The US crisis du jour.

• Position: Editorial

Long ago I heard a speaker refer to the United States as a "crisis society"--one that doesn't thoughtfully and methodically consider and plan long term, but rather reacts to the crisis du jour. This fact has been proven again and again.

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On the other hand, the old adage if you fail to plan you plan to fail certainly fits here, too. So what will it take to change this reactive mode in our nation to a more proactive model?

This thought comes to mind in watching the Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, known as the super committee, kicking the can down the road yet again. The committee was formed in September as part of the Budget Control Act of 2011 with a like amount of Democrat and Republican senators and representatives tasked with cutting a minimum of $1.2 trillion of U.S. debt over the next 10 years.

Just think, if finance executives had some certainty as to what was coming down the road in the areas of taxes, regulations and accounting standards, for starters, in say, three to five years from now, might that encourage you to go back to your company to plan and budget differently for your business operations? Naturally, we can't predict exactly what will happen in the external environment, but with proper oversight, review and due diligence, a variety of risks and risk management would be part of an overall plan.

Since these days government (legislative and regulatory), in the form of taxes, laws, regulations and even accounting standards, has become so inextricably linked to business, it's practically impossible to look past the short term and perhaps the next business cycle.

Speaking of planning, I guess it's never wrong to plan for the worst--while hoping for the best--which is what I'm sure many of you have done this past year...