Dear President Obama,
I’m sincerely disappointed with this administration’s ability to stimulate an economic recovery.
While I am not a Democrat, when you were elected, I was pleased with America’s decision to elect you. The economy was showing signs of an economic break-down, and I thought “who better than a Democrat to stimulate the economy?”
Franklin D. Roosevelt got a lot of flak for the New Deal, but it was bold, and had lasting effects, which allowed America to be a world-leader in manufacturing for almost 50 years. Over the last 30, however, we have watched manufacturing go overseas. They say we can’t compete with the globe for cheap labor, but that’s not the point. While America rested on its laurels as best-in-class, the rest of the world invested in technology and education. Americans weren’t buying Japanese and German cars because they were cheaper, they were buying them because they were cheaper and reliable. We simply stopped competing because we thought we were too big to fail.
So where is your “New Deal?”
We are borrowing more money than we can ever expect to pay back. If I loan money to someone, I look at several factors: Have they repaid their debts in the past? Is the amount reasonable? Do I think they have the economic potential to pay me back? Thank goodness the Chinese don’t worry about all that.
So enough with the criticism, here is the constructive part…
1. Borrow as much money as we can from the Chinese, and anyone else who will lend it to us, while our credit is still good enough to get a decent rate, and we still have a Triple-A rating. It sounds counterintuitive, but it appears we are pretty much doing this already. The problem is that we are only borrowing enough to service our budget shortfalls, until the tax-base comes back. That is faulty logic, since you can’t tax companies which have moved overseas, and you can’t tax individuals who are jobless. You should only borrow money to make money—not to bridge a deficit which you don’t see going away.
2. Start a “New Deal.” Begin with repairs of the infrastructure which was built in Franklin’s era, much of which has been unmaintained since then. Dams, highways, bridges. This will get many blue-collar Americans back to work quickly, and will provide a small stimulus to the economy anywhere where infrastructure exists. The additional benefit is that if you are re-elected, you won’t have to bear the burden of your own Katrina-type disaster in Sacramento, or any other city which might be flooded if another levy should fail. If you run out of repairs, consider some upgrades or new construction—remember, we are borrowing the money, we might as well spend it all.
3. Build high-speed rail between major cities. This is a green solution, which should appeal to your base, but more importantly, it will give companies competitive advantage if they can ship materials and goods cheaply and quickly. The interstate system was a great innovation, but that was 20th century solution to a 20th century problem. Think transportation infrastructure 2.0.
4. Build next generation internet infrastructure with fiber optics to all high-density areas, and high-speed copper to all rural areas. “No child left behind” doesn’t work if children don’t have access to cheap high-speed internet. We can’t be leaders in technology and information if we don’t have access to it.
5. This last one is radical, so bear with me, and don’t judge until you are all the way through. Appropriate land in the Midwest, and build massive solar and wind farms. Think of projects that dwarf the Abengoa Solar project in Arizona. I know you are familiar with the project, since you committed $1.5 billion to it. Upgrade and centralize the electrical grid to handle all this new cheap clean power. Tax Americans for the generation of very cheap renewable energy from these sources, and provide it back to us free of charge, as a benefit for our tax dollars. Most Americans would gladly pay a few extra bucks in taxes, if we didn’t get an electrical bill every month. By consolidating the electrical grid, it should be very efficient, especially since solar and wind farms cost comparatively little to maintain. Clean coal and natural gas are great, but let’s face it; they will run out someday, even if we don’t agree when that is. As for existing power companies, let them feed the grid, and pay them a fair rate, as calculated by the tax dollars collected, and the percentage of power they create. Don’t approve any new projects if they don’t meet the criteria for the new Green Grid. Biggest benefit: Let anyone else in the world try to lure manufacturers away from a company that provides free energy. Added benefit: If Americans get their energy from their taxes, the prospect of owning an electric car is that much more attractive. The demand for electric vehicles will drive auto manufacturers to innovate, and create more value if the consumers demand the vehicles.
So there you have it, a New Deal for the 21st century. A deal guaranteed to get Americans back to work, and provide us the competitive advantages of cutting edge transportation, communication, and free electricity. I’d like to see any country in the world offer a better deal to manufacturers. We already know we have the best-trained people in the world, let’s give them a chance to get back to work. Heck, if everyone was working again, we might not even mind a nominal tax-increase to pay back all that money we decided to borrow to fund this thing.
Canada voted Tommy Douglas as “The Greatest Canadian.” He wasn’t a Prime Minister; he wasn’t a Nobel Prize winner; he didn’t invent insulin; reinvent the game of hockey; or invent the telephone. He was a Premier of a small province, who spear-headed the effort to implement Medicare. Implementing Medicare in the USA won’t make you the “Greatest American.” Heck, from where I sit, it sounds like most people don’t even understand or want it. But I bet if you were the president who pulled America from the brink of slipping into third-world status with a Double-A credit rating; and brought back economic prosperity (for at least another 50 years until we forget to innovate again), you might have a shot.
Sincerely,
RSquare (R.B. Read)
