Posted
by Bill Hoyt
January 20, 2009 at 9:59 p.m.
A New Era of Responsibility
Mr. President declares Mission Accomplished:“What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply,” said Mr. Obama, who in his campaign emphasized a commitment to reduce partisanship. “The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.”It is not surprising that in class today we watched the inauguration. It was a history class after all, and this is history. One interesting note was that no one in class raised their hand when the professor asked if anyone thought this was a bad day for America. Not even me, as I don't find it any worse than yesterday or tomorrow, and see no difference whether the man with his hand on the Bible is named Obama or McCain. I certainly hope Obama turns out to be the best President we have ever had, wish him the best of luck, and pray(1) that he will make all his decisions - decisions that I would never wish to face - with God-given wisdom. While perhaps it is faithless of me to expect that prayer to go mostly unanswered, I cannot fail in my duty to ask. I will also rejoice in those small times when it is answered.But Obama's inauguration is in some sense, "Mission Accomplished," as one will note that nothing in Obama's laundry list of what separates him from "the cynics" - those who still care whether government is too big or too small - is found in the Constitution. It is no longer at issue whether - as arises from my cynical reading of history or the document - it is the primary responsibility of government to manage employment or retirement or health care or child care for individual Americans. Smooth words about an Era of Responsibility aside, it will henceforth not be Americans who are responsible for America, but America which is responsible for them. Ask instead what your country can do for your 401(k).For one brief, shining moment, the Congress stood against a $700 billion, budget-busting, blatant looting of the public treasury. Four short months later, it accepts with precious little dissent trillion dollar deficits as far as the eye can see(3), with the Democrats lining up shovel-ready Mob museums and Republicans begging for table scraps. Our government now looks foursquare upon Change, the institutionalization of that glorious day when, as Tocqueville warned, it might spare us all the care of thinking and all the trouble of living.God bless America.1. The day Clinton was inaugurated, or actually that night, I was at a Bible study and was asked to lead the (somewhat dejected) group in prayer. I prayed pretty much the same prayer that I pray for Obama, that God would give Bill Clinton foresight, wisdom, and the ability to balance justice and mercy(2). You could have heard a pin drop. It was apparently inconceivable to many Republicans that a Democrat president might be used by God for our good. I'm afraid that most Christians' God is too small.2. "My desire is foremost that you will you will make requests and prayers and give praise to God for all men, and especially for kings and all those in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." - 1Tim 2:1-23. Or as far as the dollar can stretch, which I suspect is significantly shorter.
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alm77 (anonymous) says…
You know, if you look at his actual *plan* though, it doesn't sound like the country taking care of me. According to the plan ( and I only mean what he says, I'm not stating a faith in it actually coming to pass.... yet. ) It sounds like the government's money, Oh, wait, I mean MY money won't be wasted like it has been. It sounds like he's calling us to focus on our own families. It sounds like he wants to pay people to fix the highways (which have needed it for years) and it sounds like he is asking us to be responsible and do our part; to work hard at our jobs; to save back a bit; to pay our bills on time and to love our neighbors. He stated repeatedly that we're perfectly capable, we're just out of practice and he wants to wake us up to this reality, so we can "pick ourselves up, and dust ourselves off." That's the plan anyway. Ain't nothin' wrong with it.
ladylaw (Terry Bush) says…
I too am praying for the new President and country. I thought his speech was inspiring (as it was intended to be) and full of good feelings. I especially liked the part about putting away childish things and making sacrifices. So did a lot of people. I just had to wonder, however, if people who liked the words will be willing to actually do those things. It is one thing to look forward to prosperity and good results and quite another thing to be happy with a President who asks you to give up 50% of your income (in taxes) in order to pay to get to where he thinks we should be/go. The greed he was talking about doesn't just apply to the bankers, millionairres, and other corporate types. The greed that got us where we now are is/was a top to bottom behavior and attitude. Most of us live up to (or over) our income. Meaning we are often just a few months from not being able to pay our bills (if we were to lose our income). The idea of having 3-6 months of our net salary in savings is laughable to most people. It is going to take a whole lot of belt tightening on the part of a everyone (not just fat cats) to get things back on a more balanced track and even keel. And all hopeful good feelings aside, I don't think most people are aware of or ready for exactly what that will mean to them personally. Personally, I am trying to figure out how to fit more people into my home and turn my back yard into a vegetable garden.
alm77 (anonymous) says…
I've already squeezed two more into our townhouse and last year, I started with tomatoes and strawberries. So, we'll be adding to that. Dave Ramsey is more popular than ever. He tells you to save up a little emergency fund, get out of debt, save your 3-6 months income and then start investing. Sound advice in any economy. I think this has been painful, but waking up to reality usually is. I just wish we didn't all have to do it at once!! I went to my kids MLK program on Monday were one of the lines was about reducing consumption and being a producer and not only surviving, but thriving. I thought it was appropriate.
El_Borak (Bill Hoyt) says…
ALM: "Oh, wait, I mean MY money won't be wasted like it has been. ... It sounds like he wants to pay people to fix the highways"I really wish it were the case that it was our money that was fixing the highways. But while Obama (rightly) zings Bush for putting off hard decisions and hard choices, the fact is that a budget deficit is the very definition of putting off a hard choice. The responsible choice, if we need new roads, is to pay for them from current revenue, which means that what is needed is a big fat gas tax increase. But we have already decided we're not going to charge ourselves - hell, we're going to give ourselves a tax cut. So that means that we'll need, say, six trillion* over the next 3 or 4 years, or roughly half of everything America produces in a year. And interest rates are as low as they have ever been.So where, I wonder, are we going to borrow $6 trillion new dollars at low, low rates? That's a plan I would love to see, and yet it is a question that no one - not in the Obama administration nor the Bush one, not in the Congress, and not in the press - is asking. Maybe I'm wrong and that's so obviously not an issue that there's no need to talk about it. Or maybe there really isn't a plan at all.* A trillion for TARP, a trillion for Obama's stimulus, and 4 years of trillion+ dollar deficits. It will be more, maybe a lot more.