obama strasburg

[Tony Henderson]

Obama did very well in his big speech in Strasbough - and his
highlighting of the nuclear weapons issue was especially notable - but
when asked how he was going to defeat poverty he could only speak about
the poor people in poor countries (not specifying they were only
economically poor) as markets. They had to be brought into the market
then they could buy things and be like people in the developed world -
happy consumers. I know this is a simplification but he really stalled.

The answer surely, given from a warm seat on a couch in my own home with
no pent up audience in the wings or hanging on my every word, is: look
to your own self-sufficiency first. Supply yourself with the needs,
rice, corn, vegetables, fruit, housing for local materials, build your
own health service, your own roads, trade with immediate neighbours
first for transport efficiencies, resolve local conflicts and open up
borders and communicate more with those over the fence. Trade with the
surpluses, trade goods for goods if there is no money. Supply everything
locally and then supply big towns so you don't have to import same goods
at town prices. Do not try to supply the cheapest shoes or t-shirts at
the cost of peoples slavery. Do not enter the ranks of the
industrialised nations by sacrificing your youth, for cheap wages. No
to EPZs - so called Economic Processing Zones or FTZs - or Free Trade
Zones - these are cheap labour camps. Build strong independent unions to
protect your workforce but make sure the union leaders are accountable
to the workers. Build businesses on co-operative lines and have staff
participating in decision making and making sure profits get ploughed
back into the firm or are distributed to the workers. Limit your armies
to defence scale forces. Separate military and government, have a
independent legal-justice system. Make sure you have a free press. Clean
as you build then pollution will be prevented. Welcome world trade but
on fair terms where your own country men and women do not suffer. Do not
undersell yourselves, or your own people. Value your people above all
else - there is no thing more value than human life and to enjoy that
make sure as many people as possible enjoy a certain standard of
quality. There must be a basic health care system. Education should be
free. Land should be available for those who want to work it.

That's the kind of change that will make a difference - not fiscal
measures which are simply supplying more of what made the problem. Money
is not the answer. People freed of limiting concerns are the answer.
Given the freedoms, people will walk into a decent future. The aim has
to be the surpassing of suffering, across the entire planet.