- iVillage
- Beehive: The Buzz of the Day
What's Next? Changes, We Hope!
The votes have been counted, the balloons have dropped and the champagne has been broken out. The election is over and already iVillagers are anxiously talking about those campaign promises. What's important and what should come first? It's almost like kids on Christmas morning!
On Liberal Parenting, they're talking about establishing a healthcare plan sooner rather than later:
I'd like to see health care get put in place, so I don't have to worry about my friends who have none. ~kittyrose333
...Health care health care, health care. I'm skeptical anything will get done on this, so I'd like to see it as soon as possible. ~elcl2006
I'd like to see him put some sort of health care thing in place, I'm tired of my husband's company screwing us over on their policy. ~sweetlilybugs
For magic_az on the Hot Topics forum, it's all about reform:
I personally think that they should start with the insurance companies by NOT letting them get away with what they have for so long. They charge huge premiums and make a habit of denying coverage or putting a cap on what they will pay for any medicine or procedure. People are dying or going without care all the while the evil insurance companies make billion and billions in profit.
And, speaking of reform, cl-pooh1972 on Interracial & Interfaith Relationships has her concerns about what will happen in education. She's a teacher and I always listen to teachers:
-
More testing of the children and grouping them where necessary.
-
Stop trying to mainstream the special-ed kids into a regular classroom.
-
Get rid of poor teachers who basically just sit and read the newspaper because they have tenure and can't be fired. (Yes, they DO exist!)
-
Work to make the parents more involved in their child's education. Many parents do work 2 and 3 jobs, but they can check homework and make a small effort at least.
What about individual rights? Loriannedz on the Lipstick Lounge is thrilled with the Obama win and hopes it will bring about some real change:
Who runs this country plays a pivotal role in the rights individuals have, and I was very concerned about the Supreme Court, Roe v Wade, gay rights, etc.
We seem to always be talking about the economy, but on the November 2003 Playgroup, cmtenna1 is advocating some personal responsibility:
I'd love to see the Obama administration put a plan together to get the economy back on track with the help of the American people. I think that for so many of us (and when I say this, I specifically think ME), we have lived high on the hog and have expected to have a certain lifestyle that isn't in step with our actual income. In tandem with realigning ourselves, I'd love the jobs to become abundant so that people can earn money for themselves to secure their present and their future.
So, while we are all anxious to see what happens next, I think the wise words from nightsrainfall on the Lipstick Lounge sums it up perfectly:
I'm worried people are going to get annoyed at the lack of instant change. We like things done fast, but I worry if we do them fast, we won't think them through. Plus, doing anything instantly usually is hard, especially when you try to do it with an entire country. Change, any change from anyone, takes time, in my opinion...
For me, all of these things are important, but I have to admit I'm also really anxious to see who becomes the First Puppy!
What about you? Let it fly! As always, you know we want to hear what you think.
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: What's Next? Changes, We Hope!.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://beehive.ivillage.com/system/mt-tb.cgi/12768
I think all of the concerns are valid and important, but I have to admit I am curious about the first puppy too! I mean, who could forget Socks or Buddy?!
What Next? That's what I'm wondering. Look at the Dow right now. Not good. I hope this isn't a sign of what's to come. :(
I'd love to see some coming together in America, instead of the fighting among the two extremes. Just imagine what we could accomplish if we worked together, instead of against each other.
Do you guys not realize all this money for these program needs to come from somewhere? Where do you think it will come from? The Obama fairy? Seriously get a clue!
I know this is long, but it is about change. If you agree, can you send this your Senator and Congressman:
My friend Lee and I were discussing the economy the day after the election. We are also co-workers, and one of us is conservative and the other all over the page (and we’re not saying which is which)—but our point is we can talk politics without rancor, and we believe the rest of the country can too. It’s easy: listen carefully, and never shout or whine—and turn off the cable shows after 30 minutes (because they get paid to shout and whine, and you really just want the gist). That said, Geri turned to me on that post-election day and said, “I think we should do war bonds.”
War bonds? Aren’t those things from the dark ages, and, like, for . . . war?
Well, yes—and no. Who made up the rule that something can only be for one thing? We did our research. Ouickly, because time is of the essence. And, besides, come to find out, the premise is really not complicated. And then we composed the following, our open letter to Barack Obama:
Dear Mr. President-elect:
Congratulations on your win. You have an enormous challenge in front of you—and so do we. None of us know yet what form the sacrifice and hard work will actually take to get America back to a semblance of economic solvency . . . we are ordinary citizens, but may we offer something for consideration?
There is a blueprint in our history books for raising money. During World War II, as the result of a donated and enormous advertising blitz, half of all Americans bought war bonds (10-year bonds that paid a paltry 2 ½ per cent interest). These bonds raised the money needed to finance a necessary war: $185 billion dollars. Yes, billion. And it was raised in only five years.
A staggering amount of money, and still impressive by today’s standards. We could use that kind of money again; only we believe we could make even more today. There are more of us now—and we believe that we—this generation—can be as equally committed to our survival as our parents and grandparents were to theirs; we just need something that makes sense. A plan that shows us how we can be top dog again, how we can increase revenues without having to walk too far down that higher taxes path (which no one ever walks back from)— and with a sensible, simple plan in place, we’d bet you our last teeny paychecks that America’s citizens would step up to the plate, because everybody does want to participate in their own healing; we want to be our own answer.
The Yes We Can bonds could finance the rescue of our country; this time not from war, but financial implosion. The Yes We Can bonds could help buy back a good portion of our enormous debt ($2.67 trillion; 20% of our total GDP, or, understood another way, $586 billion and $541 billion dollars, just to Japan and China respectively). Yes We Can bonds would stop the bleeding, the flow of the gargantuan interest payments we’ll have to make to the countries who own our debt. Freed from that debt, we’d have resources for reforming health care and investing in renewable energy programs. And here’s how the War Finance Committee and the War Advertising Council did it back in the day. In the name of America ’s survival, they put out an emotional appeal for free advertising to the country’s best ad agencies, starting with radio and newspapers (today we have the TV and internet, too). As a result, more than a quarter of a billion dollars in free advertising was donated the first year. The government petitioned the entertainment industry for help, and Hollywood stars hit the road with concerts and benefits and radio marathons (337 stars participated, as a matter of record!!!), to promote purchasing these bonds.
The sports world jumped in, too. Special football and baseball games were held, with the purchase of a war bond as the price of admission.
And what was the pitch to buy the low interest-paying bonds?
Invest in your country’s survival. Invest in Independence.
The median American income back then was $2,000. a year. The Treasury sold bonds at 75 percent of their denominations, the smallest denomination being $25. And Americans—regardless that they were still recovering from the Great Depression—stepped up to the plate. Big-time. Because, just as now, the money was truly needed—and everyone understood that. And it wasn’t a tax. It was an investment in freedom.
Everybody worked together toward a common goal—and, as a result, America not only survived its greatest test, but reclaimed its standing as a global power whose people work for themselves to make life better and government, then, less “taxing.”
And we think it could happen again. Please consider the implementation of Yes We Can bonds . . . and, oh, put Oprah in charge. She speaks, people listen—and they buy.
Sincerely,
Lee Fullbright and Geri Wilson
My friend Geri and I were discussing the economy the day after the election. We are also co-workers, and one of us is conservative and the other all over the page (and we’re not saying which is which)—but our point is we can talk politics without rancor, and we believe the rest of the country can too. It’s easy: listen carefully, and never shout or whine—and turn off the cable shows after 30 minutes (because they get paid to shout and whine, and you really just want the gist). That said, Geri turned to me on that post-election day and said, “I think we should do war bonds.”
War bonds? Aren’t those things from the dark ages, and, like, for . . . war?
Well, yes—and no. Who made up the rule that something can only be for one thing? We did our research. Ouickly, because time is of the essence. And, besides, come to find out, the premise is really not complicated. And then we composed the following, our open letter to Barack Obama:
Dear Mr. President-elect:
Congratulations on your win. You have an enormous challenge in front of you—and so do we. None of us know yet what form the sacrifice and hard work will actually take to get America back to a semblance of economic solvency . . . we are ordinary citizens, but may we offer something for consideration?
There is a blueprint in our history books for raising money. During World War II, as the result of a donated and enormous advertising blitz, half of all Americans bought war bonds (10-year bonds that paid a paltry 2 ½ per cent interest). These bonds raised the money needed to finance a necessary war: $185 billion dollars. Yes, billion. And it was raised in only five years.
A staggering amount of money, and still impressive by today’s standards. We could use that kind of money again; only we believe we could make even more today. There are more of us now—and we believe that we—this generation—can be as equally committed to our survival as our parents and grandparents were to theirs; we just need something that makes sense. A plan that shows us how we can be top dog again, how we can increase revenues without having to walk too far down that higher taxes path (which no one ever walks back from)— and with a sensible, simple plan in place, we’d bet you our last teeny paychecks that America’s citizens would step up to the plate, because everybody does want to participate in their own healing; we want to be our own answer.
The Yes We Can bonds could finance the rescue of our country; this time not from war, but financial implosion. The Yes We Can bonds could help buy back a good portion of our enormous debt ($2.67 trillion; 20% of our total GDP, or, understood another way, $586 billion and $541 billion dollars, just to Japan and China respectively). Yes We Can bonds would stop the bleeding, the flow of the gargantuan interest payments we’ll have to make to the countries who own our debt. Freed from that debt, we’d have resources for reforming health care and investing in renewable energy programs. And here’s how the War Finance Committee and the War Advertising Council did it back in the day. In the name of America ’s survival, they put out an emotional appeal for free advertising to the country’s best ad agencies, starting with radio and newspapers (today we have the TV and internet, too). As a result, more than a quarter of a billion dollars in free advertising was donated the first year. The government petitioned the entertainment industry for help, and Hollywood stars hit the road with concerts and benefits and radio marathons (337 stars participated, as a matter of record!!!), to promote purchasing these bonds.
The sports world jumped in, too. Special football and baseball games were held, with the purchase of a war bond as the price of admission.
And what was the pitch to buy the low interest-paying bonds?
Invest in your country’s survival. Invest in Independence.
The median American income back then was $2,000. a year. The Treasury sold bonds at 75 percent of their denominations, the smallest denomination being $25. And Americans—regardless that they were still recovering from the Great Depression—stepped up to the plate. Big-time. Because, just as now, the money was truly needed—and everyone understood that. And it wasn’t a tax. It was an investment in freedom.
Everybody worked together toward a common goal—and, as a result, America not only survived its greatest test, but reclaimed its standing as a global power whose people work for themselves to make life better and government, then, less “taxing.”
And we think it could happen again. Please consider the implementation of Yes We Can bonds . . . and, oh, put Oprah in charge. She speaks, people listen—and they buy.
Sincerely,
Lee and Geri