5 things Obama needs to tell the American people

It is ironical indeed that in reality, Obama is the ultimate faith-based candidate. Our support of his Presidency is largely based on our faith in his ability, and our much stronger lack of faith in his opponents.

And because our faith is based largely on his oratory, his speeches and words are of much greater importance than those of other Presidents.

Yesterday’s speech was an oratory masterpiece, but it’s now time to get down to business. Obama needs to speak honestly and openly about the following 5 things early on in his presidency:

1. Stimulus spending (the corner stone of Obama’s economic recovery plan) - does not work. The reason for this is stunningly simple. The money that the government spends as part of a stimulus plan does not come out of a huge idle reservoir of money. Stimulus money is either borrowed or taxed. Hence stimulus spending is just transferring wealth from one group to another, and leads to no net gain.
2. Federal bailouts of states are inherently unfair - because these bailouts tax taxpayers who live in states that "lived within their means" and essentially transfers their wealth to irresponsible states who made poor budget decisions.
3. Social security and medicare are by definition ponzi schemes - A smaller workforce cannot support huge benefits for a larger retiring population. Retirees are in for big disappointments no matter what happens next.
4. The housing bubble was caused due to government intervention, not due to the lack of it. The government push for home ownership caused the housing bubble by forcing Freddie/Fannie to lend to unworthy borrowers. This crisis cannot be resolved by lending to even more unworthy borrowers.
5. The era of conspicuous consumption is most likely over. Even alternative energy cannot indefinitely sustain the suburban SUV consumerist lifestyle. Obama needs to sell the idea of a vastly different lifestyle than the ones most Americans are used to.

The Obama campaign was all about what the American people wanted to hear. The Obama Presidency should be about what the American people need to hear.