CapitalistMarks

Economic forest. Where to start?

Posted on 02. Jun, 2009 by scott in Social commentary, economic daydreaming

Obama is plugging along, well into his 2nd hundred days in office.? How’s he doing?? Generally pretty good, in my opinion.? A hurricane of fresh air compared to the last 8 years.

But . . .

He is showing signs of missing the boat in the economic and social part of his growingly complicated and wishful agenda.

Two things worry my right now.? The first is his lack of attention to the single biggest economic and social issue of our era . . . Social Security/Medicare.? The second is his continuing lack of concern about unemployment.

Some words of wisdom on both.

I believe that BHO has it right when he points at NOW as the time to implement universal health care.? How can we even consider ourselves a great nation, let alone the greatest, if we fail to provide basic health care for every single one of our citizens?? We can’t.? So that is high on his agenda.? However, he is completely neglecting the pending failure of Social Security and Medicare and they are inextricably related.? Everyone in this country who is not in the highest tax brackets has a varying degree of reliance on these social programs.? Yet, we know they will fail.? Sooner rather than later in the case of Medicare (2017 or earlier).? Our governments unfunded liabilities in these two programs make the current bailout and stimulus package pale in comparison (in the tens of trillions of $$).

The problem here is that even the government has recognized this for a least a generation.? No one wants to do anything about it.? How is BHO going to implement a ’self-funding’ universal health care system if all retirees are bankrupt and living under the nearest freeway overpass? Frankly, I’m already staking out my spot.

This problem has to move to the forefront now.? We have to stop delaying the debate and move on it before it is a bigger crisis than energy independence.

Unemployment.? Jeez Louise, haven’t I said enough about this already?? China has the bulk of their stimulus package tied up in infrastructure projects that are creating meaningful jobs.? There economy is growing still.

And, remember there is a multiplier effect with any new jobs (as in every new job created by the government’s stimulus creates another? half a job or so in the service/retail sectors — the people with new jobs are going to eat and spend somewhere!).? What has BHO done.? Any infrastructure money is limited and mostly out at least 12-18 months.? He’s more worried about the money flow than who it needs to flow to!

Unemployment is 8.9% today (later this week I believe we will see it at 9.3% or even higher).? We have to do something.?

Bail out the banks? Done.? Bail out GM and Chrysler?? Done.? Bail out other financial firms that have close ties to Washington through their lobbyists (AIG, GE, airlines etc.)?? Done.?

Create jobs for the average Joe.? Haven’t even started.?

We are still sliding down that slippery slope with increasing speed.? At the bottom is one heck of a concrete wall and we are heading right for it.

Create jobs Mr. President.? Save our retirement? funds and medicare.? Help out the average American, not those knuckleheads who pay the most taxes but don’t shop at Walmart and the Dollar Store witht he majority of us.

There is an economic forest out there.? Real thick admittedly.? But look for the biggest and weakest trees in the economic and social food chain.? Social Security.? Medicare.? Unemployment.

Please Mr. President.? Please, Michelle.

Don’t care if the markets are taking off.? Don’t care if the future looks bright to Timothy Giethner or Larry Summers or the CEO’s of our corrupt banks.?

Do care if we won’t have anything waiting for us at the end of the 66 year rainbow.

Start with the issues just discussed.?

Then, in 4 or 8 years your legacy will be genuinely positive.? Give us all a future.

Thanks for listening folks, and keep those $$ pouring into the social tax buckets, I’m going to need them sooner than later.

And, you will too someday!

?

Thanks to flickr’s mgspiller for the foto

Tags: BHO, giethner, medicare, obama, social security, summers, unemployment