Last month, America and the industrial world waited for President Obama, who was scheduled to make a nationwide television address to inform the world what the U.S. would do to uplift its economy and restore global confidence. But in the gym, as I did aerobic exercise while watching a bank of televisions, news shows repeatedly flashed to a White House podium, which stood empty for 53 minutes.
When the President finally arrived he said the U.S. is and "always will be a Triple-A country." He alluded to the need for jobs but had no specific actions, nor was there any economic strategy or time frames. Soon after the speech, President Obama did as Congress had already done, he left for vacation.
It is not my intent to criticize the President or Congress, Republicans or Democrats but to encourage them to take the nation's ills seriously and work together to solve them. In the last four months alone, the U.S. lost between 900,000 and one million jobs. 25 million people are now unemployed, underemployed or dropped from the jobless rolls for being jobless too long. Home foreclosures are mounting, the U.S. debt is skyrocketing and there is no bold strategy to address these issues. Meanwhile, the 1st of the 76 million U.S. baby boomers hit 65 this year and began receiving Medicare and will soon draw Social Security. In all, this is an unfunded liability of between $55 trillion and $60 trillion. While at the same time the U.S.'s wars rage on draining what is left of its moral and financial resources. This is disgusting. It is long past time for us as a people to unite to solve our severe problems and lift our nation back to the high stature it once held.
Dick
To learn more, please see "Obama and the 'Competency Crisis'," The Wall Street Journal, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903327904576526611297517664.html Some of my numbers vary slightly for I've used different sources.
Dear Reader: Please note that today, 9/8/11, I corrected the typo addressing the magnitude of the U.S.'s unfunded liability, thanks to my son Kyle (beachfnt).
2 comments:
It will be my intent to criticize the President and Congress since they have taken positions of leadership in our country. We are in crisis and there is no will to really deal with the problems so nicely addressed in your post.
I must correct your typo as our unfunded liability is $55 TRILLION - $65 TRILLION but what is $10 Trillion between broke friends. Our leaders are conducting non-sense and debating non-sense while Rome burns.
Given the lack of leadership and the poor democratic system that has evolved, it will take a real crisis before we get "change that we can believe in."
It was highly publicized that President-elect Obama read a biography of Abraham Lincoln. It was that kind of leadership that was needed when he took office but instead he might have been better briefed by reviewing writings about Millard Filmore.
Where have you gone Abraham Lincoln? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you...
Dear Reader,
My son Kyle (beachfnt) expressed it beautifully. It is my hope for President Obama and for the American people that he can yet rise to attain far more than he has and make us all proud.
But he is part of a desperately failing system run by a two party monopoly and the lobbyists which fund them.
Dick
Dick
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