Capitulation

Barack Obama has just given the Tea Party the Victory that they need to sell themselves in 2012 election. They can point to what has been done and say "See what we have done. Elect more of us and we'll do even better". They've already stated that this "compromise" didn't go far enough, and they mean it.

What could Obama have done? In his first two years he could have used the regular congressional sessions to obtain the needed legislation. However,he was just too accommodating to use the Bully Pulpit and the presidential "...aura..." against the Blue Dogs of his own party let alone the opposition.

In the current deal my contention is that he was open to being snookered because he truly believed that the Republicans were willing to deal. He never realized that their only goal was to see that he didn't get re-elected "...come hell or high water..." I'm afraid that he still doesn't get it. He lost not only the battle but the war.

Hello 19th century. The Republicans (... Tea Party...) want to repeal every piece of social legislation since Teddy Roosevelt. Yes, I said Teddy. There has been talk of repealing child labor laws and the anti regulation attitude will lead to the end of anti trust legislation. Remember, they see the 19th century as a Golden Age just as they falsely see the Antebellum South with slavery resulting in stable families for African Americans. They are deluded and are very good at using Goebbels methods to convince average Americans that their warped views are accurate.

For the first time I'm actually pessimistic about the country's future. In the past when my students asked about the country's economic problems I talked about the resilience of the American people and our can do attitude. Now, with our leadership believing that most of the unemployment is structural and a belief by most people who are working that the deficit is our highest priority, I think we are in for a long period of decay:

1. Reducing payments to education will reduce our competitiveness and leave our workers unprepared for the newer high tech jobs. Our best bet will be to teach students how to say "Would you like to Super Size That?"in several languages (Chinese,Spanish,and Hindi).
2. Without investment in our infrastructure we will be unable to ship our goods, keep our water clean, and maintain our cities.
3. The failures in the items listed above can lead to the USA resembling a 3rd world nation.