It’s a sad day in Whoville, folks. I have given up my iPhone, on the same day that my business partner upgraded to the new 3Gs model. But hey, I’m a mature adult, and will not be envious or grind my teeth at night.
The problem was simple: AT&T service coverage sucks. With my pending move to Chicago, this became a pressing issue. Often I would reach for my phone and find I had no service. AT&T claimed that my neighborhood had the best coverage they offered (which made it easier to switch), but others on the near north side complained about similar problems. After losing connections on several calls last week – including one with AT&T Customer Service – I made them release me six weeks before my contract expired.
I am now the owner of a BlackBerry Storm, and while the device is more like a Guttenberg press than a mobile communication device, it does work everywhere I go, including the subway. Because I am a hopeless and dangerous optimist, I’m counting on Verizon getting the iPhone next year, just as their new 4G network is unveiled. And that, my friends, is what is called delayed gratification. I think there might be a new iPod in my future…
In a stunning example of placing yourself before country, or stepping on the backs of your fellow man in order to advance your career, or simply showing other parents how not to raise their kids, Illinois Representative Mark Kirk (R-10) made a jaw-dropping confession at the Center For Strategic & International Studies as a guest speaker at their June 8th Bipartisan Congressional Dialogue program. Kirk is a co-chair of the House’s US-China Working Group. On a recent trip to China, he told officials there that – and I’m paraphrasing – the budget numbers being published by our government can’t be trusted (that’s right, you can see the video.) This man told our largest debtor that we were lying about our ability to repay loans. And he’s bragging about it at the CSIS in an open forum. You definitely don’t want Mr. Kirk watching your back.
So why is this a big deal? Well, let’s say that China doesn’t realize that this is a podunk representative trying to burnish his bona fides in the Republican party. They get spooked and decide they don’t want to buy any, or even as much, U.S. debt. That drives up interest rates, since the Treasury will have to offer higher rates in order to sell the debt to other buyers. Interest payments will become an even larger segment of the budget, squeezing out federal programs and debt reduction measures. Consumer rates will rise, and people will have an even harder time getting loans. Spending will shrink further, lengthening the recession. In the end, the government will be unable to counteract the already shrinking private sector, and there will be no force available to stem further economic collapse.
As a student of history, I’m always amazed at Americans’ ability to ignore lessons of the past. After the gluttonous orgy of the 1920′s, Republicans got religion and preached fiscal conservatism. The result was the Great Depression. Herbert Hoover is still reviled as one of our worst Presidents. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in fiscal responsibility. It’s just that you have to practice it before the shit hits the fan. Cleaning up the mess is not the time to complain about wearing coveralls and rubber gloves. Representative Kirk needs to put his political ambitions aside and find another way to play fiscal conservative while he waits out this crisis.
I’m sure many of you don’t live in Illinois’ 10th (I don’t either), but bone-headed comments like this definitely impact all of us. If you want to send Representative Kirk a note, you can reach him at his Congressional website.
