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Sacrifice specifics for Obama

I have written that the president must avoid George Bush and Lyndon Johnson’s keeping the wars in which were then engaged away from the people and media. It was done for a mixture of non-partisan and purely political reasons. President Obama has to give a speech of his life and, likely, several of them. He has to convince the American public that we are on an emergency “war footing” and sacrifices are required. He cannot do it alone and he needs to be working with prominent Republicans.

I can think of no Republican better for the task than John McCain who has his own needs. During the bitter campaign, Senator McCain went out of character, leaving the persona of a man willing to put his country before purely partisan argument. His use of negative attack ads that skirted, if not trashed, the truth is now regretted, and especially since he was the target of the dirtiest of them during the primaries where he was demonized by Karl Rove and others in the Bush campaigns. Yet during his last effort, he traded in his reputation, integrity and honor, trying to cater to a base that would never feel comfortable or trust with him. Senator McCain has a need to be rehabilitated and joining with President Obama would do just that.

As to specifics, the president has the best and wisest of experts who can suggest filling in the details, but this is the framework that I would suggest.

First, the collapse of the economy and corporate abuses has to be addressed. This will instill a measure of hope and confidence that someone is in charge. A new focused stimulus package has to be enacted. However, the bulk of the influx of money is not to go to either banks or insurance or investment corporations nor individuals. Ordinary individuals may want or expect an additional check in the mail or a tax credit or rebate. I would submit that neither would create an immediate jumpstart to the economy and each would be used to pay down bills, put into savings or used to purchase goods now that will not exist next year. We need vast improvements to our nation’s infrastructure, roads, bridges, schools. The money should be paid out by the federal or local governments to allow an immediate start of construction. This will put people to work and leave something that will be usable for years. Those working will receive wages which will have a multiplier helping many more, our roads can be fixed, bridges made safer, our schools less crowded; a win-win proposition. 

Confidence in our corporate capital system needs to be re-established. Of all excesses that are common, none is worse than the disparity between the compensation of top executives, and their lack of shame, and the average wage earner in the companies. The highest executive, no s of failing companies are paid what I consider obscene compensation and I would apply that adjective even if the company were doing well. For example, the CEO of General Motors received between $14.4 and $19.8 Million last year, depending who is doing the compensation. Other industrial countries’ have their large corporations but the ratio between  chief executive and average worker in the United States runs at a rate of 262:1, whereas in Japan and Europe, the ratio is close to 43:1. Are you ready to storm the Bastille? It gets better. Upon leaving a company, a compensation package is often a parting gift of $1 to $5 Million. And speaking of chutzpah, after AIG received a massive chunk of money from you and me, the top people of this failure company took an expensive junket to lich their wounds.

A commission to make recommendations should be established on January 2q1st, 2009, to suggest details, but I would restrict excessive exertive compensation, severance pay and perks. One way would be to tax the excessive amount at a 95% rate, deny deductibility in its taxes to the corporation. The company cannot keep these top executives without these excesses? Let them go and work as a WalMart cashier. They’ll be back, perhaps humbled.

We have to become less dependent of foreign oil and develop new energy sources; we have also to assist the automobile manufacturers, even if their situation is partially their fault. Take the money we will give you and, immediately and exclusively develop and retool for energy efficient vehicles. No more SUVs. No super heavy RAM trucks to be used as a family vehicle, no more Hummers. If Japan, Korea and Europe can make and use smaller more efficient vehicles, so can we. I know we have longer distances to drive and we love our luxury vehicles. Well, we cannot afford them. Consider it a sacrifice.

We must develop alternative energy sources. Over the years, the oil companies and the automobile manufacturers have abused us, made obscene profits and spent unbelievably low or non-existent taxes. If the latter need money to stay in business, use it to work on a “Manhattan Project” to produce an electric or hydrogen powered vehicle in X number of years.

Next, stop all of the talk about reducing taxes, notwithstanding the Republican mantra that all problems can be solved by lowering taxes, especially on the wealthy. We have to curtail some spending on non-essential things like the $10 Million per month propping up a government that has no need to work things out in its civil war’ That government has a surplus of $70 Billion and is building a Ferris Wheel in Baghdad! We still need money to better equip our troops and increase the size of the armed forces. We have spread ourselves so thin, between Iraq, Afghanistan and Korea that we could not participate in humanitarian efforts to control genocide and violence, for example in Africa. What else would we use with additional tax revenues?

We need to engage all Americans in the effort to bring stability to the Middle East.  And that means taking some positive, and potentially, politically unpopular steps.

 Will the American people accept sacrifice? If it were explained clearly and without political jargon, I would hope so, But first the government must re-establish credibility, something that has been squandered, by partisan name-calling, lack of mutual respect between members of varying political thought. This establishment of trust may be the most difficult task of all.

I leave the specifics to the people far smarter than I, but we are in the equivalent of war and we have to face up to it.

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