Congress has No Job Plan and Obama’s Job Speech: No Substance- No Peace

When I started High School in the tenth grade in Memphis in 1977, my homeroom teacher Dr. Meyer’s was also my economics instructor. Although a public high school, at least a third of my teachers had PhD’s. In his class, according to him I did so well that he suggested I take another economics class as an elective albeit he knew I was concentrating in math and science classes. Thus via a flip of a coin I took microeconomics over macroeconomics. Herein this essay begins, upon a reading of the President’s job speech.

I have come to accept as abstruse as it may seem for some to grasp, that the plausible allure for present day politicians regardless of race, gender and political affiliation, must either be the ability to lie or the scarious inability to see a truth in order to tell it like it is. All because it is clear they do not want to tell us the truth about the nation’s current economic conundrum – that it has taken decades to create this problem, that there is no easy solution out of this mess, or worse that they intentionally vitiate solutions because they have no answers because they have no answers and lack the scrotum to say honestly it will require decades to get out of this mess, that it will be hard and that Americans will have to tolerate difficult times and live within our means to do so.

Telling the truth, no matter how saddening or worrisome lost on politicians even Obama. Not to mention it is difficult for a class of millionaires like Washington, DC politicians the pains economically us regular folks feel. Factually since 1960, there has never been a time in which four straight months of stagnate job growth as we have just seen has never manifested without a recessionary period to follow. Yet politicians on both sides of the aisles quip they have answers and solutions to solve this problem in the immediate future – a bold face lie. They say the recession is over, that we will not experience a double dip recession and that the nation is not in a depression – a bold face lie.

Now as for the President’s speech, it was passionate, but passion and great subject verb agreement does not amount to substance. I disagree with GOP stalwarts who assert a joint session was not the place for such a speech under the auspices it was not an urgent situation. But as I stated prior, for people who are not wealth like most inside the beltway politicians are hurting and the state of the economy is a serious national security issue.

Still with this said, Obama’s speech was more of the same rah rah type. Not that it was bad, but still the same old same old. Only thing missing was a “cash for clunkers” program. Why because it was not specific and talks around what I see and experience as a person under employed who has grown through $300,000 of savings just to keep from losing his home. I guess he knows that in this weak economy his numbers are bad but that the approval for congress is worse. On the ground, those of us without sufficient employment know that things will most likely get worse before they get better and that none of what he proposed even attempts to thwart the impact of the troubles of Europe through its banking and market crisis on the average American citizen, for consumers remain deep in debt and the depression in the housing market has yet to hit bottom.

We in touch and on the ground see the economy is too weak to add enough jobs monthly to even keep up with US population growth. My understanding of microeconomics and math indicates anything less 140,000 jobs a month will only keep adding to the ranks of the unemployed.

The plan had nothing I would consider big or different. He should have [1] offered to implement some sort of profit tax on large corporations that earn more than 20 million annually in profits of around 4 to 6 percent. He should have [2] offered some type of net job creation tax for large and small businesses for about a five year period to serve as an incentive for job creation that would said companies a tax credit that would cover at least a third of their salaries for that time period. He should [3] look at international growth sectors and instituted a re-employment service as opposed to unemployment that focus on industry specific training programs that would prepare the young and poor for skilled jobs.

Nothing in his proposal is punitive. He should have [5] mentioned that the top 100 companies in the US have uprooted around 3 million jobs here in the states over the past decade yet created around 2.5 million jobs overseas. He should have [6] specifically addressed Sarbanes-Oxley regulations and only implement them for corporations making under $200 million annually (I could only imagine the strain and expense on businesses with respect to their legal cost alone to comply).

Lastly, he should [7] reinstate Glass-Stegall, [8] eliminate Dodd-Frank, [9] increase tax rates on short term capital gains for hedge funds for example who create most of the market volatility and lower long term capital gains taxes and lastly – [10] relegalize the sale of marijuana.

This is just what I think, based on what I learned from Dr. Meyer in high school and my subsequent readings since then. It aided me in being able to amass more than $300,000 in investments without the aid of a broker or financial planner; although I have been using it up to stay afloat after my business closed and lost full time employment before then.

Politicians are scared to tell us the truth, do not understand the problem and too busy with the interest of large corporations to really solve or care about us little folk. They are afraid to tell us and won’t tell us the truth, and Obama’s plan is nothing more than the same thing he did the first two years while in office – hum bug.

Neither the congress nor the President can honestly feel what we feel on the ground. They argue about finding funds to provide for simple people who have lost everything due to floods, fires and tornadoes. They do not see that the games they play are not funn for us and look away from the possibility of what has been seen in France, Greece, Italy, Syria, Israel, England and else where in the form of civil disobedience can manifest over here. Nice speech Mr. President. Way to sit on your hands Congress. Just be reminded though – No Substance, No peace. For republiacns and democrats seem to not understand I am human capital not political capital.

Pay check away from a pink slip

If you dint know, my store for dogs is about three minutes from the Martin Luther King Jr. birth home, and 3 blocks from his grave and the eternal flame that lights his heart and passion. The day after Obama won, I walked around there and just stared, just a few moments. It was like his crypt was talking to me. Nope I aint crazy, but it felt that way. I was reassured and went back to my shop.

I guess yawl know how much King means to me. He was one of many that informed me of the importance of intellect and thinking for yourself and not accepting what people tell you and/or following blindly. I went to the tomb to respect my elder. It made me feel good, and reinforced that I still was challenged to the task such elders engendered in me.

I have said that I did not Vote for Obama or any of them other same ole lame okie dokes. My logic which many of you said was foolish, and self righteous, was neither to me. As I pointed out I voted for not the man, nor the party, but the policy. And if I must accept blame for seeing no difference in word on paper between the two – then so be it. Likewise, If I decided to study in an applied manner what they say they will do in concert with the problem that needs to be addressed, with the economy for example, and it is my conclusion such is far fetched, I will say such.

I particular felt this way about several things. Both he and McCain said the basic: I will lower taxes, I will reduce the deficit, and I will grow the economy. I want jones to be a success, but I will not reduce my penchant to evaluate his suggestions just as rigorously as I did the recent candidates, or past presidents regardless of party affiliation, nor will I give him a past. Unlike many I don’t see jones as the first black president, I see him as a president, who happens to be black.

Now some may say I need to get a life, for over the past day I have mulled over his economic position papers as well as his speeches on the economy and his latest transcript from his first press conference as the President elect. But it is my life to make certain I am in a stable milieu in which my kids and I can prosper economically.

I still feel that my note selecting either he nor McCain was based on logic. Re-reading I feel vindicated. What Obama has said and has [proposed on paper is just as bad as what Paulson and Bernake suggested with the bailout which he and McCain supported. All he proposes, either the break for 85% of Americans or raising taxes on the rich wont work and is just a tweak on a system that will not have any long term effect on a problem that has been building via debt collaterilization since the 1980s. The system needs to be gutted, not tweaked for our economy is riddled with structural problems – namely that we have a closed economy in a global world. This means he wont be able to raise taxes on the rich or cut taxes for poor folks like me.

Couple this with the fact that the bailout has had the opposite impact that Paulson has desired, the deficit is at about another trillion dollars and we still do not know how the money is being spent with respect to the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), Obama as we have – are sitting on a ticking time bomb. None of his solutions even include the aforementioned.

In two days since his historic victory, the Dow dropped as much as it did in September 1987 although 200 plus points were gained on Friday. For me it is a policy as opposed to an individual issue. He needs to address the volatility (which is a sign of investor confidence (so folk like me put loot back in the market), the housing crisis (which is getting worse) and stabilizing consumption (creating jobs, cause black folks are the only ones spending in a depression for we don’t know how to save anymore). As well as the structural concerns I have sited previously. For if he attempts to raise taxes on the rich – I just have two words - Sarbanes-Oxley, which means folks will move over seas to start new businesses than stay home in the states. Then he has not even addressed or considered revamping value-asset accounting principles nor obviating the Commodity Futures Modernization Act – which are two things that got us in this mess. Let alone accept the premise that folk like me don’t believe we should give banks money to buy other banks – especially when you talk about main street.

True he does mention job creation, but all I have read is the mantra of “new Green Jobs” without any relationship to reformulating the economic conundrum we are in and confronting currently. True, I am no economist, but I read and I try to use reason, but there is a lot more needed. It kills me when I read and hear folks say “freedom”, or “we aint got 40 acres and a mule but we got Obama”, or “Abolition” to describe his historic win, but go out and party and don’t feel as if they have a roll in this, and can see he is just one man, makes me feel that many think things have changed, without asking has America changed? I say no. It will be on us all for there is no such thing as magic. Something must be said with reason over feeling and emotion because although he won, most folks a pay check away from a pink slip.