Nov 09 2008
Obama must set priorities
Obama must quickly set priorities for his first 100 days in office.
More so than in perhaps any previous presidential election, this President-elect must immediately set priorities. The economy is in such shambles that some of the Obama campaign promises will have to wait.
Not only can he not TACKLE all of the nation’s woes at once, there simply are not enough resources to go around. And there is no “sugar daddy” available to bail out the U.S. Government.
Just prior to election day, Senator Obama was asked to rank his priorities. He responded with this: (1) an economic recovery package to include middle-class tax relief; (2) energy; (3) health care; (4) tax restructuring; and (5) education.
I believe that post-election realities may force changes to his priorities. First of all, energy problems call for a long-term fix. We already know some of the solutions, but the immediate problems of $4 and $5 dollars for a gallon of gasoline has eased somewhat, at least into the middle of next year.
Health care also calls for a long-term fix; here there is simply no quick fix. Health care reform requires considerable input and cooperation of the Congress. The AARP’s Divided We Fail campaign has hundreds of Congressmen on board. They need to enact substantive measures in the next year. Expansion of the Children’s Health Insurance Program is just a beginning.
Tax restructuring will probably be put off until mid-term or later, but with at least some tax relief enacted this year; restructuring the tax system itself will take some time.
I fail to see the urgency in assisting education unless it is directed toward vocational and technical training that could actually qualify high school graduates to hold a real job. I think more vocational and technical training should take place in high school, and that corporate America really has to get onboard with funding the technical and vo-tech schools and community colleges. Helping families meet expenses while attending school would be a good start; so would a guaranteed job upon graduation.
The economy is continuing a downward spiral due to job layoffs. Jobs are evaporating because of sagging sales. Few of us have discretionary income left over; those who do are hoarding against harder times that are predicted to come in the next year. The country needs jobs. Jobs generate other jobs.
One area that the new President could infuse some money is the country’s infrastructure; highways, bridges, public buildings, national parks, and so on. The money that will be proposed as “rebates” for the taxpayers could better be spent on construction projects that put people to work and in turn generate more jobs and improve sales of goods and services that keep the economy growing. The auto manufacturing corporations are also responsible for a couple of million jobs in the extended parts and manufacturing industries. The new President needs to give a boost up to the auto industry too.
I for one hope the ‘boost’ to the auto industry is accompanied by an actual commitment (with standards) to improve green technologies in cars. No point in giving them money to keep making the same cars that we can’t even sell to other countries since they lack the proper fuel-emission standards.