I have a friend whose seven-year-old son just finished completing a relatively hard puzzle. It took him three weeks.
Two days ago, in a tantrum, he threw something at the table holding the puzzle and the entire thing fell apart.
He stormed over to his mom (my friend) and demanded that she put the puzzle back together for him. It had, after all, taken him so long to complete and he was entitled to a finished puzzle after all his work.
She declined. Instead, she offered to help him rebuild the puzzle, but still made sure he would be the one picking up the pieces so that he learned a lesson: when things are going bad, don’t take it out on the things that are going well.
I’m no economist, but this seems like a pretty solid way to deal with the current economic crisis.
Instead of bailing out the big banks and auto makers — rebuilding their “puzzles” (see: businesses) they destroyed in times of uncertainty by throwing money instead of good business practice at them — we should perhaps work with them to find innovative ways to reconstruct their businesses through foresight.
You know, help them learn that instead of coming to mommy for a bailout, they should take a bit of pain and fix their problems through innovation, consolidation, and a bit of elbow grease.
Then again, I’m no economist. I just know a lot of good parents.
+1
I’ve always loved calvin & hobbes!
a comment on your comment. Although i agree with you in principle, i think the reality it different. literally millions of people are directly employed through the auto business here in canada and in your newly adopted home. the innovation many people (like u and i) hope these companies follow through with may be a long time waiting. and i’m not sure the people who are employed in these industries can afford to wait to pay bills, etc.
just a thought.
again, love the “car”toon!
kk
Fair enough Karim. Again, I’m no economist, so I’m just throwing some thoughts out there. I’m fully cognizant that there are a lot of factors in play, I just think that throwing money at the big companies isn’t necessarily the right way to save the economy — there must be some other way.
Ah, and thanks for the comment Mark. I’m guessing only the nerds in the audience will really understand just how much that +1 means. =)
Interesting thoughts of course. I partially agree with the principle. Too many companies go to “mommy” for bailouts on a regular basis. But I guess sometimes you have to pull the boat out of the water to fix it up or else the whole thing will go down. And given that the unemployment rate is slowly climbing, it’s a scary thought. I don’t believe in band-aid solutions (being beaten over the head with that concept through my graduate degree, I actually believe it), but I think sometimes it turns more into an emergency….
And yes, always let your children find their own way (with a little guidance of course). It’s better than spoon-feeding them their lives :)
I like your analogy re: parents guiding their offspring and I agree with you that there must be a better way. Maybe help the workers directly vs. via their employer and help the sinking ship innovate.
Great thoughts Mehnaz and Ernesta. I’m sure there are people much smarter than me thinking of these things, but I thought I’d get my simple thoughts out in public.