Deferring Consequences Makes Matters Worse

When I was a child, I used to dread punishment.

Most kids do, but I was so sincerely afraid of being punished that I took punishment avoidance to a whole new level and would thwart my mother's attempts to give me a spanking or a grounding with all my might. I threw a toy airplane at her head one time when she got out the wooden spoon. Another time, I hid under the bed and refused to come out until my mom had to throw cups of water at me. Another time I brought my brother along with me as we fled into the woods across the street from my house. We hid behind trees and bushes for a few hours until my brother was homesick and crying. By that time, I didn't actually know where we were so it was a relief when my mom showed up looking for us.

As I got older, I things didn't change.

I tried to hide my report cards if I had anything less than a B and even in my adult life, I tried to repress anger or resentment rather than deal with conflict head-on. I still avoid taking responsibility for my actions whenever I make a mistake.

So I know first-hand that delaying consequences almost always makes matters worse. When I was younger, it meant a few additional smacks on my bottom, extra minutes in the corner, or more weeks without friends and TV. And in recent years, it's meant that relationships have gone unmended and additional late fees from creditors.

Putting off punishment & consequences made things worse every time. In fact, I can't think of an example from my own life where I've been better off after holding out or avoiding what's coming to me. Honestly, things would be much easier if I would just go ahead and get it over with, face the music and accept my fate.

Owning up to the consequences of our actions is an overlooked part of integrity. I'm striving for the kind of integrity where I can admit when I'm wrong and be willing to accept whatever life hands me because of it. I struggle with this, sure, but at least I'm beginning to see the benefits of dealing with failure head-on. And since I get it, I would have hoped that the businesses across our fine nation and our own government here in the United States would get it, too.

But apparently, they don't get it.

You see, there's a mounting debt problem within our country. It's evident in our national debt, and in state deficit problems. It's effecting counties and cities and it's even permeated down to individual households where the average debt for American families is nearing $19,000. It's plain that we've made a lot of bad choices about money. We've overspent and now the reaper is here to collect. The reaper has come in the form of an economic downturn.

But instead of admitting that we went too far and allowing some of our loans and bad credit to be realized and dealt with appropriately, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Government is jumping and talking about printing more money and bailing out all sorts of businesses and corporations across the country.

This of course, didn't work during the Great Depression when we were in a similar mess, but somehow, like a small child cowering under the bed, hoping that his mother will forget that he backtalked to her, these big businesses and big government agents assume that this time is different. It's different this time, they assume, because we're throwing MORE money at the problem.

I thought that doing the same thing over and over again, hoping that you'll get different results was the definition of insanity? But No, No, No- they say... it's different... more money, remember? bigger debt this time. it's totally different.

The truth is, unless we're allowed to fail, unless we're allowed to suffer the consequences of failure, we're never going to rebound either. All this talk of bailout and financing ignores the root of the problem. The root problem is that American businesses and American individuals got greedy. We bit off more mortgage and more debt than we could handle and unless that is actualized and accounted for, things aren't going to get better. In fact, they're going to get worse. Automakers will keep producing cars that aren't in demand, wall street will keep betting on exponential growth, and banks will keep lending to individuals who won't be able to pay them back. This isn't good, sound business, and those who do such things should have to pay the price, not be funded by taxpayers.

You see, a free market only works when you allow it to work. Those who say that the free market has "failed us" are misinformed. Government has failed us because they don't understand that part of free markets include letting those who fail, fail. They keep trying to delay and postpone our troubles and in doing so it's just getting us into more and more trouble. Rome, if I recall correctly, was destroyed because of the consequences of debt- not because of their culture.

I learned my lesson that delaying punishment makes things worse. I'm trying to deal with things when they happened. And I sure hope Washington learns this it too because ultimately, it's going to cost more to bailout and delay the inevitable than to let things resolve themselves naturally and in a timely manner.