By Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III
(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The fundamental debate of the 2012 election is nothing new. The debate of how much power to give the national government goes as far back as the Constitutional Convention of 1787.
The Federalists argued for a real division of power between the national and state governments. They wanted a centralization of power in a strong national government. The Anti-Federalists feared a tyrannical national government and argued for greater localized power with stronger state governments. A stronger national government meant order and uniformity but required higher taxes to support it. Stronger state governments would protect the rights of the individual by keeping decision making closer to those who would be directly impacted by them.
In the late 1930’s as a response to the Great Depression, President Roosevelt and fellow Democrats proposed and passed the New Deal. The New Deal was a set of programs administered by the national government that reformed banking and finance regulations, used taxpayer dollars to create social safety-net programs such as welfare and social security and created jobs in public works programs. These programs were designed to stimulate the economy, relieve suffering and rebuild a crumbling infrastructure.
In the mid1960’s, President Lyndon Johnson and fellow democrats promoted and passed the Great Society programs. The two main goals of the Great Society social reforms were the elimination of poverty and racial injustice. New major spending programs that addressed education, medical care, urban problems and transportation needs were launched during this period. The Great Society in scope and sweep resembled the New Deal domestic agenda of Franklin D. Roosevelt, but differed sharply in the types of programs it enacted. As did
In 2012 Americans find themselves facing financial problems similar to those of the Great Depression.
In the 2012 presidential race Mitt Romney and President Obama have not focused their campaigns on articulating these issues and providing real solutions to these problems. They are too busy engaging in the politics of personal attacks and character assassination, not the politics of policy.
Romney’s brilliant policy proposals are more deregulation and tax cuts. He seems unaware of the historical realities that the Great Depression of the 1930’s and the Great Recession (Depression) of 2010 were partly caused by deregulation and tax cuts. He erroneously claims that President Obama has done nothing for the economy. On January 16, 2012 Romney tweeted, “More Americans have lost their jobs under Barack Obama than any president in modern history.” According to ABC News, “…the
Unfortunately, President Obama and his re-election team have chosen to focus their efforts on personal attacks on Romney’s tax returns, Swiss bank and
There are a number of decisions and policies that those in the President’s base can and have taken issue with. I will not rehash them here, I have raised some of those issues in previous articles.
The point is, as Americans watch the ads and listen to the rhetoric, real debate about real issues is not taking place. Romney’s not telling Americans what he stands for; he just talks about what he’s against. Meanwhile the president is allowing himself to be defined by his adversaries, instead of standing behind a productive first term. The President is not campaigning to win; he’s campaigning not to lose while the American people continue to suffer.
Go to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., www.wilmerleon.com , email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. orwww.twitter.com/drwleon