Where do we go from here? - Martin Luther King

The "Where do we go from here?" speech made me think about alot of things. About our capitalist system and how effect it is and how it impacts us and also questioning the necessity of alot of things we do. In his speech, King proposes a social democracy, in which every person would have a guaranteed income which at the time would require 20 billion dollars to cover every citizen. At that time 35 billion had been spent on the Vietnam War and 20 billion to put a man to the moon. In retrospect, it confirms that our nation can afford to use money on its people. We can do it, but why don't we? It seems change is only brung about, when people create a new system that makes the old one obsolete. But also when their desire to change is greater than their fear of change and allegiance to their old system. Our current system turns our focus into making money and benefits only a certain percentage of people. That's okay, as long as you are part of this percentage. I'm not really sure where people's values are because in this system people are willing to do a job they hate that makes lots of money than taking a job they love that makes less. Maybe social democracy might free them to do what they love. Maybe it won't. But whether or not it will happen in the near future is up to the people because that is how change is brought about.

Obama is likened to King and seen as a source of change to many people. I think he will do that and what he can in his presidency to bring reform, albeit not as much as people may have assumed in the time he is in office. He'll plan another bailout plan will be put in effect which will cost about $700 billion, some which is part of a stimulus package to accomplish the domestic agenda set out in his campaign: energy independence, reducing health care costs, improving education and helping low-wage and middle-income workers. Economists say the plan will create/hold 3 to 4 billion jobs for people, in a time when many are being let go of. Even with such a large stimulus package, some liberals and conservative economists fear the package will not be enough. In our current state, "Where do we go from here?"