Slow Down Obama? Not Yet!

[drbob]

           President Obama has laid out for America the most sweeping agenda of president in our history.  Beside finding a repair for our economy and trying to repair our broken banking system (two things that go together), he has taken on the enormous task of repairing our health-care delivery, reducing Americas carbon footprint, lowering American dependence on foreign oil, and revamping the way we educate our kids.  I have said a number of times that in order to accomplish these goals, Obama will have to take on not only the opposition party but his own party as well.

            The fight has begun.  Ed Rollins, a Republican strategist and GOP communication consultant, has urged Obama to slow his pace.  He says Obama has taken on some necessary tasks but that we cannot do everything at once.  Rollins writes that Obama should slow down his pace to that of a marathon runner, instead of the sprinter's pace he has started.  David Gergen, who has worked for every president since Reagan, also has argued that Obama must slow the pace because the deficit may swamp us.

            Several Senate Democrats (Byrd, Lincoln, Landrieu, Levin, Bayh, Nelson, Casey and Pryor) along with a number of Republicans have argued (in a letter) that Obama must slow the pace of bringing on the "cap and trade"* program to help reduce carbon emissions.  They say hold up on this until we get our economy under control.   

            No doubt these dissents will grow louder every week as the President pushes his agenda.  Now is not the time to slow down.  Here's why.

The cost of medicare and medicaid is getting so out of control that we'll will never see an economic recovery until we get those costs under control.  The cost of medical insurance for employers is a major factor in our unemployment rate.  To fix our economy, we must reign in medical costs.  This is not an option, it is a must.

The education of our children is falling further behind other industrialized nations every year.  This is our future, as Obama has said several times, "If other nations out educate us, they will out compete us, in the global economy."  If we expect to leave a the American dream for our kids, we will have to bring our education up to the level of our competitors.

The "cap and trade" program is the best method to reducing harmful industrial emissions into our atmosphere.  We must push this program forward if we are to leave our children with an atmosphere that won't kill them.

One of the reasons our problems have gotten to the desparation point where they are today, is because past presidents have listened to the nay sayers, who cry "wait, not now" or "we can't afford it."  If not now tell me when.  It may be that some programs on the President's agenda will have to be prioritized, but that will have to be determined from discussion and debate.  For right now, I say: "You go Barack.  Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead."

*For anyone who is interested, a few mouse clicks brought this explanation of the cap and trade program.

The cap: Each large-scale emitter, or company, will have a limit on the amount of greenhouse gas that it can emit. The firm must have an "emissions permit" for every ton of carbon dioxide it releases into the atmosphere. These permits set an enforceable limit, or cap, on the amount of greenhouse gas pollution that the company is allowed to emit. Over time, the limits become stricter, allowing less and less pollution, until the ultimate reduction goal is met.
The trade: It will be relatively cheaper or easier for some companies to reduce their emissions below their required limit than others. These more efficient companies, who emit less than their allowance, can sell their extra permits to companies that are not able to make reductions as easily. This creates a system that guarantees a set level of overall reductions, while rewarding the most efficient companies and ensuring that the cap can be met at the lowest possible cost to the economy.