While I believe Obama will be a vast improvment on the previous executive officer, and the early signs are he is going to attempt to change some of the systems of government in the United States I wonder how much can he really do? His "Yes we can!" rhetoric is about returning "hope" in the world's richest nation in terms of ecomomic prosperity, job security, access to social services and so on. He wants to reinvent the role of the USA in global politics as a leader based on co operation and not on power and military aggression. The USA has been persuing its interests using its military at least since it colonised the Phillipines in 1899-1902 (not to mention the bloody conquest of the indigenous peoples of the USA). I dont think this is something that is going to disappear, but it will be moved into the background under the Obama administration. This is similar to the Clinton administration, which did use military force on a number of occaisions. I found a website yesterday that had "the speech Obama should have given" (http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=3186&utm_source=jan09&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=N2_Cvr), that contained these points:
* We will strive for local and national food independence by rebuilding our local food systems based on family farms and environmentally friendly farming methods that rebuild the soil, maximize yields per acre, minimize the use of toxic chemicals, and create opportunities for the many young people who are returning to the land.
* We will strive for energy independence by supporting local entrepreneurs who are creating local businesses to retrofit our buildings and develop and apply renewable-energy technologies.
* It is a basic principle of market theory that trade relations between nations should be balanced. So-called free trade agreements have hollowed out our national industrial capacity, mortgaged our future to foreign creditors, and created global financial instability. We will take steps to assure that our future trade relations are balanced and fair as we engage in the difficult but essential work of learning to live within our own means.
* We will rebuild our national infrastructure around a model of walkable, bicycle-friendly communities with efficient public transportation to conserve energy, nurture the relationships of community, and recover our farm and forest lands.
* A strong middle-class society is an American ideal. Our past embodiment of that ideal made us the envy of the world. We will act to restore that ideal by rebalancing the distribution of wealth. Necessary and appropriate steps will be taken to assure access by every person to quality health care, education, and other essential services, and to restore progressive taxation, as well as progressive wage and benefit rules, to protect working people.
* We will seek to create a true ownership society in which all people have the opportunity to own their homes and to have an ownership stake in the enterprise on which their livelihood depends. Our economic policies will favor responsible local ownership of local enterprises by people who have a stake in the health of their local communities and economies. The possibilities include locally owned family businesses, cooperatives, and the many other forms of community- or worker-owned enterprises.
I seriously doubt Obama would go this far. He will attempt to re establish financial equity and economic prosperity for as many living in the United States as he can. He will lessen military agression on a global scale but he will not decrease military production or spending by the USA
2 comments:
I heard it on the radio and when he said "I agree to execute ... (pause)"
I could almost hear his mind ticking over - "Who did I just agree to execute?"
He has a lot of the worlds hope behind him.
While I believe Obama will be a vast improvment on the previous executive officer, and the early signs are he is going to attempt to change some of the systems of government in the United States I wonder how much can he really do?
His "Yes we can!" rhetoric is about returning "hope" in the world's richest nation in terms of ecomomic prosperity, job security, access to social services and so on. He wants to reinvent the role of the USA in global politics as a leader based on co operation and not on power and military aggression. The USA has been persuing its interests using its military at least since it colonised the Phillipines in 1899-1902 (not to mention the bloody conquest of the indigenous peoples of the USA). I dont think this is something that is going to disappear, but it will be moved into the background under the Obama administration. This is similar to the Clinton administration, which did use military force on a number of occaisions.
I found a website yesterday that had "the speech Obama should have given" (http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=3186&utm_source=jan09&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=N2_Cvr), that contained these points:
* We will strive for local and national food independence by rebuilding our local food systems based on family farms and environmentally friendly farming methods that rebuild the soil, maximize yields per acre, minimize the use of toxic chemicals, and create opportunities for the many young people who are returning to the land.
* We will strive for energy independence by supporting local entrepreneurs who are creating local businesses to retrofit our buildings and develop and apply renewable-energy technologies.
* It is a basic principle of market theory that trade relations between nations should be balanced. So-called free trade agreements have hollowed out our national industrial capacity, mortgaged our future to foreign creditors, and created global financial instability. We will take steps to assure that our future trade relations are balanced and fair as we engage in the difficult but essential work of learning to live within our own means.
* We will rebuild our national infrastructure around a model of walkable, bicycle-friendly communities with efficient public transportation to conserve energy, nurture the relationships of community, and recover our farm and forest lands.
* A strong middle-class society is an American ideal. Our past embodiment of that ideal made us the envy of the world. We will act to restore that ideal by rebalancing the distribution of wealth. Necessary and appropriate steps will be taken to assure access by every person to quality health care, education, and other essential services, and to restore progressive taxation, as well as progressive wage and benefit rules, to protect working people.
* We will seek to create a true ownership society in which all people have the opportunity to own their homes and to have an ownership stake in the enterprise on which their livelihood depends. Our economic policies will favor responsible local ownership of local enterprises by people who have a stake in the health of their local communities and economies. The possibilities include locally owned family businesses, cooperatives, and the many other forms of community- or worker-owned enterprises.
I seriously doubt Obama would go this far. He will attempt to re establish financial equity and economic prosperity for as many living in the United States as he can. He will lessen military agression on a global scale but he will not decrease military production or spending by the USA
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