Last week in this space, we explored some of the mixed signals being sent by government. This week, let’s look at some of the clear signals our governments are sending. Mostly, these are vaguely disguised cries for help.
Take the seemingly endless whining about the sequester. Yes, both sides agree it’s a mistake to whack the federal budget like a blindfolded kid swinging at a piñata. But that doesn’t make Congress any more inclined to negotiate a better scheme.
They’re too busy pointing fingers and yelling that the sky is falling. The suggestion from Washington is that the electorate leans on elected representatives ‘to do the right thing for the good of the country.’ Of course, that interpretation varies by locale. Here in the deeply blue state of Connecticut, our congressional representatives are the tax-raisers, not the spending-cutting faction. It’s not debatable. And we wonder why presidential candidates take us for granted.
So, what’s a bureaucracy to do? Inflict the most plausible yet targeted pain, of course, by disrupting the air service to rural America. Now, yanking flight controllers certainly causes pain in Oxford and New Haven, but the intended targets are really in the middle of the country where the loss of air services is crippling, not just inconvenient.
Options existed. Even the IRS is furloughing employees, but not during tax season. But nobody really wanted to be reasonable. The FAA could have curtailed hours of service or started a round of planned service interruptions that could have spread the pain. Instead, it whacked all of the flight control operations at small airports. And it’s much more likely to produce a scream Republican congressmen will hear. Whether it’s enough to break the logjam remains to be seen.
Closer to home, we have Governor Malloy sending the legislature a budget that eliminates the car tax and costing municipalities more than $600 million. Nobody seems to have asked for an end to the car tax, although Malloy is correct when he says it is an egregious levy. But it was egregious last year and the year before. So when the mayors rise up and loudly demand a statewide car tax, what can the governor do? It’s a great diversion from all the other smoke and mirrors in the budget and it’s a win-win for him. He gets to keep his word that he wouldn’t raise taxes. He’ll let somebody else do it — either by creating a new car tax or by raising local property taxes.
Finally, there’s the TSA. These folks are tired of the public beating on them. They must change the conversation from whether agents are getting too good a look at some passengers’ privates. They’re tired of explaining why granny can’t carry the economy-sized bottle of mouthwash in her purse. And the best way to do that is to do something so dumb the public will demand tougher security. Enter the Swiss Army knife.
Again, we apparently didn’t hear the deafening cry for this change. Nor did the flight employee unions who are outraged that allowing knives aboard jeopardizes air safety. The TSA has won this round already, whether it eventually rolls back the rule or not. The conversation has changed to people wanting tighter security. Well played.
The line here seems clear. The mixed signals are sent when government is confused, incompetent or both. The clear signals are more sinister and are the result of careful planning to manipulate the constituents. Neither is acceptable, yet neither seems avoidable in the short term.
