Let’s say the forest ranger comes up to you, and tells you there is a big out-of-control fire coming over the hill – and that if you follow his prescription now, you can grow or save 3-million trees.

What exactly has that person promised? Well, if he has forecast where the fire will spread before burning out, he might be able to show you how many trees the fire is likely to torch. Maybe the plan is to plant many seeds in an area protected from the flames.

A combination of those activities might well be poised to meet the demands of the promise – after all, it wasn’t a promise that we would have a net gain of 3-million trees. Just that we would grow or save 3-million trees.

So, how many trees must be standing at the end for the promise to be kept?

Answer: 3-million.

Think about it…

It’s not bailouts.

It’s not stimulus.

It’s the notion that unmade beds remain the way they were slept in.

It’s the only way investors and consumers will proceed with confidence, knowing that financial activities have consequences that are predictable and visible.

Every act of propping up failed practices and businesses only prolongs the damage, passing it along to further generations. You can’t replace a bubble with another bubble, without getting a louder and bigger implosion down the road.

We don’t need a government that says the right things, we need a government that says nothing. Then does it.

We need a government that believes in the Audacity of Nope.