For a glimpse of bright future, go to a State Fair

COLUMBUS: Well, after all the wrangling and arguing, Congress and the President agreed on a budget plan. It wasn’t a good plan, but it was the only one they could get. Did it please anybody? Not a chance. Stockholders sold their stocks, losing more than a Trillion in a day. Standard & Poor’s lowered our credit rating a notch. Congress’ approval rating is in the tank. Unemployment refuses to drop below nine percent. And how bad is it when one of the countries making fun of our economy is Russia?
The only person who says he likes our economy is Warren Buffett, and he owns so much of it he is just protecting his investment. Of course, I trust Warren’s opinion more than I do Russia’s.
President Obama turned 50 this week. Remember when Marilyn Monroe sang “Happy Birthday” to President Kennedy? With all the emphasis on cutting costs I think this president was left with either Roseanne Barr or Whoopi Goldberg. At 50, he is fit and trim, in great shape. But he probably feels ten years older than when he took office.
This is Fair season. The Ohio State Fair is wrapping up, and Iowa’s Fair starts this week. They both boast about their butter cow sculptures, and rightly so, but this year Iowa has the advantage. Every Republican candidate under the sun is in Iowa buttering up the voters for the Iowa Straw Poll on Saturday. They say it don’t mean anything, but any candidate who gets creamed in Iowa is soon put out to pasture.
The President is trying to round up more jobs. The harder he works at it, the farther behind we seem to fall. I think if he spent a few days at a State Fair he would get an inkling of the future of this country. I saw a whole slew of 4-H members competing the past two weeks in Ohio, and these young folks know how to give a speech, they know their subject, and they know how to navigate a tight course whether it’s driving a tractor, designing a robot, guiding a welding rod, or leading a young bull. You watch these bright young folks and you come away impressed that when they complete their formal educations, whether high school, college, or an advanced degree, they will be ready to step into a good career or create their own business. As teenagers, many already have.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“It’s called the 4-H Club. Somebody was inspired when they founded that. It’s all over the country. By golly they are a great bunch of kids.” DT #2585, Nov. 18, 1934

“The only salvation I can see for the young is to increase the college term to an additional four years. That’s another one of my plans. You’ll say, “Well, what could they learn in another four years?”  Well, there must be some little something about making a living that they haven’t learned yet, and they could kind of work on that for the next four years.” Radio, June 2, 1935