Pragmatism over ideology?
by Theresa Camoriano
President Obama claims that he is a pragmatist and will do “what works”, regardless of ideology. Given that his stimulus failed miserably to create jobs or encourage economic growth, and given that he wants to double down on that program, we have to ask what he means by “what works”.
Maybe his goals are just different from those of the average American. Maybe he is really interested in getting more people dependent upon government programs like food stamps, unemployment payments, and social security disability, not in empowering people to get themselves out of poverty and to be able to take care of themselves and their families. Maybe he more interested in punishing successful entrepreneurs and spreading the wealth around (especially to his friends and to buy influence) than in enabling the country to become more prosperous.
The President’s stimulus program has been very hard on black people, poor people, and, in general, the very people he claims to want to help. Since he wants even more of the same, we have to begin to wonder whether he really cares about the lives of those people or whether he wants to keep them as his house pets, dependent upon him for their survival and therefore loyal supporters come election time.
It seems that the President is doing “what works” to help himself stay in power, but it certainly is not “what works” to help improve the lives of Americans, especially blacks and poor people.
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