New generation of Hate.
Ah - now we have the nasty bumper stickers arriving. Recently I have seen a lot of them comparing Obama's White House to Soviet Socialist Russia.
BUH?
The most common one I have seen (and there are no photos online yet that I can find) is the Obama logo of the red white and blue sunrise, and it includes in the landscape pattern the blood sickle thing from the Soviet flag. Then it says, "Is this the change that you voted for?" again with more Soviet Russia symbols.
It makes me want to smack these people in the head.
First of all, the money Obama threw at the corporate sector is not some wild crazy socialist ideal he pulled out of thin air. It's plain old Keynesian Economics. Keynes was British, and he came up with this is the 1930's. Nothing new or original in the idea that when the private sector is failing, the public sector needs to throw lots of money at it, getting into debt on a short term basis if necessary. So this can't possibly be the parallel to Socialism the genius who came up with the bumper sticker is insinuating.
Secondly, the One Payer system of health care has long since been pulled out of the running for health care, not that it's a Socialist policy anyway, but these are clearly the same people who think that it is. (Hello people, look up your definitions please.) Since it's not an issue anyway, that can't be what these bumper stickers mean.
The Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act mirrors a lot of the things that were done in response to the Great Depression. Basically, government created jobs for people forced out of jobs in the private sector. This is not much different than what Roosevelt and then Eisenhower did after the Great Depression when he took office. I'm pretty sure they weren't Socialists of Communists, so this can't be what the bumper sticker is implying either.
So, in short, I'm not getting the whole "Obama is a Socialist" thing.
What I am seeing in this administration so far is a successful (if tangled) Cash for Clunkers program. I'm seeing GM revisited and trying to get competitive in a global market, and jobs slowly being recalled as a result. I am seeing signs on the highways that prove the utilization of the Reinvestment and Recovery Act monies where there is need. I am seeing the health care insurance reform discussion get closer to a plan we can implement than ever before. I'm seeing relatively stable gas prices for the first time in years. I'm seeing unemployment hold steady, home sales increasing with the incentives laid out for first time home buyers by this administration.
Is this the change I voted for?
Of course it is.
And it's happened faster than I expected that it would.
We still have a long road ahead of us. Unemployment is holding, but at an unacceptable rate. My little community college saw an increase in enrollment of 30% this semester, due to jobless folks needing new training or something while they wait for jobs to come available again. We have a long way to go to get insurance companies out of our health care system - just today in my Abnormal Psychology class we were talking about how the insurance companies dictate treatment duration and type for the mentally ill. If you need psychotherapy, you'd better talk fast or be rich, because insurance only covers six sessions, no matter how hard your care provider begs for more. So you'd better get over that schizophrenia fast, baby! (Oh wait - 35% of the US population polled believes that mental illness is caused by sinful living... maybe you should just take your schizophrenia to church!)
So, yes, again. This is the change that I voted for, but if you think there is any similarity to Socialism (Russian or otherwise) you seriously need to go study history, economic theory, and sociology - for starters.
Otherwise you just make yourself look like an ignorant ass with a bumper sticker to prove it.
BUH?
The most common one I have seen (and there are no photos online yet that I can find) is the Obama logo of the red white and blue sunrise, and it includes in the landscape pattern the blood sickle thing from the Soviet flag. Then it says, "Is this the change that you voted for?" again with more Soviet Russia symbols.
It makes me want to smack these people in the head.
First of all, the money Obama threw at the corporate sector is not some wild crazy socialist ideal he pulled out of thin air. It's plain old Keynesian Economics. Keynes was British, and he came up with this is the 1930's. Nothing new or original in the idea that when the private sector is failing, the public sector needs to throw lots of money at it, getting into debt on a short term basis if necessary. So this can't possibly be the parallel to Socialism the genius who came up with the bumper sticker is insinuating.
Secondly, the One Payer system of health care has long since been pulled out of the running for health care, not that it's a Socialist policy anyway, but these are clearly the same people who think that it is. (Hello people, look up your definitions please.) Since it's not an issue anyway, that can't be what these bumper stickers mean.
The Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act mirrors a lot of the things that were done in response to the Great Depression. Basically, government created jobs for people forced out of jobs in the private sector. This is not much different than what Roosevelt and then Eisenhower did after the Great Depression when he took office. I'm pretty sure they weren't Socialists of Communists, so this can't be what the bumper sticker is implying either.
So, in short, I'm not getting the whole "Obama is a Socialist" thing.
What I am seeing in this administration so far is a successful (if tangled) Cash for Clunkers program. I'm seeing GM revisited and trying to get competitive in a global market, and jobs slowly being recalled as a result. I am seeing signs on the highways that prove the utilization of the Reinvestment and Recovery Act monies where there is need. I am seeing the health care insurance reform discussion get closer to a plan we can implement than ever before. I'm seeing relatively stable gas prices for the first time in years. I'm seeing unemployment hold steady, home sales increasing with the incentives laid out for first time home buyers by this administration.
Is this the change I voted for?
Of course it is.
And it's happened faster than I expected that it would.
We still have a long road ahead of us. Unemployment is holding, but at an unacceptable rate. My little community college saw an increase in enrollment of 30% this semester, due to jobless folks needing new training or something while they wait for jobs to come available again. We have a long way to go to get insurance companies out of our health care system - just today in my Abnormal Psychology class we were talking about how the insurance companies dictate treatment duration and type for the mentally ill. If you need psychotherapy, you'd better talk fast or be rich, because insurance only covers six sessions, no matter how hard your care provider begs for more. So you'd better get over that schizophrenia fast, baby! (Oh wait - 35% of the US population polled believes that mental illness is caused by sinful living... maybe you should just take your schizophrenia to church!)
So, yes, again. This is the change that I voted for, but if you think there is any similarity to Socialism (Russian or otherwise) you seriously need to go study history, economic theory, and sociology - for starters.
Otherwise you just make yourself look like an ignorant ass with a bumper sticker to prove it.