The Party of November

The economic recession has left Americans little cause to celebrate. However, after closer examination of the state of our union today, we start to find a glimmer of hope in our collective future.

Last week, President Obama and his administration once again proved they are doing all they can to help America create jobs through the recent passage of the Small-Business lending bill.

The bill will provide tax breaks and other incentives to the sector of our economy that provides the most new jobs, yet have been hit the hardest by the economic downturn: small businesses. Specifically, it creates a $30-billion small-business lending fund, easing access to credit, and provides $12 billion in tax breaks to encourage investment, entrepreneurship and hiring. And it will NOT add a single dime to our deficit.

Up to now, our tax code has provided billions of dollars in tax breaks that encourage companies to create jobs in other countries. However, according to White House economist Jason Furman, eliminating these tax breaks and closing the corporate loopholes will provide an estimated $300 billion in new revenue.

But once again, the leaders across the aisle are saying no. Senate Republicans have held this job creating measures hostage for the last few weeks, urging, instead, of an additional tax cut for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans. In fact, without the help of 2 Republicans who broke away from the pack and helped break the GOP filibuster in the Senate, this bill would not have passed.

So what made Republican Sen. George LeMieux of Florida and Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio wise up? Neither of them are seeking re-election.

At a time when small business owners are struggling to make payroll and holding off hiring, we need leaders who are not fancy to the political whims of an election but, instead, are concerned about helping the average American.

But if we can only expect leaders on the right to vote for progress in an “off-year” (when they are not concerned about getting votes), does that really account for a party truly concerned with Americans? Can we really count on the Republicans to help us through the recession after November?

It seems not.

The Call of Freedom?

After much heated debate, the pastor of a small Florida church has finally agreed to cancel his plans to burn copies of the Koran later this week. It seems that religious freedom and religious tolerance have triumphed once again.

As many from both sides of the political spectrum have noted, not only would burning of the holy book of Islam, one the largest religions in the world, be an act of cruelty and racism, but it would have also endangered our American troops stationed in Muslim countries. The event would have proven what extremists have been saying all along, and would undermine U.S. policies in the Arab world, making it even more dangerous for Americans and our brave soldiers.

But time and time again, Americans prove their ability to unite and stand steadfast against oppressive radicalism. Americans stood up for the values that our Founding Fathers envisioned for us, and that many across the world live without. I can think of no better way to commemorate 9/11 than to honor those values of America: equality and freedom.

As this weekend marks the 9th year after we were brutally attacked on American soil, it also marks the great strength and resilience of Americans. I have never seen more unity and love for our great nation than the months following September 11, 2001. Although tragic, 9/11 taught us that when we, as a society, truly come together, we become the most powerful nation in the world. This is what America is all about.

However, in the years following, we have seemed to lose sight of that America. Whether it is the racial propaganda against our president, the discriminatory laws against our immigrants or the growing hateful sentiment of our American-Muslim community, Americans are becoming distant from our founding values. This is why I continue to support the Islamic center 12 blocks from Ground Zero.

The same hateful emotions that caused the Florida pastor to plan the burning of the Koran have also fueled the debate for the building of this center. But having this type of disrespect for any religion is inappropriate anywhere in America. It is not only highly offensive to many Muslims across the world, but it should be offensive for people who value the ideals of America.

Also, just as the Koran burning would have endangered our American troops overseas, cancelling the construction of the center would give in to radicalism and increase anti-American feelings abroad. It would show the world that America is fighting a war against the entire religion of Islam, not just the extremists. This would, without a doubt, increase the terrorists’ ability to recruit, and ultimately increase aggression and violence against our great nation.

Americans answered the call of minorities wanting the right to sit at the front of the bus; Americans answered the call of women wanting the right to vote; Americans answered the call when a pastor of a small church wanted to burn holy texts. But when will Americans answer the call of American-Muslims wanting the right to practice their religion? When will Americans stand united once more to show the world that we are still the most powerful nation in the world?

America, please pick up.

A Much Needed Vacation

Does President Obama deserve a vacation? I think so.

Many Republican leaders are criticizing Obama for his recent trip with his family to Martha’s Vineyard. But let us not forget that he has spent less time on vacation than his predecessor, George W. Bush, had at this point in his presidency.

According to CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller, Obama has had only nine vacations since taking office, bringing his total days off to 48. In comparison, Bush had about 14 vacations at this point in his administration and spent at total of 115 days off. That’s more than double the amount of “off” time Obama has had.

In all fairness, no president, especially a wartime president handling the worst economic crisis in decades, ever really gets a vacation. There are always advisers and other staff members that accompany the president, along with daily briefings and other presiding issues that he must attend to.

What is important, however, is that the president puts the American people first and does the work he set out to do in his campaign for presidency. Unlike President Bush, who took many more off days than needed with little to show for it, President Obama deserves a few days off.

After all, within his first year in office, he has passed Healthcare Reform, Wall Street Reform, Credit Card Reform, and Education Reform, while also managing to prevent another Great Depression, create jobs, improve our country’s image across the world, win a Nobel Peace Prize, conduct two wars, and nominate 2 female judges to the U.S. Supreme Court, just to name a few.

If that doesn’t require a small “vacation”, I don’t really know what does. By the way, how much vacation time do you get?

To Be an American, Or Not To Be

According to a poll conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released Thursday, nearly one in five Americans believe Obama is a Muslim. There was also a strong linkage between those who wrongly believe Obama is a Muslim and those who disapprove of the job he is doing as president. Not surprisingly, the sharpest rise in those who say Obama is a Muslim is among Republicans (up 14 points) since 2009.

This issue at hand is not the fact that Republicans are making false accusations about the president but, more importantly, that they are fabricating stories about someone’s faith to win political points. What does a person’s religion have anything to do with his/her performance?

When Republicans say they disapprove of Obama because he is a Muslim, they make it shameful to be an American. But to be an American is to appreciate those that you may not necessarily agree with it or even understand. To be an American is to practice religious tolerance and promote diversity. That is why Obama has made strides to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and grant gay couples the same rights as every other American. That’s why Obama supports the First Amendment right of freedom of religion.

Neither Obama nor I are Muslim. But I ask you: so what if we were Muslim? Since when is that a bad thing? Maybe we should look back at Obama’s Cairo Speech in 2009, when he said, “as long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, those who promote conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity."

When Republicans say a mosque near Ground Zero would “defile sacred ground”, they start to make the religion of Islam a criticism of American values. Since Muslims are every bit of Americans than those that make up the Republican Party, it does not matter whether the mosque will actually be more of a community center than a religious shrine; or that it will not physically be located on Ground Zero, but more than a few miles away from it. What matters is that those who have lost loved ones during the 9/11 attacks, including Muslims, have a right to build a place of worship near the site.

Republicans are also endangering Americans' national security by legitimizing the claims of Al Qaeda that wants Muslims around the world to believe the U.S. is at war with all of Islam, not just the extremists.

We, as a nation, have already witnessed the horrors and tragedies that accompany segregation and intolerance of those that are different from us. It seems, however, that the civil rights movement is in full swing again. When will Republicans learn from the past? When will Republicans start acting like Americans?

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility…promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty.”

This is the America that the Constitution talks about. This is the America where everyone is free to worship what they want, when they want, and how they want. This is the America that promotes freedom of language, freedom of thought, and yes, freedom of religion. This is the America I live in. Recently, however, this America has been called into question.

There has been an increasing debate as to whether or not there should an Islamic mosque built near Ground Zero in New York. Many on both sides of the political aisle have issued concerns, yet some have seemed to forgotten the true meaning of what it is to be an American.

Some have argued that the building of a mosque would be insensitive to those who lost loved ones in the September 11 attacks. But as President Obama mentioned, “it is only insensitive if you regard Islam as the culprit as opposed to al Qaeda as the culprit. We were not attacked by all Muslims…There were Muslims killed there [Ground Zero]. There were Muslims who ran in as first responders to help.” We must never forget this.

For those that have criticized Obama for meddling in such an issue, let me remind you that the president, regardless of his party affiliation or political views, has a duty to protect the citizens he serves and defend the Constitution. The First Amendment guarantees the freedom of religion for everyone, including millions of American-Muslims. By preventing the construction of the mosque, we would not only be violating the Constitution, but would be equating the entire religion of Islam with violence and terrorism. This would make our nation more prone to violence and hatred at the home-front and abroad.

But would we be having this same conversation if a church or a synagogue were to be built? If the answer is no, then how can we progress as a society? How can we stand up for what we believe in and prove to the world that Americans are not prone to the same injustices we have fought against?

There is no better place for healing, reconciliation and understanding than Ground Zero. There is no better place to understand the basic principle of being an American:

United we stand, and divided we fall.

Navigating to Success

In the last two days, President Obama has made even more strides to recover this nation from its recession.

First, he signed the Emergency Jobs bill, which will provide $26 billion to help states avoid a budget crunch that would force them to lay off teachers, firefighters, police and other public workers. It would also help these states pay Medicaid payments to doctors. By providing this much needed assistance, states are better able to meet other priorities, including keeping more than 150,000 teachers, police officers and other public workers on the payroll.

Second, Obama also signed into law the Emergency Homeowner Loan Program, making $3 billion in additional funds available to help troubled homeowners avoid foreclosures.

Third, he strengthened U.S. manufacturing by signing into law an act that reduces tariffs paid by American companies on certain imports needed to manufacture their products.

Irrespective of the benefits these new laws will provide, Republicans have further labeled themselves as the “Party of No” through their constant filibustering and opposition. However, what they fail to understand is that, in order to grow this economy and provide long term sustainability, we need to put aside politics and offer real solutions. We need to keep jobs, strengthen our companies, continue educating our youth, and keep people off the streets. It may also be noted that to further ensure that these new measures are fully paid for, Obama has closed tax loopholes that encourage corporations to send American jobs overseas.

If we lay off thousands of workers, outsource manufacturing jobs, and stop providing the basic necessities of shelter and education for our citizens, how can we, as a nation, compete globally? The answer is we cannot.

Thus far, the Obama administration, with the help of Democrats, has been successfully steering us into recovery. But when will Republicans help us navigate? Hopefully November will wake them up.

America In the Driver's Seat

President Obama wants the Bush tax cuts to expire, thus ending tax breaks for the wealthiest two percent of Americans. Republican leaders, however, argue that these tax cuts would encourage small businesses, stimulate the economy, and create jobs. They are wrong for several key reasons.

First, the average small business income is around $40,000, and therefore, extending the tax cuts for rich individuals making more than $250,000 isn't going to do much for small businesses. Instead, Obama has proposed the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act, which would offer tax incentives for these businesses (who create more than half of all new jobs in America) and save taxpayers $1 billion over the next 10 years. However, the constant filibustering by Republicans has made it difficult for the Senate to pass such a job creating measure. Strike #1

Second, to truly stimulate the economy, you need to provide benefits to those who are out of work and looking for a job. Long-term growth requires widely spread prosperity, not an ever increasing concentration of wealth at the top and an increasing gap between the rich and poor. That’s why Obama has extended unemployment benefits for millions of Americans. As I mentioned in my blog post “Unconstructive Criticism”, just as the Bush tax cut puts more money in the pockets of the wealthy, unemployment insurance gives more money to the unemployed (who are likelier to spend it). But again, Republicans have argued against it. Strike #2.

Third, Republicans argue that by transferring more money to the wealthiest, we would entice them to invest more in the economy. But let us not forget that the rich have had this tax cut since 2003 and, instead of investing and creating jobs, they paid large corporate bonuses, laid-off millions of workers, and outsourced manufacturing jobs. Strike #3.

By allowing these unnecessary tax cuts to expire, the tax rate for the wealthiest will go back to Clinton-era levels. During the Clinton administration, the rich paid a high individual income tax rate of 39%. However, the economy still created more than 23 million jobs (about 90% in the private sector) in less than eight years -- the most jobs ever created under a single administration. He also left office with a huge surplus.

When Bush took office, he lowered the top individual tax rate down to 35%. But, compared to the prior administration, he only created about 3 million jobs during his 8 years in office. In addition, Bush took a $230 billion surplus and turned it into a $1.4 trillion deficit. If the tax cuts are not left to expire, they will cost us an additional $3 trillion in the next 10 years through lost revenue.

Compare that to Obama administration, which has already created and/or saved more jobs in his first two years as president than Bush did in 8 years! By investing in our future, Obama has created jobs in almost every major sector of our economy, including construction, education, healthcare, clean energy, and the auto-industry.

As the Democratic leadership has put it: when you are driving a car, you push “D” to go forward, and “R” to go backward. So, where do you want to go?