[Mb-civic] NYTimes.com Article: 'Oops. I Told the Truth.'

[michael at intrafi.com]

The article below from NYTimes.com 
has been sent to you by michael at intrafi.com.



/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight ------------\

SIDEWAYS - OPENS IN NEW YORK AND LOS ANGELES OCT. 22

An official selection of the New York Film Festival and the
Toronto International Film Festival, SIDEWAYS is the new
comedy from Alexander Payne, director of ELECTION and ABOUT
SCHMIDT. Starring Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Sandra
Oh and Virginia Madsen, SIDEWAYS opens in NY & LA October 22
and will expand across North America in November. 
Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/sideways/index_nyt.html

\----------------------------------------------------------/


'Oops. I Told the Truth.'

October 17, 2004
 By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN 



 

Sometimes it's useful to stand back and ask yourself: If I
could vote for anyone for president other than George W.
Bush or John Kerry, whom would I choose? I'd choose Bill
Cosby - on the condition that he would talk as bluntly to
white parents and kids about what they need to do if they
want to succeed as he did to black kids and parents a few
months ago. 

The one thing that has gone totally missing, not only from
this election, but from American politics, is national
leaders who are actually ready to level with the public and
even criticize their own constituencies. The columnist
Michael Kinsley once observed that in American politics "a
gaffe is when a politician tells the truth." We could use a
few really big gaffes right now. Because we have not one,
but three baby booms bearing down at us, and without a
massive injection of truth-telling they could all explode
on the next president's watch. 

The leading edge of the American baby boom generation is
now just two presidential terms away from claiming its
Social Security and Medicare benefits. "With unfunded
entitlement liabilities at $74 trillion in today's dollars
- an amount far exceeding the net worth of our entire
national economy - and with payroll taxes needing to double
to cover the projected costs of Social Security and
Medicare, how can any serious person not call entitlement
reform the transcendent domestic policy issue of our era?"
asks former Commerce Secretary Peter G. Peterson, whose
book on this subject, "Running on Empty," provides a
blueprint for a bipartisan solution to this problem for any
president daring to lead. 

The second group of boomers barreling down the highway are
the young people in India, China and Eastern Europe, who in
this increasingly flat world will be able to compete with
your kids and mine more directly than ever for
high-value-added jobs. Attention Wal-Mart shoppers: The
Chinese and the Indians are not racing us to the bottom.
They are racing us to the top. Young Indian and Chinese
entrepreneurs are not content just to build our designs.
They aspire to design the next wave of innovations and
dominate those markets. Good jobs are being outsourced to
them not simply because they'll work for less, but because
they are better educated in the math and science skills
required for 21st-century work. 

When was the last time you met a 12-year-old who told you
he or she wanted to grow up to be an engineer? When Bill
Gates goes to China, students hang from the rafters and
scalp tickets to hear him speak. In China, Bill Gates is
Britney Spears. In America, Britney Spears is Britney
Spears. We need a Bill Cosby-like president to tell all
parents the truth: throw out your kid's idiotic video game,
shut off the TV and get Johnny and Suzy to work, because
there is a storm coming their way. 

The third group of boomers our next president will have to
deal with is from the Arab world. The Arab region has had
the highest rate of population growth in the world in the
last half century. It has among the highest unemployment
rates in the world today. And one-third of the Arab
population is under the age of 15 and will soon be entering
both a barren job market and its child-bearing years. There
are eight Saudis under age 15 for every one between ages 45
and 60. 

This is why I believed so strongly in trying to partner
with the people of Iraq to establish some sort of decent
government there that might serve as a beachhead for more
progressive governance in the Arab world. I have not given
up hope for this, but it may turn out that we made too many
mistakes and that Iraqis are too divided for such a project
to succeed. If so, the next president is going to need plan
B - some combination of oil conservation that reduces our
exposure to this region, a new military strategy and a
renewed focus on promoting better government there through
diplomatic and economic means. The Arab world is not even
close to educating its baby boomers with the skills needed
to succeed in the 21st century. Left untended, this trend
is a prescription for humiliation and suicide terrorism. 

I realize that elections are no time to expect honesty from
politicians. But we're in this hole because the political
season used to stop on Election Day. Now it's a permanent
campaign. That is simply not a luxury our next president
will have. The boomers are coming - from three directions -
and we will not be able to deal with them without a
president with a real penchant for gaffes of honesty. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/17/opinion/17friedman.html?ex=1099030515&ei=1&en=89be1b562e2c97a5


---------------------------------

Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine
reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like!
Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy
now for 50% off Home Delivery! Click here:

http://homedelivery.nytimes.com/HDS/SubscriptionT1.do?mode=SubscriptionT1&ExternalMediaCode=W24AF



HOW TO ADVERTISE
---------------------------------
For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters 
or other creative advertising opportunities with The 
New York Times on the Web, please contact
onlinesales at nytimes.com or visit our online media 
kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo

For general information about NYTimes.com, write to 
help at nytimes.com.  

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company