Tuesday, February 16, 2016

If I Ran for President….


Here in the USA the extremes between the two major political parties are shocking. If it weren't so sad it would almost be comical. My logical and confident self has ideas that make more sense to me than so many put forth by politicians. Here's my platform: 

1.I’d make it a major emphasis of my campaign that I understand why and that white males and middle class families feel under siege. These folks have lost generational job security, upward mobility, wage increases, and traditional values. They’ve watched entitlement and welfare programs grow and gay marriage and minority rights overshadow their beliefs about hard work, tradition, and the American dream. They’ve lost power that through the years they’d been able to take for granted. They want their country back the way it used to be. But there’s a problem with that. starting with  a significant 37 % of American citizens are non-white and  3.8 % are out of the closet gay or lesbian. We’re even more of a melting pot than we were back in the days when Americans prided themselves on being a land of immigrants. And now there’s an x-rated bodacious fear mongering candidate who graphically describes White American frustration and anger, using crude and exclusionary language and who  points fingers and casts blame. 

2. I would talk incessantly about job creation, starting with how to bring manufacturing jobs back. I’d outline new tax incentives for certain businesses and I’d describe my plans for no or low tuition training programs. And not just manufacturing: I’d talk about new economy jobs and how the public and private sector will and can concretely help citizens access them.

3. I'd bring back welfare to work. Democrats emphasize being a voice for poor and minority and underprivileged Americans. But in most people’s minds, entitlements are not the best way for these folks or for the country. I agree: I’ve been privileged to work first hand with families on public welfare.  More than half of these folks, maybe even three quarters, have the physical and mental ability to work and a good number want to and would work. But the average cost of living--not fancy living--far exceeds what even two paychecks can bring home on $ 9/hour. Add up the actual costs of food stamps, health insurance, child care, subsidized housing, and  compare that figure to the take-home pay of an unskilled person earning $ 9/hour. The disincentives to work are real, not to mention that folks who don’t have cars rely on public transportation that sometimes require two or three bus changes. That’s a tough situation for someone trying to show up for work on time. 

 My plan would screen and then insist on full time work for everyone who can and should work, but also provide a supplemental income to at least allow a reasonable standard of living. And my plan would train or retrain folks for new skills, not indefinitely, but for a year or two. After that, work would be expected; if necessary, in assigned community service.

4.And finally, although I’m no expert on foreign policy, I’d run on this promise: If I drew a red line, I’d keep it. I believe the waffling in intervening in Syria has caused a whole lot more deaths and heartbreak than a clear and enforceable red line would have. At the same time I’d continue efforts to collaborate however and whenever possible though the United Nations and with other countries. (This doesn’t conflict with red lines.) The nations of the world need each other more than ever..... 


This is what I would do Hillary, Bernie, Jeb, Ted, Marco, and Mr. Kasich. (Mr Trump omitted for good reason.) Call me naive or ridiculous, but the difference with me is that I mean every word. And I think across the board, I'm not alone.

love
kj

18 comments:

  1. Yes, you have the only reasonable platform around! Can we draft you? At times, when I hear the rhetoric, I want to bury my head in the sand. How did we get so bellicose?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. why thank you, rosaria!:^) honestly, i don't know how what has happened has happened. good works and welcoming hands (seem to) no longer represent the country. the we vs they is so troubling. not to mention positions on torture and targeting entire cultures as enemies. i can't accept it, but it sure as hell shocks me.
      love
      kj

      Delete
  2. Replies
    1. thank you. that's my boy mr. ryan in the grey and green striped socks.

      Delete
  3. I hear and see what the candidates are saying in their speeches. In my European eyes it is all very childish and absolutely no serious talk. I cannot understand why the people in the USA each time are accepting this. The bashing of the other candidates is the only thing they are doing. No respect at all for others. And the worst thing: in my country I see some copying of this bad behaviour by our politicians. I am happy that we don't have to chose a president and that we have a serious goodbehaving man as head of state. But in march 2017 we will chose a new parliament and that is going to be very difficult.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. wieneke, very childish and unbecoming, but also very violent and scary. i would be afraid donald trump as president would contribute to that kind of behavior throughout the world. hopefully, when the general election campaigns begin, there will be balance.

      i like your term 'good behaving.' :^)
      love
      kj

      Delete
    2. Hahahaha.........it is 'well behaving' of course. Sometimes my English is completely on the run :-)

      Delete
  4. Donna Peirce Petro19 February, 2016 13:06

    You are right on target as usual Karen. Understanding why people do what they do is so important and considering the difficulties they face like child care, transportation, etc is so right. As are your thoughts on the consequences of drawing a red line. I'd be happy to support your campaign.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you donna lol! i'm trying to understand how in the holy world dt has the support he has. it's unfathomable (and scary) to me--our usa.

      it really is impossible for an un- or even semi-skilled job to equal the cost of living. that's a fixable challenge, but nobody ever addresses it.

      i love that you've come here on my blog
      love
      kj

      Delete
  5. I am an older white man and to be honest Females, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians can have the whole shebang. I really do not give a damn anymore, i am voting for Sanders because he is the furthest out there to the left as a sane American can accept. But for me, and this is the simple truth, I will throw that race card right back at any "minority" who tries to roll over "my lawn." did play the race card in a coffee shop: found out that Blacks in general don't like having that shit thrown in their face--now that business refuses me service because i played their card or because I am white take your choice. i don't really care anymore. i am done even pretending at political Correctness, I find it only exacerbates the race problem in Detroit and i refuse to feel the whole "White Guilt" thing either--no one ever gave me a break because of the color of my skin--as a matter of fact i had to threaten legal action because my union and the city that employed me kept promoting less senior, less qualified Blacks into my trade. I put up with it for 9 years then as my pension vested at ten years i had to force the sons a bitches to quit with the lying and admit they had me on a list. I won that one. Lot of good it did me after the bankruptcy and I lost 10% of my pension and 97% of my medical for both my wife and I.

    I have known about the decreasing white population since it was first projected way back in the late 60's. Didn't give a crap then and look forward to the day when I am more than a minority in a small place when compared to the rest of the country. course I don't expect to live another 20 years until that is accomplished. My sons and daughter are well trained in their professions and if they get passed over because of race--people will die in my Paramedic daughters case and my sons will simply move overseas and be engineers their. My money was well spent prepping them.

    Welfare is NOT an entitlement regardless of how the media defines it, welfare is a freaking hand out, and I for one am tired of having worked an aggregate 52 years to see some of my neighbors smoking weed, drinking all day, having bellies as big as their ass and never, even after training hold a damn job.

    While we are taxed on ever cent that comes into this house. Take care of that crap and maybe Sanders could use you as a running mate, and by the way the few of my Black neighbors who see the same disgusting behaviors are as fed up with it as I am.

    Job Creation--before we can speak about job creation we have to come to an understanding of the post WWII plan for the world to encompass a global economy; beginning with GATT and then the WTO and IMF--America was always meant to lose over 70% of our manufacturing capacity, our portion of the pie was the service industry (banking, insurance, underwriting) but of course we allowed our entire education system to collapse in on itself and that didn't work out so well for America (or the countries that received the manufacturing due to they never got the wages that went with the job) that is the result of government giving the economy to business interests--well not the government but the elected representatives.

    Yeah kiddo, you go ahead and run--I'll vote for you even in a write in because i think you may be just far enough to the left where they won't call you a communist (asshats)only a "woman not ready to lead."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. mark, thanks for taking the time to explain things. I'm fed up too, and sometimes I don't even know where to point anymore. you know i tend to lean into optimism--my personal behavior hasn't changed--but i know i won't see peace in my lifetime--maybe not even a return to civility. uncivilized and unchecked, we're in big trouble….

      love
      kj

      Delete
  6. Up to now we over here, (Europe) laughed about Trump. Now we’re not so sure. we’re getting mighty scared that there are enough bigots in the US to vote for him. God help us all if that’s the case.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i know, friko: we're not so sure here either. where the hell did all these bigots come from? i think there must be fear underneath it all, but i also know many americans are not happy losing dominance: as in what good is power if you don't use it?! job will help a lot. i think that's such a huge key to righting the usa.
      love
      kj

      Delete
  7. My impression is that Sanders is saying much the same thing and means it. Can he get elected? I don't know, but I'm voting that way.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If all of us old farts and young kids vote for Sanders next year you will be calling him President Sanders.

      Delete
    2. i would be okay with that….

      Delete
  8. You are so spot on!! I'd like someone to hear this please! Loved the point on welfare coming back to work. In India, we have a system where a low earning person does not need to stay out of the workforce to get state benefits. Your benefits are determined by the slab of earning you are at. Below a certain level, you get subsidised food. Next level, you get a discount on cooking gas. There are classes of travel in trains to make travel possible for all earning classes. All corporate employees get 3 months of paid maternity leave from their employers as part of State policy. Perhaps the govt could provide discount coupons instead of insisting that people stay out of the workforce altogether to be on benefit. Some people, like single mothers, would still need 100% financial support, but a lot of others don't need to.

    ReplyDelete