Obama's Empty Suit, Or Other Lies People Tell

Sometimes it's necessary to remind ourselves what President Obama has accomplished, because if we tossed out our brains and its resident memory, it would be easy to listen to some voices out there and assume he has accomplished nothing. When you begin to take a look at the various people wanting to be president, some are far more accomplished (Romney) than others Bachmann (whose Wiki page is one long list of nothing), and yet, Obama's record eclipses them all.

When looking at Obama's tasks, you have to first deal with those pieces of legislation that helped prevent collapse. The 2008 meltdown was real, and lacking active remedies, things would be far worse than they are now. You cannot evaluate Obama while ignoring the unexpected pleasure of economic doom.

• The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or stimulus, was the target of much criticism, but this $828 billion piece of legislation included $288 billion in tax incentives for individuals and businesses, $155 billion for healthcare, which included Medicaid help for states and aid to veterans. $100 billion went to education, including to the states to prevent teacher layoffs and maintain funding for Head Start; another $82 billion went for aid to the unemployed, seniors and the poor. This was a stopgap measure to reverse the tide of a sudden contraction in the economy, and it was necessary, practical, and unavoidable.

• Obama bailed out the auto industry, and supported Bush's TARP (under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008), which bailed out the banking system. Both of these actions were likened to socialistic government interference, but it can be noted that without a functioning banking system, there is no capitalism, and that saving American auto companies had stimulative effects geographically and across several related industries.

• Obama returned to tax cuts again in a deal with Republicans in 2010, signing the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010. While it was probably not the wisest measure to sign in terms of debt considerations, it is proof positive that those things Obama is accused of not doing (like cutting taxes), he has done, while remaining concerned about working people in need of unemployment aid. 

• While focusing on measures to spur economic activity and protect individuals from lack of said activity, Obama managed to pass healthcare legislation in the form of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care  Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act.  One might disagree on the merits of parts of the legislation, but this legislation exists in contrast to others who opted to do nothing. Further, given ongoing increases in spending, this healthcare reform effort served the manifold purposes of improving health, increasing coverage, and reducing or slowing increasing costs. In effect, doing this imperfect bill was much better than doing nothing, and all presidents preceding Obama had the perfect record of doing nothing.

• Obama can also claim the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which was an attempt to reform some of the bad practices that led to the 2008 meltdown. It includes the creation of a consumer financial protection agency, and splits off many of the riskier investment bank trading activities from their banking function. Greater regulation of derivatives is directly related to the role derivatives played in ballooning the notional value of financial loss in the mortgage collapse. 

None of the above were intrinsically popular or easy to pass, but include reforms that relentlessly address existing structural problems in the American economic system. In all cases Obama attempted to include components that address middle American problems, while also trying not to overstep in terms of regulation. In other words they are bills that make no entrenched parties completely happy, but nevertheless signal progress.

• We don't automatically suppose that women are smarter or more astute than men, or vice versa. But we do know that men and women think differently, solve problems differently, and take interest in different things. Example: nursing/bond trading, ice dancing/porn, weight-watchers/beer. The sexes are different, and thus, having female representation on the Supreme Court makes sense. Obama named two women to the court, including the first Hispanic female. If you are a woman, you should be roundly satisfied at this affirmation of female importance. And while we don't necessarily agree with the judicial temperament of the women named, Obama nevertheless picked highly qualified women, and without a circus atmosphere.

• With all the increases in bank fees, you have probably heard (from your financial institution) that this was caused, in part, by passage of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009. While attempting to protect consumers from bad corporate credit policies, the side effects created by the banks--cancelling accounts, raising other fees--says more about the necessity of even greater regulation and reform than anything else. The banks were rightfully bailed out. The banks are making profits. That they are arguing for the maintenance of high profits over moral business practices should be noted. Ultimately this will be righted by the market, in that companies like USAA, or credit unions, will have an expanded pool of new customers. But here is another piece of legislation with President Obama attempting positive action by banning retroactive rate increases, fee traps, and other hidden or hard to notice fees (like inactivity fees on gift cards).

• Nobody seems to notice the New START Treaty that passed; it further limited nuclear arms between Russia and United States. While such treaties were often glorified in the past and counted as legislative progress, it's interesting to note the thorough lack of credit the President gets for getting the current treaty passed.

• President Obama also reformed student aid, stripping out the middleman (those bailed out banks) who received subsidies for providing what the Federal government could provide directly. By passing the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, money was freed up for more student aid; the legislation also will help to make loan payments more affordable for students in low wage jobs. 

We could go on indefinitely, and in greater minutiae, about passed legislation, but it's all there for those really willing to look at things with open eyes. In most cases the laws are not nearly perfect and often have onerous side effects. But what that means is that greater support has to be given to those willing to make changes. When a law gets passed that helps consumers, and then already profitable banks add more fees to more than offset the loss in profits, and then use the passage of the law as an excuse for the cash grab, then the right direction for public ire should be the banks, not the lawmakers. Nor can you argue for improvements in how business is done, while kneecapping legislation when it comes to enforcement, regulation and funding.

We need to ask questions of our wanna-be officials about how they would improve laws, create new law, and solve existing problems. When they respond with stupid answers, like "cutting taxes" or "empowering the entrepreneurial spirit," then follow up questions need to be asked. It's not enough to say that low taxes and low regulation somehow miraculously lead to prosperity when the problems that leave us shaking now stem from lack of regulation and low taxes.

We have to discern better. Pull Michelle Bachmann's wiki page. Among all her accomplishments, there are very few accomplishments that have resulted in meaningful legislative success that effects the average person. Obama is the virtual and clear opposite. He is not really progressive, nor conservative, but the pragmatist who is concerned with creating an indelible legacy that history will smile upon.