Between Friends: A Discussion on the Economy

A high school classmate of mine whom I have recently reconnected with after many years was telling me of her consternation over the Obama flap on the Leno show. That's perfectly understandable since, as an admitted Obama voter, I was a little put off by his statement, too. It's certainly not an appropriate comment to come flying out of the soup cooler of someone who calls himself President of the United States.

She was also concerned with how our country is quickly moving toward class warfare and how the political system is just making matters worse. Something she said to me spurred the following response, which I will share with you here. I have added italics to denote my portion of the discussion.

It's unhealthy for the Republicans and Democrats to be this fractured. That's especially true when both parties are this ineffective. This country is completely ripe for a polycameral political system much like you see in European democracies or in Canada. Problem is, the voters in this country and the politicians that could all make this happen are too chicken shit to defy the status quo. In that regard, it is almost embarrassing to be a conscientious voter in this country.

Obama is allowing the celebrity aspect of his office to get to him and he really needs to watch what he is saying. He really needs to get a handle on the state of this economy because EVERYBODY is underestimating the magnitude of our economic situation. The situation is going to get a lot worse before it improves. Throwing money at the AIGs and Citis, Banks of America and JP Morgan Chases of the world is going to solve nothing and will probably make matters worse.

There is a culture of entitlement in the corporate world that is every bit as insidious and profound as the welfare state entitlement they've railed against. Both are wrong, but it is the masses in the middle that are going to be the casualties. When that happens, you've got a class war where the rich accuse the poor of their malfeasance while asking their government to bail them out of their own incompetence and the poor continue to require assistance for basic maintenance of a spartan lifestyle. And who gets the bill: that's right, the middle class who gets up daily, goes to work and pays the taxes that government then extends to the welfare state among the poor and the rich.

What that would look like is three kids on the playground. The bully pushes one kid over another who is kneeling behind the kid getting pushed. The bully is the rich. The kneeling kid the poor. And the middle class is the one getting pushed. And in the scenario, the middle class is the only one really getting hurt.

Look, we all work hard in this country. It used to be that we were all in this together. When did that stop being the case? When did the rich become the enemy of the middle class who has invested so much sweat equity into living bucolic suburban lives where children could be raised in the way that reflected parent's middle class values?

We all want to be a success. But does it really require material possessions and bank accounts with several numbers beyond the left of the decimal to be a success?

The feeling is that the perversion of that concept has caused the rift between classes. It's causing a now elite, corporate class that says that what's mine is mine and what you have I can take away if I can't maintain what I have in the manner I have become accustomed. It's a feeling that is wrong on so many levels, but it still exists and it can't be helped. One can only hope that it can be stopped.

Government is empowered by the Constitution "to promote the general welfare". What that means is that we are all Americans and that we will not let other Americans slip away into despair and poverty. It can't be meant to be a handout and once the help is received that the giver is forgotten. We were once a great country because we worked hard and made things. We still work hard, but we have the con artists who will say one thing and their lives reflect a wholly different ideal.

But we are not making the things we need to sustain a middle class economy in this country. Believe me, I will be discussing this in another segment in these pages (stay tuned). Until then, the hallmark of what created the American middle class is slowly going away and it is threatening to strip away an entire class of people if we are not careful and if we do not hold our government accountable to take decisive, non-political and non-partisan action.

Mr. Obama, it's very nice that you are now "POTUS #44". But you now have a big mess to clean up and America (or, at least, this American) expects action. The legacy of your Presidency hinges on this very important issue. Don't blow it in a fog of bowling score discussions!