The 'dire' needs of the people of the USA can't be postponed and the article in The Chicago Tribune illustrates desperate pleadings of Conservatives. Funny thing, I would think The Chicago Tribune would be used to a pace set by President Obama when he was a Senator.
But, then again, for eight years the nation was lead by dummies, so perhaps no matter how intelligent the Executive Branch of the USA becomes it will always feel a little 'fast paced' and 'odd.' That 'odd' feeling may be felt by many in the USA and might even be used as a tool by the RNC, but, slow down the pace of an agenda long, long overdue? No one has put forward a valid reason why.
While pointing to Morris Udall as a person that liked to concentrate on the environment and 'one thing at a time' supposedly; it is an example that doesn't hold up. Perhaps the best place to look for 'fast and furious' change is "The New Deal" which saw two stimulus packages in two years.
FDR was elected when unemployment had a high of 32% and when taking office saw 25%. There were no loans from banks and most of the private sector was unregulated. The 'moment' in time that FDR captured brought this country, FDIC, TVA, Federal Housing Administration, Social Security, Federal Crop Insurance, and the much maligned SEC and Fannie Mae.
FDR placed enormous controls on the private sector which have been dissolved over the years. The most aggressive disruption in 'regulation' started in Gingrich's Contract with America Republicans in 1999 and then again during the Bush years. It was the dissolving of regulations in 1999 and since that have directly lead to the collapse of the financial sector. So. We have been here before and the need for RAPID change cannot be understated.
Change takes a lot of support, otherwise, it can be exploited by opposition politicians as odd and inappropriate. The change the Obama Administration provides was all based in 'mired down' ideologies and back peddling politics in the face of appropriate science. Leaving out the fiscal nightmare of thirty years of Republican domination, there are those 'warnings' that date back before 1960 regarding Greenhouse Gases and a warming planet. Rushing to replace OLD, tired infrastructure with measures to insure the USA isn't reliant on foreign oil and coersion is a matter of National Security and if you don't believe me, ask the military.
With a return of confidence in the financial sector, that may be a real indication of the 'bottoming' out of unemployment. Whether Americans like it or not, the exploitive Republican years placed them in record deficits that 'bought' them an economy at the expense of their children. But, according to Republican ideologies 'debt is necessary for growth.'
"W"rong.
Healthy growth for a country does not have to be accompanied by debt, but, more realistic is accompanied by success and profits. When enterprise profits and that enterprise finds demand by consumers that it cannot fill, then growth occurs. And that is guaranteed growth and not speculative growth. It is hideous to realize that speculation can provide debt without results. Those are faux values. Speculation can occur in areas of research in a healthy manner that is accompanied by 'risk' but not necessarily debt. It's called a budget.
During the WWII years the companies that showed greater profits after the war years were the ones that took advantage of their wartime profits and delved into research. They were prepared when the war ended to place new products in the market place when other companies weren't.
The USA economy under Republican leadership became 'hooked' on debt. Don't believe me? I thought we just saw the greatest demise of the global financial sector due to record debt and 'poorly placed debt.' Yes? Can't make this stuff up.
In recent conversations, the government told the auto sector they had to prove to be viable in the long run. A synonym (Gosh, a big word) for viability is solvency. Is it not? When we look to the companies we are INVESTING in as a people with something called 'bailout funds' are we not expecting those companies to obtain solvency and maintain it? I am.And let me distinguish between the way the Obama Administration is very different than the previous Republican administration and why it seems 'scary' to some folks, primarily the Republican leaning populous. The debt the Obama Administration is focused is sincere and sustainable growth.
This administration does not simply 'SPEND' every dollar to buoy an economy. Granted a stimulus package results in spending, but, it is how that money is spent that constitutes sustainable growth. While the President himself stated, "A stimulus package is a spending bill, that is the purpose of it." The 'upside' to the Obama Stimulus isn't just a matter of throwing more dollars out in the market place in tax cuts or refunds, but, in solid measurable change in the country's infrastruture.
President Obama's interest in Amtrak is a focus the country has needed for a long time. If we as a country want to stop polluting CO2, then mass transit has to exist that will still facilitate travel and the service end of our economy. There was once a time in the USA when traveling by rail car was romantic and not a nightmare. Dining cars and sleeper cars were elegant and not run down due to lack of funding.
Not only that, but, an income was derived from those sources and services. Besides booking passage by rail car there was also income from the services of the people employed on the train.
I am not saying that everything President Obama touches will turn to gold. But, I am saying that if we are going to be responsible to ourselves and our children we have to change to meet the challenge of finding sustainable ways in transportation and enegy. The new electric grid will be a part of that, saving the automakers that are planning to build cars that are in demand by the USA public, finding the sincere survivors of a collapse of a financial sector and supporting them through rough territory are all part of that 'responsibility.'
The USA is going to look different, very different after all is done. This 'change' was supported by the electorate in November of 2008. It is change that has been abandoned except for this new Democratic administration and majority House and Senate. I sincerely believe some of the 'contracture' of the financial sector is here to stay. I believe the 14,000 DOW under Paulson was more hubris than substance and to that end, the financial sector 'was played' for political ends and manipulation. There was no reason for the 'alarm' at the end of the "W" administration. The DOW was deteriorating the entire time.
The difference 'this time' is that a return of the financial sector will be accompanied by measurable and sustainable growth. Real growth that cannot be undermined as it is accompanied by 'facts' derived from 'the truth.' I firmly believe, the Obama administration is concentrated on 'investment' in the USA and global communities, not just spending. That investment, including Stem Cell Research, will bring about measurable and sustainable growth that cannot be destroyed as it is in demand and palpable.
I am more than hopeful for the agenda of this Administration and Congress in DC. I believe they are leading where the USA wants to be and will result in growth that our children will enjoy no different than the long sustained changes of FDR's New Deal.
When seeing a 'fast paced' agenda in DC and wondering if the ship will hold together and achieve its desired end, remember that if the USA were allowed to linger on the destructive path it was before there would be a fast paced descent into ruin.
MORRIS UDALL
Awarded byPresident Bill Clinton
1996A World War II veteran and former professional basketball player, Udall represented Arizona during a distinguished thirty-year career in the House of Representatives. Afflicted with Parkinson's disease, he resigned his seat in 1991. Widely respected for his humor and quiet dignity, he served as the Chairman of the Interior Committee for fourteen years, leading the way on landmark environmental legislation, including the Alaska Lands Act, the 1984 Wilderness Act, and the 1982 Nuclear Waste Management Act.
