Time magazine states that its Person of the Year “is
bestowed by the editors on the person or persons who most affected
the news and our lives, for good or ill, and embodied what was
important about the year.” With these criteria, the winner is
expected to be announced on December 13.
Since a corporation, which is certainly a thing, is
fundamentally deemed to be a “person” with some rights under the
law, it follows that the Person of the Year could in fact be
construed to be a thing.
Indeed, there is a thing that looms large and meets the
Time criteria. In an age of nuance and spin, where little
is what it seems, it is resolute and demonstrates clarity. During
times of sophistry, straw modeling, and false dichotomies, it poses
only rectitude. In an epoch of moral relativism, it speaks to
objectivity of standards. While self-promotion is the currency of
politics, its influence is so strong that it need not advertise. In
an era of national doubt and ambiguity, it tolerates no
uncertainty. At a time when our elected officials joust for the
sake of jousting, yearning to settle old scores with new insults,
it offers a dispassionate framework for governance of the body
politic. As our leaders wallow in vindictiveness and immaturity, it
stands tall in the saddle as a simple truth. In a wired world
obsessed with all that is digital, it is very low tech. In an epoch
of grand narcissism, it does not need to look at itself in the
mirror. In a time of self-perceived entitlement and renegade
indulgence, it is an icon of consequence. It has more credibility
than the White House and Congress combined.
The thing is the fiscal cliff. The term was popularized by
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke addressing the House
Financial Services Committee early this year. In the absence of a
deal between Congress and the White House, it could arrive at
midnight on December 31st as a dramatic concoction of tax increases
for 2013 of $532 billion and spending cuts of $136 billion,
mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011. It would not be a happy
New Year for the United States or the world. The effect of this
shock upon global credit, equity and currency markets cannot be
determined; however, it has been deemed a threat to the weak U.S.
economy, with contagion potential beyond that. In early November,
the Congressional Budget Office predicted a 0.5 percent decrease
GDP if the fiscal cliff is reached, with restoration of modest
growth during the second half of 2013.
Not much seems to get the attention of our elected officials in
Washington these days. President Obama spent the first two years of
his administration with inadequate focus on jobs and high
unemployment, preferring to make the unpopular Obamacare his
initial legacy and to reset relations with Russia and the Muslim
world. With intransigence on both sides of the aisle, Congress has
been incapable of reaching agreement on a federal budget, even
during the first two years of the Obama presidency when both the
House and Senate had Democrat majorities.
Chronic fiscal deficits over $1 trillion for each of the past
four years (including the last fiscal year of the Bush
administration) have become business as usual. The loss of a triple
A rating and warnings from the IMF and foreign governments holding
massive U.S. Treasury securities have also not had much effect on
U.S. fiscal policy.
But even things can have competition for the attention of those
who sit in judgment of the Person of the Year. President Obama
might qualify as Person of the Year for his exceptionalism and
stunning victory over Mitt Romney, even during a dismal economy and
without much of a record to run on. Angela Merkel could be a
candidate for her leadership and steadfastness — while most of
Europe has gone economically wobbly and is now in recession.
President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt could be in the running for his
rise to power during the Arab Spring and his ability to redefine
the Middle East balance of power if he remains in office.
No one ever said choosing the Person of the Year was easy. But
rarely have just two words, “fiscal cliff,” gained so much
recognition so quickly by so many.
