If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and squawks like a duck, it’s a duck.
I have always liked this piece of folk wisdom. I call it the “duck test”.
Parallel thinking leads to this question:
If we have a problem, and we want to solve the problem, and we know how to solve the problem, why not just do it?
What should we call this question?
On the YMCA treadmill this morning I thought of “quack question”, and then decided I could do better. Best I came up with by the end of the session was “WNJDI question”. This stands for “why not just do it” and is pronounced “windy”.
I welcome your suggestions for a better name for WNJDI questions.
Everyone agrees that our national infrastructure is not uptodate and much of what we have is falling apart. We want to fix this and in the process create jobs. We know how to repair roads and bridges, insulate schools, extend broadband to rural areas, and thousands of other things that need to be done.
So the outstanding WNJDI question today is:
Why don’t we launch a multi-decade program to build and maintain a first class infrastructure?
“Wait a minute,” you say. “Where’s the money?”
My answer: There’s lots of money. We just have to mobilize it for more productive use. I will return to this in another post.
Bill Allen, 11-11-11
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