Obama and the unions
Barack Obama – the new American President – is all over the airwaves and news programmes at present - fighting for the future of his ambitious package of health care reforms.
The new president is aiming to improve the lot of 50 million or so Americans - who are effectively excluded from health care under the present system.
And he’s taking a stick to his political opponents.
Castigating them for being on the side of the status quo – for being conservative and stuck in their ways – unable or unwilling to challenge the vested interests - that stymie and prevent progress at every turn.
The same vested interests who benefit from keeping things the way they are now – yet who also proclaim themselves as champions of excellence and fair play.
In doing so, the President Obama points out – perceptively - that defenders of the status quo always:
• gang up with their political allies
• spread fear and alarm with wild rumours and scare stories
• place expensive attack adverts to discredit their opponents
• concentrate on spin and empty rhetoric - while desperately ignoring the real issues
In football parlance – they set out to play the man, or woman – not the ball.
So, Barack Obama is naming and shaming those who defend the indefensible – those who lack the courage to stand up and be counted - and when necessary to 'Say What They Mean and Mean What They Say'.
Doesn’t that describe how the trade unions have behaved over equal pay – down to a T?
The new president is aiming to improve the lot of 50 million or so Americans - who are effectively excluded from health care under the present system.
And he’s taking a stick to his political opponents.
Castigating them for being on the side of the status quo – for being conservative and stuck in their ways – unable or unwilling to challenge the vested interests - that stymie and prevent progress at every turn.
The same vested interests who benefit from keeping things the way they are now – yet who also proclaim themselves as champions of excellence and fair play.
In doing so, the President Obama points out – perceptively - that defenders of the status quo always:
• gang up with their political allies
• spread fear and alarm with wild rumours and scare stories
• place expensive attack adverts to discredit their opponents
• concentrate on spin and empty rhetoric - while desperately ignoring the real issues
In football parlance – they set out to play the man, or woman – not the ball.
So, Barack Obama is naming and shaming those who defend the indefensible – those who lack the courage to stand up and be counted - and when necessary to 'Say What They Mean and Mean What They Say'.
Doesn’t that describe how the trade unions have behaved over equal pay – down to a T?
