Notes From Dorchester

Wish you were here!

It's interesting to spend a day with "people you agree with." The day seems to have pointed out, repeatedly, that some people aren't good at reading instructions. One of today's debate topics was on federal legislation that related to the drinking age. Most of the debate was over the drinking age was 18 or 21...or some other age. What the issue was, was should the federal government pass legislation dealing with the drinking age. By the time the issue was sorted out, we, as a group, felt that states really should be left to determine the drinking age in each particular state. Which was kind of refreshing, since I couldn't find where in the Constitution the federal government had the authority for this type of thing.

Oh, well. Overreaching by the federal government seems to be a habit built over the long passage of time. The instructive lesson was, read what you're voting on. Which will bring us to the Stimulus Package.

The delegates have voted to debate a resolution involving the bail-out of our automakers tomorrow. Simply passing the "delegate's choice" resolution would tend to indicate on which side the majority will end up supporting. And there's an important lesson there. Those of us with business experience know that if you're looking for insurance, chances are, your first phone call won't be to AIG.

As soon as Congress figures this out, the financial mess will start clearing. But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe we should give money to a losing industry. It has worked so well in the past.

Nemaste.