For the past few weeks, the media has highlighted the increasing number of African-Americans who disapprove of the Obama administration’s job in reducing black unemployment. Unemployed African-Americans rank the highest of any race, anywhere between 15 and 20%, depending on who you ask. Traditionally, they’ve had a harder time finding and keeping meaningful work in this country, as compared to other races. However, their job loss rate for the past two years has gone from concerning to alarming. The black community is rightfully frustrated, disappointed and losing hope in an administration they thought might be more diligent toward their cause, given their large turnout in the 2008 election favoring Obama. To them I say, I hear you… and please take a number.
I’ll play devil’s advocate and argue that Obama is hardly pleasing anyone. A recent poll shows the president’s approval rating on the economy at an all time low: 65% of Americans disapprove. And yes, we all know he inherited an economic mess from George W. Bush, fueled by financial deregulation dating back to the Clinton days. Thank you very much G.W. and Bill! But back to the scapegoat du jour, the current administration’s strategies to propel an economic come back have fallen short and there’s an increasing sense out there that Obama is just not being “the man”. I wrote about this in a recent post.
What went wrong? I am no pundit, but common sense tells me Obama and his administration spread themselves too thin, spending precious political capital sometimes on the right battles, but at the wrong time. I am referring specifically to the tedious healthcare debate. We now know that all the bickering that went on then was just a preview of things to come (i.e. the Debt Ceiling debate), but the time and effort that should have been employed laser-focused on the economy was wasted. Wasted because the longer over 10% of Americans remained unemployed, the longer it would take for the economy to recover. One could also argue that the healthcare debate has been harmful to job creation. Small and big businesses alike were on stand by waiting to see how new regulations would impact them before deciding to hire. Today, many refuse to hire to avoid impositions they deem costly and since healthcare, other debates have brewed a new sense of uncertainty that affects consumers and job creators alike. As if all the political capital Obama lost during the healthcare debate hadn’t been enough, his own party turned on him and many left-wing supporters became publicly angered at not getting the sought-after and much contentious single payer system. The far left became disenchanted with Obama and his desire to build consensus at the cost of his principles. He and the then democratic majority in congress lost an opportunity to exercise their majority power at unison and made economic matters worse by ignoring the unemployment issue. Right battle, wrong time.
Then came the gay community. It was their turn to be angry at Obama and shove their unwavering support in his face, as well as his unfulfilled campaign promises. It was 2009, only a few months after the greatest economic collapse since the great depression and still in the midst of the health care battle. Many months of discontent resulted in a slow process toward the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, only recently certified... a victory for those in the military. Still, civil rights affecting gays continue to be a sticky issue, in spite of a majority of Americans finally favoring same-sex marriage.
Let’s not forget immigrants. They are angry at Obama too. Hey, they have to be since it seems everyone else is angry at them. Anti-immigrant sentiment tends to rise in hard economic times, this one being no exception. Obama’s campaign promises included sweeping immigration reform, a promise the Latino community reciprocated with massive votes during the presidential election. So, it is no surprise that many Latinos, to whom the immigration issue is dear, are outraged at the administration’s turning a cold shoulder to the plight of mass deportation, rejection of the dream act and the hateful immigration law initiated in Arizona, now being copied in various forms around the country. “This is not a good time” seems to be the administration’s response to impatient crowds supporting immigration reform… and they are right. Except, the one thing they are supposed to be focused on isn’t going that well either: jobs.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention human rights advocates. They also are livid at yet-to-be-closed Guantamo and the administration’s hesitation to take hard stands with China on human rights, among other things. And of course we have the angriest group of all: Conservatives who want to “take their country back”. I could write a book on their complaints about Obama, and many have already been written, banking on the guy’s popularity/lack thereof. They are angry at health care reform, but not because of the timing… because of its substance. They have vehemently opposed every bill, initiative or thought the president has put forth, whether it partly reflects their values or not. They are angry at the administration’s not giving oil companies the go ahead to drill baby drill after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, they oppose tax increases for the wealthy even though a majority of Americans support it. For the first year and a half of the Obama administration they were the NO party. Now that they control the House, they are the “NO, but we don’t know” party. Where are the jobs GOP? Where are the jobs you promised you’d help create as soon as you took the coveted majority?
If you’ve read this far, by now you can tell that I too am angry. I’m angry at Obama for not showing his backbone at a time when we really need to see it. I’m angry at the democrats who turned their back on their president the first chance they got making him and the party weak and ineffective. I am angry at the GOP for making things so darn difficult, every single day, on every issue – out of spite. Arianna Huffington was recently interviewed by Piers Morgan on CNN. She was promoting her book Third World America, which I haven’t read. Among her many comments was an astute observation that perhaps we need to stop looking at our leaders for leadership. Counter-intuitive as it may sound, this is a statement I happen to agree with. In fact, I had given this some thought before ever watching the interview. At a time when our leaders act like 2 year olds fighting over a toy, while over 14 million Americans from all walks of life are unemployed and the economy is on the brink of another recession, we need to stop waiting to be led. When the time comes we’ll get a chance to vote out those who didn’t live up to our expectations. In the mean time, maybe we need to snap out of this funk we’re in. What if businesses start taking chances in hiring and investing and consumers who can afford to buy start buying. What if those of us who are able, get our financial houses in order, prepare for the worst, hope for the best and refuse to be paralyzed by fear. I am tired of looking to Washington to see if my 401K is going to be up or down the next day. Aren’t you? Given the past three years, I bet most Americans can lead more responsibly, thoughtfully and effectively than our current leaders.
The employment numbers came out yesterday and we learned that last month the economy added zero jobs. On Thursday, September 8th, Obama is scheduled to deliver a speech to a joint session of congress to present his jobs plan. Almost three years too late if you ask me, but better late than never. Let’s see what happens and hope implementation of this so-called make-or-break plan is not contingent on congressional support, otherwise we may be back to square one.
