Immobility
As cars overflowing with stuff crawl slowly towards dorm rooms and
apartments here at the University of Michigan, it’s worth spending a
moment to consider some mainstream news reports that share a
downward-sloping psychic curve.
Regulators all over
the world would like to have a say about U.S. lending policy, the Times
tells
us:
Politicians, regulators and financial specialists outside
the United
States are seeking a role in the oversight of American markets, banks
and rating agencies after recent problems related to subprime
mortgages. . . . International investors are . . . asking why
American lenders were
allowed to give mortgages to home buyers who could not repay
them.
We’re being whupped by Japan when
it comes to internet access, says
the Washington Post, and people are finally making the connection
between communications regulation and economic
growth/innovation. There’s a nice quote
from Vint Cerf:
Japan’s lead in speed is worrisome
because it will shift Internet innovation away from the United States,
warns Cerf, who is widely credited with helping to invent some of the
Internet’s basic architecture. ‘Once you have very high
speeds, I guarantee that people will figure out things to do with it
that they haven’t done before,’ he
said.
And, finally, USAToday pulls
together data on the Katrina recovery:
Of the $116
billion appropriated by Congress to
Gulf Coast recovery, $34 billion has been earmarked for long-term
rebuilding. But less than half of that has made its way through federal
checks and balances to reach municipal projects. Throughout the Gulf
Coast, residents are asking
why their government — at every level — hasn’t done more to streamline
the process and bring more rebuilding dollars to the region.
These things all relate to America’s
sinking, slowing, decaying, softening views on the public role of
infrastructure. Just like the rebuilding of a city, internet
access and sensible rules about credit are part of baseline civic
needs. Nothing much will happen on any of these three fronts
until the next election, and even then it’s likely that any “practical”
U.S. leader will take an accomodationist, incremental
approach.
Welcome to another sinking, slowing,
decaying, softening academic year in U.S. history. Maybe by
next fall we’ll be more willing to be impractical.