Around the Boardroom Table: CSIS

Kicking back and listening to people who work in the areas of national policy helped to clarify some things, create questions about other things, and overall create a summary of what has been discussed throughout the semester. The experience itself of being, in a way, in the shoes of these researchers was nonetheless a change of perspective from the trek of normal college town life. The Seven Revolutions presentation gave a quick summary of primary factors that may influence the future. The broadness of the topics such as "Economics", "The Nature and Mode of Security", and the "Challenge of Governance" not only allow for many specific issues, but the interesting thing I find is how so many things are a big player in how things will turn out.

The aging population will be a drag on change in the near future. The presentation by Arnaud de Borchgrave hinted at the possible collapse of social programs like Medicare due to the "insolvency" of governments. Not only will this encounter huge backlash from senior voters, but it will also create a new world where expectations of health care will change. According to Senior Journal, the amount of younger people who actually vote are far below those who need Medicare now or those who will need it by the 2020s.

This creates a potentially disastrous pitfall in the budget. Quite frankly, I am not expecting any form of government assistance with my health since relying on others to pad your back is naive. While there may be a universal system by the time our generation hits that age, I still think it is best to prepare for the worst case scenario. However, many upcoming seniors have been boggled down by widening income vs expenses disparity and have little money for retirement, so they will fight tooth and nail to keep programs that may drag on any financial recovery. Solutions to gracefully moving out of a collapsing Medicare program must be started now.

However, another thing we learned from hearing the speakers is their belief that the legislators are incompetent at trying to enact needed change until the issue becomes urgent. While this is to be expected of lawmakers paying dues to their donors while trying to keep their voters happy for the upcoming election, this political deadlock I believe has to be dissolved ideally (or at least dimmed a tad) to ensure that medical problems are addressed.

Cybersecurity is a topic that has been exhausted at this point, but I still want to comment on the irony that we did a simulation of a foreign cyber attack in Illinois, only to have one occur the next day in Illinois. Apparently, the one former IST 445H student we met had parts of her policy brief appear in future policy on Africa. Is the simulation a test to gather student input on upcoming policy issues, like ones that occur the next day? Perhaps, but most likely it's just a coincidence. It turns out that the cyber attack in Illinois on a water pump wasn't a cyber attack after all, but caused by a plant contractor traveling in Russia, not some foreign attack. So apparently, the Department of Homeland Security, which monitors cyber control systems, and the FBI don't believe in any Russian connection. Nevertheless, the timing of this potential cyber attack underscores how probable a future cyber assault is.

Despite the melancholic tone that has been swept through this blog entry and some of the lectures, I believe it will all come to pass. At any point in history, there has been the talk of impending doom, Armageddon, and the general attitude of "dang..where do we go from here?". Yet, after some bruising, people have emerged. Humans lack consistent quality reasoning abilities and have a plethora of emotional responses to events, so that does inevitably cause issues to boil the pot. However, there still is the basic idea of holding onto life that enables our societies to emerge from every problem, no matter how much we changed. The world is in flux always, and there will be always be ups and downs. Enjoy the ride and see the waves of time keep ebbing on.