Japan and our response -- some questions
How will America's ability to help other countries in crisis change in an era of spending cuts? And what does that do to our global image?
We're watching the events unfold in Japan with a mixture of sorrow and horror, and wondering what Federal Computer Week can contribute to the story. This has occupied a few discussions in our regular daily news meetings.
The U.S. government is doing a few things to help the Japanese respond, including taking part in efforts to cool an overheating nuclear plant. But most of the American reaction is self-protective. The Navy has established a no-fly zone for its planes in the vicinity of the endangered nuclear faclities, and the FDA is stepping up inspection of food from Japan, checking for radiation in addition to normal hazards.
The events around the world coupled with the budgetary battles here in Washington, D.C., make us wonder about the U.S.' changing role on the world stage. How much money can we, or should we, spend to aid other nations in crisis when we have our own problems here? How will our decisions on that question change the way we're seen.
These questions don't have a lot to do with federal IT or workforce concerns -- hence, our challenge in finding ways to report stories that you haven't already seen elsewhere -- but they're on our minds. What do you think?