Letter I wrote to President Obama

Dear President Obama,

You said you wanted good ideas from everybody, so I figure that I fit that description pretty well, so here I go: My name is Linda Gutierrez and I am a conservative Christian American citizen and patriot. I have a B.A. in clinical psychology from Purdue and I got pretty good grades. I ended up being in case management for my whole career after college. Fix problems and put out fires. That's a good job description for any kind of case manager. You were a community organizer, and I have done a bit of that too, so I think we might have a chance for a meeting of the minds. My faith does definitely play into my worldview, and manifest destiny. But I also know myself capable and desirous of treating my fellowman that disagrees with me with proper respect. And I will listen to other points of view, and if I disagree, I will still accord you, your First Amendment rights.

All that being said, I want to propose some of my ideas for you to mull over. You can't tell me that my ideas won't work, unless our government really does have an agenda that opposes America's Best Interest. If I get a little wordy, forgive me. I am passionate about the belief that this country can right its ship. America has always contained the greatest environment for dreaming of a better day. I dream of a better day, and I want Americans to step up their game. Not just those of us who must consume so others can make. Not just those of us who must pay the taxes on the hard-earned paycheck that barely stretches from week to week. I want our government to step up their game. Now.

We need line item veto. We need for the ones who stick a program that people are kind of ambivalent about onto one that they know is a shoe-in, and trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the public. It gets done all the time, and you know what? We notice. Many of us. This is not the same world it used to be. You are not going to get away with that with a representative-style government anymore.
There is too much technology available. There are too many people watching you, and everyone has a camera phone, and there are too many people with no class willing to pay a buck for a picture of you doing something un-presidential, or some dirt from a servant or a driver, etc. We need to be able to trust in our government's honesty. You sure haven't delivered on the transparency any better than anyone else and in some cases, worse.

We need to see the end of "pork" by law. If you need to sneak it in, you don't need it. Just have a general appropriations bill and prioritize these needs. If it is a worthy cause then you can probably have your turn at getting your bill passed for your "pet project" if it meets a standard of need with regard to federal funding. If it doesn't pass muster and the federal government agrees it is a good project, you can try for State funds or municipal funds or even private funding.

We need, ironically, a lot of case managers to get those problems addressed. We don't have enough oversight for accountability within our government, much less in the marketplace. You need to do a lot of that same bottom-up management you did when you organized for the community. As you know, it's a lot of calls and hands-on help. What you can't do, you delegate, and then you check up on whoever you delegated the work done. You are an ambitious man with an ambitious agenda for your administration, but I don't think you are being advised right. But you have to lead us, not drag us, and it needs to be worth going to for most Americans. You are dragging us, and it's not working for you and it's not working for us.

We need to fix the healthcare system in this country. The better way and the most free market way to get everyone covered isn't socialized medicine or government option in my opinion. I do have some ideas you might use, if you haven't heard these from anyone else:

1. We don't have enough family practice doctors. Use incentives and encouragement to recruit more nurse practitioners, if they go into family practice for five years.
2. Organize a consortium of insurance companies to bid on covering small businesses. Let all small businesses opt-in on coverage with a lot of other companies in order to get insurance at a competitive rate.
3. There is no need to create a new infrastructure. There is already medicare and medicaid. Open that to cover everyone, and have the state’s pay for the administration of the system, and answerable to the federal government. Offer tax incentives or breaks to hospitals and clinics that forgive and absorb debt by consumers making a certain percentile of the poverty level. Encourage churches, community organizations to have a program to help cover co-pays. Have a Medicaid or Medicare case manager follow up accountability over medications and tests and ascertain what the ability to pay is for that individual and lead them through the system in the best direction. There are lots more ideas that I have, but this missive would be enormous if I detailed all of them.
4. Food items that contribute to health problems and obesity need to be taxed to pay for the health care. Right now, food in grocery stores isn’t taxed. This needs a tiered approach to levy taxes on the unhealthiest of fare. Food that is natural and least processed such as meat, dairy, produce, frozen and canned produce should remain untaxed to foster healthier eating choices. Convenience foods might be the first taxed tier. The lowest tier might be those items which have little nutritional value such as soda pop and snack cakes, for example. Fast food should be taxed. None of these measures will be popular or pleasant, but if we tax smokers and drinkers for their unhealthy lifestyle choices, there is no reason to exempt people who eat poorly.

We need a clean environment and we need to gain energy independence for our own security and financial interests. See, once again you are dragging us, rather than leading up with the Cap and Trade legislation. Just like with health care, there is a certain amount of mandate, but it has got to be sweetened with a lot of choice. And it has to be pretty easy. Once again, this needs bottom-up organization too. Things like recycling. If you are going to make it mandatory, you have to make it easy. But you have to involve us much farther than just taking our money to pay for a system. If you are going to have carbon offsets for companies, you need to have them for the individual too. You have to have incentive to do something that might well be in your best interests, but you can't see the profit right now. It's too subjective. You need to show us that we can, through our own sweat equity lower our tax bill for carbon offsets in some way.

There is much more I would talk to you about if we had a meeting but I felt that I needed to at least let you know what I think about. I didn't vote for you, but you are my President. I want you to do well because I want America to do well. I want you to represent well because I want America to present well. There is no substitute for honor. If our government would be great, it would be working for all American's interests honestly. And there is no substitute for confidence. You have it. That is easy to see. But we have to have it. Americans have lost a lot of their confidence. Especially recently. Especially white Americans. Why can't white Americans be proud? There is no race that doesn't have barbarism in its past. We've had much good deeds in our history as well. Why can't we just all be proud of ourselves, no matter what color or religion? Wait, I had better stop. Now I am trying to do God's work. Sorry, it is so tempting to dream.

Best of luck to you and your family.

Linda S Gutierrez
402 Main Street
North Judson, IN 46366