President Barack Obama sure has been busy. Even his enemies don’t dispute that. Barely two months in office, he’s been proactive in wrestling with a bear of an economy, putting forth a stimulus plan to create jobs and build infrastructure, while approving further rescue plans to save the ailing banking system. He’s also put forward a program to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.

But he’s not stopping there. Our young, energetic President is laying the groundwork for other far reaching changes, including health care reform, energy policy, worker rights, education goals and other pillars of American society. Where possible, he’s reversing Bush administration rulings that went against working people for years. And don’t forget our military commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan and a comprehensive foreign policy to engage friend and foe throughout the world.

Past Not Perfect

Some critics think he’s trying to do too much at once and that he should just concentrate on the economy. I don’t agree. While the economy certainly needs help, remember that even when it was working well for Wall Street, it wasn’t really working all that well for most Americans.

That’s why Obama campaigned on the need for fundamental change and he’s trying to live up to those campaign promises. He believes — I think correctly – that it’s important to set the stage for a new era of prosperity in which all segments of the population share. To do so, we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, rebuild our infrastructure and make college affordable for our kids. And we need to do something about our broken health care system.

Health Care Costs

Obama has made reforming health care a top priority. We spend more on health care than any other industrialized country and the costs keep going up. The average premium for family health insurance is more than $12,000 a year and is projected to double by 2016 unless we reign in costs.

The United States spent 16.6 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on health care last year. By comparison, the figures were 10.7 percent in Germany, 9.7 percent in Canada and 9.5 percent in France.

Before the economy hit the skids, the cost of health care was cited as the biggest problem for Americans, forcing many to delay or skip treatment and some to go into bankruptcy. Those of us lucky enough to have employer–provided insurance pay more and more out of pocket each year, while taking smaller raises at the bargaining table to feed the health care beast.

Employers who offer health insurance find it hard to compete with companies in other countries that universal health care and non-union companies in the U.S. that don’t offer benefits.

Obama is right to tackle this problem now, so when the economy comes back it will be on a firmer footing for all Americans.