Smarty wrote:

In our government, what you say is largely true. But this is NOT the
way the world works. Many organizations including both hugely
successful businesses as well as foreign governments chose leaders
who understand more than merely the political aspects of goal setting
and decision making. They understand that better decisions are made
when more information and understanding is applied.

It is not a coincidence that many countries have deployed and enjoy
much more advanced transportation systems, health delivery systems,
and manufacturing infrastructures than the U.S. There is a very good
reason why we are getting our asses kicked in world competition, and
it stems directly from bad leadership and bad decision making,
primarily in Washington.

I agree that there's bad decision making in Washington. As long as it's
confined to locating a statute of some obscure general from the Phillipine
Insurrection, no problem. But when the decision affects our lives, watch
out! For example, a new law going into effect February 1st requires
commercial products for children under ten to be independently tested for,
inter alia, lead is obscene. Guess what will have to be tested? Clothing,
including used clothing distributed by charity centers. Linens, shoes,
crayons, car seats. Books. Yes, children's books will have to be certified!

Nothing exists in a vacuum - things are different elsewhere. Much of what we
do here is dictitated by our size. Transportation? At any instant, we have
upwards of 4,000 aircraft aloft in the United States. Anybody close?
Likewise, Americans own 125 million cars and all of them are on the road
during rush hour here in Houston. Anybody close? You may point to high-speed
rail and this works in countries like Japan with a high-density population
or France where the rail system is owned (and loses money) by the
government.

Manufacturing? The U.S. is the world's leader in manufactured products - of
course, again, our size has a lot to do with it.

Health care delivery? Giggle. There are more MRI machines just in Seattle
than in any other country in the world. Those who trot out statistics in an
attempt to prove country "X" is better at "Y" than the United States almost
never provide a critical metric: Wait-time to see a physican or obtain a
procedure. I can get an appointment to see my internist within 24 hours and
schedule an elective procedure (i.e., knee joint replacement) within three
days.

Asses kicked in world competition? Hardly. Just the growth in the U.S. GDP
is larger than the entire GDP of China.