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Saddam and Begorrah
BY AILISH M. NIC PHAIDIN

Did you know that in 1791 the U.S. national debt was a staggering $75m? I didn’t. Then I began researching some figures and some non-figures. Just to blow your mind even further, the U.S. has had a consistent national debt since 1791 and today our national debt is rising at a rate of $75m per hour. Well, that’s according to my research, which shouldn’t be taken with too little salt.

In 2001 our national debt was $5.7t (trillion) and today it is a staggering $82t (trillion). This is the total amount owed by the Federal Government, and shouldn’t be confused with the federal budget deficit, which is the annual amount that spending exceeds revenue. Now that I’ve got that off my chest, it’s time to move on.

As a nation our national debt limit was increased at the request of the White House to $9t (trillion). My calculator ran out of zeros, but that’s $9,000,000,000,000. Now, there’s a very tidy sum.

The national debt limit is the maximum amount the federal government can borrow and that is set by Congress. If our Congress had not set the higher limit, then we would be in deep muck because our government would have to default on foreign and home debts and obligations. A nasty situation! Some would contend that defaulting on our foreign debts would surely be a godsend because so many of our debtors have defaulted, that now our turn has come. That’s faulty thinking.

Our economy is quite substantially dependent on foreign investment. In 2001 we had a budget surplus of $236b (billion), however, with fighting a war on multifarious fronts -- low tax revenues, Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, galloping government spending and annual tax cuts, coupled with our overseas and domestic aid policies, we are not gaining much ground on the bad and worsening figures.

According to the experts, amongst whom is Clyde V. Prestowitz, Jr., a former senior trade official in the Reagan White House, “We need a net inflow of capital of $3b (billion) a day to keep the economy afloat.”

Speaking of floating, the recent little skirmish in Congress and the White House, not forgetting the hinterland, over the purchase of several U.S. ports by DP World, a wholly owned company of Dubai - a wholly-owned subsidiary of the United Arab Emirates – all came to a screeching halt amid political shenanigans, recriminations, accusations, and counter-accusations. A week is a long time in politics.

The agreement to sell six of our major ports, with the approval of the Committee on Foreign Investments in the U.S., was made in haste and undone in more haste. The ‘made in haste’ part was obviously not a properly investigated and thought-out decision. The ‘undone in more haste’ decision was fraught with megaphone lack of diplomacy, grandiose threats and counter-threats. Aside from seeming to debunk the apparent concerns of the U.S. Coast Guard, the funneling of information was apparently and resolutely made behind tightly shut doors in the corridors of power. When the proverbial muck finally hit the fans it was spread quite evenly in all directions with such unseemly haste that once again our nation has suffered from our all-too-frequent knee-jerk reactions.

Then the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee hastily introduced a bill that demanded all U.S. ports, together with ‘other’ strategic assets, be returned to U.S. control. The Chairman pronounced, “Our long-term goal is to identify long-range foreign investment in our critical infrastructure, reform the process for approving foreign investment in the U.S. and ensure 100% cargo inspection.” I agree with the reform process. However, investigating all long-term long-range foreign investment would, I believe, add to our woes internationally and ensuring 100% cargo inspection is probably more akin to an Irish fairy tale.

This is not the best way to proceed. Nor is a ban, or even a hint of a ban, on foreign investment from certain global traders, a good way to proceed. Deal-making and investing is what makes the economic activity that keeps our nation afloat. Knee-jerk reactions and scare mongering will surely lead investors and potential investors to doubt the long-term security and capital expenditure any ventures, adventures, or investments they may be considering.

Our economy is built to a substantial extent on foreign investment, trust, security, transparency and stability. We should ponder, debate, and partner with each other in an inclusive and partnering way, yet with an eye to national and international security to resolve the many complex and future issues in a spirit of goodwill towards each other, and towards our foreign money-lenders lest we cook the goose that lays the golden egg.

A goose, once cooked, will never lay another egg – golden or otherwise. Only cooperation, sound, sane, solid, and thoughtful decision making in a non-threatening environment will suffice to lure some of the doubting investors to our shores. We may cry wolf once too often and the geese could take flight through fright, thus leaving us more vulnerable to real security threats to our nation – namely impoverishment and being blind-sided by a world that fails to understand our fears or tires of our seemingly constant public internal tango with the unseen by the unseeing.

The long-term ramifications of the recent lack of due diligence by the powers that be, for whatever reason, will play out in the next several years. Let us hope, and pray that reason, vision, and due diligence for the common good of our nation and the world at large, will prevail. The world at large is a fact, not a faction and our business and policies need to deal with the facts.

The Saddam’s and the Osama’s of this world did not deal their blows without thorough investigation, introspection, pondering, research, verification and assessment. And, begorrah, neither should we. The world is watching, listening, marking, and above all, waiting for our next move. We should carefully ponder it with clarity of thought and perform our advance due diligence before we leap into the next black hole. The Chinese, Indians, Indonesians, Singaporeans, and Europeans are all watching. There are already over two dozen bills, from both political parties, submitted to Congress which all wish to manhandle the reviewing of foreign investment. This is absurd. This is knee-jerk vote-getting at its most unseemly. Let us reflect a little and hasten slowly.

Ailish M. Nic Phaidin , MPRII ©
President & CEO
Access Link International, Inc.
Public Relations & Marketing Counselors
Phone: + 321-952-2978. Email: Ailish@AccessLinkInternational.com