Punch list (cont.)

Another segment of suggestions for president-elect Obama as he completes what feels like the longest presidential transition ever. Before I get into that, however, I will briefly join the chorus of people sounding off on Illinois governor Blagojevich and his jaw-dropping, bald-faced, kleptocratic frenzy to fill Obama's senate seat with the ass of the highest bidder. I think of myself as a fairly jaded individual, generally speaking, having trawled through the sludge of American politics most of my life on one level or another (never a very elevated one)... and yet somehow that transcript of Blagojevich saying "this thing is [fucking] golden" struck me as, well, appalling and depressing, even as it made me laugh. Just the sheer mind-numbing greed of it made me think, as Keith Olbermann said the other day, of Zero Mostel in the original movie "The Producers" ... "Oh! I want that money!!" Holy shit.

Anyway, back to another Illinois politician of note, a certain Barack Obama. This week, domestic policy. (No, I'm not done with foreign policy.... just need a break.)

Health Care. National Health Care is too expensive - that's what we've heard year after year, my entire life through. And yet when major banks and investment houses start to cave in on their glorified ponzi schemes, it's declared a national emergency and we somehow put our hands on the hundreds of billions it takes to float their pirate ships again. Why isn't the collapse of our health care system a national emergency? The 44 million without coverage - not an emergency? The millions more underinsured and one illness away from bankruptcy - not an emergency? The constant upward pressure in costs that is driving even those with decent insurance closer to the brink - not an emergency?

I think Obama recognizes that something needs to be done, but I'm concerned that "something" will be a series of half-measures. We need a national health system, similar to the Canadian / European model. The current highly privatized insurance system is bankrupting workers, strangling employers, and spinning out of control. It will take something far more comprehensive than a few tweaks and some computerized records to make it work the way it needs to. And don't let them tell you we don't have the resources, because we do. We spend an enormous amount right now on a system that doesn't work. We can certainly afford one that does.

Poverty. Poverty is growing in America. People who had relatively secure middle-class lives a few years ago are now wearing cardboard belts and eating out of local food pantries. Unfortunately, the only tall politician with good hair (i.e. not Kucinich) who talked about this has felled himself with a tawdry sex scandal, in effect bringing the entire issue down with him. (Very costly affair, wouldn't you say?) Obama needs to take up this gauntlet. Poor people may not vote in large enough numbers to constitute a reliable electoral block, but that doesn't mean they should be ignored. "The poor" is not a static population... people of relative means fall into poverty all the time. We need to press for policies that will bring about full employment, repair the social safety net, and stop punishing people for not having money.

Okay, I'm through with you for this week. You can record your radio address now.

luv u,

jp