Bin Laden Is Dead, GM Is Alive

President Barack Obama has been announced as the Democratic candidate for re-election. His supporters have displayed signs that read, “Osama is dead, GM is alive.” This slogan highlights two central points of the current president’s term. Despite the rhetoric of his Republican adversaries over the “war” on terrorism, President George W. Bush, a Republican, could not locate the United States’ public enemy number one. It has behooved the current administration to provide North Americans with the satisfaction of eliminating Osama. His very existence was a challenge to the effectiveness of U.S. intelligence.

More importantly, on the domestic level, is the second part of the slogan: GM lives. If the government had not rescued GM and Chrysler, two of the three main auto manufacturers, the companies would have faced liquidation. GM is a key brand for American citizens. It was not in vain that they used to say, “What is good for General Motors is good for America.” Supporters of economic liberalism, the majority of whom vote Republican, have always favored the bankruptcy of insolvent enterprises. Obama, on the other hand, opted to inject resources that allowed for the recovery of both companies, which today are once again generating profits.

Saving jobs was of vital political importance. Unemployment is a critical issue for the current administration, which is now facing a high rate of 8.1 percent. From an electoral perspective, one of Obama’s weaknesses is his lack of support from the white working class. His strength lies in what the United States classifies as minorities: women, blacks, Latinos, Jews and other groups.

One of the leading debates in many countries is over the role of the State, which North Americans refer to as the government. The neoliberal revolution was started by President Ronald Reagan. In his 1981 inaugural address, which would set the tone for his presidency, he stated, “Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” It was, in his opinion, time to separate the economic sphere from politics. Government leaders could worry about the public sphere and tax system, but the world of private enterprise was now out of their reach. Regulations could no longer interfere with the markets, except in situations of apparent monopoly or collusion.

It was the beginning of deregulation. Many governments, largely in the West, withdrew and abandoned their responsibilities of oversight. Society as a whole, he said, had no business meddling in the affairs of private companies that were already “naturally” regulated by the free market. The intent to remove economic activity from the public eye through the only way possible, which is the State, has resulted in a serious consequence of mistrust. This is especially evident with regard to the bank management that triggered the 2008 crisis.

In the electoral battle, the Democrats have won the round of the great party conventions. Obama is carrying a slight lead in the polls. Nov. 6 will clear the uncertainties of what, in every way, is a very close race.