by McCall Graves | Apr 12, 2010 | News Slider
SWANG (LN)- Author, Lecturer of Public Policy, and creator of the Clinton Administration’s National Performance Review, Elaine Kamarck spoke to students and faculty during the Pizza and Politics Series on April 8, 2010 at Lipscomb University. Kamarck spoke on the topic: Is American Government Broken Beyond Repair: Jobs, Religion, and the Great American Recession. “The United States government has always struggled to be functional,” Kamarck said, after addressing whether our country is actually broken. Kamarck made points about how people had changed America as we know it today. Harry Truman was able to make the Marshall Plan, a plan for the United States to rebuild and create a stronger economic foundation for the countries of Western Europe, even though he was “not in good shape” as a president. Another person Kamarck mentioned was Rachel Carson, who (in the vernacular of the time) was considered an “old maid” from Maine with a low level job.. She did not have much going for her in life. She wrote a book called Silent Spring, which helped jump-start the environmental movement. “Wow, sometimes the power of an idea moves powerful people,” Kamarck said. “The founding fathers would be pleased with these stories. They wanted a country in which things happened in all sorts of different ways.” These improvements happened because an unpopular president enforced changes, or because a lowly woman wrote a book on environmental changes. Kamarck spoke highly of America and seemed to have hope for our country. Having a career in government and politics, Kamarck worked for the White House from 1993 to 1997. She helped to create the Clinton Administration’s...
