Some of you are thinking, “I will skip this article because the title does not sound interesting.” I beg your forbearance, just please keep reading. I laughed today, long and loud, over the incompetence of the current elected leaders in America, fully supporting public mocking, public shaming, and public humiliation over the following piece of news.
You cannot make headlines like this up:
Kamala Harris Emphasizes “Root Causes’” of Border Surge, Says the Problem is “Complex” while blaming climate change for the border crisis.
Let that sink in for a minute; the person who cannot hold a press conference, cannot even get VP added to her title, and cannot do root cause analysis! I have been working since I was twelve; I was taught root cause analysis as a shade-tree mechanic; you have to be able to diagnose the correct problem to fix the engine. This article looks like VP Harris is fixing the tires on a car without an engine, claiming this will get the vehicle running real good. Here is VP Harris’ actual quote:
“We are looking at extensive storm damage because of extreme climate, we’re looking at drought in an area in a region where agriculture is one of the most traditionally important basis for their economy, we’re looking at what’s happening in terms of food scarcity as a result of that and in fact, incredible food insecurity, which we used to call hunger food insecurity.”
Let me see if I understand this statement correctly. Political instability, Venezuela’s continuing meltdown politically, and the invitation from many politicians with (D) after their names have nothing to do with the “border surge.” Just like a stricter stance on illegal immigration by President Trump (R) didn’t slow down illegal immigration on the southern border; do I have that correct? Let’s talk about incentives, mainly welfare, housing, education, and a political base that refuses to enforce immigration law, do these not influence a southern border crisis, and buffalo wings come from flying buffalo.
What is Root Cause Analysis?
Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a process of logically working through a problem as a solution is developed. I know some of you have other definitions for RCA, and that’s okay. I am just trying to be real simple here, for if VP Harris sees this article, I do not want her confused with big words. There are three goals to simple RCA, discover the root of the problem, understand how to fix the problem, apply what is learned to prevent future issues. VP Harris’s comment above has already failed the goals of RCA; hence we can conclude that RCA was not accomplished!
Effective RCA processes possess core principles that are apolitical and easily understood:
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- Focus on fixing the problems, not band-aid solutions
- Symptoms relief is a short-term answer to buy time for long-term solutions.
- Multiple root causes are possible; however, each root cause requires factual justification and logical discussion.
- Who is never part of RCA, just HOW and WHY.
- Methodical cause and effect evidence is required for each root cause.
- Future prevention requires increasing learning and understanding.
- Corrective action requires information and ACTION.
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I am not here to hurt VP Harris’s feelings, but her comment about the southern border crisis being climate-related still does not pass the smell test on the core principles of RCA. Let alone any logical test for veracity. Thus, again, we can conclude that RCA was never followed to justify her commentary!
The easiest and simplest RCA is the 5-Whys Approach. Here is the 5-Whys Approach in a simple analogy:
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- Why? – The car battery is dead. (First why)
- Why? – The alternator is not functioning. (Second why)
- Why? – The alternator belt has broken. (Third why)
- Why? – The alternator belt was well beyond its useful service life and not replaced in a timely manner to save the battery. (Fourth why)
- Why? – The vehicle was not maintained according to the recommended service schedule. (Fifth why, a root cause)
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Using the 5-Whys Approach, one can also work backward from a completed RCA to double-check integrity in the process.
5 – I am holding the maintenance records showing timely maintenance was conducted.
4 – The alternator belt is broken, but so are the other belts in the engine. Are we sure the root cause is the alternator?
3 – The alternator is missing.
2 – The battery is missing.
1 – The car is not working; why?
Using VP Harris’s comment above, we can back check the climate-change excuse to the erroneous assumption using the same technique.
5 – How many illegals at the southern border are only from the three countries being blamed for illegal immigration?
4 – Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, suffered from El Niño and El Niña in 2017 and 2018, but there was no increased immigration during those tumultuous years of extreme weather.
3 – Since 2015, food security has been an ongoing problem in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. Again, we do not find a surge in citizens from these countries immigrating illegally to the US Southern Border.
2 – According to the World Bank, regardless of the weather issues and the global financial crisis, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras are still being favorably looked upon as places to invest in for good returns on investment.
1 – What is causing a southern border crisis immediately after a presidential election year?
Please note, I only researched to 2015 for the weather, economy, and food security issues, as obviously President Trump (R) never had a positive influence on the Southern Border Crisis. President Biden just inherited President Obama’s mess. Does the RCA backward and forwards process make sense? I ask solely because we have had migration issues on the southern border before today. The politicians in America never seem to find the root causes and act to protect America’s defensible borders! Blaming the weather, which has been changing in cycles since recorded history, for recent events, is akin to blaming the position of the planet Mars for burning one’s hand on a hot stove.
Yet, let’s give VP Harris the benefit of the doubt; maybe her staff did complete an RCA process to reach this conclusion, while she has been sequestered and unavailable since the election. If so, it would be easier than stepping off a curb to produce the RCA in detail and allow us, the electorate, to see how and why she is blaming the weather for a migration crisis. This is a reasonable request, produce the proof an RCA was completed, where climate change is the only root cause in a “complex problem.” Want to raise the stakes a little; if you cannot produce the RCA and accompanying evidence, along with the plans of action, you leave American politics forever. If you produce the evidence and RCA, I will issue a sizeable public apology and never write about politics again. I am waiting!
© 2021 M. Dave Salisbury
All Rights Reserved
The images used herein were obtained in the public domain; this author holds no copyright to the images displayed.
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