My answer to your survey question, "Did you like the ideas the President proposed for our economy during the address?" is No. In truth, for me it is not that simple. I know from our conversations and abundant experiences, the query is not meant to close doors; nor will you draw erroneous conclusions from the "data" collected. I understand that you wish to hear from your constituency. Therefore, I write. I will present support for my opinion. The Economic Policy Institute, CaRDI, a Multidisciplinary Social Sciences Institute of Cornell University, and Michael Winerip, Education Journalist for the New York Times will serve as my surrogates. I understand that the immediate opinion polls show broad support for the President's speech. However, I suspect a more nuanced look may reveal that more feel as I do. Perhaps, my words will also speak for the people who merely marked "Yes," "No," or "I do not have an opinion" on your and other surveys. I can only hope that you might take a moment to ponder.
There is so much flak for what seems would be a fine Presidential appointment. The nation's Chief Executive, Barack Obama, is often characterized as Spock, a Vulcan who is almost virtually void of emotion. It is said that our current President is practical. He acts on logic. Yet, this supposed intellectual individual has, at times, seemed ready to do other than what most think reasonable. Mister Obama has not appointed the truly best Sheriff for towns throughout the country, Elizabeth Warren..
The day was Sunday, August 1, 2010. Former Fed Chairman, Alan Greenspan appeared on Meet the Press. When asked to discuss the Congressional debate on tax cuts, the man known to move markets, a person who leans to the "Right," offered a decisive decree. In direct disagreement with Republican officials and the profitable corporations that fund countless political campaigns, Mister Greenspan declared, "Look, I'm very much in favor of tax cuts, but not with borrowed money. And the problem that we've gotten into in recent years is spending programs with borrowed money, tax cuts with borrowed money, and at the end of the day, that proves disastrous. And my view is I don't think we can play subtle policy here on it."
This statement was as a slap in the face to corporations, or more correctly to the tycoons who head these firms. Multi-millionaire media moguls might understand this best. These television and radio Executives experience firsthand that influence over an industry can translate into influence over an outcome. Cable News Network Chief Officers are among those who actively make use of this truth. Tax cuts expired? "Never;" say network Administrators and the newscasters such as Allan Chernoff, who do their bidding.
Thomas Paine; Reflections From the Past Essayist, Pamphleteer, Radical, Inventor, and intellectual Philosopher Paine espoused as Fareed Zakaria did today. The two understood and addressed the necessary apprehension for Administrative rule while each concedes the commonweal must care to invest in the greater good. Were we to forget that no man is an island, we will forsake the future as we have in recent decades. Rarely remembered or recited is the founder's resolve to embrace an elected Legislative and Executive Branch. Perchance today, Fareed Zakaria spoke to the practical truth.
In order to gain a clear and just idea of the design and end of government, let us suppose a small number of persons settled in some sequestered part of the earth, unconnected with the rest, they will then represent the first peopling of any country, or of the world. In this state of natural liberty, society will be their first thought.
A thousand motives will excite them thereto, the strength of one man is so unequal to his wants, and his mind so unfitted for perpetual solitude, that he is soon obliged to seek assistance and relief of another, who in his turn requires the same. Four or five united would be able to raise a tolerable dwelling in the midst of a wilderness, but one man might labor out the common period of life without accomplishing any thing. This necessity . . . will point out the necessity, of establishing some form of government to supply the defect of moral virtue.
As you gobble that fine food, be it steak, a frankfurter, roasted chicken, or an omelet, please, sit back relax. Put your feet up and stay a while. I will furnish the entertainment in the form of a film. Meatrix is fun, fascinating, and far from folly. This presentation is playful; the message profound.
You may recall the fairy tales you loved as a child. The plots varied, although all had elements of mystery. Adventures were abundant. Tots were often so engrossed in the tales, they barely noticed that the themes taught a life lesson. Meatrix is as the fables you once anxiously awaited and even asked others to read aloud to you.
On April 25, 2010, a day before a vote that would decide whether the Senate would debate financial reform, Senator Bernie Sanders spoke of the oft-stated belief, some enormous economic engines are to "Too Big To Fail."
The damage done, affects us all economically. Years of war have done nothing to further education, enrich, or protect the environment. Indeed, endless battles have destroyed any sense of balance or betterment. Ethically, hostilities in the Middle East have helped to erode societal standards. Might we ask; what have we taught our children? How to waste money . . . that human lives are but waste . . . that their elders think funds and a focus on education are a waste, or that ethical standards are a waste of time and energy. Surely, attacks on Iraq and Afghanistan have contributed nothing to the Seventh Generation.
The adage is "Time moves on." The assumption is all will get better. However, for the little people in the United States, those who work, pay taxes, and still cannot make ends meet, life has been a backward motion. Throughout the history of America, it was believed the people, with the assistance of elected Representatives, and well-chosen regulators would ensure that the United States was solid, strong, and fiscally viable. Currently the public is told. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has saved the country from certain crash. However, for the first time in generations, the population feels as though it is in free fall.
Great News! The good life will soon return to America. Auspiciously, months before the holiday shopping season began, Americans were told that after more than a year of fiscal recession, or what some have characterized as akin to an economic depression, consumers were optimistic. The confidence index and other indicators were much improved. Manufacturing executives assured the public, the engine that drives the free enterprise system was in a "sustainable recovery mode." In the very near future, products, and people's sense of need, would be fabricated again. Everything will be right with the world, economically. Few feared the threat that, long ago, Americans had come to accept. The foundation of a democratic system had eroded in favor of consumption.
Today, Timothy Geithner garners much attention. Initially, when introduced on the national scene, people pondered; "Who is he?" The former President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has an impeccable résumé. Some said his record speaks for itself. Average Americans might have admired his ascendancy. Taxpayers could have appreciated that a man of his age would wish to manage the complexity of the United States coffers. Countless may have considered the enormous challenge he accepted; yet, not comprehend, for Secretary Geithner, this may have been the plan.
Early on, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner had his sights set high. As a child, born to an affluent, and influential family, he learned that all he desired could be his. He saw the potential for power in political prospects. The practicality of a profitable purpose also was apparent to Tim. When a lad, there was no reason for Timothy to reflect on the concrete pavements beneath his feet. Geithner would not have supposed he would work as a laborer. Nor had he likely seen himself as one among the swarms of ordinary citizens. His personal history may have helped him to know, he would not have to pound the streets to seek pennies for his pocket. Unconventional as his life had been, Timothy Geithner might have imagined as others did; he was destined for greatness.
For but a moment, whilst the Group of 20 [G20] met in London's ancient financial capital, ,"The City," the roars of remorse, could be heard. Words of woe had been whispered in hushed tones for quite some time. Scholars spoke of various possibilities on occasion. Whether Senior Economic Fellows from various think-tanks thought a system to be dead, alive, or near doomed, there was perhaps a bit of agreement. "I see what you mean. It is broken," Economist Mark Thoma mused more than a year ago.
Negotiations began in November. Decisions were reached during the month of December. By January, a retention bonus was awarded to the individual considered most superlative within the staff. President Barack Obama presented the gift. American International Group, Incorporated [AIG] executives did not receive the windfall. Nor did someone "separate" from the previous President garner the honors. Gold was not placed at the door of a New Deal Democrat. No, dollars and command were delivered to a truly Progressive person. Insider, Timothy Geithner was the recipient of a title that would sustain his service. Mister Geithner was given a reward that was worth far more than mere millions in greenbacks. Power and influence are priceless.
On the evening of March 12, 2009, a deal was struck. Americans looked on. After a week of on air battles, opponents who had earlier been seen on separate stations, Jon Stewart of the Daily Show and Jim Cramer of Mad Money met face-to-face. Bombarded with video clips financier Cramer was forced to face his past. Much was revealed. An arduous conversation ensued. Confronted with his own contradictory claims, Mister Cramer promised to transform himself. Ultimately, Comedian, Jon Stewart and the self-identified "personal guide through the confusing jungle of investing" Jim Cramer shook hands.
The average American looks up, they distrust politicians in general and they don't think they've been told the truth, and I think they got good reason. They've watched a Bush/Obama spending cycle that began with a stimulus package last year which failed at $180 billion, a housing package in August which fail--or July which failed at $345 billion, a Wall Street bailout at $700 billion, a Federal Reserve guarantee of $4 trillion; a stimulus package of $787 billion, which we're now being told weeks later isn't big enough, but which had to be passed so quickly no one could read it, because we had to get it out there immediately. ~ Newt Gingrich
I saw the new, old face of the Republican Party this weekend on a Sunday talk show and I was shocked at the new tact of the Republicans. According to Newt Gingrich the last eight years has been the Bush/Obama administration. Who knew? In an effort to once again fasten President Obama to the current economic meltdown the new strategy appears to be to unite him to the failed policies of the Bush administration. The once revered George W. has now been turned into a tax and spend liberal by the very same people who heralded his accent to power. These people have no shame. They are willing to throw Bush under the bus for the sake of some political advantage that doesn't exist. Do they think that the public is so incompetent that they don't know the difference between Bush and Obama for the last eight years? Here's a hint Obama is the tall, dark one.
On this fine day in February 2009, President Barack Obama submitted his budget blueprint. For the first time, in near a decade, transparency is built into a national financial plan. The tremendous costs to wage the two wars America is engaged in are no longer hidden. Outlays for military offenses have been written into the ledger, and not in the traditional invisible ink. While one might think fiscal and political Conservatives would be pleased, upon receipt of the document, Republicans immediately pounced. Senator Judd Greggspoke on the Grand Old Party's behalf when he asked, "Where is the restraint in spending?"
"Now, that doesn't mean that questions of Taiwan, Tibet, human rights, the whole range of challenges that we often engage on with the Chinese, are not part of the agenda. But we pretty much know what they are going to say. We have to continue to press them but our pressing on those issues can't interfere with the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis, and the security crises. ~ Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (February 20, 2009)
The news appeared in cyberspace on Friday, February 20, 2009. As Yogi Berra once elucidated, it was as déjà vu, all over again. International and domestic activists have come to realize, once again, America is a democracy dependent on dollars. Amnesty International advocates shook their heads, wondered, and worried of what might be. Students for a Free Tibet collectively shrugged their shoulders and expressed a shared distress. Citizens at home, in America, barely blinked. An avid Obama supporter, was resigned to realities that, only weeks ago, she might not have thought she would willingly accept. Moneybag democracy lives. Hillary Clinton serves the President, the precedent past, present, and perhaps, future.
A child shrieks. Her fever is high; it has been for days. As the time passes, her condition worsens. Blood, sweat, and tears roll down the little girl's cheek. Her mother gently, strokes the tot's forehead. The loving parent, who lost her job a month earlier, knows there is little else she can do. Spare dollars, she has none. Change has not come. Without health insurance or an income, this woeful woman believes she can only lean forward and say, "Honey, everything will be all right." The free market will take care of us.
Somewhere in America, a man loses the job he has held for more than thirty years. Somewhere in America, a woman cleans out the office she had occupied for close to a decade. Elsewhere in the United States, a teen unsuccessfully tries to find work. He knows he needs to help his Mom and Dad; each toiled in the factory that closed just down the street. A young woman searches for a professional position, just as she has for the two years since she graduated form the University. Each of these individuals is not startled by the headline, Economy Shed 598,000 Jobs in January. All ask, where have the "experts," Economists, and elected officials been?
As word of the economic crisis filtered through the ether, millions of Americans chose to ignore what seemed the inevitable. Feeling helpless, the public did, as they had done. They purchased more and more stuff. However, consumption could not cure a credit catastrophe
For decades, everyone participated, big businesses, and individuals, looking for a slice of the American Dream. There was the housing boom, and the dot com bust. In America, people did what they could to make a quick buck. Think big was the mantra.
Proprietors produced. People purchased. Profits were the prize. Payrolls increased. Rich and poor built Mac-Mansions, paid for on credit. The country did as consumers had done. Cash was not put on the line. The national debt grew out of control. No one seemed genuinely concerned. The reality of a monetary catastrophe had not yet hit home. Then it happened.
I have a dream. I dream of a day when Americans will separate themselves from a difficult past. I dream of a time when partisan politics will not divide us. In my dream, I see a nation united; one in which Black children, white, Brown, yellow, and red offspring, people of any race, color, or creed will rise above their own imagined limits. It is more than my hope, it is my vision that together, we as a nation can give birth to what others think unbelievable. I have faith that my fellow man and I can give birth to what was not thought possible.
We can restore what was once good, and build what will be better. Old habits need not challenge us. These can be the catalyst for deep and authentic change. We need only begin.
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