A new vision for America

Jan 24, 2013 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,
Barack Obama has been inaugurated as the President of the United States of America for a second term. This re-election provides him with an opportunity to pursue his agenda for America with greater vigour, having been given a renewed mandate by the American people to change the course of American politics which for too long, has benefitted the rich at the expense of the poor.
One front-burner issue is that of social inequity which has permeated the American system for decades.
The American dream of ‘two chickens in the pot and a car in every garage’ is becoming increasingly elusive, as a growing number of Americans are forced into the breadline due to high unemployment rates and lack of opportunities for social mobility.
According to the US President, the country cannot succeed ‘if a shrinking few succeed economically while the middle class suffers.’ This is why the President had consistently argued during the presidential campaign that it is not only unfair but immoral, for those who can least afford to bear the burden of taxation be asked to pay more of their income in taxes, while the rich pay a disproportionate amount of their income on taxes. The income gap between the rich and the poor is widening year after year and the rich are getting richer and the poor even poorer.
The truth is that the United States with all its riches still has a huge army of unemployed and under-employed who are catching hell to survive.
Many who earn at the minimum income level are forced to do multiple jobs in order to make ends meet. A significant number survive on borrowed money made possible by credit and debit cards which only add to financial stress.
For many, the only thing that separates them from the street is their last pay envelope, a frightening scenario that borders on fear and insecurity.
This is why there is need to strengthen the social safety net which has been emphasized by President Obama in his inauguration speech when he said:
“We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm…..the commitments we make to each other – through Medicare, and Medicaid and Social Security – these things do not sap our initiative, they strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great”.
These are profound words which resonated not only with the American people, but people right across the globe.
In this regard, President Obama must be credited for being the first President of the United States to have introduced and passed legislation to provide for medical care to the American people regardless of their ability to pay, something that many before attempted to do but never succeeded in doing. This will certainly go down as one of his flagship achievements for the American people.
The truth is that the United States is lagging behind several countries of the industrialized world when it comes to medical care, not because the country cannot afford to spend money on such care, but that the priorities are misplaced. Too much money is spent on the military and on military excursions in other parts of the world, with little or no obvious benefit to US taxpayers.
The US needs to revisit its role as the world’s policeman and eschew a tendency to get involved in the domestic affairs of other nations, especially when its security interests are not at risk. Times have changed and the US must change with the changing times if it is to remain a global player in the international arena. In short, there is need for new thinking and a new vision for America.
The United States is undoubtedly the most powerful country in the world and the President of the United States has enormous powers to change the course of American politics, and for that matter, global policies.

In this regard, credit must be given to President Obama for the enlightened positions he has taken on a number of issues, including the issue of climate change, gay rights, social welfare and expansion of opportunities for all to grow and prosper, regardless of class, colour or creed.
He recognized the need for the country to reduce its huge deficit, but it must not be done at the expense of the working people. This will continue to be a major political challenge for him, to convince the Republican-dominated Congress to agree on tax increases for the rich.
President Obama put it quite eloquently when he said: “We are true to our creed when a little girl born in the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God, but also in our own.”
Barack Obama will certainly go down in history as one of the more enlightened and forward-thinking Presidents of the United States.
He has an additional four years to make his mark and shape a legacy that will allow him to stand tall in the list of great American leaders.
Hydar Ally

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