Beyond the Rhetoric
By Harry C. Alford
That is becoming very popular subject matter in the business community. After all, our economic status has become a “train wreck.” Who would have thought that the first Black president would economically burden Black America without conscience? The devastation has cut through our communities like a knife.
Let’s begin with the first Executive Order given within two weeks of inauguration. This racist matter began on behalf of construction unions. Construction unions discriminate against Blacks, Hispanics and white women. Unions donated over $800 million to the Obama campaign. Thus, this was the price of selling us out. It became established that all federally funded construction projects priced over $1 million utilize a Project Labor Agreement (union labor only). Only 2 percent of Black construction companies are unionized. The effect was very detrimental to our construction employment levels. We must rescind this Executive Order. While we are at it let’s have the Department of Labor do a Title VII (Civil Rights Act) review on the hiring practices of construction union shops.
President Obama stated that he was going to “kill coal.” He has almost done it. With Hillary Clinton cheering him on, the coal industry has taken a severe blow with 65 percent of coal companies in bankruptcy. The next administration should put the industry on “resuscitation.” Let’s continue to use clean coal as it is the cheapest form of energy and a very large employer of Black workers. Those thousands of jobs that have been lost throughout America should start making their way back during the first half of next year. The Clean Power Plan, which was the lethal vehicle in this process, has been put on hold by the U.S. Supreme Court. It should be permanently removed by the next Administration. This is terribly important to underserved communities. All forms of energy, including fossil fuels, should be exploited for our economic backbone guarantee.
Good education is the prosperous road to economic empowerment. So why has this administration eliminated educational opportunity by the hundreds of thousands students by attacking for profit schools, blocking charter schools and pushing Common Core? The Department of Education should be eliminated and individual states should hold this great responsibility.
The Environmental Protection Agency has applied billions of dollars against the economic status of the Middle Class. There should be a thorough audit of the true costs of all rules and regulations that have been forced upon our industries. After that we should begin the cleansing process of all detrimental actions.
The Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, is a terrible failure. Within the next two years the majority of insurance carriers will exit this program. We should begin finding a replacement as soon as possible. We are heading towards a crisis in medical care. It was not an improvement.
A good nation must abide by the Rule of Law. We need a Department of Justice that understands this and will be committed to it. The Email Scandal, the IRS Scandal, the Pay for Play Scandal at the State Department, the Sanctuary City Scandals, the Veterans’ Administration Scandal and this is to name just a few scandals. History will show this Administration to be the most corrupt in the history of the United States. All of this is going on and collectively puts our nation at risk. We must demand an honest and courageous Attorney General – one who would rather resign than to do something anti-constitutional or sell out our nation. The first thing we can do is review all of the denials to investigate by the last two Attorney Generals. Those matters that demand investigation should be investigated.
Finally, let’s look at our fiscal matters. The Estate Tax is onerous and it should be totally eliminated. A family’s net worth should not be taxed whenever the matriarch or patriarch passes on. This is cruel and heartless.
Our national debt is at dangerous levels. The ever rising amount is now exceeding 20 Trillion Dollars. Any quick adverse movement could crush us as a viable nation. If we would just cut out all of the graft, waste and full blown incompetence in annual government spending that would be a turn for the better. The latest State Department scandal involves $6 billion in missing procurement money. One example is a procurement agent awarding a $62 million no-bid contract to his WIFE! The files concerning this procurement are empty. This is just one example. $6 billion may be an underestimate as the investigation is just now beginning.
Yes, in just eight quick years America seems to be going in circles. Let us have honest elections and end our tolerance for incompetence and bureaucratic crimes. Let’s acknowledge strong leaders and reward those of this ilk to continue to improve our nation and marvel in greatness.
Mr. Alford is the co-founder, President/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. Website: www.nationalbcc.org Email: [email protected]
