Community Corner
Opinion: WOW Ideas for Obama's Speech
The president is scheduled to give a speech on Thursday. What should he say?
Just for fun.
Here are seven WOW ideas that President Obama might want to use for the latest of his “most important speeches of his administration” on Thursday night.
WOW means “wonderful, overdue and winnable.”
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Obama is in trouble. Even New York Times columnist, Maureen Dowd, is warning the President, "The days of spinning illusions in a Greek temple in a football stadium are done. The One is dancing on the edge of one term."
Perhaps these WOW ideas can help the president.
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First, realize that all of politics is about money. Lots of money. Campaign contributions flow because of favors. Unions feed money to candidates so they pass legislation favorable to them. Corporations pour money into campaigns, candidates and partisan committees to win “tax holidays,” deductions, loopholes, subsidies and bailouts.
In fact, just the fear of a change in any “favored status” guarantees lots of contributions to stop the change—much like an old-fashioned shakedown. Threats alone, bring out the stakeholders’ lobbyists and their checkbooks.
Second, accept the reality that neither Democrats nor Republicans are likely to compromise—unless the ideas offered provide an opening for generous campaign contributions, i.e., more money from corporations, political action committees, organized labor unions, small businesses, movie and high-tech industries, the financial sector, etc.
Hence, these WOW ideas offer massive amounts of money that both Democrats and Republicans might reap for their respective campaigns. Money, after all, is that oily substance which keeps the engines of government running. Fear generates funds for Republicans. Hope brings donations to Democrats.
Taken together, these WOW ideas offer something for both parties to cheer about. Thus, they should provide adequate grounds for compromise and success. However, they must begin by pushing budget austerity:
- Ask for an across the board 5 percent cut in all government agencies, administrative posts, etc. Let the bureaucrats choose the cuts. Everyone believes there is more than 5 percent in “waste, fraud and abuse.” The frugal Republicans can’t object and the Democrats could easily accept this. It makes everyone look diligent and provides political cover.
- End all corporate tax loopholes, subsidies and bailouts. Even Sarah Palin supports this and the liberal Democrats would positively swoon. (Palin, however, wants this in exchange for the elimination of all corporate taxes). Regardless of what happens, the threat alone will generate lots of contributions. If it actually passes. Even better.
- Block the “tax free holiday” that permits multinationals to repatriate the money that they currently hoard overseas—or else, sequester the money in an escrow account to pay for the “rebuilding of America.” Wins either way.
- Declare a moratorium on all home foreclosures—by Executive Order—if necessary. Presidents now use the Executive Order to wage wars, spend trillions of dollars in nation-building abroad, while neglecting it at home, and throw thousands of troops into harm’s way. Surely, this “foreclosure moratorium” is within the administration’s reach. As Franklin Roosevelt reminded the bankers during the Great Depression, the taxpayer saved the banks and Wall Street, so it was the banks’ turn to save the farms of America. No more foreclosures. This idea stops the growing blight of abandoned neighborhoods, keeps families in their homes and would give the struggling middle class Americans something to cheer about.
- Reduce all home mortgage rates to 4 percent—not just those underwater, but those who have struggled to keep paying their bills and keep faith with their lenders.
Perhaps, the president already has this in mind. The Federal Housing Finance Agency just sued 17 banks, in the amount of $196 billion, accusing them of “misleading Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac about the soundness of the mortgages underlying the securities.”
Drop the rates for homeowners. Drop the lawsuits against the banks. Win-win on this one.
- Rebuild all of the schools, roads, bridges and tunnels in America (using the non-taxed overseas corporate profits). This will put people to work and allow for generous contributions to Republicans and Democrats—from developers, builders, bond sellers, painters, architects, unions of carpenters, brick layers, etc. See the money flow. See the work proceed. See both parties agree. See jobs again.
- Accelerate the draw down of U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and all of the NATO countries that should be defending themselves by now. World War II ended over half a century ago. Allow America’s soldiers to come home. Re-deploy them along the U.S. border. Let them help fight the horrific war on drugs. Allow the National Guard troops to serve the country during these mega-catastrophes of hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires, and earthquakes, and possibly even riots.
Rebuild America, Save America, Defend America, and Buy America. WOW. What an idea. Even the Democrats and Republicans can agree on that.