The Failed Arguments of John Edwards

Another presidential campaign, another also-ran badge for John Edwards. Only this time he won’t even get the VP consolation prize.

Edwards got lost this year amidst the Clinton v. Obama rumble. You could say a rich, middle-aged white guy simply had no shot in a year when historic firsts beckoned the party. But, really, I think voters just weren’t convinced that this patrician with the Southern drawl as meticulously maintained as his hair would really change America for the better.

Oh, sure, he had that speech, the one members of the media fawned over four years ago. The one that sounded so stilted and contrived at the convention in 2004. Two Americas. One for those slimy rich jerks, one for us poor oppressed masses. The fact that Edwards himself is filthy rich was apparently a sign that he knew what he was talking about – rather than an indication that he might be clueless.

Those on the right often accused Edwards of waging class warfare. Maybe in some people’s definition. But, really, he’s just a typical 20th century era liberal who believes people have little hope of a good life without the government assuring them one. That’s not to say he believes in an endless welfare state. He truly loves the virtues of hard work and believes a good day’s labor should earn a good day’s pay. In a perfect world, it should, yes. In this world, the rise of the service economy has left us with lots of jobs whose labor is worth little so that the products we buy might cost less.

John Edwards wanted to fix that, which is a positive mission. But he wasn’t advocating the removal of hurdles that make it difficult for individuals to compete in the free market or lowering the barriers that make it hard for small businesses to prosper. He believed in more regulations, more restrictions, more government that would artificially elevate wages, close off trade and try to hold back the inevitable transition to a global economy. He wanted to protect us from the big, scary free market, not help us operate in it.

A lot of us would love more opportunity to lift ourselves up, but, apparently (thankfully), not many think Edwards’ brand of protectionism is the answer. What Edwards got wrong is that there are not two Americas. It’s not so simple. There are hundreds of Americas. Thousands. And each state, each city, each neighborhood and each person doesn’t need governmental coddling. We need freedom. We need the federal government to cut away the layers of unfairness not add more layers for us to navigate. It’s not even about smaller government. Just smarter government, more focused on creating opportunity than trying to create some unreachable ideal of classlessness.

Edwards’ ideas live on within the Democratic party. Hopefully, his failure will help temper the party’s more protectionist instincts. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to help the less fortunate – in fact, the impulse is noble. But some solutions are far better than others.

Cross posted at PoliGazette.

“I guess it was a perfect profession for someone who was putting off being someone.”

The quote is from Amba in a post about her years of ghostwriting. She is talking about how ghostwriters imbed themselves in another person’s life to the detriment of the writer’s own self. But damn-it-all if that one line doesn’t hit me square in the gut.

Unlike Amba’s ghostwriting, my copywriting does not lead me to impersonate. Mine is the art of unsubtle persuasion, constantly the carnival barker shouting “here, buy this, it will improve your life.” Yet much like the ghostwriter, I do not own the words I write. There is no attribution. No assurance that what I write won’t be changed by others a hundred times over before appearing in print.

I tell myself “at least I’m a writer.” Writing has been my passion since I was scribbling stories in crayon. Shouldn’t I rejoice in knowing I’m one of the lucky few who can make a living as a writer? Why do I feel that this advertising profession of mine is just a fallback – a bland snack while others feast?

The answer is this: I am putting off being someone. Amba’s words are just right. It’s not about waste, for I believe I’ve wasted little and live a pretty nice life. It’s not about failure, because I have achieved many things. It is, at the heart of it, about leaving too much of my talent off the table. I have let myself be content with a gruel of mushy success, just filling enough to let me sleep but too plain to truly satisfy.

What I want is to be a writer of fiction. Yes I have written many stories and have even had a few short pieces published, but I’ve never made a strong push to be more than a hobbyist. Lately I’ve even toyed with the idea of relegating the whole notion of fiction writing to that same back shelf where I store the old dreams of being an actor or an astronaut. At least then, I figure, I could stop the gnawing sense that I am not being that someone I could be.

But I cannot hide away this particular passion. I can only follow it or pretend I’m living it. I’ve been pretending for awhile. And now the self-deception has ruptured – it’s been threatening to do so for a good while.

This all means nothing to Maverick Views. Blogging may take time but it has its purpose. There are many more habits I can cast aside if it’s time I need. But time appears when the will demands it. The will is what I need now. I’ll let you know the progress.

Death and ...

Once again, I have taken part in the yearly tax ritual. You know, the one where you surround yourself with a bunch of documents and then answer a computer program’s questions that range from the easy (your name) to the indecipherable (what amortization method would you like to use for Alan’s Computer?) to the just-asking-for-a-fib (do you have written documentation to prove the expenses?).

Last year, after I completed my taxes, I wrote about the inherent problems with the self-employment tax. This year, I thought I’d share some general thoughts about our ever-enthralling tax code.

• Want to talk tax-cuts-for-the-rich? Being able to deduct all the interest and property taxes paid on your primary residence is a serious tax break for those owning expensive homes. Not that a bunch of rich congressmen are ever going to change that rule…

• Why is it you get a deduction for dependent childcare costs but no tax break if either the mother or the father stays home to care for a child? I think a stay-at-home parent tax deduction would be a socially and economically valuable addition to the code

• Maybe I read this wrong, but it seems you can only deduct gambling losses if you also report gambling winnings. Winnings? You can win at gambling? Maybe I should be trying harder next time I’m in Vegas.

• Can you imagine going in to buy a car and the dealer throwing you a bunch of paperwork and saying “here, figure out how much your car will cost …and if you underestimate we will fine you.” That’s insane. And yet, that’s what the government does to us each year.

• If it weren’t for computer tax programs, some accountant would be getting paid to do my taxes. No way I could figure out my deductions and liabilities using the government forms. No way.

• For the first time in years, I didn’t have to figure out state income taxes. I love being back in Texas.

In Defense of Procrastination

When it comes to work, I’m just as likely to be reading ESPN.com as I am to be typing away at a brochure. I have a whole slew of procrastination techniques that begin with my obsessive following of the NFL and proceed through blogging, reading blogs, on-line word games and even taking long walks. Before the Internet, I was a compulsive computer solitaire player—so my habits are not Internet born, merely Internet enhanced.

However, when I do work, I’m a machine. I often have good ideas fast and can execute large projects in surprisingly little time. This may be just the way my brain works but I actually attribute it to my work habits.

Here’s my theory: we are the sum of our experiences. If all you ever do during the workday is focus on work, you’re going to be a drone trapped in the machinations of your job. But if you focus some attention elsewhere during the day, you’re letting the outside world into the work world. To sound all motivational-speaker-like: procrastination keeps the door of ideas open.

Good ideas don’t come from the inside, they come from finding something new on the outside, bringing it in and adapting it to a new purpose. For most companies working in the information economy, the bottom line is not measured in hours the employees are diligently working. It’s measured in the value of their ideas and services.

In a factory-economy, success is very much tied to the speed of production. But information-economy success is as much dependent on human ingenuity as it is on raw productivity. Companies understand this dynamic but I question how many know how to create environments of creativity. From my experiences and observations, too many modern businesses still rely on the “everyone working all the time” approach.

As our economy becomes more and more information based and our workforce becomes less manual and more intellectual, we’ll have to find ways to keep our businesses ahead of global competition. Could a tolerance of procrastination be a helpful step? That would be a development I could heartily endorse.