Two Easy Solutions
Bob Herbert, in today's New York Times (I saw this quote first at Daily Kos:)
"Reforming the chaotic and unfair health care system in the U.S. is an important issue. But in terms of pressing national priorities, the most important are the need to find solutions to a catastrophic employment environment that is devastating American families and to end the folly of an 8-year-old war that is both extremely debilitating and ultimately unwinnable."
Pretty much right. Here is my solution:
Obama needs to use whatever force he has to see to it that economic improvements go into increasing the number of jobs instead of enriching the same people who got us into this mess. Devastating the pay of Wall Street types until the rest of us see some gains would be a great symbolic move, but more importantly, we must see that, as things improve, the money goes into hiring and not improvements in "productivity." How many more jobs would we have already if the 9% growth in productivity last quarter had gone into rehiring? Instead, it went right into the pockets of the rich.
Now, Afghanistan. Democrats need to begin (should have begun long ago) a consistent and truthful campaign to explain to the American people exactly how the present disasters in Afghanistan and Iraq are totally the product of going to war based on right wing cant and bluster, mixed with traditional conservative incompetence at anything but propaganda. The only danger involved in doing what needs to be done in Afghanistan (giving up on a hopeless war) is the damage done to the country by another decade or two of belligerent right wing lies and blame-casting. It is long past time that Democrats can afford to sit still for this sort of thing, in case you haven't noticed. The truth will set us all free, and by the way, it costs a lot less than fighting a long-lost war.
"Reforming the chaotic and unfair health care system in the U.S. is an important issue. But in terms of pressing national priorities, the most important are the need to find solutions to a catastrophic employment environment that is devastating American families and to end the folly of an 8-year-old war that is both extremely debilitating and ultimately unwinnable."
Pretty much right. Here is my solution:
Obama needs to use whatever force he has to see to it that economic improvements go into increasing the number of jobs instead of enriching the same people who got us into this mess. Devastating the pay of Wall Street types until the rest of us see some gains would be a great symbolic move, but more importantly, we must see that, as things improve, the money goes into hiring and not improvements in "productivity." How many more jobs would we have already if the 9% growth in productivity last quarter had gone into rehiring? Instead, it went right into the pockets of the rich.
Now, Afghanistan. Democrats need to begin (should have begun long ago) a consistent and truthful campaign to explain to the American people exactly how the present disasters in Afghanistan and Iraq are totally the product of going to war based on right wing cant and bluster, mixed with traditional conservative incompetence at anything but propaganda. The only danger involved in doing what needs to be done in Afghanistan (giving up on a hopeless war) is the damage done to the country by another decade or two of belligerent right wing lies and blame-casting. It is long past time that Democrats can afford to sit still for this sort of thing, in case you haven't noticed. The truth will set us all free, and by the way, it costs a lot less than fighting a long-lost war.
Comments
Yes, let's not enrich the already rich Democrats. We agree on something GE! I think...
"Devastating the pay of Wall Street types until the rest of us see some gains would be a great symbolic move,"
We wouldn't see any gain from that. They'd move, quit, or simply not work as hard, causing us all to be without jobs. Marxism doesn't work large-scale, you do realize this, right?
"it costs a lot less than fighting a long-lost war."
I'll ask you for the fourth or fifth time. Should we leave, and we are attacked again, wtf do we do?