More or Less?

After listening to Obama's speech regarding the future of the war in Afghanistan, first I'll say I don't necessarily disagree with the plan. Having said that, the overarching theme behind the current administration's policies seems to be "more now, less later". More troops now, less troops later. More stimulus now, less deficit later. More health care coverage now, less health issues later. When you break down the individual issues and assess the situations on a case-by-case basis, the proposals make sense.

To counter rising insurgency amongst Taliban and Al Qaeda forces, more resources are needed. On the surface, this "surge" strategy sounds eerily familiar to that embarked upon by the Bush administration (note we never heard Obama use the word "surge" in his address at West Point).

To counter rising unemployment, freezing of the credit markets, and a lack of business & consumer spending, the economy needed a stimulus. Anywhere from 500k to 1m jobs have been sustained, GDP was held buoyant (about 3-4% of GDP was attributed to the stimulus, and we still saw a contraction), and liquidity was pumped in the marketplace due to the stimulus and other measures enacted by the fed.

To counter rising health care costs and the number of uninsured individuals in the U.S, health care needed reform. The current bill is still under debate, yet the underlying proposal outlines a strategy to cover more individuals now, to lower the overall health burden on society.

So yes, maybe on a case-by-case basis more is needed. More support now, less problems later. But when you take a step a back and look at the broad reality of the Obama administration and it's proposals, it seems that they're not addressing the root of the problem. They're not tackling the underlying issues, but rather trying to clean-up the aftermath of dramatic failures in policy and leadership. I see the US standing beneath a dam. A dam with cracks that we try to fill with barely chewed gum. One crack temporarily stopped, another spouts out.

All Obama's carefully crafted composition sounds reminiscent of his campaign - lofty, optimistic, hopeful, forward looking. I heed and appreciate that. But at what point can we stop delaying to the future? At what point can we say more is not less? More is More.