Letter to President Obama

Dear Mr. President:

Jobs, jobs, jobs. How come you didn’t see the writing on the wall? You came into office on the campaign promise that you were going to fight for the little guy. What happened? Instead, you surrounded yourself with cabinet members aligned with Wall Street and the first thing you did was bail out the banks followed by the bailout of our failing auto industry. The little guy like me got scraps. People like myself are still struggling with trying to get loan modifications and wondering how to make ends meet when no one is hiring. My wife works for the state of California and she has to put up with lost wages from being furloughed. Sure, I voted for you because like you I strongly believe that protecting the environment, slowing global warming and making health care affordable are worthy and noble causes. I also believe that transitioning to a fossil free economy is the best way to stimulate the ingenuity and creativity of our collective intelligence. One of the problems that I am sure you are aware of is that the American people #1: Have a short memory; and #2: Have limited patience. Yes, there is no mistaking that you inherited a horrendous mess from that village idiot but your window of opportunity was much shorter than perhaps Rahm Emanuel led you to believe. The first signal that you were heading in the wrong direction was the angry tea party demonstrations and acrimonious townhall meetings (By the way, I attended one held by Dan Lungren but never made it inside). That should have driven home the message to you that people were not ready for health care reform. Who wants health care reform when people are desperate for a job? But instead of confronting the anger and hostility, your administration along with the Democrats in Congress played down the significance of this anger and essentially brushed it off as the rantings of right wing nutcases.Now you are confronted with a second signal. The loss of a key Senate seat in one of the most liberal states in the country threatens to derail your entire agenda, not just health care reform. You think the Republicans are going to go along with anything you propose now that they smell blood? All your political capital has been exhausted on this ill-timed strategy and Republicans are in no mood to compromise on any part of your agenda. You even have to deal with holding the blue dog Democrats together, let alone trying to throw olive branches over to the other side of the aisle. So here is my suggestion. Focus on the little guy. Focus on small businesses because small businesses hold the key to hiring people again, not the big lumbering auto industry. Instead of a trillion dollar health care reform bill, invest heavily in upgrading our country’s infrastructure. Give generous tax breaks to small businesses that invest in green technology. Make education a top priority since that is where you are going to get the biggest bang for every dollar spent. First, improve public schools by holding schools accountable for their students’ academic results. Higher education also needs a complete overhaul. Universities and Colleges are simply too expensive for a majority of Americans. Most students end up being saddled with mountains of debt when they graduate. Universities must be forced to offer low cost higher degree programs to all who are motivated through online web-based learning programs. By turning higher education from a privilege available only to the few that can afford it to an opportunity for many, a more educated workforce will drive our economy forward in the next few decades.Your staff also needs a shakeup. I would like to see Paul Krugman in a prominent position in your cabinet. I am sure he would be honored to serve your administration.So there you have it. Good luck and please do not forget who got you into office.