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Mr. President, Ride the Wave of Your Success; Declare a New War… on Financial Terrorism!
–By John F. Robinson, President & CEO–
National Minority Business Council–
Since the killing of Osama bin Laden, the National Minority Business Council (www.nmbc) has been following closely the subsequent media coverage of this historic moment in America’s history.
As a non-partisan organization, we generally do not take a political position on issues of national concern. Yet we applaud President Obama for delivering the news of bin Laden’s death in a somber and respectful tone and for not boasting “Mission Accomplished!” prematurely. As the President himself noted at a bipartisan White House dinner Monday night, the war on global terrorism is far from over.
Hopefully Washington will now be able to focus more resources on fighting domestic “economic terrorism”, from the soaring national debt to the un-abating unemployment that has pummeled the American economy at least since 2008 and the start of Wall Street’s roller coaster ride. As United States has fought for both justice and democracy in countries whose cultures and languages were foreign to the vast majority of Americans – and then began the overhaul and rebuilding for which we are so well-known – our own infrastructure crumbled. As did our financial institutions, automobile and other made-in-America manufacturing, education, housing, healthcare and ironically, our good reputation as we tried to right wrongs worldwide.
NMBC urges the President and Congress to mark this major turning point in global terrorism with the start of a new “war” against the problems that have plagued the global economy since the beginning of the 21st century. The United States now needs to focus more of its resources, human and financial, on fighting the economic downturn that has cost Americans their jobs, life-savings, retirement funds, shelter, and, in some cases, the resilience and emotional fortitude needed to go on living.
To quote President Obama’s pronouncement on this historic occasion, “We are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to. That is the story of our history, whether it’s the pursuit of prosperity for our people, or the struggle for equality for all our citizens; our commitment to stand up for our values abroad, and our sacrifices to make the world a safer place.”
Mr. President, NMBC applauds your leadership on this significant milestone towards closure of this decade-long nightmare for millions of Americans and, indeed, for people around the world. Now, please show this same fortitude and leadership in solving the country’s economic crisis. Lead the charge of a much-needed rebuilding and strengthening of America’s backbone, the small business owners headquartered on Main St. U.S.A who have never given up on the American dream. This is a position that we feel all political parties can and need to embrace.