A lesson I’ve been taught and witnessed to be true is that the trust and integrity on which your reputation is built doesn’t come with a refill. Folks brand themselves not just with the words they say in hopes to paint a word picture of who they are and their approach to all things, but, most importantly, with their deeds.
We all know them – those folks who have so many iterations of the same story depending on the crowd they’re with that they frequently get caught being duplicitous, or as we say around our house, a liar. Even worse are the ones who smile, tilt their heads so gently to convey a kind spirit one minute but use arm-twisting and power threats the next to obtain or retain their power.
The same applies to institutions and organizations.
On a federal level, we’re witnessing the consistent decline in trust that emanates from Washington, D.C., and those elected to “represent” our interests back home. While most who serve stand in their home districts citing benefits that voters enjoy due to their “leadership,” the lack of consistency over time is the element that serves to erode the public trust.
A few key issues on the federal level have caused the well of public trust to begin to run dry – bone dry.
Illegal immigration has a proven effect to drive down wages of law-abiding citizens and cause a financial drain on public institutions funded by legal taxpayers such as health care, education and welfare. Yet, our Congress and president both act as if there’s no remedy until new laws are passed. Enforce the present laws, folks.
Health care, another sector of commerce that drips with all sorts of political promises, is an area of business that showcases the failures of government over-regulation that, in turn, guarantees higher costs. Health insurance should be addressed as home owners insurance and car insurance are addressed: a personal, private purchase with the consumer in control of payment, not a third party like the government or an insurance company. States and the federal government talk about reforms that actually reduce costs and increase accessibility because that cost is going down but never produce meaningful action.
Education is an incredibly important ingredient to a high-performing individual and, therefore, the community. Yet, the formula in use now is “more money + same old bureaucracy=education.” The lurches and jerks are laughable and pathetic but are endured by classroom teachers whose only priority is to pour their efforts into increasing the knowledge of their pupils. It’s predictably easy for politicians to promise educational reform. But the facts are simple and demonstrated by the celebrated embarrassment in America that 36 percent of fourth graders and 34 percent of eighth graders read at grade level.
Translation: After billions of dollars spent, 64 percent of fourth graders and 66 percent of eighth graders do not read at grade level.
Then, there’s the generic spending of our tax dollars. As we know, but forget, the U.S., Tennessee, Hamilton County and Chattanooga governments don’t have their own money. All government entities operate based on taxes that come from its citizens.
The endless promises of “priorities” and “essential services” really sound good and serve as great talking points. But, the reality is that too many government officials too often enjoy the power and attention that come with spending your money for various causes, many that are neither essential nor a priority.
Yeah, there’s a palpable and authentic cynicism that is directly the result of those “representatives” whose credibility is running out due to their mismatched words and deeds.
Robin Smith, a former chairwoman of the Tennessee Republican Party, is the owner of Rivers Edge Alliance.