Well, it’s been nearly a year since President Obama took office, and it certainly has been an interesting year. Now, since the President was so kind as to grade himself, I think it is fair to say that we too can grade him as well. However, I am going to withhold grading via indicators such as A, B, C, D, F. Instead, I am simply going to point out a few things and you can decide.
From previous entries it’s probably obvious (can I put it that way?) that I did not vote for the man, but hey when your team loses you support the winner as best you can. You can’t be a sore loser, and I do not believe that I am a sore loser; after all I have certainly enjoyed my share of victories. Okay, onto matters relevant to my topic.
Nearly one year in and I would put a stamp on President Obama’s tenure as a time of missed opportunity. He had multiple opportunities to win over an even greater majority of this country, instead I think he has diminished his likeability by sticking with a philosophy that neither suits nor agrees with our American ideals, not to mention certain campaign promises that now are coming to light that he has not been so diligent in carrying out. I believe the priorities he has are not in tune with how this nation looks at itself. Oh sure, you can consider his oratory on the plight of “lesser” Americans, and that the rich man has had his day, it’s time to pony up, but sorry Mr. President, America doesn’t work that way. Perhaps he needs a refresher course on the founding ideals of this country of hard work, enterprise, self-reliance and opportunity would help. Some may say that’s old school, passé, or long gone, uh-huh, sorry, those principles still apply, one need only to venture out into this great country and ask everyday Americans. He speaks of those qualities but does not seem to advocate them through his policies so far.
Okay, TARP, I’ll give the President a pass on that one. I know, I know, but listen, sometimes you have to do what you have to do, and rather than puff out the chest and say things like Wall Street needs to “pay” and these companies should fail, let’s say this. We give you money to bail you out, you pay it back with interest, and then tell the American people when they pay back this money, we are going to use it for things like improving education, roads, bridges, energy, etc. I do not think the administration has articulated what they are going to do with the money that gets paid back. Recently the President mentioned that he wanted to use some of the 200 billion that was not distributed to be used for some programs like highways, bridges, etc. Here, here Mr. President, as long as he means it. Like I said, I give him a pass here. As for the Republican response that the money should go to pay down the debt, yeah like they’re good at that, they are not exactly ambassadors of caring so much about the debt until they stand on the other side of the aisle. Now, whether this us Constitutional, un-Constitutional I do not know, but if the Republicans are correct, then he should adhere; however, in politics there are always loopholes, and perhaps a common sense loophole in this case is the right way to go.
The Stimulus Package has now become a scourge on Washington politics. The administration can try to dance around this one all they can but it stinks like three day old fish. When you say you are going to jump start the economy but backload the stimulus funding you are not being honest with the American people. Here is where I think the President missed a golden opportunity. The Democrats talked of shovel ready projects. Well, they used a shovel but for the wrong reasons if you know what I mean. If he had come out and said, “We’re going to front load about 50% of the money this year, 25% next year, and so on” I think the American people would have been receptive to that. Instead they slid it out in the middle of the night, there was no advance reading notice, and there were more shady deals than a slick dealer at a Vegas casino. Needless to say the American people felt duped, and we don’t like to be duped. Remember what I said about the shovel. They took 800 billion (which seems like child’s play anymore) and played it at a Craps table at the corner of Chance and Opportunist. They could have really hit a home run by using a lot of the money up front and for legitimate “job creating” projects, but like most politicians they think we’re not paying attention; that we’re too focused on the next entertainment gadget to come out, or that we just “don’t understand.” Uh, hey there honcho, figured wrong. We are paying attention, and soon you will be paying as well. Anyhow, chalk it up, missed opportunity.
Another missed opportunity was how we could have quickly rebounded. Now I have a theory here and it sounds sinister but here goes. I usually try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt and I am not one to conspiratorialize (call that a Scottism) but when Rahm Emmanuel is involved, and remember what I said about the old fish, anything is possible. Okay, so the Obama administration floats into the Oval Office by promising Utopia and bashing Bush; a good strategy, some of it valid, most of it, garbage. I wonder if Obama would appreciate the same treatment upon his departure? So, here they are in the White House and they council and say, “Look, we’ve probably got a good year, maybe a year and a half where we can use that old Texan cowboy as a kick stool, and then it’s accountability time.” My point is this, why are so many things seemingly backloaded? From the stimulus to health care to credit reform, one must consider the previous statement. If you can blame someone else for what ails America, then you can basically open the candy store for constituents with those sweet payoffs, influential votes, the tennis courts in Idaho, or the doggie park in CA, etc. BE UP FRONT WITH US! There was a line from a movie, I can’t remember now, where a character says, “I usually get kissed before I get…” Well, you get the idea. So, back to the quick bounce back. Why not allow everyone the opportunity to renegotiate their mortgage rates? If everyone was afforded the opportunity to renegotiate their mortgage for a better rate then that would have instantly put money into people’s hands, the banks would have generated a tremendous amount of business, etc. Now, they (mortgage co’s) could have set it up where the new rate would be effective for five or ten years, at which time the mortgage companies could have set a mortgage rate increase of 1% per year for 3 years max based on economic conditions. So, if you negotiate a 4% rate, after that 5 or 10 year period your rate could increase no more that 1% per year, so at worst you’re at 7% in the 8th or 13th year. Some were already at that rate if not more. I am not a mortgage broker, but I think that’s a good start.
Another missed opportunity and this is a big one. When Congress was pissing on each other about the health care the President could have been very presidential, stepped in and said, “Whoa, whoa, you kids play nice.” (My embellishment of course). President Obama should have gone on TV and said something more like this, “We’re going back to the drawing board and we’re going to get this right.” Rather than the rhetoric of, “Hey I need health care reform before I go on vacation.” Had he done that everyone would have relaxed and said, “Great, they’re going to actually try to get this right.” Oops, sorry America. We are going to get something even Einstein couldn’t figure out. What a shame! We are going to get something that is going to consume about 15-18% of GDP.
Another guffaw was back in the spring. The President mentioned credit card reform. He talked big about getting nasty with those credit card companies. “Good for you Mr. President, more greedy bastards that shouldn’t be taking advantage of ordinary American citizens. After all, if it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t be in the financial straits we are. You know, with all our personal debt and all.” He gave them a year to get their act together. Well, Mr. President, thank you very much. Understanding the vicious nature of the financial world you opened a Pandora’s box of nefarious undertaking by the credit card companies to, how shall we say it, nuts and bolts, nuts and bolts, we got…. I think you know where I am going there. Innocent, on time paying customers were summarily handed a judgment of guilty when their rates suddenly sky rocketed, or certain rates and fees apply were quickly handed down like a Seattle rainy day. Of course, you should be aware that I was kidding about the personal debt thing being the credit card companies fault. I think there is such a thing as “personal responsibility”. Gosh, I feel so dirty when I say that phrase, it’s like the new swear word. But you see, the President is no dummy. Knowing the nature of the beast he calculated the banks would pull some sort of shenanigan before the shackles were placed on them and by God they ceased the opportunity. So now what do we Americans think of these companies? Exactly! Look, I am no big fan of credit card companies, they are opportunists no doubt, but isn’t this America? Aren’t we all about knowing our limitations? Aren’t we all about understanding risks of decision making? Apparently not, some of us missed personal finance in school.
Last opportunity missed by Mr. Obama. He missed on the American people for the most part. I once said that when the head gets too full of itself, it begins to lose its focus. The Democrats miscalculated (my opinion remember?) the mood of America. Sure, many were tired of a war many argued was illegal, and we began to see economic hiccups of a serious nature in 2007, although most forgot about 2003-2007 (the first half), but this much change? That is the question most will have to answer come November 2010, and eventually November 2012.
One final thought. Yeah! The American people are going to have to take a hard look at Washington DC and the people running around up there making decisions that affect our lives. One only need to look ahead about ten years and ask, is this the direction we want to go? Our roads are crumbling, our energy needs are greater than ever, our education system needs a makeover, our national security is at stake, and our businesses are losing out to foreign competition. Now that can sound pretty depressing, but if YOU and yes, I mean YOU will act as an active citizen and involve yourself in the political process. We can show these screwballs we’re not dummies or drones; that we actually pay attention. It takes about as much time to do this as it does to read the newspaper, and this is way more productive. I encourage all of you who read this to know who your representatives are. Write them a letter about how you feel. Look, eventually some of them are going to get it. If the tide keeps changing and these ding-a-lings don’t realize that their political career will be short lived if they don’t listen to the people, then why should they care if you don’t let them know you care?
