Deep Fryer Politics

One of my favorite stories stems from my being a member of the Board of Directors of a certain organization that has a kitchen facility attached to it. Money, as is everywhere, is tight. Capital improvements are always an issue, and the club has a rule that any expenditure above a certain dollar amount has to be approved by the Board. At a meeting last year, it was brought to the attention of the Board that the deep fryer in the kitchen was kaput, and the kitchen needed a new one. The cost for a commercial fryer would be in the $2,500.00. A spirited discussion ensued.

It was noted that the deep fryer was located in an inconvenient location in the kitchen, and that it probably would do everyone well to move it closer to where the chef said it ought to be. But when they measured the space, the counter was to cramped to move the fryer to the ideal location. It was suggested that the fryer could be accommodated if they could add some additional counter space. Of course, that would involve moving the one of the ovens across the aisle to a vacant space there. Unfortunately, the oven was too small for the space, and should be replaced anyway. That being said, the refrigerator was older than the oven, and hanging on by a thread.

All of this moving and upgrading became to confusing, and it was brought up in the discussion that perhaps we should hire a kitchen architect to do a whole new kitchen layout, and that the entire commercial kitchen could probably be replaced for around hundred thousand. The discussion then moved as to when the most appropriate time would be to close the place down to accommodate the installation of the new kitchen, and the lost revenue that might be association with that.

I then moved that the money be authorized to replace the broken deep fryer. There was a stunned silence before all of us in the room erupted in laughter over an absurd discussion that lasted for almost 45 minutes.

I call the above dynamic “Deep Fryer Politics”. Is that what is going on in the country today?

When the economy deep-sixed last September, the reason was clear. There was a credit freeze. Congress appropriately reacted to provide funds to take care of the problem by providing money for the government to buy the financial instruments that were the source of the problem. But then came the Deep Fryer Politics. Rather than simply fix the credit problem, both the Bush and Obama administrations went bonkers, and used the money for everything but…and the government ended up owning Chrysler, AIG, Citigroup, and General Motors. It borrowed more money than can ever be paid back, and we will be paying the consequences for generations.

Health care is the same thing. Most people have health insurance and are happy with it. Rather than simply address the health care problems for those that don’t have it, the government is about to impose a convoluted plan by degrading the entire health care system and scrapping the best health care system in the world.

My suggestion to the President and Congress: if you need a deep fryer, that’s what you ought to buy. Leave the rest of the kitchen alone.