tommyates2's Journal

At the moment (then-Senator) Barack Obama was elected President-Elect on November 4th, 2008, the whole nation realized we going into a special period of time. A time of returned optimism, new economic beginnings amidst the gloom, and the knowledge that not only did economic greed curtain America’s fortunes, but economic operational theories which brought them to pre-dominance in the marketplace.

As with FDR's "New Deal" after the Depression, something had to change. But, in order for things to change, there needed to be someone to be the catalyst. Now President Barack Obama is that man to transform our government and encourage our economy to transform into 21st Century. The President realized that our country is eight years behind in its solutions to health care, economic vitality, and a revamped military.

Obama’s “New Foundation” is not just a series of new initiatives to curb Washington; it is the emergence of new citizen grassroots processes to assert our will into the legislative, industrial, military complex.

We are the “New Foundation”, but, the President cannot succeed without our help.

From the town hall meetings to the transformed presidential campaign into Organizating for America, the Obama administration has honored its promise of involving citizenry into the legislative process, helping to craft potentially transformative bills applying to banks, regulatory reform for systemic risk, as well as a consumer financial watchdog agency oversee and enforce government protections for money products. But, beyond the financial sector, President Obama has brought back the notion that “comprehensive reform” solves more problems, than it starts.

During the Bush years, the White House had a conservative ideology which believed that government and citizen interest groups, such as unions, were the problem. Government could manage the program and were more likely to be liberal in their working philosophy, while citizen interest groups wanted to control programs and eliminate private business which is the main source for job creation and economic prosperity. While the Bush administration was contradictory in its conservative ideology by growing government and power of lobbyists from the industrial, military complex, after the economic fall of September 2008, a growing consensus from liberal and moderate voters alike is there needs to be “comprehensive balance” between the government, the people, and the private sector.

Of course, this new 21st Century social triumvirate approach to government is nothing new. Such ideas have been bandied about throughout the last 25 years. However, no administration has ever tried to put it into practice. As we know, President Eisenhower’s warnings about the power of the military industrial complex have come true. President Obama and his “New Foundation” are laying the groundwork for a new, flexible process of active citizen input, transparency, PAYGO “pay as we go”, and policy fulfillment process to ensure the proper disbursements of funds to government contracts.

The “New Foundation” requires that all parties are heard and that lobbyist influence is systemically cut a minimum. In the 21st Century, the government’s priority is that the public interest comes first. But, the old guard will not die an easy death. The lobbyists are attempting to infect moderate and conservative Democrats on a number of fronts, including heath care and regulatory reform. President Obama needs your help. Write letters to your congressman, senator, and state representative advocating reform and how a “New Foundation” of public-centered policies will encourage local prosperity and economic vitality for America and the World for years to come.

As with every home, a foundation is just the beginning. Let’s look forward and continue to build together.