America Recruiting ‘Retired Talent’

Situation 1

The U.S. is clamoring over raising the national debt ceiling. It is entertaining to look over arguments among controversialists because they are not clashes of economic logic but political logic. There are many Republican and Democratic Congressmen and many former government officials as well. A few days ago, former White House budget directors came out and had a bout. The conservative camp called out the former Director of the Office of Management and Budget Rob Portman under President Bush to advocate for financial deficit reduction and oppose tax increases. The Obama administration’s first Director of the Office of Management and Budget Peter Orszag came on CNN. [When] politicians appear [in the media, discussions] become clouded with political strife, but contentions between former government officials overflow with a sense of realism.

Situation 2

The American media filled the headlines with the news of Osama bin Laden’s death on May 3, one day after his death. Having been unable to uncover any other exciting topic, the media dissected the news throughout the day like a fish meeting water. Media here [in the US] devote energy to analytical articles as well as factual articles. Hence, personalities appearing in newspapers and broadcasts are extraordinary. From the former Secretary of State Colin Powell to former government experts on the Middle East, all came out. One could also see a high ranking government official who, for decades, had exclusively handled Middle East policy at the CIA. An ex-intelligence agency official showing his face on a TV screen is difficult even to imagine in our country [South Korea].

Situation 3

Throughout Washington D.C., there are rows of globally recognized institutions. If one looks over weekly schedules sent from the Department of State to journalists, over 90% of the agenda is related to seminars held by these institutions. Many former government officials are among presenters and debaters in these seminars. The Brookings Institution represents the progressive camp and has dozens of former government officials among its 250 researchers; the circumstance is similar at the Heritage Foundation. Consequently, positions at a variety of institutes and government offices appear as if they were a structured job rotation. Looking at North Korea-related positions within the Department of State, the new Undersecretary of State [Wendy] Sherman is the former North Korea Policy Coordinator under the Bill Clinton administration and previously managed research activities at the Council on Foreign Relations and other institutes. [Kurt M.] Campbell, the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs [under Sherman], had a stint at the Aspen Strategy Group.

As such, former high-ranking government officials are vigorously active in the U.S. Regardless of which administration they worked for, they frequently show up on TV or in the newspaper and at a variety of seminars whenever there is an issue. In another perspective, one could say that the nation or the society does not push aside those who have served as a public official. By paying [these former officials] a small salary, [the nation and the society] push [former public officials] to return the precious knowledge they accumulated during their time in the office in its entirety to the society. Some even describe this phenomenon to this extent: “[The society] ransacks all the knowledge [former officials] held during incumbency.” There is a clear concept that the knowledge [of former public officials] accumulated over decades is a state property. It draws a sharp contrast to our country’s government officials who, having occupied some powerful position, have retired to make money at law firms and such or returned straight home never to be seen again.