State of the Union : Jump in the Bump
Submitted by Anthony Fossaceca on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 11:25pm.
The President tonight set forth a crisp, clear, focused direction for our nation. Too often, we as Democrats receive these types of speeches with applause and euphoria.
Then we go back to normal.
But if Democrats - nationally and locally - want to regain the trust voters gave us in 2008, we've got to start taking action. No delays. Just action.
The President will no doubt see a bump in his poll numbers this weekend. We MUST be able and ready to jump in that bump and govern. We've wasted a good year letting teabaggers and angry conservatives steal the agenda and trample our mandate.
No more. Obama 2.0 starts tonight.
Not a reboot, just an upgrade.
Better. Faster. Stronger.
Don't let the President's agenda and leadership stand alone. Let's get it together and fight with him. For jobs. For reform. For America.
Great speech Mr. President. We're with you now more than ever.
I have two ideas
that I think would make a huge economic impact without costing a lot of money. They are not direct job creators but I think would save or create millinos of jobs.
One is to require banks to start making loans to credit-worthy small businesses again. That should have happened back in 2008 with the TARP bailout. That was supposed to be the reason we were helping the big banks. Get moving.
The other is end the foreclosure crisis. Put in place a set of regulations for mortgages that makes sense for all parties, including homeowners. Go as far as possible to keep people in homes — not just for them, but for the stability of entire neighborhoods and cities. When homes are empty, tax revenues fall and services are cut. Empty homes means more crime and vandalism and everyone's property values falling, and again, revenues plunging.
The explosion over in Ward 15 this past week shows what can happen when a regular house in an average neighborhood is owned by a shadowy out-of-state holding company they STILL can't find a contact for. That should be outlawed. If banks or investment firms buy up houses, they should be required to
have local agents and be liable for everything from uncut grass to gas explosions. It may be an abstract asset to them but to the family living next door whose home was severely damaged, it's not.