Greatest Dangers Are From Within

Eventful as the last few months may seem, the infamy of this era may live on in the history books as marking the demise of our great Republic. With the massacre in Gaza, unrest in Africa, and world economic recession at the top of our minds, American citizens must realize that the greatest threat to the world would be a rapid deterioration of the United States as the world’s lone remaining superpower.

Contrary to neo-conservative views, while terrorism is of utmost importance for the federal government, economic and political instability are the greatest threats to our nation’s long-term viability. Under attack, our political and economic freedoms are in danger due to the abuse of our financial systems and widespread political corruption.

Economic Woes

Our economic solution must focus on how the stimulus package is spent, should include health care reform, and needs to be mindful of inflationary dangers. Obama has recently announced $300 billion in tax cuts as part of his economic stimulus package, which will account for some 40% of the projected $800+ billion stimulus total. As he continues to craft a centrist image, these tax cuts for the middle class have pleased conservative congressional leaders.

The problem with these tax cuts lies in the in the lack of focus on the spending of these funds. Not only is the impact not immediate with the tax cuts, but most of the tax cuts will not be spent on projects with the optimum multiplier effect throughout the economy. Consider the $150+ billion stimulus passed last spring; our economy felt a very minor positive impact and for only a few weeks.

Last month I spoke about 10 points to help rebuild our economy, but critical in the short-term is helping states and cities with their budget shortfalls. Even directing a small portion (7-10%) of the stimulus funding to states and cities will help to secure millions of jobs and ensure that vital services are not interrupted. As for the long-term, if the money is going to be spent, Obama’s choice of infrastructure investment for much of the remaining balance is a good one.

Missing from the conversation completely is comprehensive health care reform, which has been mischaracterized as too expensive. The reality is that a reform package like the bill H.R. 676, which has 91 co-sponsors in Congress, would actually save our nation health care dollars by eliminating inefficient health care insurance while maintaining a privately delivered health care system. This will allow for American businesses to operate with a similar cost structure to the rest of the developed world.

Inflation is a problem pushed to the back burner with the recent decrease in oil prices, but will be a serious issue facing our country in the next 12 to 24 months. With the Fed’s target rates near zero (increasing the money supply) and a massive stimulus package being passed in the coming weeks, we must be concerned with flooding the system with dollars. An abundance of dollars brings the value of the greenback down, raising prices and potentially triggering a downward spiral where we have inflation and low economic growth, or stagflation.

Political Challenges

In the midst of this “change” transition, Democratic Governor Blagojevich has highlighted the corruption that plagues our political landscape with his “pay-to-play” games. Sadly, the Blagojevich saga has become more the norm than an anomaly. Without question, we have a leadership crisis in America and in my opinion this presents the most dangerous threat to the long-term viability of our country. One of the most important steps our republic can make to counter this threat is to enact public financing of our federal elections.

Our partisan hats must be put aside when we confront political corruption because ethical double-standards do nothing but make a mockery of our political system and create increased apathy amongst our citizenry. Whether it be Democratic Congressman Jefferson or Republican Senator Larry Craig, our nation must begin to weed out these elected by having strong bipartisan condemnation of irreprehensible acts and pushing for public financing of federal elections. We must work on political reforms at this level so we can begin to elect leaders and statesmen again and not just corrupt partisan powermongers. If we hope to ensure our status as a premier superpower, we must change the way we bring our leaders to be.

Our greatest challenges are from within. With our economic hurdles needing to be met with a long-term approach, to our political shortfalls requiring systemic change, our nation must look within our borders to ensure long-term political and economic stability.