Obama is clearly a collectivist who makes no secret of his desire to re-distribute wealth in the US. This American Thinker article likens Obama's Administration to the Fabian socialists of Great Britain. There is considerable similarity between what Obama is doing and what the socialists in Great Britain did when they gained control just after the defeat of Germany at the end of WWII. Great Britain went into steep decline at that point, and has not been able to completely reverse the decline, and it is now doubtful that they ever will. I think Obama would like to see America on a similar path to poverty and irrelevance.