Barak Obama’s Major Problems and Possible Solutions
Undoubtedly, Barak Obama’s victory was welcomed by most Americans as a sign of an impending change in American society. This is not surprising given the level of destitution in American society observed today. Consequently, Obama needs to address a multitude of problems brought about by the worsening economic, political, and social conditions in the United States, and he needs to be able to carry this out in a timely and responsive manner. Indeed, Barak Obama’s victory came at a time of unprecedented decline in the American economy.
Obama himself acknowledged that the United States was suffering from a financial crisis that was worse than the depression era of the 1930s (Reuters, 2008). In this sense, the crash of the real state market is but the tip of the iceberg of a huge economic problem, largely caused by trade deficit, decreased productivity, a slowdown in economic growth, and huge spending on war (Fox 2008). Moreover, Obama’s administration is facing not only an economy in dire straits, but a society divided by socio-economic and racial strife.
Already, the economic crisis has buoyed unemployment levels and poverty to an all-time high, leaving millions of Americans jobless and worse, homeless and hungry. More importantly, America’s economic woes have exposed the increasing disparity between the rich and the poor in American society. Slavin (1994) observes, for instance, that majority of America’s households have barely experienced any increase in real incomes and standard of living; that is, only a handful of individuals and their families “have gained ground on inflation since the early 1970s.
” This socio-economic disparity further marginalizes people of color such as African-Americans and Hispanic populations, who have traditionally lacked access to education, health services, and employment opportunities. Meanwhile, Obama will also inherit the issue of America’s foreign policy, particularly its relationship with Muslim countries, most of whom doubt the new president’s sincerity and capability “to change the basic direction of U. S. policy” (Burns, 2009). In particular, American presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, and its perceived alliance with Israel, continue to be a dark cloud over the country’s relations with the Arab world.
Another important political issue that Obama needs to address is China’s growing prominence on the international order and the United States’ government’s unpopularity among many countries and world leaders. Understandably, Obama sees America’s economy as the top priority. Hence, Obama’s first move upon assuming his office was to plan the implementation of tighter regulatory measures on the country’s financial institutions (Labaton, 2009). The new president has also been a strong advocate of tax restructuring mechanisms that would increase corporate taxation and therefore help solve the perennial problem of budget deficits.
In the same manner, Obama has pledged to review and examine America’s healthcare system to widen coverage among the most disadvantaged populations. During his inauguration, he also expressed his eagerness to withdraw troops from Iraq and emphasized his intent to build a more cooperative relationship rather over the imposition of unilateral actions. On the other hand, although Obama’s agenda for solving America’s most pertinent issues appear plausible, his plans for solving America’s economic woes remain dubious.
While tax restructuring would help alleviate the tax burden on millions of working-class Americans, it would not be sufficient to balance out the country’s trade deficits, incurred due to America’s large expenses on imports. Beyond tax and health care restructuring, Obama will need to reduce spending on war, trim down healthcare costs, and reallocate spending towards citizen education and employment in order to balance out government resources and arrest the over-all decline of American society.
Thus, it is clear that the economic problem is at the forefront of the challenges besetting Obama’s new administration. However, the economic problem is also intimately related with America’s political and social issues. Hence, majority of the solutions to the problems facing Obama are interconnected, in the sense that the United States’ economic problems are also related to its political and social problems. This means that Obama must be able to devise a strategy to address these problems in a comprehensive way in order to attain the government and the public’s desired outcome from these efforts.
Works Cited: Burns, J. F. (2009). Obama promises the world a renewed America. International Herald Tribune. Retrieved January 28, 2009 from http://www. iht. com/articles/2009/01/21/america/abroad. 1-412479. php? WT. mc_id=glob_mrktg_lnk1&WT. mc_ev=click Fox, J. (2008). The new President’s economy problem. Time. Retrieved January 28, 2009 from http://www. time. com/time/business/article/0,8599,1790971-2,00. html Labaton, S. (2009). Barack Obama plans fast action to tighten financial rules.
International Herald Tribune. Retrieved January 28, 2009 from http://www. iht. com/articles/2009/01/25/america/25regulate. php Reuters (2008). Obama: U. S. in worst crisis since Depression. Reuters Retrieved January 28, 2009 from http://www. reuters. com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUSN0749084220081008 Slavin, S. (1994). Terminal decline of a nation – U. S. economic problems. USA Today. Retrieved January 28, 2009 from http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m1272/is_n2586_v122/ai_14995070
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