A people that cannot pay its debt cannot survive as the United States of America.
We got into this together, and we can get out of it together. But each side must give ground a lot of ground and come to the middle.
To get jobs growing means investing in people to get the engine of capitalism going again, and this must be done in a way that avoids the mistakes of the past decade, if not thirty years. To Democrats, we are not without blame for the mess we are in, and I say this is not the time to push for regulations that in the long run need to be there. For sure, getting our environment cleaned up is also a matter of national security, for we may not be in control of the climate forces at play, but we can be damn sure we don't add to the problem. Think of the damage by weather done to the United States of America in 2011(and of this writing may not be over yet) ... multiply that by at least a factor of ten and we get a picture of the future. Cleaning up the mess we created just by being human is part of living in civil society. We agreed a long time ago it is better not to throw our shit on the streets. So we must keep an eye on that ball, but, for now, focus is on putting America to work, now. Later, when we are humming along at 3% projected growth we can revisit these long-term issues, and hopefully with our financial house ticking along again, those who have resisted environmental and banking regulations can see the need to keep at bay the atavistic forces the drive a capitalism based on fear and greed. You get what you invest in.
There is such a thing as enlightened capitalism based on trust and sharing; we can talk of that later, but now is the time to unleash the beast by both sides mutually investing in our future. That is our only hope.
This is the plan. Business and Government Together Putting America Back To Work.
Business are sitting on a trillion-plus in dollars, but with no sense of sustained demand, the chances for success do not outweigh the risks. We, the people, understand that it is through government and business working together the well springs of capitalism will flow again. It is a rule of capitalism, you got to spend money to make money. The issue is controlled risk. We the people are in debt, though we are not broke. We can take some risk too.
This is the vision: That Obama challenge business and government to match dollar-for-dollar every dollar as we the people invest our future in a trillion-dollar "Getting America Back To Work Fund". The capitalist pump has to be primed ... working together, a trillion should do it.
I believe this country is worth a trillion dollar investment.
And, once the economy begins to buzz along at 3% growth per year and things are looking pretty good, then we can begin to pay the taxes (the price added to goods, income and services in a fair tax) to pay off our debt in ten years. And then we can begin anew to put in place the regulations that make sure that the common good is paid for as we go. Nothing wrong with we the people lending ourselves a half-trillion and asking business to risk a half-trillion ... to first transform America's infrastructure and educational system to world-class standards, for how else are we to compete in an ever more globalized humanity? Rebuilding our middle class with health care and a living wage ... it can be done, but we have to do this together. "
I imagine the President Obama concluding by saying, "We are in crisis ... this is why I have come here tonight. This is not about me and winning the next election ... which I plan to do ... this is about whether we the people see ... all of us ... that we need to do what needs to be done to get our jobless rate below 5%, starting now. Then we can go back to arguing about the right balance of regulations for the general welfare of we the people as commanded by our Founders in the opening line of our great Constitution. (First Line) For now we are a democracy in peril ... we need to make plan starting tomorrow morning and, as a new dawn comes to us, we can make this a great nation living up the first line of our Constitution.
In this bifocal plan of action each side can see its role in doing what needs to be done for us now and for us in the long run to get America back to work.
God help us all."
Let us bombard the White House with a plan that challenges us to be America's next great generation.
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