthis
emergingandfascinatingmatter.
We oughtto remainvigilant.Iwould be happytoleave youwiththis powerful quote foryourown
reflection:“Countriescanreturn to developing-countrystatusiftheir politicsbecome imbalanced,no
matter how well developedtheir institutions.”
See younexttime,
www.fiscalintelligence.org
REFERENCES