BARACK OBAMA: FINALLY A BLACK PRESIDENT, NOW WHAT?

On Tuesday November 4th 2008, an amazing event occurred. Barack Obama, a black man, was elected the 44th President of the United States of America. By all accounts, this was a truly ground-breaking event. The entire world was enthralled as a black man took the helm at the most powerful country on earth. A mind-blowing and historical event that many people, myself included, had never thought was possible. It was an important victory, not only for Barack Obama and Americans, but for countless other (especially oppressed) people across the face of the globe. It gave us hope for things to come. I personally found it inspirational because, I felt that in Barack Obama, we had finally found a champion for the 3rd world. Minorities in America would now be given more acknowledgement and respect. The injustices (of invasion, occupation and slavery) perpetuated by western powers against many countries all over the world would finally be acknowledged and accounted for. The west, particularly the United States, would now start to operate and ‘do business’ in a more progressive and different way. Therefore this was to be the ‘change we can believe in’ that Mr. Obama had promised during his campaign and subsequent election. It is now June of 2013. Almost 5 years have passed since Barack Obama’s election. Has he delivered on his election promises or has he chosen to forego that option and opt instead for the well-trodden, universal, political path of empty promises and unfulfilled ambitions? Has he increased spending on education and welfare for the poorer citizens of the country? Has the president reined-in Wall Street and repealed the billions of Dollars worth of tax cuts afforded to corporations and to the wealthy? And has he managed to affect the troop withdrawal he promised in Iraq and Afghanistan? What of the closing of the now infamous prison in GuantanamoBay? In short, what effect and/or impact has his election had on America and the rest of the world? According to The New York Times (1 June 2013) Guantanamo Bay is still not closed, but its population has decreased from the 245 he (Mr. Obama) inherited in 2008 to 166 currently being held. Although it has to be noted that as many as 103 detainees (6 June 2013, The Guardian) are on a protracted hunger strike with 31 of those being force-fed. Education and welfare cuts are the order of the day, as the Obama administration continues where the former President Bush left –off. Increasingly more schools are being closed while benefits for the poor and the elderly continue to be decreased. Another bone of contention has been the troop levels in Iraq and Afghanistan. Whilst he has succeeded in significantly decreasing the number of US troops in Iraq, there has been a subsequent increase in the number of troops deployed in Afghanistan. That figure currently stands at 68 000 and is expected to be reduced to about 60 000(Washington Post). Prisons continue to be built as the ever-increasing population also increases. Granted he did inherit an economy that was in sharp decline, and under the worst recession since the 1930’s. Therefore it was with this in-mind that the US government bailed-out the countries biggest banks, injecting more than $700 Billion Dollars into their coffers. But the desired trickle-down effect has not transpired as expected. The gap between rich and poor remains ever wider. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in May 2013, official US unemployment stood at 7.6% (almost 12 million people). Some independent commentators dispute this figure, putting instead the rate at ‘more realistic’ 14.3% (June 22 2013, Wall Street Journal, Market Watch).