By James Breedlove
It is time to rise above the political blame gaming tactics that have stagnated America and kept its citizens hostage to the debilitating economic paralysis and partisan bickering you inherited in January 2008.
It is time for the President of the United States of Americato stand up before the American people as a bold leader dedicated to giving them back the confidence they have lost in a government perceived to be incapable of serving the needs of the people.
It is time, Mr. President, to let ‘we the people’ know that the harsh lessons learned from dealing with the snowballing fiscal crisis that has confounded America will be used to provide effective new solutions instead of retreading old ones.
It is time to reveal a new vision for America, Mr. President. It is time to differentiate the reality of your presidency from the smoke and mirror fluff of your challenger.
The voters do not want to hear more glowing speeches prepared by skilled speech writers using coined poll tested phrases designed to tell the people what they want to hear. Instead, what they are looking for are plain spoken simple words that tell the people what they need to hear, the pathway they must follow to reclaim their freedom, and the specific actions that will be taken.
Mr. President, because the misery and concern detailed in the Pew Study is not uniquely democrat or republican you have the opportunity to offer your vision of substance to both.
It is possible to do this in the short time remaining before the November 6 elections in a manner that will transform the campaign from a finger pointing, tear down the opponent, mud-slinging spectacle to a constructive template that future campaigners will emulate.
First, use your acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention inCharlotte, N.C., to present a comprehensive roadmap for America’s recovery and growth using the “no fluff-real stuff” differentiation guidelines previously mentioned.
Second, a few days prior to the October 3 debate in Denver announce a new jobs stimulus initiative and your intention to replace Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke and Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner.
These are bold moves to accomplish a specific goal. They illustrate to the American people that you are serious about attacking the economic crisis based on lessons learned. The Federal Reserve Chairman and the Secretary of the Treasury are intimately connected with the highly controversial TARP, Qualitative Easing and other stimulus measures. New leadership of the economic team verifies and validates that new economic initiatives will be the bedrock of the economic recovery game plan.
A recent Pew Institute report says, “the middle class has shrunk in size, fallen backward in income and wealth, and shed some—but by no means all—of its characteristic faith in the future.” The report provides statistics showing that middle class earnings and net worth have plummeted since the mid-2000s and that about 85% of the middle class say it is harder to maintain their standard of living than it was 10 years ago.
The significant difference between this new stimulus and previous initiatives is the money goes directly to the consumer instead of to corporations. One of the reasons previous stimulus initiatives did not jump start the economy is the corporations sat on the stimulus money and refused to increase production because consumers did not have money to purchase their products.
Third, shortly before the October 16 debate in Hempstead, New York announce your support of initiatives to legalize and regulate marijuana. The war on drugs continues to waste billions of tax dollars each year while drug usage increases. A test program to legalize and regulate marijuana will determine if the taxes raised, jobs created and reduced strain on the overwhelmed justice system outweigh the negatives. We must be willing to try new solutions when old measures are proven ineffective.
Fourth, as a lead up to the October 22 debate in Boca Raton,Florida announce the date for bringing the troops out of Afghanistan.
Mr. President with these initial steps you will have demonstrated several definitive and confidence building realisms to the American people:
You understand the role of the President and the power of the presidency.
You will not let greed and corruption continue to undermine the integrity of the government. Government greed and corruption has been the single most effective element destroying America’s middle-class values of thrift, industriousness, and self-reliance.
You understand that the government should work to enhance the people instead of the people working to enhance the government.
As a politician you are a realist and not simply an intellectual theorist.
Mr. President, now is the time with these simple but powerful initiatives to prove to the American people that their government is in the best hands with you remaining at the helm. Comments or opinions may be sent to the writer at www.jaydubub@swbell.net.
