It's Labor Day, and like many holidays that have lost their true meaning over the passage of time, many people (like me) will be celebrating it by a curious lack of labor, perhaps by kicking back with a brew (or in my case, a very strong Long Island iced tea) and a traditional burning of grilled foods on a (hopefully) glorious day. Labor Day has become the last hurrah of summer, but was actually enacted as a celebration for the achievement of American workers. Later on, this translated into a union-based holiday. However, as a person who owns a business that is open seven days a week, it's comforting for this half of "The Man" to finally have a day off.
In many communities, there are parades. I'm not a parade-type of gal, but hey, to each his own. Even as I type, thousands will be celebrating with a Labor Day parade through downtown Detroit. At the end of line: a visit by Barack Obama. The presidential hopeful will be addressing the masses with what I'm sure will be a rousing speech.
I wish I could get excited, or even mildly interested, but I'm afraid I can't. My world right now revolves in a fairly close orbit around my own problems. With two kids in expensive colleges this year, a steady decline in business due to state roadblocks and increased competition, no health benefits (what small businessman can afford health insurance?), a sharp decline in property values (meaning we couldn't sell our house if we wanted to give it away) and a building and business in the city of Detroit, I think my plate is full.
Barack Obama, Democrat, is the candidate of "change." He has lofty plans for the nation. His candidacy would bode well if he could just concentrate on just one area, and enact change there. How about it, Barack? How about Southeastern Michigan?
We have a Democratic mayor (King Kwame Kilpatrick) who is still trying to wiggle worm his way out of a jail sentence. We have a Democratic governor (Governor Jen Granholm) who won't do anything about it, mainly because she's afraid the voters in Detroit will retaliate against her should she make a gutsy (and ethical) move. We have business concerns who are unwilling to continue with positive changes because they're not sure which way the wind will blow next. And that's just scraping the surface. Add to the mix corruption on every level, high unemployment, high drop out figures, high foreclosures and a decaying infrastructure, and you've got as close to the bottom of the barrel as you can get.
Article comments
1 - Clavos
Nice, well-written piece (again), Joanne.
Don't hold your breath waiting for the "change."
2 - Arch Conservative
We'd all be better of if we were ALL capable of realizing that the best but also most difficult change in one's life is the change brought about by oneself.
I always appreciate common sense and you article had no shortage of that Joanne. Have a happy labor day.
3 - Baritone
While Obama has made "change" his by-word, McCain, too, is basing his campaign on changing things in Washington as well. Is McCain's vow that he will shake things up any more viable or even likely than Obama's?
Regardless of his contention that he is a "maverick," McCain has walked the party line in the Senate far more often than not. Although he has broken with the party on a number of occasions, he can still be seen as a Beltway insider as most other long serving members of Congress. McCain has altered his position on a number of issues over the past several months which have further aligned him with the main stream of the Republican party.
Just how Ms. Palin would perform in D.C. is pretty much up for grabs. Not to diminish her accomplishments, her defiance of the power structure in Alaska is likely a far different matter from going after the powers that be in Washington.
When it comes down to it, both sides are promising change. I don't see, in that regard, either the Reps or the Dems have any discernable advantage.
That Michigan state Democratic politics are so abysmal is hardly an indication that the same can be said of Democrats on a national level. I know nothing of your governor, but it appears that the people of Detroit made a significant mistake in electing their mayor. The poor state of the Michigan economy is far more traceable to longstanding poor management of the "big three" American auto makers, and perhaps the failure of past state and federal administrations to diversify Michigan's economy away from its heavy dependence on the auto industry.
Indiana has two or three cities which are suffering similar problems, also due to the lack of diversification. Anderson and Kokomo, and to a lesser extent the smaller town of Alexandria have long depended on the auto industry for its economic health. Over the past several years, all of those communities have suffered greatly from downsizing and plant closings, and despite some efforts to bring in other types of business and industry, they still remain largely beholden to Detroit.
Obama/Biden are no less likely to come through with their promises than McCain. It comes down whose promises you like best.
B
4 - Joanne Huspek
I'm too much of a realist (or a cynic) to think anyone is going to deliver on promises. When the mess is as huge as the one we have going, it's going to take work of a massive proportion to turn things around.
5 - Carl J.
Prior to this decade, no one had ever heard of a "tax and spend Republican". The Clinton White House of the 1990's cooperated with a Republican congress in creating a sizable budget surplus at the time Clinton left office on 2001. Blame it all on September 11th if you want to....... but I'm amazed at the gigantic deficit this nation is facing now. I have a hard time believing we've had a Republican in the White House for the past eight carrying that much debt. Now, go ahead and find a reason to blame all of that on the Dems.
6 - Ruvy
Don't know what to say, Joanne. Hope your business pulls through over the next year - and you can sit on the deck drinking Long Island iced tea.
I would reasonably expect that you'll have q different mayor, but given what you describe, that might make that much of a difference.
7 - Baritone
Carl,
Actually, the Republican Bush Administration did NOT 'tax and spend.' They just spent. That's why we now have a record budget deficit and are seriously in debt to the Chinese and other countries. If you're not collecting taxes, you've got to come up with the money somehow to pay for two wars. It's okay, though. Most of us will be dead and buried before the piper comes a callin'.
B
8 - Joanne Huspek
Thank you for your uplifting comment, Baritone.
:-)
By the way, I thought it was Dubai that owned us now.
9 - Basic Harley Guy
Standing on the platform of the Politics of Change? Check out Mr. Obama’s campaign advisors (and possibly future cabinet:
Obama’s policy team
Foreign policy/national security - Anthony Lake, Bill Clinton national security adviser
Susan Rice, Clinton assistant secretary of state for African affairs
Gregory Craig, Clinton impeachment defense attorney and director of policy planning for Clinton State Department
Richard Danzig, Clinton Navy secretary
Former Maj. Gen. Scott Gration, Retired Air Force officer, former director of strategy for U.S. European Command
Former Gen. Merrill McPeak, Retired former chief of staff of the Air Force
Domestic policy
Michael Froman, former chief of staff to then-Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin
David Cutler, member of Clinton White House Council of Economic Advisers
Jeffrey Liebman, member of Clinton White House Council of Economic Advisers
Dan Tarullo, former Bill Clinton economic adviser
Eric Holder, Clinton deputy attorney general
Cassandra Butts, Senior policy adviser to House Democratic leader Richard Gephardt
Staff
Mark Alexander, campaign policy director, issues director for Bill Bradley’s 2000 presidential campaign
Heather Higginbottom, campaign senior policy strategist, Deputy national policy director for John Kerry 2004 campaign, Senate legislative director for John Kerry
Karen Kornbluh, Senate policy director, Deputy chief of staff to then-Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin
The campaign policy team gathered around Obama offers a window onto how he might operate as president. Many of them surely would graduate to influential roles in an Obama administration.