Government Uses BandAids To Fix Problems Instead Of Solving Them

Solving Problems

No one can deny that we have a large number of problems facing this country. The difficulty arises in how to solve these problems. The left believes that more government action with regulations and spending are the answer. The right believes that a smaller government and reduced regulations are the answer. What is missing in all of this is “what are the root causes of the problems?”

The typical response to a problem is to look at what particular regulation was not followed or what event occurred and there was no regulation or rule to cover it.  Stupidity and incompetence are not brought into the mix.  Look at the law suit that cost McDonalds a huge amount of money.  A stupid person placed a hot cup of coffee between her legs and it spilled.  She sued and won.  Now all cups have a warning about coffee being hot.  DUH!  Take a little bit of time and look at the warnings on normal regularly used items.  They are humorous, but they are also causing all of us money because of the cost to the businesses.

In order to solve a problem one must go to the root cause of that problem and then implement a solution and develop a procedure to insure that the problem remains fixed.  I live in Florida and many people have pools.  Let’s assume that your pool needs refilling every week.  A solution is to refill it each week and not to be concerned with the additional cost of water.  A better solution is to discover why the pool is losing water and fix that.  It is much easier for the first solution and that is why many employ that solution.  Placing a quick fix is the solution that the government uses in most cases.  Knowing that it is temporary and will ultimately cost more does not make an impact because it is not their money.

The Federal government wastes billions of dollars each year in the social security administration.  I would think that if that administration took about a hundred cases where the causes was the same and then looked into the causes they would find a trend.  That trend caused the problem and if they were to implement a fix for that problem we would all be happier.  The same could occur in many different departments.

I recall when Harley Davidson motorcycles had quality problems and paid no attention until Honda really started eating into their market share.  They believed that as long as their distributors fixed the problems everyone would be happy.  When I buy an item, I want it to work and do not have the time or patience to return to a shop to have it repaired.  Most people are the same.  Harley Davidson implemented a quality system that worked and they were able to fight Honda.  They were doing all sorts of short fixes in order to meet delivery schedules but never looked at root causes.  When they corrected the root causes the problems evaporated.

The major roadblock confronting politicians about solving problems is that it is not their money that they are spending.  In fact the more money that they spend for their state or district the more likely that they will be re-elected.  One solution for the people is for repeal of the 17th amendment that authorized the election of Senators by the people rather that the state legislature.  The Senators are no longer as loyal to their states.  Look at the amount of money that pours into a state from other states during a senate election.

The obvious correction to a problem is not necessarily the correct solution, but more often than not it may be accepted because of pressure from higher sources or outside sources.  It takes an effective leader not to be swayed by these forces.  The bottom line is that problems can be solved forever if the root cause is discovered and corrected.

Colonel Don Myers
USMC (ret.)