Of Socialism and the American Economy: It is Still The Barack Obama Economy

 Why Democrats Must NOT Cede Ground on the Strong Economy Debate.

Introduction!

Mayor Pete Buttigieg, the Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, declared a few days ago that Democrats shouldn't be afraid to be Democrats. He added that no matter their ideological bent or philosophical leaning, whether to the extreme left or to the far-right, Republicans and President Donald Trump would still label them Socialists. I stand with Mayor Pete on that profound feeling of progressivism. And without any modicum of equivocation, I must add that the "American Strong Economy of the Moment" is still "THE BARACK OBAMA ECONOMY." Period. He laid the foundation. He incubated the blueprints. And he nurtured it to an impregnable status before bequeathing it to President Donald Trump. Therefore, the best approach in the circumstance is for Democrats to own it and run with it. They should be bold and audacious, without losing sight of who they are. And it requires standing by what they believe in. After all, President Donald Trump does not stand for anything. Ideologically and philosophically, he is vacuous. His modus operandi is a celebration of bigotry and enthronement of class-war. His major goal is the appeasement of a minority fringe - a race conscious-class - whose intent is to sustain the caucasian majority in the United States, and not necessarily his espousal of a distinctive and coherent framework of socio-economic beliefs. In this essay, we will focus substantially on the making of the U.S. economy under President Obama. We are going to put a lie to the false narrative making the round in the media that Democrats are helpless on economic matters because it is President Trump's territory. It is not his turf. We vehemently disagree with that school of thought. The President is simply enjoying pundits-made invincibility and taking credit for what he didn't build. 

Let's Break It Down!

President Barack Obama, a Democrats, inherited an economy that was in a parlous state from President George Bush, a Republican. Within two years in office, President Obama made a gargantuan turn around of that same economy that was cascading dangerously towards recession. He did not only sustain the gargantuan growth throughout his first term, but he also elevated it to a level unprecedented in the recent history of US economic expansion. That was the economy that President Obama handed over intact to President Donald Trump about three years ago. I think it is preposterous and unpardonably timid on the part of the Democrats running presently in the Presidential primaries to brand the buoyant economy of the moment a "Donald Trump Made," and therefore, untouchable. It is not fair. It is patently unsophisticated. It is still The Obama Economy - his footprint on the sand speaks volumes. Democrats, seemingly, have allowed TV pundits and commentators to hijack their sense of judgment; thus, buying into the hocus pocus that Democrats have nothing much to say about the "good economy" under President Donald Trump. It is not his. I had wanted to pen this essay before the commencement of the Democratic Presidential Primary debates, but for the time factor.

Before delving into the major arguments on the state of the American economy and global security, I want to point out that there is nothing "socialist" or "far-left" about "Medicare Coverage for All." Government-Subsidized health insurance policy for the less-privileged is not socialism inspired. Goldman Sachs, the bastion of global capitalism, like thousands of its kind all over the United States, provides different levels of subsidized health insurance for its workers. Why it is considered an aberration when the government is involved has no reason in logic or common sense. What I have observed in the last debate is that the most contentious issue in the Health Insurance coverage is the elimination or retention of Private Health Insurance. Here is my take on that: to the rich and the famous who can afford it and want to retain their private health insurance, they should be allowed to do just that, without government intervention. Case closed. And to Mayor Pete Buttigieg who urged Democrats to be proudly democrats, I am kind of worried why he took the position in the last debate that free health care is not realistic. That's by the way. Makes it realistic, buddy. That's what leadership is about.

Whose Economy Is It?

Democrats should NOT by any stretch of the imagination concede defeat on the strong economy debate in favor of President Donald Trump. It is not his economy. It has never been. It is the Barack Hussein Obama Economy. Democrats should not be afraid to take that to the bank. President Donald Trump's input remains as convoluted and stultifying as his unsustainable trade war with China. His endless threat of hiking the tariffs on Chinese goods is all fuss and highly deficit in sound economic metrics. And it's headlining grabbing and rating-driven. It is deceitful and it is a bogus display of economic wizardry.

As at the noontime on January 09, 2009, when President Barack Obama took the oath of office as the 44th President of the United States, Wall Street was unmistakeably cash-strapped, and the yearly obscene bonus rituals came to a sudden halt. Lehman Brothers went under, and unemployment filing was at an astronomical scale. The AIG was cascading precipitously towards extinction and things were no longer at ease in the financial sector. American was fighting two wars and investments at the home front were held in the abeyance indefinitely. The American Auto Industry was pushed out of business by the Japanese automakers. Chrysler Motors was bracing between liquidation and a miracle. And the global giant, General Motors, was almost becoming an edifice of a spurious value. And then came on board the White House, the "Socialist President Barack Obama."

And contrary to all known Socialist economic dialectics, President Obama wasted no time pumping funds into Wall Street, without looking back. Spending and investments became hallmarks. He resuscitated the entire Mortgage Industry. He bailed out the AIG, Chrysler, and General Motors. He curtailed drastically the numbers of American men and women in uniforms fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, culminating in the dramatic reduction of activities at the Arlington National Cemetery. He laid the foundation for sustainable growth, and unemployment became an all-time low, unprecedented in recent times in US history. President Obama sustained that momentum and handed a buoyant economy, fully robust and unshaken to President Donald Trump on January 20, 2017. And that is the economy that Democrats running in the Presidential primaries are timid to talk about. Wake up, Democrats! What's wrong with y'all?

American on the Global Stage Under President Obama, a Democrat!

Under President Obama, the world loved and revered Americans at home and abroad passionately. We were respected by Presidents, and Heads of States and Governments worldwide. And at the same time, looked up to by the rest of the World to lead more than at any time in US history. President Obama was unmistakeably a colossus that bestrides the global stage with dignity, aura, and unparalleled wisdom.

He fought the war against global terrorism challenges gallantly and decisively with fruitful results. On September 30, 2011, the Obama Administration brought down American-born Qaeda leader, Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen.

May 02, 2011, Osama Bin Laden was put away after many years of search and manhunt by the US and the International intelligent community.

April 12, 2009, just about three months in office, President Obama ordered the takedown of Somalian Pirates who have over the years been terrorizing the movement of ships in the Gulf Aden and the Indian Ocean. At the end of the Navy Seal operation, an American Captain, Richard Phillips, was rescued and three of the pirates who hijacked his ship and held him hostage for days were killed. And that was the last reported hijack of any ship around the gulf throughout the Obama Presidency.

Where are we today?

President Donald Trump boasted and campaigned vigorously to make American great again. Impliedly, the black man who isn't American-born and accidentally occupying the Oval Office diminished the global prestige and valor of the American people at home and around the world. And he got the mandate. The fact that he scored about three million votes less than what his major opponent got has never disturbed him or create in him the urge to be the President of all Americans. Today, our major allies are now are major enemies, laughing to scorn the military power, social image, and a dignified reputation of a once global warrior. 

And for the first time in recent memory, an American President is tongue-thrashing the leadership of his security apparatus. I have been a close watcher of American domestic politics since my Grammar School days in Nigerian and I am yet to see an American President brazenly impugning the integrity of his FBI or the National Intelligence Agency. It is so bizarre.

He boasted that he would compel the Mexican Government to pay for the boundary wall that he wants to build between America and the Mexican border. June 07, 2017, the former Mexican President Vicente Fox through a widely circulated video, proudly mocked our President, displaying a written note, stating "MEXICO WILL NOT PAY." He was right. Mexico did not pay and Mexico is not paying a dime. Surprisingly, and without any show of shame or contrite, the President made an unbelievable political summersault regarding the funding of the Wall and turned his angst on Congress. If they don't grant me the fund, I will use the Executive fiat to authorize the funding. He told confused Americans. And he has unilaterally dipped his hands into the Defense Budget to fund the construction of the Border Wall. The issue here is not whether he is dipping his hands into the Defense Budget, but the ridiculousness of the demand, the boast, and the humiliation from Mexico.

As you read, the Amnesty International, Canada, Japan, and some South American countries have issued travelers advisory warnings to their citizens who are planning or currently living in the United States of America about gun violence and mass shootings. Sad? Yes, sad and unbelievable. While China is building bridges, buying up vast lands and natural resources all over Africa and the Caribbean Island nations, American is pulling down age-old cultural and economic ties with its allies and other friendly nations. And the more the unproductive Tariffs War with China looms, the more apparent it becomes that our President might not be well-schooled in the art of deal-making and global trade. And as you read, poor immigrants that constitute the bulks of our labor force in the healthcare industry, housing and property development,  urban development and renewal, farm and food processing industry,  and the transportation sector, are being advised that America doesn't welcome them any longer. As the poor economic situation in Great Britain about twenty years ago must have thought us, a clam down on low-wage immigrant workers is the fastest route to economic stagnation. It is not just about the ready-made direct labor that they provide, but their buying and spending power. 

Conclusion!

So, to my fellow Democrats running in the Presidential Primaries, you have copious materials before you to make a coherence case for your electability and for his disqualification. Stop fighting yourself. Be bold. Be audacious. Be aggressive. Be inspiring. And be Democrats. There is a vacuum at the global stage for that awesome voice, of a Big Brother leadership only America knows how to project and provide. Tell Americans what your plans are and how you are going to deploy them to defeat the incumbent and make Americans safe and great again. Not the superficial brouhaha deafening our ears. Once again, the Economy is the Obama Economy. Not his. Therefore, you must not cede ground and should not be afraid to engage him on how one of you fixed it about twelve years ago. Please, STOP destroying yourselves. Your real opponent has nothing intelligible to offer about health insurance and economic expansion. He is not going to win Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. So, go out there and be Presidential. Be BOLD and INSPIRING. And it is about improving on the solid foundation of the Obama Economy. Good luck with the campaign. 

My Name is Ehimantie-Aiyo Samuel, and I approve of this message.