The American public is bombarded every day with news about how we are all screwed. All we hear is that our politicians can’t work together, new laws do nothing but make our dire situation worse, and our economy may just never recover.

Nothing in politics is quick and easy, and yet the results coming out of Washington continue to disappoint. When Barack Obama won the presidency in 2008, he ran on the message of hope, the message of change. And whether or not the lack of change (or perceived lack of change) is his fault, the American populace is not happy.

People have lost all faith in the ability of our government to govern. Lost faith in the hundreds of representatives we elected to office and their capabilities to make life better for the millions of suffering Americans.

Despite passing health care reform, education reform and a financial re-regulation bill, Obama has undoubtedly lost his mojo. The man who once embodied change has become just another politician full of promises and void of palpable results. 

Although the numerous political successes are undeniable, the Obama administration has been unable to convey these successes to the American public. People are concerned about one thing — the economy — and regardless of any monumental social reform, the economy continues to suffer. This is not Obama’s fault, but we demand more from a president.

Obama inherited two overpriced wars and zero exit strategies. As well as an economy suffering worse than it had in nearly a century.  It would have taken a magician to solve these problems in just two years. And while Obama should not be forced to take the brunt of our still-struggling economy, he does. 

George W. Bush’s presidency resulted in misery — misery Obama and the American people feel every day. The small government political philosophy that created many of our problems has been resurrected in the form of the Tea Party. Just two years removed from Bush’s notorious legacy, the pendulum has seemingly swung back to conservatism.

But why?

When the government didn’t intervene on Wall Street, it created the biggest financial meltdown in nearly 100 years. And yet there was bipartisan support for the massive bailout bill intended to halt the recession. We don’t want the government interfering in our lives, but when things aren’t going well, we expect the government to solve all of our problems.

No one expects handouts from the government. People want to work and earn money, but the fact remains that the economy is not growing at a sufficient rate, and jobs are still hard to find. The government’s job is to help these people who are suffering, not turn its back on them.

The current administration’s inability to get the economy back on track has provided a convenient platform for the rise of the Tea Party. These small government constitutionalists have been able to gain popularity through the same political message Obama utilized two years ago: hope and change.

The first major indicator of the swing in power in Congress is the recent decision to universally extend Bush tax cuts for two more years. At a time when we need change, the tax cuts remain constant. The logic just doesn’t make sense. Jobs have not been created over the last two years with the Bush tax cuts in place, so why will anything change now?

Politicians are big talkers, but what we need are big thinkers and big innovators. The government has become absolutely static in the way it operates. This is not a Democratic or a Republican issue. Everyone in government is guilty of partisan politics. The unwavering attitude of members from both parties in Congress has resulted in the dog-eat-dog inefficiency rampant in Washington, D.C.

America was founded on the principles of democracy, a system of representation where politicians respond and react to the will of the people. Last April, the Pew Research Center released a poll revealing that 80 percent of Americans don’t trust that the government can solve the nation’s problems. Something is clearly wrong with our government, and if the last two years has taught us anything, we now know that absolutely nothing will change.

Benjamin Klein is a junior political science and magazine journalism major. His column appears every Wednesday, and he can be reached at bklein@syr.edu.

 

Published on December 7, 2010 at 12:00 pm