Paul Scott comment: "Mistakes were made"

I think I know why so many people are upset about the handling of the federal budget deficit.  But first, let me talk about what I think is a similar situation at Decorah City Hall.

Recently a bunch of business owners from downtown Decorah and West Side Decorah convinced other business owners to agree to a small property tax to raise money to pay for flower baskets, benches and other improvements to their neighborhoods.  The Decorah City Council, based on the work of this group, voted to set up this "SSMID" and collect the taxes.  But after the vote, no one at City Hall sent the proper paperwork to Des Moines.  As a result, $15,000 in taxes won't be collected this year—a fairly serious mistake made by someone at City Hall.

Because I'm a news reporter, words are very important to me.  And the words used by many city officials to describe this situation are fascinating to me: "Mistakes were made."  Yes, this passive voice phrase is being used to make it seem like the mistakes mysteriously floated down from the sky.

Contrast those words with the words Decorah City Council member Steve Matter used: "The City screwed up."  No doubt about how straightforward his statement is, as well as his solution: "We owe the SSMID District $15,000."

Those who are saying "Mistakes were made" do not think they owe SSMID $15,000.  While they admit the mistake, they deny the responsibility.

Remember the famous story about George Washington—the one where he chopped down a cherry tree and then confessed to his father, saying "I cannot tell a lie?"  If a present-day politician were in the same situation, they would say "Mistakes were made involving a cherry tree—it's unfortunate the tree was chopped down"

This is why the public is upset with Congress' handling of the federal budget deficit.  Everyone knows that both Republicans and Democrats have been guilty of pushing the federal budget deficit out of control.  But you haven't heard a single politician admit to that.  Instead, they're busy pretending that only the other political party created this mess.

People are not perfect—we all make mistakes.  I know because the mistakes I make show up on a website read each day by thousands of people, so it's a little hard to avoid responsibility.  But when I make a mistake, I try to correct it as quickly as possible and also try to make things right.

That kind of practice seems foreign to politicians these days.  They're willing to say "Mistakes were made," but don't expect them to confess responsibility, whether in Washington, D.C. or in Decorah.

(Disclaimer: Paul Scott served as president of the Downtown Decorah Betterment Association Board when it collected signatures on the petition to create a new SSMID.)