This week, President Obama was asked again and again about deficits and spending during his second presidential press conference. We all know that the budget is very important, but aren't there more important issues than bickering over why the president wants spend money to improve our schools and the way we fund health care in this country. What I mean is there are very pertinent issues that plague our country and these issues only mildly even relate to money. My issue was highlighted by the reporter from Ebony Magazine who asked President Obama about children living in poverty in this country, children homeless, and the Hoovervillesqe 'tent' cities that are starting to pop up around the country. President Obama responded that he was "heartbroken" that any child would have to live like this in the world's richest country. He totally missed the point!
We are "heartbroken" for any child who has to live like this? How about any American who has to live like this? The problem we so massively suffer from in this country is a distorted perception of what is okay. It's not a politically winnable argument to feel sad for adults, who have made choices and ended up on the street, but we can cry for the children, because that is politically acceptable. You don't see people with any sympathy for the adults that are having a rough time. These tent cities house more than just children, but mothers with no place to go and fathers that cannot find work to put a roof over his family's head. It is not okay for children or anyone else to be living on the streets in the richest country in the world. We need to stand up and cry foul at the notion that poor people are the nation's losers and don't deserve the same respect as rich folks. Eating healthy food and drinking clean water should not be held as a privilege.
This is not an indictment on President Obama. I have the utmost respect for his political skills and talents, as well as Barack Obama the man. I just feel that part of the 'change' that this country sought out in 2008, is the change of moving beyond what is or has always been politically acceptable to what is right! Change cannot be a slogan or a poster for a campaign, but actual actions in the United States to better represent all folks from all circumstances. The poor folks in this country (some of which are sleeping in tents under freeways) tend to get left out of the change that politicians believe in. That needs to stop, and I'm not just speaking about the children.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Lets blame workers! Wait... who should we blame?
This is a very well written article, but I have to take the other side of this issue up in debate.
AIG's Larceny
Obama ''gets it,'' but Geithner clearly doesn't.
By Dan Gerstein
There have been several articles and columns, very similar to this one, published in the last several weeks. Generally there is a public discourse of anger towards the financial institutions with the ongoing crisis, and those evil people responsible for ruining our economy. How about we look in the mirror to find the evil doers that ruined our economy?
Why are we so angry with the employees? So what that the employees at AIG are receiving a bonus. They had those in their contracts. AIG may be enemy number 1 on the news this week, just like Bernard Madoff was two weeks ago, but no one man, woman, or company derailed our financial system. To simply just throw blame towards the employees at AIG for the collapse of our banking system is just madness. How many people have worked a job, and had to perform a task they did not agree with??? ….. Oh yeah, that is right, EVERYONE! If I worked at AIG, and had to do my job just like all of us out there, and a perk to the daily grind of my job was a bonus of 1k or 5k, at the end of the fiscal year, that makes me a little happier. That just might be a little bit more of an incentive to keep me working. That money will allow my children a few nice things that maybe I couldn't afford throughout the year. Maybe I can afford a vacation with that money, so at least I don’t go crazy from my countless hours at work. Why are we so outraged at regular people that have to work? We all have to work. If everyone was just complaining about the highest level executives, that is an entirely different issue, but they can’t get fired all at once, because if no one knows what they’re doing, AIG will run like the Treasury department.
I find it incredible in this country to see level of executive envy and privilege, and the vile disrespect of ourselves, the everyday professionals. Whether we work at an uptown law firm, a downtown financial institution, a midtown factory worker or anywhere in between, we all have similar goals to provide a good home for ourselves and our loved ones. We just can't sweep this blame towards a few people or factions of our society. This is a failure of tremendous proportions, and we all have had a hand in this some way or another.
The economy was not ruined by people who work at AIG or Bear Stearns or any of the wall street elite. The economy was ruined by a failed ideology, that deregulation and low oversight of the market is good policy. No Wall Street bank or tycoon made the country overwhelming elect Reagan twice, and 2 Bushes for twelve more years at the helm of our country. We are the people that voted for those ideological policies and practices. We have failed us.
Most conservatives will speak of their belief in low government intervention and low taxes will allow individual hard work to triumph, so that individuals will be able to to pull yourself up "by your own bootstraps" with enough hard work and initiative. Now we have broken those bootstraps without a cobbler in sight! Low regulatory oversight and hardly any intervention has left us without a boot to pull up, so we look to blame someone for those broken bootstraps. Who can we blame? Lets blame the workers at footlocker and not government for making sure every shoe sold had to pass certain parameters. Who votes in the government leaders? We do, why are we so angry? We are getting exactly what we deserve. We voted for the people that have promoted those ideologies for the past 30 years. That is the beauty of democracy. Democracy rises and parishes on will of the people. So we can look no further than our ballots for the blame of this mess, not the worker!
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