“America when will you be angelic?
When will you take off your clothes?
When will you look at yourself through the grave?
When will you be worthy of your million Trotskyites?
America why are your libraries full of tears?”
-Allen Ginsberg, America, 1956.
Circle the wagons, America, 2014 is to be a year of action as called for by President Barack Obama in the Jan. 28 State of the Union Address.
Since 2008, Americans have become familiar with the commander in chief’s abstract promises of equality and opportunity for all paired with a lack of specificity of how this will be achieved.
But be ready for action in 2014, America. According to Obama, our nation is a better market to invest in than China and by the end of the year, “Made in the USA” will once again be a regular stamp on products across the globe.
Here I challenge our smooth-talking leader. What about our major corporations, like Apple, that outsource parts of their products to be made in third world countries and ship these pieces to be assembled in California?
Made in the U.S.A.? You tell me, America.
In addition to Olympic gold medals, the President also intends to bring our troops in Afghanistan back to American soil.
“Together with our allies, we will complete our mission there by the end of this year, and America’s longest war will finally be over,” Obama said.
However, in the event that Afghanistan signs a security agreement, Obama said we are prepared to deploy a small force for two small missions.
Tell me this America; Does bringing home some forces just to deploy others constitute as “bringing our troops home?”
Cynically speaking, Allen Ginsberg once asked “When can I go into the supermarket and buy what I need with my good looks?”
Although 2014 may not yet be the year to stock your cupboards based on your physical attributes, according to Obama it will be the year to hit the register with more change in your pocket.
With the plan to utilize his power to sign an executive order raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour for all future federal contract workers, Obama also called on Congress to make this the minimum wage for workers from coast to coast.
Last year’s State of the Union address called for a similar wage increase, which was argued extensively on Capitol Hill for its potential to cause detriment to both businesses and the job market.
Now America, I may be just a journalist and by no means a mathematician, but simple economics tells me that raising wages typically results in cutbacks in order to maintain profit.
I hope you are prepared for a year of action. But America I ask, when will that action be an honest assessment?