As President Bush's 2nd term in office gets underway, we've heard much talk about a "2nd term curse." Personally, I'm not given to believing the bru-ha-ha over some "curse," however I do see some problems with the President's focus heading into the next 4 years. Though I suppose that I'll wait until after the State of the Union address to cast complete judgment on that thought, what I've heard the President say he plans to do is quite troubling. I think we have enough problems to deal with right now without taking on unnecessary, major agendas.
Here, at "The Vortex," I have noted the depths of the financial crisis that this nation is in several times. Just to briefly reiterate:
- The Trade Deficit is at an all time high
- The Budget Deficit is also outrageous
- The value of the US dollar ($) is dropping in value versus other World Currencies (Particularly the Euro, which threatens to be the new worldwide monetary standard that the dollar currently is)
- We are now approaching $300 Billion dollars in war allocation (for Afghanistan and Iraq)
- The $350 Million dollars that we have pledged for countries affected by the recent Tsunami's (which I find to be a great use of American tax dollars)
On top of the financial crisis that we are in, we have voluntarily engaged ourselves in war activities in Iraq and Afghanistan. Why? To stop an intangible enemy that will always exist, Terror, and to stop Saddam Hussein from using non-existent Weapons of Mass Destruction. Currently in a quagmire in Iraq, with our Servicemen continuing security efforts in Afghanistan, we have a tough road ahead of us before we can "bring our boys" home. Needless to say, we also have some serious mending of international relations to do.
Now President Bush wants to tackle Social Security and sometimes seems to be picking fights with other countries in an effort to "spread freedom and democracy."
Of course fixing Social Security is a great topic to discuss during the re-election campaign because it made a lot of people worried that we were in a crisis (including yours truly). But since the dust of the election fodder has cleared, I think that it is clear that we are far from a crisis at this point. Is it a problem? Yes. Does Social Security need to be fixed? Yes. Do we need to fix it now? No. Would it be a good idea to gather a committee to brainstorm, troubleshoot, and develop possible solutions to the impending problem? Of course. Should this be a major agenda issue for this term? Absolutely not.
We already have our hands full with Iraq. The last thing we need to do is pick further fights with countries that don't agree with us (i.e. Burma, Iran, and all those other countries that Condi Rice mentioned during her confirmation hearings). And of what value is it to bring "freedom" to people who don't see themselves in bondage? Of what value is it to bring Democracy to people who don't want it? And who said that Democracy is the only viable form of government? Finally, who are we to promote Democracy when we are far from a truely Democratic nation?
My point is simply this, we have way too many problems to deal with already without taking on other extremely daunting tasks. So I have a few suggestions about things that President Bush's 2nd term should highlight and focus on.
Obviously I think that this term would be best spent learning how to budget and fix the aforementioned monetary problems, while for real figuring out an exit strategy from Iraq and bringing our troops home.
Also, the Public Education system is ailing on every level, from Kindergarten through College. Since the No Child Left Behind bill was passed, many grade-schoolers are just taught necessary information to pass Math and Science exams, leaving behind many other essential courses like Physical Education (which I'm certain plays a major role in the problem of obesity in children). Having the students pass the tests is now the focus of many teachers as opposed to truly sitting down and empowering their students with knowledge that they will need in this current world (not the teacher's fault, its a systematic problem related to school funding).
The cost of College is increasing seemingly exponentially, while financial aid (including the Pell Grant) is lagging far behind. Thousands of College eligible High School students don't attend College because they simply cannot afford it, particularly in the African-American and Latino communities.
Finally, although Congress recently passed many of the suggestions of the 9/11 Commission, I certainly think there is one thing that they can start with. Let's go for increased Border Security. In the last 9 months I've crossed the border from the United States into both Canada and Mexico. And while I found the security heading into and coming from Canada to be legitimate, crossing the Mexican border into the United States is laughable. The security there is a joke and passing through security is little harder than breathing.
It would seem like common sense to me that one would take care of their current pressing problems before taking on other potentially taxing issues. Furthermore, it just makes sense to me that one would handle problems in their own "house" before meddling in other men's affairs.
So if President Bush could focus on domestic problems and wisely withdraw this nation from unnecessary international affairs (while not involving us with others), that, in my opinion, would be the best way to handle the next 4 years.
Maybe Bush should approach the next 4 years as if he weren't President for the last 4, because we've still got a lot of problems to fix from the (His) previous administration.
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