Problems with Solutions

The Fiscal Cliff was a problem that Americans faced at the end of 2012. We expected to see solutions, but when the time came to discuss solutions, there was a lot of pushed back dates and putting off discussions for other days instead of actual solutions. March is the month that most of the deadlines were pushed to and March is almost here, creating speculation about events to come regarding the economy. The article I read is titled Calendar of Fiscal Crazy: Congress and the Budget, from CNNMoney by Jeanne Sahadi on February 8^th.  The Article discusses the different things that were set for March and the possible solutions to the Fiscal Cliff that were never made final such as budget cuts and the economic plans from the President, House, and Senate.

The automatic spending cuts, or “sequester”, will cut how much the federal agencies are allowed to spend by $85 million over seven months. This could cause the economic growth to slow and could also cause over 1 million workers to lose their jobs. The spending cuts would most likely come from defense programs with entitlement programs being protected, which was all in Obama’s original plan as President.

The article discusses the different proposals from the President, House, and the Senate. Sahadi says in her article, “If history is any guide, lawmakers won’t take up most of his ideas. But his proposal is supposed to tee-up the budget debate.” From what I have learned about the government in class and the process in which bills are passed, it is not shocking that most of the President’s ideas will not be passed.  The process for creating solutions and passing new laws is long and has many different steps. This article shows how difficult it is for the President to play a large role and perform the presidential duty as Chief of State and also Chief Legislator. The amount of work that goes into making something a policy or law makes it hard for the President and members of Congress and the Senate to have a real impact on Americans. There are high expectations for the President and the things he needs to do. He is expected to have a large impact on the rest of government and be able to fix problems, but he can’t do that effectively and with the ferocity that most people expect because all he can really do is suggest ideas with his plan, not actually make them valid until a majority of Congress and Senate also approves.

These regulations make it hard for Congress to act immediately. The article states that Congress has a deadline of March 27^th to do something before federal funding “shuts down”.  It is so difficult for Congress to make final decisions with a majority that they are giving them a deadline to make something happen. This forces people to choose a solution even if they think there could be a better one, such as the “sequester”. It is the best of a bad situation.

People of America expect the President to be the leader of the country and create different ways to pull America out of our economic problems. The problem is that we cannot expect the President to be able to pull us out of the Fiscal Cliff if we also expect to keep our American system of checks and balances. The article seems exasperated about the lack of progress that has been made by different politicians, but the author needs to remember all of the difficult steps that are necessary to make a suggestion or plan a reality.

Obama Approval Ratings Soar

President Barack Obama’s approval rating has just reached a record-setting high when compared with the past three years of his presidency. A Bloomberg poll, conducted nationally, released Wednesday shows that nearly 55% of responders approved Obama’s performance in office (Bloomberg). Since Osama Bin Laden’s death, his approval statistics have been continually rising (Huffington Post). Looking at these facts alone, it would seem that the President is doing an exceptional job as Manager of Prosperity and even Voice of the People. However, these numbers don’t tell the whole story regarding the general sentiment of the American people.

Source: The Stapletonion

First, the Bloomberg poll also reveals that the same percentage, 55%, disapprove of how Obama has handled the federal budget deficit. Without significant changes, this could quickly disintegrate Obama’s perceived success. In order for the President to reverse this majority opinion, federal spending needs to be cut. It is not enough to only raise taxes – the government has a spending problem. If government programs across the board were to cut their budgets by even a small fraction, the multi-trillion dollar deficit we are currently entrenched in would certainly not continue to get to an absurdly out of control amount. If anything, this small reduction in spending will only help our country’s current situation. The fiscal cliff still looms threateningly in the future, and cutting government spending is the only way to ensure that our country’s economy is back on the right track toward a healthy state.

Source: ICIC

Next, the poll states that a mere 49% of Americans approve of how Obama has handled the economy since he was first elected into office. Although ‘handling the economy’ involves many different areas and aspects to consider, focusing on a few major points will portray the overall picture. First, it would be beneficial for Obama to express clearly how he plans to handle a looming recession that could potentially happen due to a fiscal cliff. Deadlines have repeatedly been ignored when it comes to making a final clear-cut compromise regarding this issue.  Postponing the formulation of a concrete plan is only making Americans grow more and more weary. Yes, some tax reformations have been addressed, but another large part of the problem – government spending, has not even been remotely touched on. If Obama wants better ratings and satisfaction from the American people, he must give a direct answer to this problem. Second, Obama may want to spend some additional time considering his recent proposition to increase minimum wage. This sounds good in theory, but more money per person means less total jobs. Unemployment rates have been steadily improving recently, and reversing this trend would not be of great advantage to the president. He could theoretically still raise minimum wage incrementally, but a drastic increase will not be supported by today’s economy.  With these and a few other improvements, Obama’s approval within American society will continue to raise even more than it already has.

In conclusion, Obama has the potential to rally the spirits of the American people to improve the economic state of our economy if he makes careful, rational decisions.  Obama needs to take responsibility of giving the American people the clear answers that they deserve. If he does this, the people of our nation will all be on the same page when it comes to working together as one united whole to enhance the situation that the United States is in.

President Obama and the Stewardship Model

As Barack Obama goes through the reelection process, his desire to improve today’s economy is more than just evident but passionate as well. President Obama feels that the small amount of wealthy people compared to the enormous amount citizens of barely getting by is unfair. He wants to support the middle class by reducing income inequality and making the economy more fair. “The defining issue of our time is how to keep that promise alive.  No challenge is more urgent.  No debate is more important,” (Klein, 1) he said. Obama presents to the people his plan which contains “tax breaks for companies that keep jobs in the U.S, a new Trade Enforcement Unit to investigate unfair trade practices in other countries, support for clean energy industries, tighter financial regulation, and programs to help send more Americans to college” (Klein ,1). Obama recognizes this is a difficult but attainable task that if not   acknowledged, would inhibit any development in making this world a better place. His ambition has overcome the fact that this plan is seriously opposed of the republicans in congress and he said “he will continue fighting, with or without their support” (Klein, 1).

There’s a big question here: is that the right or wrong thing to do? The way Obama chooses to handle this situation reflects the studies in our government class just last month: models of power. During the 19^th century, the traditional Whig model of presidential powers was practiced because presidents felt as if the constitution covered and well put all aspects of government without flaw. Barack Obama imitates more of the modern stewardship model originated by Teddy Roosevelt. This model of power expands presidential powers, improves the Executive Office of the President, gives the president more advisers, and increases the role of the president. President Obama is a demanding and powerful president who will take complete charge disregarding all bodies of congress and maintaining the stewardship model of power. I feel this is an efficient way of leadership because it is necessary for a leader to always keep things in order even if those below him lack that ability. Yet this method has its flaws because it is tempting for a leader to develop tyrannical ways and take advantage of the power. I feel if the people chose their leader wisely with trust, a stewardship model of power is totally passable.

Campaigning: A Race to See Who Is…. Not the Worst?

As we wrap up the year in our government class, we aim to apply the things we have learned to real life situations. One topic we studied as campaigning and campaign strategies. One could look at Reagan, Bush, JFK, or any of our former presidents for that matter, and he or she could see the use of campaign ads or anything to push his campaign over another’s. The presidential elections are getting nearer and nearer which means that more and more campaign ads and other pushes to get a vote are being used. Recently, President Obama released a short clip

slamming Mitt Romney in regard to job losses in the past and Romney’s “plan” for the future. As I talked about (as well as many others) in my last blog post, media has a tremendous effect on the presidential race today because of how many people see it. This ad portrays a dark and solemn tone to represent a not-so-bright future under Romney. Because of what we have studied in our class time, I now have a more solid viewpoint on what this ad really means and what it actually does in regard to President Obama’s campaign. Honestly, if I was to be watching TV in the past and this clip came on, I probably would have done one of two things: either change the channel or just zone out completely for a little bit until it was over. Now, I can actually watch it, know what they’re talking about, and form my own opinion about it, which in this case, I see that President Obama is right when criticizing Romney.

Because of the influence that politicians have on voters, they can say so many things about themselves or other candidates to get people to vote for them.

Moreover, back to the campaign ad and its relevance, this isn’t all that the President, or Mitt Romney even, have done to criticize one another. President Obama has ads like the one about steel workers above, as well as videos like “When Mitt Romney Came To Town”, while at the same time, Crossroads Generation, an organization that supports Mitt Romney, recently released a video criticizing President Obama and the issue of student debt. Things are getting heated. Debate is starting. Every four years, this point in time is reached where it turns into a free-for-all and the candidates throw jabs and sometimes uppercuts at each other. This is that point in time. With all the possible ways to get under candidates’ skin and blast them, it turns into a criticism-fest. As if the campaign ads weren’t enough, the Obama administration made a website solely to poke at Romney in relation to his responsibility for job losses. All of these forms of campaigning are used to cause mass flow of information to voters so that they have everything at their disposure. All of this can be linked to Richard Neustadt’s claim of presidential persuasion. A president must persuade those in his cabinet, but that is once he is in office. A presidential candidate and his or her administration must not only dig up information on other candidates that would shoot him or her down, but they must also be able to persuade their audience in order to get their votes.

Presidential elections have and always will be about who can make the other look the worst. It will always be about who can say “Look at me. I’m not going to give you everything, but I’m sure as heck better than that guy”, and then have everyone that hears him believe it. This is the epitome of campaigning and its effect on the voters. It’s giving voters the opportunity to form an opinion, just like I have learned to be able to do by taking this class.