Just read an awesome article about how Obama could make sweeping changes, with little effort, totally hamstring the Republicans, all while making the country better. Imagine these few programs and totally legal Executive level choices he could make (and NOT be a tyrant) 1. President Obama should instruct his Attorney General to start enforcing the nation’s antitrust laws the way Democrats used to do. Right out of the gate, imagine if Obama went after these huge juggernaut monopolies which are COMPLETELY illegal. He could do it in an instant, because all the laws have been in place for about 100 years now. Congress could do nothing to stop this because they would have to actively promote ending anti-virus laws (primarily, this would be Republicans who would want to do this) but that would translate into arguing to John and Jane Q. Public, No, we have to let Walmart run rampant and do whatever they want! And even if they could do it, it would take years to change the laws during which time, these mega conglomerates would be legally dismantled. Teddy Roosevelt did this 100 years ago, FDR did it 70 years ago, and up until Reagan, the Democrats worked towards maintaining anti-trust violations. PLUS this overwhelmingly helped small businessmen who didnt lose their small businesses to megastores. Reigning in monopolies HELPS small businesses, and imagine SBA members looking at a guy like Boehner championing monopolies and costing THEM their businesses. If you own a small business yourself, how much sympathy can you evoke for a party that actively works to drown you out and cost you your business? Notice that this act doesnt raise your taxes, either. Are you inclined to fight against this? (Though in all seriousness, it astonishes me how gays and blacks and women support the Republicans who actively work against those three groups interests, and yet such people support them. Its unimaginable but it happens all the time). 2. Investigate and prosecute fraud committed during the housing bubble. While this one has a statute of limitations, Obama could again --via Executive fiat -- hold the Wall Street bankers accountable for their mismanagement of the housing lending finances since Bush came into office. Again -- you and I footed the bill to bail these entities out, and they merged and re-emerge and become even bigger. Who is going to complain if a bipartisan housecleaning went down, and these feudal Lords were given their come-uppance for trashing our economy, and getting platinum pay-off for it? I am not going to complain -- are YOU? 3. Make it clear that he will no longer tolerate the college tuition price spiral. Hey, Mom and Pop America. You send your kid to college so they can get a leg up in business and establish a career that will take them off your teat... and by the time they are 26 years old, they wind up with the equivalent of two house mortgages that will take 70 years to pay off. Guess what? They will be looking to YOU to help them stand up from this debilitating credit scam thats been happening. Or -- Obama can cap it, legally, and forgive these huge debts. Think about it... generally, many of your conservatives HATE those liberal colleges -- so youll be helping screw them out of billions they racked up in owed debt, and it wouldnt cost you a DIME. (In reality colleges have become like prisons in that they are simply mega-corporations, but YOU think they are bastions of liberalism, so in this instance your media-induced ignorance actually is a powerful weapon for good). And then imagine this-- a country filled with WELL EDUCATED PEOPLE who can actually compete in a world that values higher education and is leaving us in the dust. Its win/win/win. These three things would reign in monopolies that are wrecking our economy, it would send a message to bankers they cant screw us out of half a trillion dollars and enjoy their yachts while we live in refrigerator boxes under an overpass, and wed have a well educated future generation that could actually compete with what our competition and our enemies are graduating by the millions elsewhere in the world. salon/2014/08/17/how_to_wreck_the_gop_in_3_easy_steps/ Do I think its even remotely possible for Obama to do this -- which is, in many ways -- Why we elected him? Twice. No, he wont do it. Because while hes better than McCain and Romney, hes become really more of the same. He could do this and leave office a star, who put into place an actual health care system, and killed Osama bin Laden, and managed us out of billions in debt left by the corrupt regime previous to him... but... he wont.
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 07:05:57 +0000