Goldmark: Keep talking about solutions

Peter Goldmark, a former budget director of New York State and former publisher of the International Herald Tribune, headed the climate program at the Environmental Defense Fund.

Last week I laid out my ideas on the huge economic hole into which we've fallen as a country. And I invited you to comment and offer your own. I had no idea if you would. All I knew was that we're not talking and listening to each other in this country -- we're divided and yelling at each other, not acting.

By the hundreds, you wrote. With good ideas, with sincere questions, sometimes offering your own ideas, sometimes saying simply that this was the way we ought to talk to each other.

Your responses show how deep the hunger is for us to work together to forge a common path, despite very different ideas on some subjects. And they show that large reservoirs of good will, healthy idealism and remarkable citizenship remain in this country, despite what many of you call the "greed" of many parts of our society and the cynicism or timidity of our politicians.

I'm working on replying to each of you (there were so many that I'm not done yet), and today's column is devoted to those who wrote. But first an explanation: What I report here is not a statistically valid representation of some larger group. It's something less scientific but far more valuable: a compilation of genuine concerns and heartfelt suggestions by people like you and me who are worried about where our country is going. As Joan Galfus wrote, "I pity my grandchildren and what state this country will be in for them."

Most of you think that as a country we face some very tough choices, but we don't have leaders willing to make those tough choices. You expressed a great deal of contempt for politicians and for the political system, consistent with surveys suggesting the confidence of the American people in their system of government is extraordinarily low.

Many of you commented on the greed that you see reflected throughout our society. John Viteritti wrote: "It seems to me that we have been overtaken by self-interest, whether among our political leaders or those who would have to sacrifice immediate personal gain to achieve long-term societal benefits."

Some were hopeful that we could pull together and begin to act, while others were doubtful. Tom McWilliams wrote: "You can't reason with fools who refuse to accept facts; they have to be outvoted, it is the only way under a Democratic system."

Most of you want to put people to work. As Alvin Goldberg wrote, "Getting 10 million people back to work. Can you imagine what that would do for the economy?" A lot of you -- but not all -- think an infrastructure program is a good way to do that.

Responses were sharply divided on the tax system. Some agree the wealthy should pay more, some think they already pay enough. Most of you said that "everyone has to have some skin in the game."

There was widespread -- but not universal -- agreement that Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid are important systems to keep, but that they need to be improved and their excesses rooted out.

There is more agreement on the overall objectives I described in my column than on how to implement them. For instance, many of you took me to task for not emphasizing the need for spending cuts strongly enough. And Mike Izzi wrote: "As a conservative I agree with your goals, except I'm sure where we deviate would be in their implementation."

Mike and others are right -- the devil is often in the details. But if there is agreement on the overall goals, it's often possible to compromise on the details of implementation and get something done. And many of you expressed impatience to start acting on these problems, even if the solutions aren't perfect.

There was more -- much more -- and a lot of it was thoughtful and constructive.

You and I and the rest of our citizens need to find a way to continue this kind of dialogue. For now, we can use the Comment section under this column at newsday.com/opinion to keep the ideas flowing. I'll be checking in.

And then we have to communicate to our political leaders that we want them to do the same thing, and build a common basis for action.

Thank you, to all of you.