I cried because I had no shoes. Then I saw a lady with sandals on without a pedicure.
If you want to know what the world really thinks of a presidential speech, look no further than Wall Street. Like it or not, Wall Street runs this country, as does Big Oil.
President Obama’s speech on jobs evoked so much confidence that the stock market went down 350 points the very next day. I didn’t vote for the guy but even I realize that he didn’t start this economic keg party gone bad. We’ve been “kicking this can down the road,” as they say for many years.
President Reagan took over when I was at SMU and had a couple of tools he could use to jump start what was then an abysmal economy, like the one now. President Ron (not then-SMU coach Ron Meyer, but President Reagan) came aboard with interest rates at nearly 20 percent, which he could lower, and a budget ceiling of “only” $1 trillion dollars.
Coach Meyer had some tools to jump start the SMU football program, too, like James, Dickerson, McIlhenny and a host of boosters.
President Obama doesn’t have interest rates to lower and has a budget ceiling some 14 times what Reagan had. And the President can’t raise either of them. It may be a while before the U.S. is up and humming again. If you’re an undergrad, consider continuing on and getting your PhD.
What Obama should have said is this: “We need skilled workers in order to fill jobs and reduce unemployment. Anyone wishing to attend a trade school can do so for free.”
Then he should have said, “I’ve ordered the auto makers to build cars that will run on natural gas. This will reduce emissions, lower the working man’s fuel costs and provide thousands of jobs to meet the demand for those cars. And there will be demand. I’m gonna give every household in the country one natural gas-powered car, seeing as how I gave away your tax money to bail out the banks.” While the crowd stood cheering and teary-eyed, and the Dow Jones went up 1200 points, he should have added, “and we are going to redeploy our troops to countries where illegal drugs are made and shipped from and try to stop the drug trade. This will reduce the billions that are spent on jails and in prosecuting and jailing the drug offenders.” Attorneys, law-enforcement officials and companies who build and maintain prisons would have booed. And boo-hooed. The servicemen and women would have cheered, as finally, there would be a cause worth fighting for. Big oil would have frowned, too. No wars and alternative energy are bad for oil prices but good for consumers.
The real problem, though, is us. Until we spend more time writing our congress and our leaders than we do texting, tweeting and Facebooking, those problems will remain silent on deaf, disinterested or self-serving ears. You’ve got a few minutes, students and alums. It’s time to write and bitch.
Rick Larson is a 1982 graduate of SMU as well as a member of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity. He has been a stockbroker/investment advisor for 26 years. He can be reached for comment at [email protected]
