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Fresh HopeChange®! Seems the entire Obama transition agenda just took a vacation down the ol' Memory Hole.
Agenda disappears from Obama Web site
Gone from Change.gov are the promises on how an Obama administration would handle 25 agenda items — from Iraq and immigration to taxes and urban policy — which the campaign first laid out on the Web site www.BarackObama.com.
As The Washington Times first reported Monday morning, the official agenda on Change.gov has been boiled down to one vague paragraph proclaiming a plan "to revive the economy, to fix our health care, education, and social security systems, to define a clear path to energy independence, to end the war in Iraq responsibly and finish our mission in Afghanistan, and to work with our allies to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, among many other domestic and foreign policy objectives."
Buh bye. The items are still available on the campaign web site for now, in different form. Haven't had a chance to review the current there against my archived copies, but it was already changing in ways both subtle and overt over the months before the election.
UPDATE (that really has little to do with this post...): The Dem party leadership is under intense nutroots pressure to throw Joe Leiberman under the bus. This is a real test of Obama's leadership skills. Reports are that both Obama and the Clintons are putting on a good word for Joe. If true, the joint move is another indicator of what the final deal between Clinton and Obama was. The first indicator was the last-month campaigning by Clinton in the "redneck areas of Appalachia and the east, almost a required "win" condition. The second was the hiring in of Podesta and Emmanuel. Obama is dealing the DLC against the nutroots left. Fun to watch. Scary, but fun.
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keeping score
So your position is that they ought to keep this stuff up and scrupulously keep score against it? Maybe they're confident you'll do it for them. :-)
I understand where you are coming from and am not saying you are wrong to complain about the loss. I guess my perspective as a textbook editor is that when you revise you revise. Getting elected calls for a revised product and revised marketing. With books the old product is "archived" because you printed it. But with web sites its a little different. Unless the author/publishing group has a positive motive for archiving that outweighs the negatives (like getting called on every deviation), it's pretty much up to the watchdogs.
__________
I have often said, and oftener think, that this world is a comedy for those who think, and a tragedy for those who feel. -Horace Walpole
I was trying to think of the
I was trying to think of the first thing that might be passed. Since the windfall profit tax idea is likely dead in the water with the drop in oil cost (no windfall, no tax) there has to be something that will be energy related. After seeing CNN talking about raising the gas tax since the price dropped so far, I think this may be the no-brainer first thing as a sign of "fiscal responsibility" and "going green."
I could easily see the new Congress and President raising the federal gas tax by $0.50/gallon very quickly and using it for green energy research. Of course, this thinking clearly neglects the problem that was caused to the average consumer when gas prices went up in the first place. Then when the economy resets and gas prices rise to well above record levels, thanks to the extra $0.50, blame for the new record prices will be placed on the previous administration for not doing enough for alternative energy. As oil prices climb back up, they will add the windfall profits tax in a few years under the guise of energy independence. All the while, placing the blame on Bush for the next three years.
Now, this is assuming that Obama is a regular politician. If he is truly post-partisan, he would realize that the gas tax is a bad idea right now and not push for it.
not my idea of a good time
A 50 cent increase in the gas tax is not my idea of a good time. I would guess "stimulus package" In other words, the government hands out more money like Bush did last spring.
Then an extension of unemployment benefits, and something that they will call a "jobs program." Maybe a gas tax increase thrown into that as funding for "green jobs."
FWIW, my opinion of where he should start is by finding the answer to the following question:
Then go from there. Notice that the question is not "where" the jobs come from, because that allows politicians to claim that they can come from them or from jobs programs and training, etc, etc.
__________
I have often said, and oftener think, that this world is a comedy for those who think, and a tragedy for those who feel. -Horace Walpole
Green jobs are whack
So, "green" jobs are supposed to be the new bread and butter, eh? Obviously, Obama never reads Bloomberg:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aHhguABj3V.g&refer=politics
a section of the article
Many experts say those promises are inflated, and the employment projections overstated, because jobs will be lost as companies convert to renewable energy and reduce carbon emissions.
``We're going to create a job-training bureaucracy to teach people to use a caulking gun,'' said David Kreutzer, an energy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based research group that favors reduced government involvement in the economy.
Even advocates say there's no guarantee that many of the new jobs will require much skill or pay a livable wage. ``Green'' jobs can encompass solar-panel installers and bio- diesel mechanics; they can also include security guards at wind farms, bicycle messengers and even maintenance workers.
Rachel
I brew the beer I drink
Are there going to be any
Are there going to be any decent jobs for unskilled Americans? I think this may be the problem. Unless we intend to close the border to a lot of foreign trade, beyond construction type jobs(road, housing, infrastructure) and menial labor, how do you get jobs for unskilled workers out of our current economy?
When your economy has moved so post-industrial that a high school education is no longer an opening to a decent paying job(whatever decent really is), you really have to address that the education system is no longer viable for the structure of the nation. What can you do with a 50 year old unemployed autoworker who has little to no skills outside of assembly line? What can you do with the 28 year old who has spent the years after high school jumping from one retail job to another maybe making it to assistant manager but never having learned enough to move beyond that?
The economic crash hits the unskilled much harder than the skilled. After an economic recovery starts, the skilled worker will usually find many places to work. The unskilled worker usually finds the type of work they did is gone for good. College does not work for a lot of people. There needs to be an adult version of a school where needed service sectors skills can be taught. We also need to change our current schooling system to lessen the focus on just reading and math. These should be incorporated into a system that is focused more on critical learning with reading and math being a part of the system. It really may be time to blow up the current education model and start over in order to address the fact that it does not and can not address the needs of the students anymore.
How does that help the unskilled worker? Not a whole heck of a lot. What needs to be done is to work to eliminate the existence of the unskilled worker and turn them into skilled workers. Yes, you can have a short term boom of unskilled worker through government programs; but do they fix the real problem? In order to correct the problem with unskilled labor, you have to work towards eliminating them.
Give that man a cigar
Precisely.
What can you do? Well, if they can vote, you sort of hafta do something. I don't know what that something is.
Fail to address it and they'll vote for a share from your stash. Whether this aspect of democracy is a bug or a feature is a matter of perspective. Rest assured that the unskilled without will see it as a feature.
__________
I have often said, and oftener think, that this world is a comedy for those who think, and a tragedy for those who feel. -Horace Walpole
???
What needs to be done is to work to eliminate the existence of the unskilled worker and turn them into skilled workers. Yes, you can have a short term boom of unskilled worker through government programs; but do they fix the real problem? In order to correct the problem with unskilled labor, you have to work towards eliminating them.
What do you plan to do with that chunk of the population at or below 100 on the IQ scale? How much can they learn?
First, IQ tests are junk.
First, IQ tests are junk. Either that MBA's or are junk. I know a guy who got a 90 on an IQ test and just finished an MBA. Take that for what its worth.
You have a lot more unskilled workers because the system did not work for them versus people who just can't do anything else. You are never going to eliminate all the unskilled jobs; but you can reduce the unskilled labor pool.
Which ones?
Which IQ tests are junk? Can you give me anything other than anecdotal evidence for your assertion? OR do you think that everyone is exactly the same? If so, how do you explain the difference between Einstein and, well, everyone else?
You can ignore IQ tests if you care to, but this you cannot ignore: Human intelligence is distributed, and all evidence points to a normal distribution. That means that roughly half of the people are below the mean. So, what do you want that half to be trained as brain surgeons, or do you have some better suggestion for the skilled labor they can perform?
(Also, citing an MBA as a sign of intelligence won't get you far with anyone that has worked for an MBA degree holder....)
I hold an MBA--among other
I hold an MBA--among other degrees. Tread carefully. ;-)
Please tell me they didn't
Please tell me they didn't teach you about group outings for team building! Everytime I had a new supervisor with a new MBA, they started on these goofy team building schemes. Drove us nuts since the only thing that happened with them was to fall a day behind on work. ;)
Hubs has an acronym for
Hubs has an acronym for those team building outings- HH, for Happy Horsesh*t.
LMAO. Ask some of those
LMAO. Ask some of those freshly-minted MBA's what their undergrad was in. Odds-on it either wasn't business, or if it was, they were "organizational management" majors. (OM is mostly applied sociology.) Or marketing majors. Almost none will have any solid analytical/empirical background--unless you're in an analytical subfield math requirements cut off at basic statistics.
Since I was in grad school every college existing has added an "executive MBA" program or some such. Most are just retreads of basics that business majors should have learned as undergrads--and didn't. Or that they never had because they didn't major in business, and now need a master's to keep rising on the corporate ladder with their art history undergrad degree.
That "team-building" group-think HH was coming into style about the time I was bailing out of academia, and that trend of idiocy was part of the reason I bailed instead of pursuing my post-grad work to doctorate--I wasn't going to get into that teaching path. The rote managers do it because they were taught it even though it's pretty worthless the way they use it--trying to foster "team spirit." The better managers use it as an analytical tool to get a better understanding of the personnel and personal dynamics of the employees they have to manage. The latter are not trying to get you to mold into a team with the exercises themselves, they're assessing the people under them so as to better handle and employ them. Which makes it "team-building" in a way, but it's top-down, not Kumbayah.
OK, let me revise that. IQ
OK, let me revise that. IQ tests are fine if you are a white western male in most cases. There have been a few studies that show that these tests under report IQ of those outside this group in the US. Plus, IQ tests do require some a priori knowledge when taking them. Someone who has not had access to a good education may find themselves listed as being below average when the fact is that they were never properly exposed.
IQ is a nice assessment tool and can help to find a deficiency within a group. What they do not do is give causality. It also does nothing to assess willingness to learn. Some people may be deficient in many areas but excel in others. I have a very high IQ; but I could not solve a rubics cube to save my life. However, I have seen an autistic child solve one.
What it comes down to is that IQ tests are a crude statistical measure. There are too many external factors(race, gender, social class and who writes the test) that go into it. I'm not downplaying the idea of IQ; but I am downplaying the idea that anyone beyond the -1 standard deviation in the test is doomed to being unskilled is both ridiculous and almost communist.
Besides, if I can go from a 98 IQ in fifth grade to a 159 IQ in seventh grade and the only real difference is that I got glasses in between, it is hard to take it as a good scientific measure. I guess being a slow reader and having blurred vision is not a good combo. I'm still a slow reader. However, while I lose points on standardized tests due to my slow pace, I still outperform everyone in the class. Now you could use that argument for IQ tests working because of my 159. However, if I never had the second one, I would be considered 98. My main point is that there is too much subjectivity in IQ testing for it to be used as checkpoint.
Now that this is way off track from the original item. My point is that many people who would be considered to be under 100 IQ can and do have the ability to do skilled labor. However, our current system of education, that is stuck in old industrial methodology, is not always able to bring them out. I suppose this is why a lot of people choose to homeschool. Not that it is perfect either. A lot of homeschoolers are weak in social skills. My point is that we need to offer different paths in education. As it is now, everyone plots almost the same path for six years, then there is some forking but not that much until college. We need a more flexible system that allows the smarter kids to move one and allows the ones having trouble the opportunity to get help without being stigmatized.
Oh, and the MBA was suppose to be a bit of a joke at the same time as it was a comment.
the unavoidable point
I'm all for noticing that IQs are an imperfect measure. And I'm also all for noticing that there are different forms and manifestations of intelligence, and for atempting to identify and maximise these. BUT!
But I'm not for minimizing the remaining fact that some folks are more proficient than others. Concurently, some folks have more potential for proficiency than others. Denying this leads us AWAY from reality. Throwing more time and resources into training won't lead to more and more increases in intelligence and proficiency. The graph flattens because its limited by innate capactity at some point. Maybe the kid at the grocery store who puts your 7 items into 7 bags can do better. Fine. But how much better?
This doesn't mean that educational reform or training are bad ideas. It just means that being realistic is crucial, and matching each given person's realistic potential to an actual real-world job that there is a demand for and that the given person can handle is utterly essential.
__________
I have often said, and oftener think, that this world is a comedy for those who think, and a tragedy for those who feel. -Horace Walpole
What IQ tests mostly measure
What IQ tests mostly measure is the native ability to perform academically. Not much else.
I don't know how valid your
I don't know how valid your assessment is about the availability of unskilled jobs. Retail management isn't unskilled labor. I work in HR in an industry with similar employment practices as retail. Anyone who is in management, even low level management, has quite a bit of both formal training (classes) and on-the-job training. And even as we move through the "post industrialization period" we're still going to need retail workers for the foreseeable future.
Actually, I can think of quite a few jobs that don't require a college education that offer decent pay. Plumbers. Mechanics. Delivery truck drivers. UPS drivers make more money than I do, and I have a BA and JD, so clearly education isn't everything. Heck, I don't totally understand what my husband does, but it involves programing VOIP phones, routers and servers, and he doesn't have a college degree. And he makes more than me too.
Sure, truly unskilled labor is almost never high paying. You're not going to buy a home on a cashier's salary. But going to college isn't the only way to learn skills. And to stay truly unskilled, a worker would have to be pretty unmotivated. Even a cashier can work their way up by showing trustworthiness and initiative. One of the supervisors at the company I work for started with us when he was in high school working for minimum wage. He has no college education. Instead, he worked his way up to shift manager, then 2nd assistant, then 1st assistant, then restaurant manager, and now supervisor. He is in his early forties and makes six figures. In fact, none of our supervisors have BAs. (I think one of them might have an AA)
The problem really isn't a lack of good paying jobs for people without a college degree. The problem is that a disproportionate amount of people without a formal education don't work hard and make bad decisions in their personal lives (note: I didn't say "all" or even "most" I said "more likely than people with college degrees"). I can't tell you how many "if only I didn't..." stories I know about just amongst the shift managers and assistant managers at my work. One of our shift managers recently got fired for giving free food to her friends (i.e. stealing). What kind of idiot does something that has so little personal reward but so much personal risk? And in a time when the economy sucks? She has FIVE children by three different dads, only one of whom she was actually married to. Now you tell me, is that woman's problem that she doesn't have a college degree or that she keeps on making really bad choices?
The difference between the fired shift manager and the supervisor I mentioned before is like night and day. One worked hard, showed initiative, and delayed having children until he was married and could afford them. The other stole from her employer when she was the sole bread winner for a family of six.
The point is, that anyone can make a decent living if they work hard and make good personal decisions (no drugs, no kids that you can't afford, no out-of-control debt, etc).
--Fern
p.s. Whew. That was a long comment!
Yes
Yes, governing IS a lot different than running a successful campaign.
Hopefully, President Obama appreciates that campaign promises mean something to some people and I also hope that he doesn't forget what he promised and says "I never said that!".
Chris
As he was very careful to
As he was very careful to weasel-word most of his promises sufficiently that they can't be accurately specified, there will be a lot of "I didn't actually say that" going on. Remember:
"I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views." --Barack Obama in The Audacity of Hope
I honestly wish him the best of luck at good governance. I'm also well aware that good governance does not remotely align with his vague promise list. Anyone who bought into the promise list should get used to disappointment. As my dad was fond of saying, there's one born every minute, and you've just been born again....
Hitch hits it
Here's what Christopher Hitchens said:
Moist comments? That cracks me up. The latest South Park had fun with this, too.
__________
I have often said, and oftener think, that this world is a comedy for those who think, and a tragedy for those who feel. -Horace Walpole
I've said much the same thing, Tully, at least with regards to
the expectations certain supporters have of Obama, and how even fans like myself recognize that if you're expecting paradise, prepare to be let down. I personally hope that Obama will get a lot of good things done, and I believe he will for the most part. Some may be hoping for the Mesiah, but I think the best we can hope for, is that he's a good President, who gets a lot of good things done for the country. A reasonable hope, if you ask me.
As to the LIeberman deal, I've said before that this will be one of the early tests of Obama's (and the Democratic Party's) commitment to bipartisanship. Obama campaigned for Joe in 2006, and I fail to see how he doesn't stick his neck for him again.
"In the world you will find tribulation, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world."
John 16:33
word is Obama and Clinton support Lieberman
Word is Obama and Clinton support Lieberman, but the article I saw didn't say whether Obama supported Lieberman keeping the homeland chair. I think we can probably read something from whether Obama decides to go with
? "our country needs more guys like Lieberman who aren't afraid to act as they think best regardless of party politics"
versus
? "I'll leave committee decisions up to the folks in congress, I trust their judgement."
Lieberman has apparently said he'll quit the caucus if they takle his homeland chair. Good for him. I like a "screw you, kick me out the FRONT door" kind of guy.
__________
I have often said, and oftener think, that this world is a comedy for those who think, and a tragedy for those who feel. -Horace Walpole
Yep. Leiberman declined to
Yep. Leiberman declined to play ball with a forced demotion to a minor committee as proposed to him by Reid. If Obama goes along with the "netroots" and acquiesces in the defenestration of Leiberman, the "doormat for Congress" role looks more likely. But if he's already cut a deal with the DLC faction, he has to show the spine to stand up to the left at some point.
It'll be interesting. The
nutrootsDem left is well to the left of the nation as a whole. As I've said before, Obama faces the choice of being at war with the country, or at war with the party.VERY interesting
Agreed, very interesting. I tend to assume that if he wants to be elected again he must pick good spots to oppose the further left. Folks will want to spin the early choices one way or the other, but there are different ways to look at it. A good politician thinks long and hard before throwing down a gauntlet. The alternate to throwing down the gauntlet is to preserve capital for the strategic battles you believe most important.
But it's very true that early outcomes will suggest who's running the show. I think Obama is smart enough to know that a failure to play alpha dog early will only encourage the betas. He has to remember that HE is the one who just got elected to fawning acclaim. As I have said before, the sooner the furthest left gets disappointed and goes back to the drain-circlers club, the better for the rest of us.
_________
I have often said, and oftener think, that this world is a comedy for those who think, and a tragedy for those who feel. -Horace Walpole
If Obama protects
If Obama protects Lieberman's chair, I will be very happy. Politically he's a Jewish Obama but supported the war. The 2006 persecution of Joe because he wasn't a Dem clone was shameful. I will have more optimism is O backs Lieberman. It also means that they need him. They do not have a supermajority and something tells me they fear Reid putting some whacko in his place.
Rachel
I brew the beer I drink