America at its core is an idea -- the idea that no matter who you are or where you're from, if you work hard and play by the rules, you'll have the freedom and opportunity to pursue your own dreams and leave your kids a country where they can chase theirs...Work is about more than making a living...It's fundamental to human dignity, to our sense of self-worth as useful, independent, free people... -- Bill Clinton, Back to Work
Whatever your political leanings, you'd be foolish indeed to disagree with that notion. I am a textbook example of a fed-up American: a recent college grad with loans to pay off, a laid off school teacher, unemployed for 6+ months, and sick to death of party politics and liberal and conservative extremism. Since I've been unemployed, I've picked up three freelance writing gigs, one of which is freelance journalism writing an independent politics column. In my (short) travels, I have met people in far worse circumstances than I am in: a domestic abuse victim who has been homeless since her husband threw her out on the street, a disabled young lady who was laid off and cannot find another job largely as a result of her disability, a mother who needs to live three hours away from her family and small business just to have a job with health insurance, children who take empty lunchboxes to school because they're too embarrassed to let people find out they can't afford to eat, and so on. Anyone who looks at these people and can say the system is fair with a straight face is ignorant at best and stone-cold heartless at worst.
A Florida resident for the last 21 years of my life, I am disgusted with the Conservative political climate in this state. Our educational system is all but defunct, we have the third highest population of homeless veterans, and our unemployment rate is well above the national average. And yet, Floridians refuse to change, still voting in the same people with the same ideas that don't work.
Unfortunately, Obama has been a disappointment as well. It's no comfort to promise people hope and change, and then do the same things Bush did. Race to the Top, for example, is only slightly different than No Child Left Behind, and every bit as ineffective. As long as our education system remains obsessed with standardized testing, there can be NO PROGRESS.
Rick Scott and Barrack Obama represent political extremism for their respective parties. If this country is going to get anywhere, we need to get away from that nonsense and use common sense.
Clinton, while a Democrat, is at least closer to center than others. What is most refreshing about this book is that he doesn't mention gay marriage, sex education, evolution, religion, or anything else that should remain private and personal. He focuses on practical issues that the government can and should have a role in, such as the development of new technology, improving the educational system, and, perhaps most importantly, what the government should do to help put people back to work. And no -- it's not raising taxes on the rich! It's offering incentives for hiring (such as a payroll tax holiday)! All of the bickering and finger-pointing is getting us nowhere. Instead of the Republicans demanding fewer taxes and Democrats arguing for more, take the same amount of money we have -- whatever may be left of it -- and use it to help put people back to work. The rich get a payroll tax holiday and the poor get jobs -- everyone wins.
Whatever your opinion of Mr. Clinton may be, one cannot deny the practicality of his suggestions and potential solutions. I strongly encourage others to read this book, and vote for people with practical ideas instead of party influence.
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