A call from the President-elect for 'self-sacrifice' from Americans . . .

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If it's the economy which is his concern, I would argue that the decline and fall of industries and businesses which the majority of us rely on to survive has been due to factors which are outside of our control; like record profits and compensation for CEO's of collapsing firms and the government and military's obsession with committing trillions to opportunistic deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Most of us work hard and do as much as we're able to just keep our heads above water financially and otherwise. I'm looking for major sacrifices in government priorities and executive pay to right our economy and generate jobs.

I'm sacrificed out, already.

Still, the new president does seem to understand that sacrifice needs to come from the top down and the benefits need to be applied and realized from the bottom-up.

Telegraph: Rahm Emanuel, who will be chief of staff in the new White House, said: "We need that culture of responsibility, not just to be asked of the American people, but its leaders must also lead by example."

I think the sacrifice for most of us will come from just enduring the shock of the economic upheaval until a turnaround and a reversal of destructive policy. Maybe that's what Obama's trying to convey; patience.

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1. Barack Obama to echo JFK with call for self-sacrifice

Barack Obama will call on Americans to replace the "anything goes" culture of recent years with a new "era of responsibility" in his inaugural address.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/4284896/Barack-Obama-to-echo-JFK-with-call-for-self-sacrifice.html


The themes of the inaugural speech, Mr. Gibbs said, would be familiar to those who have watched Mr. Obama, but would be “heavily infused with this notion of responsibility, getting our country back on track.”

Asked whether this would include a call for sacrifice by an already stressed populace, Mr. Gibbs said, “Obviously, the American people are all going to have to give some.” But he said those who had suffered the most in recent years should “get the help that they need.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/19/us/politics/19talkshow.html?_r=1&ref=politics&pagewanted=print