An open letter to President-elect Obama

Ever since President Franklin D. Roosevelt launched a veritable blizzard of New Deal programs quickly after taking office, the idea – or the myth – of a presidential “100 days” has grown and grown.

And, if fancy-pants well-paid columnists at places like the New York Times can offer their “100 days” advice to Barack Obama, well, why can’t I? After all, they put their hands on their keyboards the same way I do.

So, here goes.

First, increase the gas tax by $1 a gallon, phasing that in over five years to not be too hard of a hit.
This kills three birds with one stone.

I’ll look first at the less obvious birds.

As the Minneapolis I-35 bridge collapse of a few years back illustrates, we have a lot of highways across the country in need of major work. The federal highway fund, based on the federal gas tax, is running dry.

Rather than just raising the tax by a few pennies, since it’s on a per-gallon basis, and not on a per-sales-dollar basis, a serious increase would pay for a thorough program of road construction.

More road construction means more work. That, then, in the midst of an apparent recession, would be an economic shot in the arm.

That’s the two less-obvious stones – road repair and economic stimulus.

The obvious one? Or, more obvious from where I sit behind this keyboard?

It would increase fuel conservation.

Frankly, the sharp plunge in oil, and gasoline, prices worries me. Yes, worries me.
I’m afraid that, if it goes on too long, too many people in the country will forget about $4 gasoline of not so long ago, and feel less need to conserve, whether through better driving habits, or through buying SUVs never likely to take a tire tread off concrete or asphalt.

And, even if the cheap gas goes away soon enough, the extra tax would boost conservation even more.

If we don’t need all the money for road-building work, we can use some of it for research on alternatives to today’s gas-powered cars.

Second, be careful about bipartisanship, especially in your cabinet appointments.

If you truly feel the best person for a certain position is a Republican, fine. But, if you’re just trying to appear “bipartisan,” that’s often been a one-way street.

Third, if you’re really about change, please show it. Don’t appoint a bunch of Clinton administration retreads. Especially, don’t name Larry Summers to once again be the Treasury secretary. While you’re at it, don’t name any Goldman Sachs employee, past or present, to head Treasury, the Office of Management and Budget or the Council of Economic Advisors.

In other words, per one of your campaign commercials at the Democratic convention in Denver, show that your vote for the bailout, and Barney Smith’s vote for you, were not votes for Smith Barney.

Fourth, and related to that, don’t be afraid to make mistakes. And, make mistakes out of boldness, not timidity. If “change” is more than just a slogan to get elected, that’s the only way to make mistakes.

Fifth, and related to that, you were elected on the idea you get us out of Iraq. Do more than that. Bring change to our foreign policy. By your cultural heritage – an African father, doing part of your growing up in Indonesia, you present a new American governmental face to the world. You have the opportunity to present a new American attitude as well, beyond both Bush’s more naked imperialism and Clinton’s imperialism lite.

Sixth, work and think outside the box, as you already have done. The recruiting of so many small-dollar campaign contributors was brilliance from a marketing viewpoint; it gave people a sense of ownership. It also, through the ease of online contributions, gave you a massive e-mail database. You have an opportunity to use that as an electronic bully pulpit.

Seventh and last, get more points of view more involved in our country. As a third-party voter for the second presidential election in a row, I can personally attest to that. A small but consistent segment of voters in this country, as well as other intelligent people who have tuned out, know that the two-party duopoly hasn’t often listened to them. Those of us who haven’t tuned out would like a more level political playing field.