Unintended Consequences

For every action there is a reaction.  This is not news.  The concern ought to be the unknown consequences. 

Former Vice President Dick Cheney and others had predicted that the Iraq invasion would end peacefully in weeks after it was started.  It appears that no one considered there would be a sectarian war between Sunnis, Shias, and Kurds.  Nor did the administration consider many Iraqis would think the United States an enemy.

The State of Israel withdrew from Gaza expecting to see an end to the rocket attacks against their border settlements.  The result was just the opposite.  Palestinians were motivated to increase their attacks believing that they had succeeded in their efforts.

Health care reform has already created one unintended consequence.  A surprising number of companies announced they would be taking charges on future earnings because of tax law changes in the new law.  Heavy-construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar that said the tax hikes would result in a $100 million drag on their first quarter because the bill Obama signed will cut the tax deduction businesses are given to provide their retirees with health care benefits.  AT&T, Prudential Financial Inc., John Deere Co., Valero Energy, AK Steel Corporation and 3M all announced that they too would take charge against earnings in response to the $1 trillion health care bill’s tax consequences on employers.

Could it be that all the leaders who put these situations into play actually realized there might be these kinds of consequences?  Perhaps they considered the possible results were prices worth paying.  Honestly I do not think they are that smart.  What did Obama mean when he said ‘change we can believe in’ ?