"Seven hundred billion was a number out of the air," Kashkari recalls, wheeling toward the hex nuts and the bolts. "It was a political calculus. I said, 'We don't know how much is enough. We need as much as we can get [from Congress]. What about a trillion?' 'No way,' Hank shook his head. I said, 'Okay, what about 700 billion?' We didn't know if it would work. We had to project confidence, hold up the world. We couldn't admit how scared we were, or how uncertain."
The man lives in the wild, is surrounded by fresh air, his two dogs, and has a loving relationship with his wife. What can more can any man want? Regardless of his involvement in anti-productive, and even, harmful activities in Washington, I think I can forgive anyone that feels more at home around trees than around politicians. I hate to say it, but I'm coming to respect Kashkari, even though he still harbors confused hopes about 'making an impact' in politics. A reading of Karl Hess will do him good, I'm sure. If Hess's arguments doesn't impress his big brain, at least it'll humble him, and stop him from thinking that he's too important to stay out of Washington, or that the government is capable of fixing social problems.
I can only hope that more 'impact-makers' will follow in Kashkari's footsteps and leave D.C for the woods. Only a deserted Congress can make a happy planet.
