Friday, Mar 20, 2009
Posted on Thu, Mar. 19, 2009

Economic success does not always equal value

By DAN BARRETT
Special to the Star-Telegram

"Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value."
— Albert Einstein

When I was a teenager, my mom and dad gave me a plaque bearing those words. The plaque hung on my bedroom wall, and I had occasion to ponder the words often as I struggled, like everyone does, with the transformation from adolescence to young adulthood. Somewhere along the way, I lost the plaque. I’ve always tried, however, to live by the words.

They’re good words — worthy and wise. I believe that success flows naturally from value. Value, however, does not necessarily flow from success. I also believe that if, as a society, we had honored value rather than success over the last decade or so, we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in.

Our obsession with success as opposed to value has been pervasive. It crosses socioeconomic and political lines. It motivated Bernard Madoff. It manifested as disdain for regulatory safeguards. It funded subprime mortgages.

The nits of the stimulus can and apparently will be picked and picked and picked — which is not to say that they shouldn’t be. The consequences for our collective well-being of our governmental financial decisions loom as large as anything in recent memory. And our collective well-being, I believe, should be the criteria by which we evaluate those decisions.

When I hear the often-repeated justification that executive salaries and bonuses vastly out of step with ordinary reality are necessary to "recruit and retain the best and brightest to run American businesses," I’m astounded by the disparity between success and value.

The $220 million in bonuses paid to AIG executives is a case in point. Without question, those payments constitute individual success for the individuals receiving them. The nearly universal outrage in response, however, evidences general recognition of their obscene lack of value.

Frankly, I’m optimistic that the public fury is an indication that we’re waking up.

To be sure, there are no simple solutions to the problems facing our nation and our state. One of the things we must avoid, however, is the tendency to evaluate things in terms of surface appearances, without the more thoughtful assessment required to determine value rather than success.

Take, for example, Gov. Rick Perry’s rejection of the half-billion dollars for the state’s unemployment benefits. That action is the product of a razor-thin analysis in terms of its goal, which is to get the biggest bang with the most reactionary segment of the voting public for the least bucks sacrificed.

Contrary to the governor’s "let them eat cake" dismissal of the unemployed, accepting the funds would generate the most value — not only by providing assistance to people in need but also by replenishing the state’s unemployment fund, which is more than $800 million in the red.

And contrary to Perry’s skewed financial reckoning, not taking the money would result in a heavier and certainly more immediate financial burden on Texas employers.

Texas has a history of squandering the opportunity to recoup federal tax dollars — think of the millions of dollars in matching funds for the Children’s Health Insurance Program that we have been sending back to the federal Treasury.

Balancing the state’s budget is a desirable thing. We may be successful in doing so at the expense of our children’s health, but that method surely fails the test for value.

Refusing to accept the unemployment benefit funds will not reverse the congressional action of passing the stimulus package. It will not balance the federal budget. It will not erase the deficit in the state’s unemployment fund. It most assuredly will not help those Texans most drastically hurt by the current recession.

It will solidify the governor’s support among those who would likely back him in any event. It will necessitate increased taxes on Texas businesses in the very near future. And it will mollify those who have a penchant for biting off noses to spite faces.

The Legislature has the opportunity to correct the governor’s mistake. Let’s hope that it does so. It will be a step toward successfully managing our current economic distress without sacrificing value.