Doctors are sworn to an oath, to first do no harm to the patient. Seems like a fair place to start considering the vulnerable state we often find ourselves when going to the doctor.
It would also seem to be a fair place to start when considering the current state of the economy and all sorts of “crises.” Economically speaking we seem to find a crisis everywhere right now. President Obama, who cautioned us against the politics of fear during the campaign, has discovered a particular fondness for the word. He’s certainly no different than past presidents. Painting a dire picture of possible outcomes is sadly part of trying to get legislation passed.
But isn’t there a point, especially if you campaigned to end politics as usual, when a president should think first about whether or not their words, political philosophy or tactics would do harm, real harm to the economy?
Case in point, “top Obama administration officials” announced yesterday that the Environmental Protection Agency will over the course of the next several months begin the process of regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant.
By the EPA’s own admission they will have a serious fight on their hands with Congress and industry. Moreover, the ground they have to do this on is shaky. According to the New York Times the Clean Air Act under which the EPA has this authority is not well structured to handle “ubiquitous substances like carbon dioxide.”
In the interest of keeping things simple, considering the recession we are now in is this really a good time to start this fight? Democrats and Republicans from states that rely on coal burning electrical plants for electricity and have other industries in their states that produce carbon dioxide are going to ask “is this worth my constituents losing their jobs?” Shouldn’t the question the EPA and the Obama administration be asking right now is, “what harm will this do?”
Do No Harm
Posted by WPA Research on Thursday, February 19th, 2009 at 2:59 AM
Doctors are sworn to an oath, to first do no harm to the patient. Seems like a fair place to start considering the vulnerable state we often find ourselves when going to the doctor.
It would also seem to be a fair place to start when considering the current state of the economy and all sorts of “crises.” Economically speaking we seem to find a crisis everywhere right now. President Obama, who cautioned us against the politics of fear during the campaign, has discovered a particular fondness for the word. He’s certainly no different than past presidents. Painting a dire picture of possible outcomes is sadly part of trying to get legislation passed.
But isn’t there a point, especially if you campaigned to end politics as usual, when a president should think first about whether or not their words, political philosophy or tactics would do harm, real harm to the economy?
Case in point, “top Obama administration officials” announced yesterday that the Environmental Protection Agency will over the course of the next several months begin the process of regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant.
By the EPA’s own admission they will have a serious fight on their hands with Congress and industry. Moreover, the ground they have to do this on is shaky. According to the New York Times the Clean Air Act under which the EPA has this authority is not well structured to handle “ubiquitous substances like carbon dioxide.”
In the interest of keeping things simple, considering the recession we are now in is this really a good time to start this fight? Democrats and Republicans from states that rely on coal burning electrical plants for electricity and have other industries in their states that produce carbon dioxide are going to ask “is this worth my constituents losing their jobs?” Shouldn’t the question the EPA and the Obama administration be asking right now is, “what harm will this do?”