Debating the Debates

Well, the Vice Presidential Debate certainly was more entertaining than was the Presidential Debate. Common opinion seems to evenly divide the audience's 'conquest' between the two candidates. However, I don't know if anyone made any decisions based on what was said. Both candidates sounded sincere and convincing. But then again, so were the many stock brokers that told us that the market was the best way to 'save and prepare' for retirement. So much for that thought....

Sincerity can be real, misplaced, or deliberately faked. If you don't believe me, just watch television for a little while. Politicians seem to be able to turn it on and off with the same ease that some of our Actors and Actresses - who have studied years to learn and accomplish.

I would be more impressed if the 'nebulous' answers that are given were a little more like the answers that Ross Perot gave when he was running for President in the 90's. He approached the running of the country like a business. He showed charts, numbers, and strategies that had been used successfully for years by he and several other company CEO s.

But one thing is for sure - IF we make a mistake this election, we will have to live with the mistake for years and years to come. Elected officials not only affect the system while in office, but often times put together bills that I like to think of as 'sleepers'. The bill does not go into effect until some future date. Sorta like the emissions standards that they keep changing with a target date in the future. Unfortunately, we oft times forget what was passed in the house and senate years before, and just know that we must have increasingly larger shoulders to carry the burdens.

I was in the software industry for many years. When software platforms are written incorrectly to start with, then there are constantly newly built 'fixes' that are continued to be piled on the systems. Pretty soon, it becomes more and more difficult to accomplish new and innovative ideas, because it impacts some many odd little 'fixes'. At some point and time, the whole platform needs to be scrubbed and started over. This is traumatic, costly and time consumptive.

I just hope and pray that our country is not now setting up a bad platform or fix to all our current issues. To fix the fixes may not be as EASY as we are led to believe.

Watching the Debates

Tonight, the Vice Presidential Candidates will square off (what on Earth does that imply?) in their first debate. After watching the 1st Presidential Debate, I came away thinking that there must be more to running a country than what was discussed on that day. I realize that the debate's range is focused on a few areas each time it airs, but it struck me that only two or three main subjects were discussed. Or side stepped, depending on who you were watching at the time. If business personnel ran the debates, I think the questions and answers would range slightly different.

I have a question for them: How long do they think it will take the United States to recover from all of its overspending? This was a question that used to get asked and answered when others were debating. If a company ran itself the way our country does - someone else would own it..... Come to think of it, that might happen to our country if WE are not careful. Foreign investors own more property and business here than many have a clue about. WE had better get our 'ducks in a row' soon or all of us will be paying increased taxes to shore up decreased services.