Obama:America’s New Cook Needs to Follow the Recipe
With less than 3 weeks left before the election perhaps more than any time in history the basic concept of what America should be and how its economy should be structured are being tested. It was not the foreign invasion of a competing political framework nor was it the actions of a criminal underground that have rocked this nation’s very foundation. Since time immemorial mankind has struggled between the concept of freedom of the individual versus restraint for societal good. We learned in prehistoric times that a true democracy with no leaders and equal decision making on every issue only works for a very small group. At some point in man’s ascendance he had to learn to trust leaders who would act in good faith for the good of all. Everyone realized that being a leader would have its perks which was acceptable as long as everyone else did reasonable well.
History repeatedly shows that for awhile a greedy leader will be tolerated but at some boiling point the pot will boil over and create a mess. This mess should burn all who have been the “cooks” and anyone else nearby who was handling the pot or watching it. Meanwhile those of us regular folk sitting at the table who did not get to cook are wondering who will be the next cook or if there is any food left. Often in the past there was a period of blind over reaction to individuals in power resulting in temporary chaos. We must seek to limit this time of upheaval and return to level headedness.
What many in the media still do not “get” is that America is angry at all politicians and all corporate executives right now. McCain is bearing the cross of being the representative of the Presidential party but there is more than sufficient evidence that the Democrats where stirring and playing with the pot as well. What they need to remember is that Americans are not complaining that the system itself is bad only that there were people who abused the system. They are not complaining that the Constitution needs to be abandoned or the free market system thrown out but that the system was abused and the abusers need to be punished.
Those people that are responsible for ruining the American economic meal need to be punished by more than losing their job. Corporate executives should be subjected to the fullest measure of the law because to do anything less will look like their favoritism to both political parties in the end protected them. Even more importantly, the Democrats have to realize that if they do not clean up their own house of persons responsible for this crisis including Representatives Barney Frank, Maxine Waters, and Senator Chris Dodd then do not expect leniency in the future when the inevitable tide turns against them. From now on, there needs to be a clear and definable distance between corporate titans and political leaders lest they beware the consequences of violation. Transparency in corporate reports and affairs should not be a burden to private enterprise.
Calls for stopping personal investment retirement funds such as 401k and forcing people to retire with only treasury based bonds are ridiculous ideas currently being espoused by some liberal Democrats. Even ten years after the depression many people had recovered their losses and done well with stocks. A significant burden of blame goes to America’s lack of financial literacy in managing their own monetary matters. One of the great strengths of the Asian economic system is that fact that culturally they save much and borrow little. Congressman Rueben Hinojosa of McAllen, Texas and other Congressmen have suggested that financial literacy be taught in school (HR 1079) as an important first step in prevention of this crisis recurring. This is an absolutely necessary part of dealing with America’s addiction to overwhelming credit.
It now seems likely that Barack Obama will have a Democratic Congress and as such will be the first President in decades to not fear a filibuster. This is not a license to change the constitution or radically amend America. The recipe for success was written 200 years ago and lets hope the new cook reads it right. A cook who throws out a successful recipe will not last long in the kitchen.
Tony Magaña grew up in McAllen Texas, attended Texas A&M University, holds a doctorate from Harvard University. The co-founder of Contempo Magazine has participated in Valley business for over 20 years.He is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.