As President Obama nears his 500th day of his presidency, it is clear that he is trying to move the U.S. toward more egalitarian lines and closing the gap between rich and poor.
On the campaign trail in 2008, he told Joe the Plumber: “I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.” According to Konrad Yakabuski of the Globe and Mail Obama confirmed this belief with his unscripted comment last month in Illinois.
After telling a small-town Illinois audience that he was not pushing tough new rules to rein in Wall Street because he “begrudged success that’s fairly earned,” Mr. Obama strayed from his prepared text and quipped: “I mean, I do think at a certain point you’ve made enough money.”
The American Dream has typically involved unrestrained wealth accumulation. Redistribution is not part of the deal. However, as the article points out, Obama is initiating transformational change as seen in the 787 billion stimulus package which is 'an omnibus act of economic restructuring,' the health care reform package, Wall Street financial reform, and the end of tax cuts to the wealthy, and instituting more taxes to the middle class.
"Old battles have been eclipsed by a new struggle between two competing visions of the country’s future... In one, America will continue to be an exceptional nation organized around the principles of free enterprise. … In the other, America will move toward European-style statism grounded in expanding bureaucracies, a managed economy and large-scale income redistribution.”
As a Canadian I don't pretend to know all the nuances of American politics and society, but these initiatives seem to address some of the glaring inequities and problems in the United States.
Also, his initiatives encourages one to think about the qualities of good government and what is best for society.
