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Thoughts on the Obama generation
It is just over a year since Obama won the 2008 elections, and indeed it was then that he began his presidency. The day after his victory he called his transition team together for a morning of brainstorming and planning. November 4 his inauguration on January 20 he played an unprecedented role in the affairs of the nation and carefully the way for his presidency. However, how can we to evaluate the first year and the movement that brought him to power? An exhaustive answer to this question is not possible, but here are some comments on four issues fundamental done during my time here, it may be interesting to some.
Health Care
Obama's first major national movement has been health care. Unfortunately, the bill passed the House of Representatives 10 days ago is a pale reflection of what Obama promised (or seemed to promise) far from other first world countries (and even some third world countries) and significantly less than the needs of the American public. It seems rather reforming the insurance sector a real opportunity to offer viable universal and / or affordable health care for all. Health accounts industry 16% of total GDP, the highest in the developed world and yet today there are 50 million uninsured Americans, and many whose benefits do not allow adequate treatment. As the recession deepens this number grows.
In essence the bill creates a federally regulated market, where consumers could to shop around for the best insurance plan. This includes state subsidies for some private plans for some consumers and, most controversially, a state insurance plan.
The good news: The bill extends coverage to an estimated 34million people, requires more employers to offer decent health benefits, reduce the cost of general health insurance, expanding Medicaid coverage, provides grants to small businesses and individuals, increases in taxes on high incomes (over $ 1 million) and prevents insurance companies deny coverage and / or charge higher premiums for preexisting medical conditions.
The news is not so good: in a "compromise" plan to move any state grant or execute excludes abortion coverage, except in the case of incest, rape or when the life of the mother is in danger. Undocumented immigrants would be ineligible for any plan that involves state subsidies, tax credits or Medicaid or Medicare (insurance of state programs for the poor, elderly and disabled). They are, however, able to purchase private insurance through the market square at the full price that few can afford access and emergency care in unnecessarily high cost to the state. There will be no "public" health care in the sense that Canada, most of Europe and even South Africa offers, ie free services of public health care. Rather, state-subsidized insurance programs or run pay private health care attendance rates and the types of private insurance companies do not (and significantly reduced as some expected). The privatization of health care continues. Most prisoners, however, is that most funds can only come into effect in 2013 despite the growing number uninsured. And even this modest proposal for reform is not likely to do so through the most conservative of the Senate in its current form. More revealing is the resistance very active (and in silence, even acceptance?) For the health care industry in this plan.
The Long War
Obama seems to be making moves positive for a phased withdrawal from Iraq despite that none of the objectives (to ensure foreign oil, to stabilize a client regime and "the fight against terrorism ") has been achieved. Some excitement can be taken by the gradual (but extremely slow), try to close the Guantánamo Bay (which Obama admitted not meet the deadline promised) and the decision to try to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-accused (allegedly involved in the September 11 attacks) in a civil court in New York. Also Obama to reach the Muslim world and its diplomacy with Iran is a sharp departure from previous policy and much needed.
However, Afghanistan remains a weight around the neck of Obama and a swamp that seems to sink deeper into. At the heart of the problem is long-term U.S. military strategy. Government policy follows the idea of "The Long War", 50 or 100 years of the Cold War counterinsurgency against al Qaeda and company along the arc "crisis" on However, oil-rich Muslim countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Horn of Africa, the Philippines and beyond, with several "wars hot ", as we have seen along the way.
The term "long war" was coined by Gen. John Abizaid, in the decade 1990 and promulgated by counterinsurgency experts around the Pentagon and think tanks led by the Center for New American Security. His most ardent defender, who popularized the idea in 2005, has been Dr. David Kilcullen, a senior military advisor and consultant to General Stanley McChrystal course, and the case is made for that in his recent book The Accidental Guerrilla. Despite the failure of the global counter-insurgency tactics of the strategy has acquired a dominant position in the military.
This is the quagmire that Obama faces, Afghanistan (and their conflict over, in Pakistan, for example) is not simply an isolated struggle can "win." Rather it is one battle in a larger plan, one with dubious political and military achievements, and clear moral inconsistencies that undermine huge financial implications national policy.
Environment
positive talk abounds. Obama's address to the United Nations on 22 September was the first thing Progressive to come from a U.S. president on the environment in a long time. He acknowledged the failures of the American past and the seriousness of the threat and said he was determined to act the sake of future generations. A series of public meetings of senior officials and other role players have been significant. Despite being watered down the plan incentive offers: "$ 24.4 billion in real money for energy efficiency, 25.3 billion U.S. dollars for renewables, and $ 23 billion for transit improvements … According to Clinton and Obama advisor, John Podesta, the package's $ 150 billion in investments in clean energy per year for 10 years the creation of 1.7 million net new jobs "6. Obama meeting with foreign leaders also failed to produce positive statements about the need to address house gas emissions.
However, very little of the American plan has been implemented to date, although in fairness these programs take some time. More importantly, eloquent speeches have not included specific goals, this is true for the leadership of Obama and the United Nations (as an example) after his statement meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao. Even more disappointing is climate change activists that the next conference in Copenhagen appears to be dead in the water with a nonbinding political agreement on the likely outcome that, hopefully, is a step towards a binding agreement with real objectives and, realistically, a face-saving move.
Why put this at the feet of Obama? It would not be fair to do everything, but we must recognize that progress on this front is not possible without U.S. leadership and sometimes twisting the arm of other countries, clear commitments to specific targets and the actual constraints of its own domestic economy.
Economy
Those who expected a radical change in economic policy with the approval of Obama to the White House have been a big disappointment. The expectation was, course, completely unrealistic. Obama's economic policies do not vary much from those who came before him, whether Democrat or Republican. To choose three examples, but …
Rescue: The astronomical pieces of money to banks and other financial institutions and the terms (or lack thereof) in which this money was given both in rescuing the Bush administration (of which the Obama team tacitly approved) and the stimulus package Obama does not indicate any policy change prevailing neoliberal economic. Despite strong talk has done little to regulate the financial sector following the crisis of 2008. Obama's enthusiasm for the "recovery jobless stock market (ie investors are making profits, while workers continue to lose jobs) is another indication of his approach general market economy (the system is fine, just need to fix, intervention and control). To his credit we must acknowledge the public sector expanded spending in areas important in efforts to create jobs. Again, on the other hand, this is invested in increased consumer spending (such as banks are encouraged loans to start), which was part of the problem first.
Foreign Trade: Obama's speeches on trade are perhaps more revealing. Already question of his speech in Ghana, their talks at the APEC summit or conference with the Chinese President, the message is clear: free trade, market competition and TNCs are key to international prosperity. Contentious issues such as U.S. farm subsidies are not even near the table. Of course there are nuances, talk of regulation and some positive reform policies, but remains the central policy.
Advisers and Appointed: Perhaps most tellingly, with which Obama surrounds himself. greater economic advisers and appointed officials before and after the elections are a mix of economists was for Clinton (the era of international market deregulation) was Bush officials, academic economists, entrepreneurs large and few reformers. Members of the Economic Advisory Council Transitional include: President and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, TIAA-CREF and Xerox (Warren Buffett, Roger Ferguson and Anne Mulcahy, respectively), Chairman of the Board of Time Warner (Richard Parsons), and chairman and CEO of Citigroup Committee (Robert Rubin) – Citigroup received approximately $ 45billion bailout money 8.
Timothy Geithner, Treasury Secretary was a constraint on the IMF and Lawrence Summers, the head of the Economic Council (NEC), a former senior World Bank official, was forced to resign from the presidency of Harvard University in 2006 after he suggested that women lack the innate ability of men to excel in math and science9. He is on record saying that nothing can be done both AIG huge executive bonuses (post bailout) and increased unemployment10.
What is to be learned?
Readers of this post may be surprised to know that I am a fan of Obama. He is charismatic, cool, eloquent, intelligent, progressive, has good values, awareness of the dynamics of discrimination (class, race, gender and sexual orientation), based on union activity, offers an approach integrating international policy and law has given priority to issues of health care, employment, education and the environment. And he is African American. It's about the best thing will be implemented within the American political system. But that's the point is not true: "in the American system" and not just the U.S. system, But the neoliberal global capitalist economic order. Obama's hands (and mind?) are tied in so many ways.
It all comes down to economics, money power and profit at the end. It is no secret that influence various lobbyists and big business to exercise extraordinary about members of Congress and the Executive. financing campaigns by pressure groups amounted to U.S. $ 3.3billion in 2008 with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (On behalf of large companies) coming in the first place with about $ 527million and health insurers and pharmaceutical groups from the 2nd, 4th, 5th place and 6 with a combined total of $ Whopping 712million. Not surprisingly, the military-industrial complex is represented by Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Boeing Co in the top 20 spenders. Also making the top 20 are energy giant General Electric (3rd), Exxon Mobil and Edison Electric Institute. Mass telecommunications companies (AT & T Inc. and Verizon Communication) Financial Giants (Freddie Mac and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association) and General Motors around the top 20 list11.
We must remember the main driving force of the market economy: the benefit, and anything goes – the exploitation, environmental degradation, war, etc – in pursuit of it. Not only that shape our economic relations but also our social relations and the very fabric of our society.
Members of Congress have their own agendas. A recent report by the Center for Responsive Politics coincides with a total of 237 millionaires in Congress. And not all Republicans with Democrats making up 4, 5, and the top 2 are of the liberal state of California. To make matters worse the 10 industries invested in Congress by men and women are: real estate, entertainment (read: media), securities, investments and banks, making oil and gas and pharmaceuticals / health products12.
Reproduction a secondary but important role, are the ideological groups, such as the Christian conservative right and anti-libertarian "big government" that manage to bring the debate so distorted and harmful. The distortion of the health reform program outright lies as "panels of death" to be important and further progress mobilization against health, by ordinary people who benefit most, it was scary to see. There is also a dangerous racist subtext is not subtle at all anti-Obama-as policy initiatives, the state has fallen into enemy hands. Anyone willing to recognize the structural racism or the social meaning of race, as former President Carter recently did, in politics or policy are immediately labeled racist big "U.S. colorblind" nation.
This is the stage where the president has to play.
What should I do?
First, we should not blame the President. It is no use. For the time being have someone to work with, at least for a change. Rather than actually (some would say naively) believe that the eloquent speech-making Obama, the Obama we saw before the election, is the "real" Obama. Obama is interested in real change. In his recent book on the campaign of Obama (The Audacity of winning: The Inside Story and Lessons of a historic victory for Barack Obama), David Plouffe, said that every aspect of the unorthodox campaign was based on the idea that "the country need deep, fundamental change, Washington was not thinking long term … special interests and lobbyists had too much power, and the American people need to confidence once again and participate in their democracy. "14 As he notes the very decision to not campaign headquarters in Chicago, Washington was an aversion to decay and corruption of current U.S. policy. The popular movement was not a maneuver by a self seeking political power but an ecological emergency in response to the expression of his natural voice. It is that voice has been drowned in putrid swamp of Washington. And now is the work of the 300 000 odd volunteers and millions of supporters and voters to speak with that voice.
When you meet these people (mainly young people) on the street, or in universities today, and asked: Do you support the war in Afghanistan? Many, most, answer no. And yet, the man who brought him to power sends more troops. When asked if they want free or response adequate public health care many do. And yet this is not what your government will give to them.
There is a growing sense of disillusionment between this generation – the Obama Generation. But the success of the Obama generation – and indeed Obama himself – is not measured in bringing Obama into power (and hopefully for two terms), but measured in the successful transformation of this cohort of activists based in the next wave of political activists. Part of the magic is that for the first time this season was ordinary people without power, but believed they could make a change, and they did. Obama as an African-American (and with the support of African Americans) has added significance here, but underlined that even the poorest can be powerful, yes, some glass ceilings can break and crossed some thresholds conservatives. It is this spirit that must be captured and used in the coming years if we see social change of any kind. Most likely coming in a fragmented way. Different groups will emerge on particular issues: health, war, education, etc. We have seen this power already expressed in the protests in California at all cost and scope of university education. It is difficult (though possible) to imagine this area of collective action two years ago. Chances are that will take a couple of years for the mass development as individuals band together once again disappointed. Naturally, it is fewer people, but a critical mass is possible.
Critical of a movement must emerge that places the economy at its core. Despite all the talk of Wall excess Street has not been a single demonstration in Wall Street, nonviable strong social movement to combat the economic system. In part this follows from the absence of a perspective coherent theoretical. This is necessary in two parts. One is direct: direct knowledge of the economic system in which we live and experimentation and thinking about alternatives viable. The other is integration: we must learn to see problems as connected as part of a coherent whole, economic exploitation, environmental degradation and war are not from the existence of "bad people" but are cancers endemic to the capitalist system with its drive for profit at any cost.
We saw this integration began to emerge in late 1990 and early 2000 summarized what took place in Seattle, but the attacks of September 11 and the subsequent war, fear and restrictions of civil liberties fragmented and weakened the movement. Equally important is the idea that the system is not only the creation of "outside" the economic problems, but has created a set of social relations that moves human solidarity at its core for competition and greed. It is only once social movements can attack its causes, within a broader economic paradigm, we can move toward real change that much, everyone, with passion requested in 2008.
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