The future... Conan?

Happy Friday everyone. I don’t know about you but I am ready to get the heck out of the cube farm and enjoy the weekend. As part three in my post election blog series, I am going to write about what I would like to see from the Obama administration. This list is not necessarily in any order.

1. Across America, the average senior graduating college is looking at about $25,000 in debt owed to their alma mater. This is a staggering amount and is no doubt greatly hurting America’s economy. Obama, through his universal and refundable American Opportunity Tax Credit, any high school graduate will have their first $4,000 of tuition covered. There is a catch though. Before you get your check from Uncle Sam, you first have to complete 100 hours of community service. Not only are you learning the values of civic responsibility, but you are also getting paid $40 an hour to build your resume. I think this is a great first step by Obama but not nearly enough. I would like this to be offered each year (for up to four years). That would mean the average student would then only have $9,000 in debt instead of 25K. That is much more reasonable. On the issue of education, Obama has promised many things that I like and I hope will happen. I like his plan to double the funding for after school activities. I like his plan to radically alter the No Child Left Behind Act. Obama, as a legislator has a history of supporting programs like GEAR UP, TRIO, and Upward Bound that help low-income students make college a reality. I look for the education system to improve with an Obama administration.

2. On Health Care, Obama and I do disagree. Health Care is my number one issue and is a primary reason why I was a supporter of Hillary Clinton and her universal health care plan. Obama fails miserably in this area. If you go to his website, he has lots of plans to fix health care. The only thing that I like is his plan to regulate health insurance companies more. The Health Care industry is one of the most unethical and corrupt industries in America and we should be ashamed at ourselves for allowing it to go this long without significant changes. I do like that companies now will have to at least offer health care. He also will force insurance companies to take patients with pre-existing conditions. Every American deserves health insurance. Period. Obama claims that by the end of his administration, the average family will be paying $2500 less in health insurance a year. I will believe it when I see it.

3. On taxes, I love Obama’s plan. His plan is actually more conservative than Bill Clinton’s but more liberal than George W. Bush. It’s real simple, if you make under $200,000 a year; you will get a tax cut. If you make over it, your taxes will be raised. A person making $45,000 a year is looking at paying about $500 less in taxes than under George W. Bush. Obama also promises a bunch of other stuff on taxes like simplifying the tax code, cutting taxes for firms that invest in America, but I will believe it when I see it.

4. On poverty, this is an issue that Obama cares deeply about. He spoke often about the pain he sees everyday living on the south side of Chicago. Obama would like the minimum wage to be raised to $9.50 an hour by 2012. Obama would like to create a federal green job corps of new government jobs that directly engage the disadvantaged youth by giving them option to work in jobs that will help strengthen their community and the environment. There are many other things I like. Right now, three out of every four low income worker has no guaranteed six days. Obama would like companies to offer up to seven paid sick days. Obama believes in more affordable housing and has worked to create legislation on prison-to-work options for ex-cons so they don’t end up back in a life of crime.

5. The environment is another issue that I care deeply about. I am almost giddy about the improvement in the environment that will surely happen vs. what happened under the Bush administration. Bush gutted the Environmental Protection Agency and did virtually nothing to help the environment. Obama wants to expand on Bush’s tax credit for those buying hybrid cars, push for different sources of energy so we can get off of our addiction to foreign oil. Obama has a goal of 10% of America’s electricity to come from renewable sources (wind, water, or solar) by 2012. This seems like a reasonable goal and one I support. Obama believes in the plug in hybrid car and has a goal of one million of them on the road by 2012. His plan is to offer financial incentives to American car companies to make this a reality.

6. I share Obama’s view on Iraq and Afghanistan. Get the troops home in a responsible, and safe manner. We have been engaged in war since early 2002 and it is time to move on. I understand that he can’t get all the troops home by February, but I expect a gradual troop withdrawal of about 10,000 troops a month beginning in January. If you are wondering how we are going to pay for all of the things listed above… So far America has spent almost three trillion dollars on the war. Enough already. It is time for the Iraqi government to take control of their country, and use their OWN troops and spend their OWN money to fight insurgents. Let’s get our brave men and women home as soon as possible. I am fairly moderate when it comes to the military, possibly even calling myself slightly conservative. From what I have read, so is Obama. He doesn’t necessarily want to slash the military budget but instead reexamine where the money is being spent. He wants more money on special forces, civil affairs, foreign language training, and to spend more money on veteran benefits. I completely agree. No one is more courageous than our soldiers and when they come home, they should be treated as heroes and the government should support them in every way possible. It is shameful at how underfunded Walter Reed Medical Center is. It is shameful how many of our veterans are homeless because of the disabilities, both physical and mental, they got after serving to protect us. It is shameful that they do not get free medical exams and prescriptions for their war wounds – again both physical and mental wounds. If a soldier loses a leg in Iraq, the least the government should do is pay for a new leg and subsequent physical therapy. The same goes for mental issues. If a soldier comes home and is suffering from deep depression, we should fully fund his anti-depressants and psychiatry until he is better. I will hear no arguments against this point. I will proudly pay more taxes if that ensures that our military remains the sharpest, and best cared for, in the world. It will be very interesting to see how President Obama deals with foreign policy issues regarding Iran, Russia, and other threats. I wish him the best.

Obviously there are many other issues I care deeply about but I think I have listed six issues that can realistically be changed for the better – college tuition, health care, taxes, poverty, the environment, and foreign policy. If Obama can improve these six issues in the next four years, he will enjoy another landslide election. Here’s to hoping that happens.