How to Prevent a Flood

     Flooding is a serious problem, at least for people living
in flood planes of major rivers.  Many people live in those flood
plains.  Some observations about rivers and water suggest a
solution.

     Too much water at the flooded location causes the flood. 
If the river flowed faster, the excess water would drain away. 
Alas, no flood.  The answer to flooding is to make the river flow
faster.

     We can also observe that more water makes the river
flow faster.  Obviously the cause of floods is lack of water.

     To implement this solution during the next flood, the dam
operators opened all the gates releasing the stored water.  To
their absolute amazement the flood waters rose to the highest
level ever seen.

     Skeptics always claimed that the "solution" was flawed
and wouldn't work.  These doubters were vilified by the
politicians and the press.  The true believers claimed the evil
doubters wanted people to die in floods.  The doubters now
claimed vindication.  Vindication for heretics isn't that easy.

     The true believers said, not so fast.  We must study the
problem  The most expensive and most reputable consultants
diligently studied the problem to find what went wrong and how
to get it right next time.  Three years and a couple of floods
later the consultants issued their report.

     The problem wasn't that the solution was flawed.  The
problem was that those implementing the solution failed.  They
were too conservative.  They only did half a job.  They didn't
release anywhere near enough water.  The answer lay in bolder
measures that would release more water.  The consultants also
reported that their calculations showed the solution did work. 
Without the additional water the worst flood ever would have
been even worse.

     The skeptics still voiced their complaint that the theory
could never work, no matter  how much water was dumped into
the river to stop the flood.  This irritated the true believers. 
They shouted down the skeptics.  The skeptics were branded as
anti science.  Some claimed the skeptics and their silly ideas
were a threat to the welfare of everyone.  True believers
demanded that the skeptics be imprisoned to prevent their
undermining of true science.

     Certainly this could never happen in the real world, or,
Could it?  The economy is in the tank.  Government tried to
borrow and spend the nation out of a recession in the 1930s. 
The result was an even deeper depression.  Borrowing and
spending failed to solve the problem.

     Bush and Obama have tried to borrow and spend our way
out of the current economic collapse.  It hasn't worked.  The
skeptics tell us the plan is flawed and will never work.  It will
only make the recession deeper.

     The true believers still claim the problem is that we
haven't borrowed and spent enough.  We have been too
conservative and cautious.  We need more courage and more
money to borrow and spend our way out of debt and into
prosperity.  The politicians and the main stream media shout
Amen!

     Is it possible that we should give the skeptics their day in
court?  Should we hear them out?  Should we demand that those
who advocate borrow and spend defend their theory with facts,
figures and real world examples?

     Or, should we yield to those who merely shout and tell
us how smart and learned they are?  If the true believers in
borrow and spend have a sound theory, Why shouldn't those
brilliant people be able to prove the soundness of their theory?

     Of course those "brilliant" people will respond that most
of us are simply too dumb to understand.  How brilliant is the
person who can't break the complex down into simple
components that a person with an IQ a bit under 170 can
understand?  Ranting and shouting are the "arguments" of those
who don't understand the ideas they advocate.

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Copyright 2012
Albert D. McCallum
18440 29-1/2 Mile Road
Springport, Michigan 49284