I had the good fortune to work for one of the most successful and respected international corporations in the world. One of their important operating principles involves the use of blame. Blame is corrosive and unhelpful. Instead of blame, the identification of the problem and the pursuit of solutions is the accepted approach.
I've personally found that in the United States, assignment of blame is the usual response to most issues. Often it is accompanied by instilling fear of something or someone.
As an example, during the last presidential campaign, the sitting president was blamed for high egg prices, high fuel costs and high housing prices and shortages. With some investigation, egg prices were impacted by an outbreak of bird flu that resulted in the destruction of millions of laying hens creating shortages. Fuel costs are determined by the oil companies and are not subject to government accountability. Housing shortages have been negatively impacted by the increase in ownership by investors (like Blackstone). Private equity investors now control over 20% of single family dwellings and apartment complexes, where conversion to rentals and withholding properties from the market have created increased demand.
Have you noticed how often the most vulnerable among us are scapegoated? Fear of the other is a long used tactic and strategy for political groups to gather support by blaming those vulnerable among us for our own insecurities.
Identifying problems and their root causes and then creating well thought out solutions is to me a much more effective course of action.
The recent spate of accusers blaming antifa for violence and being a terrorist organization is a good example of the corrosive effects of assigning blame on an idea. As former FBI Director Wray accurately pointed out many months ago, antifa is an ideology, not an organization. Blame combined with ignorance as a foundation for action is destructive.
As an example of one problem, we could examine income inequality. If we just consider the minimum wage, it was raised to $5.85 in July 2007, $6.55 in July 2008 and $7.25 in July 2009. It has remained at that level since that time, a period of 16-plus years. Why is that the case? Who benefits? Who suffers?
Those are the type of questions that deserve some attention perhaps.
G. Pittman
Ridgefield
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