Political Thread By Lee Iacocca

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Here are some excerpts from Lee Iacocca's new book, "Where have allthe leaders gone".Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening?Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder.We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state rightover a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and wecan't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car.But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their headswhen the politicians say, "Stay the course".Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not thedamned "Titanic". I'll give you a sound bite: "Throw all the bumsout!"You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, andmaybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize thiscountry anymore.The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guysin handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burningand nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving'pom-poms' instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise ofthe "America" my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I'vehad enough. How about you?I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you'renot outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have.The Biggest "C" is Crisis !Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis.It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory.Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen abattlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comestumbling down.On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any othertime in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of theashes. A Hell of a Mess.So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no planfor winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficitin the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge toAsia, while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by healthcare costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has acoherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders arelike sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which way. Theseare times that cry out for leadership.But when you look around, you've got to ask: "Where have all theleaders gone?" Where are the curious, creative communicators? Whereare the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, andcommon sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you getthe point.Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security thanmaking us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo?We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, andall we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina.Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to thehurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that weremade in the crucial hours after the storm.Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happenagain. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make aplan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we canrestore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believedthat there could ever be a time when "The Big Three" referred toJapanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, whatare we going to do about it?Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying downthe debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health careproblem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that areeating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit onyour asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy isbeing hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity.What is everybody so afraid of? That somebody on Fox News will callthem a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for achange? Had Enough?Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'mtrying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope. Ibelieve in America. In my lifetime I've had the privilege of livingthrough some of America's greatest moments. I've also experiencedsome of our worst crises: the "Great Depression", "World War II", the"Korean War", the "Kennedy Assassination", the "Vietnam War", the1970s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with9/11. If I've learned one thing, it's this:"You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting forsomebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car orbuilding a better future for our children, we all have a role to play.That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a call to "Action"for people who, like me, believe in America. It's not too late, butit's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the crap and go to work.Let's tell 'em all we've had "enough."

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Here are some excerpts from Lee Iacocca's new book, "Where have allthe leaders gone".Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening?Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder.We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state rightover a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind,

I think after the way he raided the treasury with Chrysler, this statement is more than a bit ironic, and shoots the hell out of any credibility any remaining points may have.

[HollywoodAFD 0]

"Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying downthe debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health careproblem."His name was Ross Perot...not really a Gov leader but a guy that knows how to do those things. The problem was, and still is, the people don't want to do what it will take to accomplish those goals. The voting people would rather hear good things like "I'm going to balance the budget and creat jobs" not HOW the politician is going to do it.A) Pay down the dept -- Simple. Ever take a Finance class? Pay more to the debt than you borrow. Where does the money come from? Taxes. People don't want to hear that. If you mention a tax raise...people freak out EVEN if you show them the math that the raise will only effect them personally to the tune of about $85 PER YEAR...they still freak out. (I understand a whole other debate is not raising taxes but using the dollars appropraitely)B) Solve the energy crisis -- There is NO energy crisis. The problem is deregulation and allowing Mr. TXU (substitute the name of your local provider here) to continually make $800 Million in profit year after year and still come to the Government and ask to be allowed to charge more. Gasoline? Same thing... for the $3.00 per gallon you pay..look at how much of that is actually tax.Where the hell is that money going? There's no shortage of fuel. C) Health Care -- Why is the Country responsible for providing health care? Because so many people refuse to get insurance and then go to the Emergency Room every time they have a cold and they dont pay their bills so the Medical Agency's have to raise their rates to cover the "no-pays" and then the spiral continues down to those of us who ACTUALLY pay our freakin bills!Ross Perot outlines exactly how to solve these financial issues but it would cost the individual voter some money and they freaked out. We as a whole don't want to do what it will take to accomplish these things..we only want someone to tell us they can fix it for us.