Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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September 11: Remembering What We Thought and Wrote Back Then by D.G. MARTIN Ten years ago, what were we thinking? Here is what I wrote in September 2001: War. War. War. What is it about this word that excites us, that unifies us, that puts aside at least for a moment our selfish preoccupation with ourselves? The word brings with it a spirit of action that rises out of September 11's time of despair, questionings and anger. It rushes through my system like a miracle drug, wiping out my depression and lifting my spirits to new heights. A flag banner decorates our front porch. My chest puffs out with pride as the Army calls my son to a week's active duty to help process other reservists who are being called for longer periods of service during this war on terrorism. War. War. War. Oh, what a word. We will fight a war against terrorism. We will find it, destroy it, root it out and avenge its murder of our friends and countrymen. It is exhilarating and comforting. But underneath I know it is not going to happen that way. There is not going to be a quick, happy ending, no VE Day or a VJ Day, as there was at the end of the Second World War. Even if there is a successful military strike against bin Laden or his terrorist training camps, it will not win our "war." Indeed, we must expect that an attack will unify and strengthen the terrorists and their supporters, just as the attack on the twin towers and the Pentagon brought us together and strengthened our resolve. Do not mistake me. A military strike may very well be an important part of our response to this challenge. If terrorism is a kind of cancer affecting the entire world, then radical surgery is probably a part of a comprehensive treatment plan. But radi- cal surgery on a cancer patient is often an incomplete cure. And sometimes the sur- gery brings about its own set of unintended consequences. Similarly, military action cannot bring about a complete solution to the terrorism cancer, and every military strike will bring about its own set of unintended consequences. Our efforts against terrorism and its causes are going to be long and drawn out. We can't maintain a "wartime" footing for so long. Maybe "war" is not the best word to describe our commitment against terrorism. Of course, this is not the first time our government has rallied us around a commitment to solve a serious problem by calling for a "war." We have the war on poverty. The war on drugs. The war on crime. And we have declared war on racial hatred, on AIDS and other diseases, on under-perform- ing schools, on unsafe automobiles, on the polluters of the environment and on many other varieties of "evil." We haven't yet won any of those wars. There have been some great victories. Things are better than they would've been. But "complete victory" was probably never possible. Our national effort in all these areas continues — but without a "total war" commitment. We learned each time that we could not sustain a total national commitment to all these "wars" at the same time. As we begin our national effort against worldwide terrorism, it might be well for us to remember our prior wars against these other endemic problems. Remember that they last a long time, remember that there are few decisive victories and remember that Americans' attention spans don't last through long drawn-out indecisive wars. Remembering those lessons and putting aside the war terminology, our leaders can better emphasize our country's need for a sustainable, long-term commitment to the development and patient implementation of wise policies to track down ter- rorists, clear out their breeding grounds and deal with the root causes of their activity. Using more restrained words to describe our resolve against terrorism, it may be easier for us to remember that there are other common tasks that are also critical to a healthy and safe America: fighting crime, promoting health, building a strong economy, strengthening education, improving the environment and working together for a stronger, better country. If the terrorists have diverted us from those on-going tasks, they have already won. About Those Dueling Jobs Plans by JOHN HOOD I guess it was fitting that on Labor Day weekend, President Barack Obama and several of his critics released details of their respective plans to tackle the nation's chronic unemployment. There were few Americans more attentive to these developments than the residents of North Carolina, which according to the latest figures has one of the weakest economies in America. Four dueling plans made headlines the morning after Labor Day. During a speech at a union rally in Detroit, President Obama made it clear that his jobs plan would include additional extensions of unemployment benefits and payroll tax relief. He is also pushing Congress to approve new trade deals and a plan to use federal borrowing to induce more infrastructure spending. Speaking in the early-caucus state of Nevada, GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney outlined his own jobs plan, which included a lower tax rate on corporate income, no tax rate on dividends or capital gains and a "regulatory budget" that would cap the total cost of federal rules. Under such a system, if the administration wanted to impose a new regulation it would have to remove an existing regulation with a similar estimated cost. Former Utah Gov. John Huntsman also chose the Labor Day weekend to outline his tax-reform plan in a newspaper column. It would pull the top mar- ginal tax rate down to 23 percent while eliminating special deductions and exemptions. Finally, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce sent an open letter to Congress and the White House recommending that Washington reduce corporate tax rates, remove obstacles to new domestic oil and gas exploration, induce more infrastructure investment and promote tourism through reforms of airline se- curity and visa issuance. Were they all playing politics by releasing their jobs programs around Labor Day? Yes, despite the fact that in his Detroit speech President Obama insisted that "the time for Washington games is over." That would be like striding into Panther stadium in Charlotte and announcing that "the time for football games is over." Now that I think about it, doing that might be a kindness. But I digress. The fact that Obama, Romney, Huntsman and the Chamber were all act- WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM ing politically doesn't mean that they were necessarily acting in bad faith. All four actors surely believe that their recommendations will strengthen the nation's economy. They can't all be entirely right. But they are all partially right, in that the ideas they have in common — such as free trade and tax relief — would cer- tainly help the situation. However, on tax relief they have different priorities. President Obama lis- tens primarily to demand-side economists, so he thinks Washington should try to stimulate consumer demand. That means cutting payroll taxes and extend- ing unemployment benefits, both on a temporary basis, hoping that house- holds spend the money on new goods and services. Would-be presidents Romney and Huntsman listen primarily to supply- side economists, so they think Washington should try to stimulate entrepre- neurial activity and business investment. That means eliminating the double- taxation of investment returns and reassuring executives and entrepreneurs that their future profits won't be eaten up by future tax rates or regulatory compliance. That means permanent reforms, not temporary ones. As for the Chamber, its leaders pay a great deal attention to the interests of major association members such as international firms, the energy sector and the construction industry. So they included specific policies designed ei- ther to lighten the load on these businesses or toss federal funds in their direc- tion — or both. In my view, the best mix of policies to remove obstacles to job creation would be to 1) pass long-delayed trade deals now, 2) help states make their highway dollars go further by lifting costly environmental and wage regula- tions, 3) adopt permanent pro-growth tax reforms, 4) adopt Romney's regula- tory budget initiative and 5) approve a clear path to a balanced budget that includes major cuts in federal spending, including entitlements. Now that I've made them a to-do list, I'm sure the folks in Washington will get on with it. Behold the power of the press! JOHN HOOD, Columnist COMMENTS? editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2011 UCW 53 D.G. MARTIN, Columnist COMMENTS? editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com