Now that President-elect Obama's honeymoon with the press is officially over
and now that Mr. Obama is blamed with everything from the Israeli-Gaza fighting to the
selection of Mr Burris to fill his senate seat, I feel I can reveal four secrets that will
serve him well in his coming political trials.
First: NASA and the space industrial complex will try to convince him that a Manned Mars Mission
is the necessary next step in space once NASA can actually get back into space, and
they will try to convince him that a Manned Mars Mission is not a one-off
mission and that Manned Mars is better for America than a permanent Moon base.
Second: The American construction industry will try to convince him that only new
roads and bridges on virgin soil are better that reworking or replacing the roads
and bridges that now exist. The argument that will be used is that all new will be
better for the infrastructure and economy than rebuilding or refitting the old and
we have eminent domain to crush anyone in our way. Don't worry we'll pay our
buddies a good price for the land; and besides, who cares if more good land is used
up in the process? Remember Cramer and Nick Hodge already have the infrastructure
stocks picked out for us.
Third: New school buildings do not teach children. Proper repair of existing schools,
the proper security for children at schools and a greatly improved payment plan for
teachers who demonstrate they can teach is worth more than any new building and
will do what is needed for education today.The teachers and the administers who can't
teach or won't teach will throw a fit if he tells them this because they want a nice
place to sit and do nothing till 3:15PM. The school building and land selling complex
will likewise bring out maps and charts to show that any existing school building is
in the wrong place and is beyond repair and he should rebuilt it anew nine blocks
over.
Fourth: People should be responsible for their business decisions. The steel industry
is now planning a raid on the US Treasury saying the downturn in business has placed
an unexpected slump in sales that has crippled their industry. Where were the steel
plant CEO's caution and concern when four years ago a new mini-mill was being built
on every street corner? Steel trade papers back then were warning that the capacity
coming on line could not be justified and even Nucor paid for a study to warn
Severstal that the new mill they were then planning was not needed and would fail to
make a profit. That plan has since been constructed.
I know Mr Obama is a very smart person and he already knows much of what will
come at him in the next few months, but if he wants real change he must do things
in a way that uses limited resources to the best advantage. Throwing money at a
one-off Manned Mars program, building new schools away from where they are
needed and not taking Ms Michelle Rhee's work on DC schools seriously,
bailing out every special interest group that knowingly caused their own problems
and building grand new land grabbing super highways and bridges in a overpriced
cotton field just makes no sense if your goal is to help the common man as opposed
to the American special interests. I'm sure Mr Obama's Cabinet will have plenty of
good advise, but what I really hope is that his Kitchen Cabinet will speak for the
common man and kill some of the ideas brought to him by his Cabinet.