Fortune 500

By J.W.H.Page

President Barack Obama arrives here today for the G20 Summit with an entourage of 500, a fleet of decoy helicopters and several other security measures to ensure that the most powerful man in the world is coddled into diplomacy with elegance and grace. As President-elect, Obama stayed away from the G20 in November. Just wait, he must have thought. The Oval Office will be essentially transported, along with its staff, their BlackBerries, dry cleaning and a few extras to ensure the bad guys are confused about their intended targets; and to make the POTUS as comfortable and protected as is excessively possible. Imagine if the U.S. spent that kind of scratch on dams in New Orleans or breakfast programs and books for inner-city youth.

With executive talk about curbing excessive spending in this economic crisis, is this showcase of swordsmanship just par for the course? Or is it truly a part of the problem that exists with the Western world’s obsession with power and might? And must this pattern change if we truly intend to alter the course of human history? While Capitol Hill junkies and Wall Street watchers argue about how to keep their bread buttered, millions around the world continue to feel disconnected from the power-brokers and collectively yearn for solution-based thinking, not decoy helicopters and bullet-proof limos.

Many recall the rodeo in Denver when the President signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law. Underground conversations over phone and chat lines centered on the cost of such a trip. As the first President of the United States to use e-mail and take advantage of the Internet in his campaign communications, can’t he just send a Twitter and sign the bill in the Oval Office on recycled paper? This continuation of excessive force with respect to diplomacy is not going unnoticed. And if history is to be kind to our game-changing brother from another, it might be worth considering traveling light – One carry-on, Mister President, not to exceed 16 lbs.

I wouldn’t be so concerned about the President’s cavalcade and how much it costs the taxpayers if it weren’t for this perceived notion that we are addressing spending and holding those responsible accountable. After all, the same government that is scrambling to curb spending blows millions on waste baskets, fluorescent lights and other unnecessary items, yearly. So, this 500-member cavalcade is no surprise.

But I return to the never-changing set of questions around accountability amongst my — and younger — generation. I wonder what the average non-newspaper reading, newly-minted American voter under age 24 thinks about this governmental expenditure. I wonder how our U.S. leaders expect to transform new generations of Americans and their values on goods and services, wants and needs as they continue to keep the conversation and reform in the hands of millionaire men in suits and ties, whether in executive hot seats or in elected office. It is based on these postures that the true frontier will ultimately be traversed; not on terms related to bailing out banks or excusing personal financial responsibility. The youth, the veterans, the elderly, those in need of government funds for medical support – these are the communities that need staffs of 500, security for blood supplies, transport and resources. Until we reach parity on that front, this talk of economic crisis will always be a beast.