Friday, February 06, 2009

Legacies

Roosevelt thought big. He created a New Deal with big ideas. He created a legacy worthy of a great nation. He created debt passed on to future generations, and passed on value along with that debt; value that matched and exceeded that debt.

Four generations have driven on roads, hiked on trails and camped in campgrounds built by FDR’s big thinking. They continue to do so today and will continue to for generations to come.

Tucson, Arizona’s most popular day recreation spot is Sabino Canyon; a lovely retreat in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains. You get there on a road built by FDR’s big thinking, cross the stream on bridges built by that same dream, and picnic in facilities built the same way.

Tusconans drive to Summerhaven, at the top of the mountain, on a highway built by FDR’s big thinking. The highway has been widened since then, a few of the curves rerouted, but it is the same road originally built by the Civilian Conservation Corps with picks and shovels.

Obama is talking about weatherproofing homes that will be torn down in twenty years.

Future generations will look back and ask why. “Our grandparents spent a trillion dollars, creating a debt that we are paying now, and what do we have to show for it?”

Obama promised us big thinking, change, a new way of doing things.

What we get is a big bucket full of small ideas.

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