Tom Friedman Explains Causes Of America's 'Sub-Optimal Solutions' (VIDEO)

New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman is worried that America is producing "sub-optimal solutions" to big problems like global warming, an education system in decline and a weak economy.

The author of Hot, Flat, and Crowded appeared on The Charlie Rose Show on Friday night to discuss President Obama's recent trip to Asia, and more specifically China. Friedman lamented the failure of US governance and the "forces of paralysis" that surround President Obama. He is worried that China's streamlined, one-party system will be in a better place to implement solutions to large global problems more quickly than the US.

Holding us back, Friedman argues, is a political system too closely connected with money and well-funded interests. Gerrymandering on the part of politicians makes it so that our leaders practically pick us, not the other way around. Friedman also thinks cable news television distorts the truth and that the internet (at its worst) can be a terrible thing for our nation's politics. He also says American businesses have gone AWOL, and hover over America, participating only when it suits their industry's needs.

Friedman says that better citizens--not politicians--can solve our nation's problems.

WATCH:

Comments

[robeson]

Tom Friedman is a legitimate chronicler of the problems we are facing because he promoted many of their causes.

[danielet]

On the show Freedman was high on Freedman, if not something else, screaming and gesticulating about how Americans have "creativity" and the Chinese don't so we will ALWAYS beat them. After that bit of racial exceptionalism he downcast everyone but himself as "sub-optimal"—but all could be saved if only they bought the new edition of his book. Throughout history every nation in decline celebrates simplifying oracles who insist that they have the answer. Nice gimmick to stand up to Copernicus and insist the world is flat. It's a gimmick like all the gimmicks media "clown" like Glenn Beck and Limbaugh dream for ratings so they can get rich while America gets poor. How "sub-optimal" is that? EJ Dionne said of the Bush Era: America is on a long vacation from complexity. Freedman cut into his slice of the audience insisting, like McChrystal, that we are losing but all is well because we have "creativity," our enemies don't, so in the end we will prevail-- opium for “sub-optimal” masses: IT'S BAD BUT WE CAN *STILL* WIN, comes at a time when we continue to flirt with doom as each media guy tries to feather his nest with his sophistic alchemy, turning doom into success if we buy his book.

[Suzy Stewart]

Don't fret.

[rebeltoady]

Anyone doing planning, whether it's regarding public policy, business inventory problems or even product design changes, at least tries to come up with an optimal solution.

[humanbeing-rick]

America has become hijacked by a bunch of rich, gutless wonders.
The people of America still remain strong and productive, but the incentive is gone.
The incentives have been stolen by the rich, gutless wonders.
We have allowed these rich, gutless wonders to take control of our state, our country.
All they can produce is gutless legislation that favors the rich, it is the logical sequence.

Until we take our country back, and put real working class people in charge, there is little hope.

[henrywolff]

So typical. Every liberal is a closet totalitarian. 'Optimal' solution. That's what Gosplan tried to develop every five years.

[Jimboy17]

You're foo//ish. At either end of the political spectrum lies tota//it//arianism. That's why we have to abandon it. It's the tool of the oligarchs. They abandoned it a long time ago, and use it to divide the rest of us. So typical that you make it about a right-left thing, when it is about haves and have nots.

[yankee011]

He's right!

[rebeltoady]

What's worse is that this is most probably a think tank policy guideline. Bad and ineffectual government is as useful as pro-business government. Effective, pro-citizen government actions should be prevented by lobbying and well constructed public relations pieces. "I want Obama to fail" is just a variant on "I want the US government to fail".

[rebeltoady]

Too little, too late. Friedman is correct, but this has been obvious and ongoing for a long time and it's well past the point where something meaningful can or will be done.

[HSC55]

What is paralyzing this country, besides the politicians, is the bloated civil service. Each year more and more layers are added to every govt dept as political favor payback. The system can no longer function.

[SiberianRat]

"We need better citizens."

Exactly! I can't believe that this video was cut off where it was--I'm going to look to find the rest of it. This ME ME ME attitude is coming back to bite us in the rear, and quite frankly, I don't think it can be reversed. I'm glad we've got guys like Friedman working on solutions, but I think the fracturing of American is so widespread and severe, like a shattered windshield that hasn't fallen apart yet but will at the slightest impact. Each of those little pieces has lost the ability to see itself anymore as part of the American windshield, so to speak.

[406stew]

Great comment. I look at my 3 year boy and wonder how bad this place will be when he grows up.

[humanbeing-rick]

Yes, We do need better citizens, in order for a government by and for the people to function properly. Americans have become too fat and lazy from their years of debt financed credit gluttony.
The lazy Americans are handing their new generation a failing state and a mountain of debt.
I think the generations resonsible for America's failures have a lot of bad Kharma to pay off.
They used up our earth and the global economy to feed their lard asses, and they wont lift a finger to help after selling America out on the "free markets".
A government for and by a majority of fat, lazy, idiots makes for a state doomed to failure.

[StillAmused]

Who better to lament America's 'sub-optimal solutions' than Friedman, who has yet to answer for his very self-assured cheerleading for the 'sub-optimal' invasion of Iraq.

[talkitreal]

Instead of saying Cable television distorts the truth - he should have said Republicans distort the truth!
And when it comes to the internet and blogs -- What I find is that they are quick to blame to government for the bailout - without explaining the other side, which is that without the bailout of the big banks we would right now be in a Depression. People would have lost every penny they had in a bank, your parents, and grandparents would have all lost their pension plans, their retirement funds. Most Americans would have lost their jobs, because many big and small buinesses borrow money from banks to buy inventory, and to pay the wages of their employees.

So letting the big banks fail would have esulted in disaster - AND saving the big banks has resulted in saving the US economy, job lose is at the rate of Reagan era, instead of at the Depression 1930's era, when hardly anyone had a job!
PLUS most of the big banks have ALREADY paid back the money they received from the bailout (with interest) - so the American people made money off these banks!

[jaylo]

I agree the banks had to be bailed out. The point is they used the money to play the market to make themselves big bonuses. They didn't use the money to stabilize the economy.

[Chopin]

Your comment is what I'd expect the miscreant bigbankers and SummersGeithner&Co would say in their own defense.

Yes, bailout was necessary to stop financial haemorrhage and potential economic meltdown with unforeseeable consequences. But that's only frontend of the solution. Bailout, if American people had anything to say about it, was never intended as hostage rescue payoff for gross misjudgments and misdeeds at highest executive management levels of bigbanks and Summers&Co. The backend of the solution should be to sack the miscreant top management of the bigbanks, and replace them with people elected professionals that have the trust of the people. The same unrepentent game that bigbanks continue to play with the people's 3quarterTrilliondollars shows extreme hubris and bad omen for future economy.

What are they doing? Here's what they're supposed to be doing and are not doing:--
1)They're not using bailout money as breathingroom opportunity to completely restructure method of operation. They're not returning to normal lending to nonspeculative business customers.
2)They're not doing anything to rescue the OneInFour (25%) of homemortgages that are upsidedown "underwater". Onemillion upsidedown mortgage homeowners are left hangingout to dry.

With unrepentent attitude, unreformed method of operation, with onemillion homeowners on brink of goingunder to join homeless unemployed people, how can bigbankers say they're on side of righteousness and of the people?

Some sober economists and media commentators say bailout money only gave bigbanks extra fuel to inflate next cycle of speculative credit bubble that their busy unreformed minds would come up with.

[pistolato]

tom friedman has been making a career out of stating the obvious and passing it off as keen insight for decades. this interview is one more example.

[jim7283]

That's because our so-called political 'leaders' have made careers out of ignoring the obvious in favor of lining the pockets of those who put them in office.

[lovbug]

This article is right on. I wish some people would stop distorting the facts and get a reality check. China have the U.S. in its pockets. China has been funding the Iraq war for the U.S. for years. Their education, innovation, research and development, technology and economy have gradually superseded the U.S. The US owe China a lot of money and that's why we continue to roll over or else they will try to collect and we will have to pay up. The only way to do that would be to print more money and that will devalue the U.S. dollar to 1 penny and if that happens our great nation would crash and burn.

[Tulka2]

The Chinese economy depends on us buying things. If they are smart, they will have more wisdom than American capitalists. They need us to buy their stuff. China and the U.S. chained together. Co-operate or go under.

[jaylo]

Auto sales in China went up 75% over the last six months. The Chinese gov't has done alot to get their people spending.