my letter to obama

i guess i'm on an obama roll... but this one is more relevant to him than the last:

this is not in favor of capitalism or communism, but i think by now we can all agree that a prosperous country thrives financially on capitalistic principles yet is measured by how it treats its most marginalized citizens. that lands us somewhere in between the two. now health care is important and i do understand that we have reached a turning point by your historic rise to presidency but why not attack the real issues that contribute to our marginalized society?

desegregate our neighborhoods, desegregate our schools. i know we are 200 years beyond retribution but i'm sure i don't have to tell you to look around to see the core problems that lead to inequality. america has one of the most respected and well functioning government structures in the world. to me, the key to our strength is decentralization. we really are the UNITED states of america, with each state governing itself as a mini country. each state with cities, towns and districts breaking down the population. you have tapped into these local, powerful sources during your campaign and you continue to do so (health care house meetings). the problems also stem from these divisions however. towns/districts/cities with richer members live better than the poorer communities. its fair that the people with more money live better in a sense and nothing should be a handout. however, how will the poorer communities ever build themselves up?

community services come from taxes; amenities, programs, public schools, even health care. go to a school in a particular area of brooklyn or south side of chicago, and many more, they are still segregated! the quality of education those poorer communities receive reflects it. it is a passing joke amongst people in these communities, an all too common fact but it should not be so, it should not be the accepted status quo. now, i mostly mean segregation in the sense of rich and poor and opportunities, unfortunately that still reflects on ethnicity in our country. in a capitalistic society, you cannot force anyone to do anything against their will, well actually you can in the form of taxes, but you can also provide incentives. why not bus kids into better schools to level the playing field? why not pair affluent and disadvantaged schools in near by areas so that their funding will be dependent on each other? why not provide public assistance to low income families in a holistic way with rewards and resources for performance instead of just pushing people off welfare? give incentives to companies and professional for hiring welfare recipients, providing opportunities and guidance to them so that the poverty cycle will become a straight forward path to prosperity instead of a never ending circle.

no matter how benevolent a society, there will still be someone on the bottom. this time, at least the dynamics in america will be changed, an institutionalized path to opportunity and hope will be offered. these towns/cities/states are boss, as they should be, but AMERICA can give the UNITED STATES a little nudge. after all, is that not what the central government is for? to lead us in a mutually beneficial forward moving synchronized direction?