by Ken King

Created on: February 05, 2009

President Obama will not improve the country. This is not to say he will not try. I believe he will do many things he believes are correct for improving the country, but I also believe his vision of what is correct is flawed.

The American system is democratic capitalism. As a people we have always lived by the creed that hard work and perseverance leads to success. This has made many people very wealthy over the history of the United States. These wealthy people have created jobs for millions of people and made our standard of living the highest in the world. President Obama has a different view, one where being rich is not a goal, but something to be reviled. In his view wealth is to be shared with people who have less, even if those people make no attempt to better their own lot in life. This approach, if followed, will result in the reluctance of people to start and grow businesses, the loss of many existing jobs, and an ever larger population to be supported by increasing taxation of a shrinking group of formerly ambitious wealthy people. This scenario is hardly an improvement, but rather a detriment to the country.

Additionally, President Obama believes in a world where America's actions must be approved by the leaders of the other countries of the world. We did not become the most powerful country in the world by following such a principle, and we will not long remain strong should allow others to dictate the direction of our policies. While ignoring the rest of the world would be wrong, consideration of other countries should be a part of the decision making process, not the deciding voice. America will not be improved by foreign leaders who have nothing to gain by a free and healthy United States.

President Obama's recent choices for his cabinet offer a clear indication that it will continue to be business as usual. President Obama campaigned with a promise that a new ethic would come to Washington. However, some of the people he nominated for his top positions have been shown to have not paid their taxes or have had other legal problems. Where is the improvement for the country in those choices? His lack of understanding of the importance of living up to his promise of a higher standard doesn't bode well for his having the understanding of what is necessary to truly improve the United States.

Americans have always been driven to make things better for our children. Each generation has sought to make it possible for the next generation to have a better world to live in, with more prosperity. We have failed our next several generations. Our current economic woes will cost future generations such a large tax burden that the rapid decline in the standard of living in the United States will continue for decades to come. President Obama believes in social policies that will do nothing to improve this situation and indeed likely worsen it.

Learn more about this author, Ken King.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.