Charley and Paying Down the Debt

We passed the bank on our way to the donut shop. A large sign on the front urged us to take out a loan for low interest rates.

"You owe any money to the bank?" Charley asked.

"No. Got everything paid."

"Wish our government did. All that debt.... We've borrowed trillions from China and spent it on government projects."

"I guess they're like the international bank," I said. "They keep us going".

"We're spending more than we're making, and we're borrowing from China and places like that to stay afloat. That seem right to you?"

"No, of course not. If I did that, the bank people would call me in and ask me how I planned to pay off my loans."

"Guess it would be nice if you didn't have to put up any collateral. The US don't have to put up collateral."

"That's right".

A pause followed. I could almost hear the little wheels in Charley's head going round.

"What would happen," Charley asked, stopping on the sidewalk outside the donut shop, "if the Chinese government called a meeting with the President and asked us how we're gonna repay our loans?"

"What a thought!" I said, laughing.

"Ain't no joke, really. They got a right to know what we're gonna do. There's no collateral they can collect, they got no protection for that loan. They could call the loan and force some kinda payment, but we'd collapse and they'd never get their money. I guess we could print a lot of worthless money and pay 'em with that, but that would cause the worst inflation since Germany in the 20's."

"Good point," I said. "They can't afford to collapse us. What would a bank do in that situation?"

"Well, they could demand a payment schedule where we pay the interest as we go and some on the principle. Give us a certain number of years, like 20 years. Like a mortgage. But there'd have to be a condition, that the payments would be tied to inflation, so if the government printed a lot of money to pay 'em with, it wouldn't get us out of debt."

"Where would the money to pay the Chinese come from, in this scheme of yours?"

"We could have a new income tax added to the old one. It would be a graduated tax, high at the top income levels and high for corporations, low for the poor. I read somewhere we would have to come up with almost $40,000 each. That's a lot, but spread over 20 years like a mortgage, we could maybe handle it."

"With money going out of our economy and into theirs, we'd get a lot poorer. There would be a depression, I suppose."

Charley nodded. "That's what happens when you spend your way into debt and don't have enough income to pay your bills. It'd be hard on the American people, but we've let this happen, and there really ain't no easy way out, 'cept to buckle your belt tighter, work harder, get another part-time job or something. And quit spending what we don't got!"

Teaching Critical Thinking

It appears that most people have not been taught basic skills in thinking. They don't understand what constitutes "evidence" or "proof"; most have little idea as to what "logical errors" are, or the difference between "faith" and "knowledge". They are taught by television and radio ads to confuse feelings with thought. Many do not have any real idea as to how one goes about solving problems.

As a result, many grow into adults who are easily manipulated and led, who act on their impulses and feelings without thought, who are scarcely above the level of primitive primates in their thinking. Yet they are expected to deal with a very complex political and economic world. They are expected to know how to vote and on what to base their opinions, other than how they have been told to feel by others.

What if we taught a course in critical thinking in the schools? We could give them the tools to distinguish argument from demagoguery. We could teach them how to know when they are being sold snake oil or eternal youth pills and how to evaluate the evidence for a particular idea or set of ideas. They would learn the basics of the scientific method and how to apply those techniques to everyday problems.

We certainly have no hesitation in teaching children religious thinking, and expect them to accept as proof things they are told and for which there is no evidence. Why should we not teach them how to think critically? Critical thinking itself is not anti-religious, and it is not a "theory". It is a set of tools, like algebra, that have wide applications. Learning to question what we are told, how to look for the errors in arguments, learning how causality works and does not work, all these are important skills. Without them people are little wiser than herds, which may well be what the corporate world wants them to be.

Uncle Charley Supports An Emperor

"I can't tell you how tired I am of listenin' to all them politicians lyin' and puttin' a spin on the truth," Charley said, handing me another beer.

"That's what's going on, though," I said. "I don't understand why they keep these transparent lies going when it's simple to tell the truth".

"Simple for you," Charley laughed. "You don't need any voter support."

"I think they lose more support than they keep when they hand out another line of politically correct baloney," I said. "That beer is good, Charley. Where'd you get it?"

"It's made locally at that little German restaurant up Sooner Road almost to Moore. No hops, hardly. And what would you do different?"

"Differently from what?", I said.

"Fer instance," Charley said with a laugh, "If you had been in Clinton's place when he got caught foolin' around with that young woman, what would you have said instead of 'I did not have sex with that woman'?"

I thought for a minute. "OK, how about this: 'Yep, I stepped out of the bounds of my marriage, and now I have a real problem, a personal one. How is it your business if I'm not faithful to my wife? The Chief Executive of this country is not required to make his private life public, as long as that doesn't affect his ability to do his job. Next question?'"

Charley laughed. "I like it, Harry. Course you're not married to Hillary".

"That's for sure," I said.

"What if you'da been Nixon when Watergate came crashin' down around his ears?"

"I don't believe I would have gotten into that situation in the first place. It's a lot easier to tell the truth when you're staying honest. But I wouldn't have said 'I am not a crook'. I might have said something like 'I did not behave ethically when I obtained information illegally. I stepped over the line. I will accept whatever consequences follow, but until my responsibilities change I will continue to do my job and try to be more of an honest man and less of a politician. Next question?"

"That's good, but not too practical. I get your point. People got a right to know that you're honest, and they got a right to know the things that you do or don't do as part of your job. But you don't think they got a right to know squat about your private life. Is that about it?"

"I think so," I said. "Some things you can't talk about publicly. No business or corporation can survive with all their plans open and public. But the United States is a business, a big one.
And the people in charge need to stand up and be truthful about what they are doing and what they have done as far as their job is concerned. I don't care if the President of the United States has sexual relationships with sheep, and it's none of my business, unless somehow it affects how he does his job."

"I agree. I think them reporters will tell anything to anybody if it helps 'em keep their jobs. Like them paparazzi sneaking around tryin' to take pictures of naked celebrities. It's just low class panderin' to the lowest level of curiosity." Charley took a drink from his beer.

"I think it would be interesting to see how the American people would react to a President who told the truth and who demanded that his personal boundaries be respected."

"I think people would love it," Charley said, finishing his beer. "I think they might make you Emperor if you did that."

"I'm willing to be elected by acclamation," I laughed. "Let's see if someone wants an honest man."