Saturday, February 25, 2012

Obama's Budget Flunks the Marshmallow Test

The president's proposed new budget has three noteworthy characteristics: continuing unfunded entitlements to the middle class, runaway deficits to be repaid in the undefined future, and immense tax increases on the entrepreneurial class. Many commentators have complained about the damage this budget would do to our national prosperity. Less has been said about the effect it will have on something far more important: our national character.

There is a tremendous amount of research on the links among success, character and the ability to sacrifice. It all reaches the same conclusion: People who cannot defer current gratification tend to fail, and sacrifice itself is part of entrepreneurial success.

In one famous study from 1972, Stanford psychologist Walter Mischel concocted an ingenious experiment involving young children and a bag of marshmallows. He put a marshmallow on the table and told each child that if he (or she) could wait 15 minutes to eat it, he would get a second one as a reward.

About two-thirds of the kids failed the experiment. Some gave in immediately and gobbled up the marshmallow; videotape shows others in agony, trying to discipline themselves—some even banging their little heads on the table.

But the most interesting results from that study came years later. Researchers followed up on the children to see how their lives were turning out. The kids who didn't take the marshmallow had average SAT scores 210 points higher than the kids who ate it immediately. They were less likely to drop out of college, made far more money, were less likely to go to jail, and suffered from fewer drug and alcohol problems.
But the evidence goes beyond a finding that people who can defer gratification tend to turn out well in general.

When we hear about successful entrepreneurs, it is always as if they had the Midas touch. A pimply college kid cooks up an Internet company during a boring lecture at Harvard, and before lunch he's a billionaire. In real life, that's not how it works. Northwestern University Professor Steven Rogers has shown that the average entrepreneur fails about four times before succeeding.

When asked about their ultimate success, entrepreneurs often talk instead about the importance of their hardships: early failures and bankruptcies, missed Little-League games, endless nights without sleep. They talk about almost losing their home and the strain all this put on their marriage. When I asked the legendary investment company founder Charles Schwab about the success of the $15 billion corporation that bears his name, he told me the story about taking out a second mortgage on his home just to make payroll in the early years.

Why this emphasis on the struggle? Entrepreneurs know that when they sacrifice, they are learning and improving, exactly what they need to do to earn success through their merits. Every sacrifice and deferred gratification makes them wiser and better, showing them that they're not getting anything free. When success ultimately comes, they wouldn't trade away the earlier days for anything, even if they felt wretched at the time.

What does all this have to do with public policy? The present administration believes we should be able to get our country fiscally back on track without the vast majority of Americans having to accept less from government. Year after year, no entitlement recipient is asked to give up benefits—even benefits well above a basic safety net.

Bailouts for homeowners, auto companies and financial firms have protected many from the consequences of poor decisions. And even as we run up unprecedented debt, public-sector workers continue to receive pay and benefits that exceed those of their private-sector counterparts.

The expanding welfare state exists, in no small part, to shove marshmallows into our collective mouth. The government expunges sacrifice, smooths the risk out of our economic lives, and protects us from the consequences of our actions. It is aggressively moving us away from the national entrepreneurial ethos, teaching dependency and changing our relationship to the state.

This is not conservative dogma. Look at Greece. It is easy to get lost in the weeds of sovereign-debt ratings and monetary inflexibility, but the fundamental source of that country's problems is straightforward. Politicians were unwilling for more than a decade to ask citizens for any meaningful sacrifice in public spending, which outstripped revenues. Citizens came to feel entitled to public resources their country had not earned and could not afford. As the country faced collapse, the result has been hopelessness, helplessness and Molotov cocktails.

Is this where we want to go? If not, then we had better recognize that the right path to fiscal consolidation is not to find creative new ways to push debt into the future or vacuum more taxes out of the wealthy. It is to cut spending and reform entitlements right now. It means actual sacrifice—and that is not a bad thing.
 
Mr. Brooks is president of the American Enterprise Institute and author of the new book "The Road to Freedom: How to Win the Fight for Free Enterprise," forthcoming in May from Basic Books.

Friday, February 24, 2012

February 2012





February has been a quiet month for Cindy and me. With Obama’s energy policy gouging our wallets, we stayed close to home. We visited the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, experienced the Spring Remodel & Landscape Show, and took a CPR class. We ate out once (Othello’s) and listened to live jazz at our favorite wine bar (Vin Dolce) in Edmond. We attended one funeral, Cindy’s cousin, Sharon Dunn. We celebrated one birthday. My niece, Simone, turned 17 on February 2nd. Happy Birthday, Simone!

A glaring Winnie!
Cold northern winds gave us the chance to have the pets curl onto our laps, watch our favorite shows (Mentalist, Person of Interest, Big Bang and Mike & Molly) and old movies that we borrow from the library, read the Wall Street Journal, and post current events to Facebook, Twitter and Google+. My civic duty is to remind the public that we need a new president in 2012 … ~… and to remind myself that my father was a wise man when he quipped, “It was better when it was worse.”
 
Milder weather offered an opportunity to pick up the neighbors’ leaves in our back yard, and to spend some time in the garage roasting coffee.

While February brought us St. Valentine’s Day (an exchange of cards and gifts and a splendid dinner from Chef Cynthia), it also brought us Ash Wednesday, which renews our spiritual journey. At Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, we have been attending a class on Galatians. Cindy reads several devotionals and I have been reading The Book of Concord.

We continue to eat healthy foods and exercise. Cindy continues to study for her new career as a personal trainer and recently created a website to attract new customers. Take a look if you haven’t yet. And if you are in California, you might way to support World Neighbors Work of Women.

America's Favorite Rancher: Ronald Reagan

In March, I turn 55 years old. Diet and exercise are more important today than ever before. I have been able to push my one hour distance to 5.5 miles, and ran an 8½ minute mile the other day. Together we do the Les Mills Pump routine.  More important than our physical fitness is our spiritual welfare. We continue our daily devotionals and pray for family and friends. If you are reading this, know that you are in our prayers.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

How to Change a Low Beam Bulb in a 2005 Buick LeSabre

How to Change a Low Beam Bulb in a 2005 Buick LeSabre



Needed:
10mm socket wrench
Large screwdriver
Small screwdriver
Replacement bulb













Open the hood.

As you are standing at the bumper looking over the headlight assembly, you will see two screws that hold the assembly to the body. With the 10mm socket wrench remove these and set them aside.
 
 
With the large screwdriver loosen the assembly from the body and pull the entire assembly away from the body.

By hand, turn the base of the low beam and pull it away from the headlight assembly.

Once removed, take the small screwdriver and pry the bulb from the base. Set it aside.

Snap the new bulb into the base.

Turn on the light to see if it is working.

Once you determine that the bulb is working, seat the base back into the headlight assembly.

Insert the screws and tighten.

Close the hood.

Smile with the confidence that you changed this bulb and saved yourself an hour’s labor charge. The entire process should take less than 15 minutes even if you’ve never done this before.