Last night President Obama gave his annual SOTU address. It was about an hour long, shorter than in times past. It was a decent speech, with a few good points on which could be used as starting points to getting things back on track. I am concerned he is looking at spending more money, money that we don’t have right now. He will use this as a point during his re-election campaign, either as “look at what I have accomplished” if the Republicans go along with it, or as “See, the Republicans are getting in my way” if they attempt to block Obama’s spending agenda.
One of the things I found most compelling about his speech was he it seemed he was actually acknowledging our “American Exceptionalism”. He has been quoted in the past as saying our exceptionalism is not different than any other country, forgetting that we have twice be the key force in keeping fascism and would-be empires at bay. Last night he said:
“The debates have been contentious; we have fought fiercely for our beliefs. And that’s a good thing. That’s what a robust democracy demands. That’s what helps set us apart as a nation.”
I am not going to discuss much about jobs here since it is clear the guy has not clue how to create jobs without the government getting in the way. He should have hired Brandon Fischer as his new economic advisor, rather than Jeffery Emelt from GE. Fischer is the owner of the small business that dug the tunnel that saved the miners in Chile. This guy knows how to start a business and create jobs.
He spoke about education and our needs to get us back on track. There was a time when were the leader in educating scientist and engineers. No longer. Our high school students used to be in the top five in science and math. Now we don’t even crack the top 20. Obama seems to think we can change that with his “race to the top” program.
“Race to the Top is the most meaningful reform of our public schools in a generation. For less than one percent of what we spend on education each year, it has led over 40 states to raise their standards for teaching and learning.”
The thing that intrigues me about this program is that it seems to let the states set the agenda on how to reach the goals. Anything that is given back to the states, especially something like education, is a good idea. Who better than the local and state governments to know what needs to be done in their own areas? Here is an interesting take on the state of our education, especially the money side.
He only spoke briefly about immigration reform but what he said has me a tad worried. The first thing I thought about was the no slumbering “DREAM Act” when he said:
“One last point about education. Today, there are hundreds of thousands of students excelling in our schools who are not American citizens. Some are the children of undocumented workers, who had nothing to do with the actions of their parents.”
While I agree some of the ideas on immigration reform are a bit draconian, the idea that the children of the ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS have a toehold in American just because they were brought here as youngsters doesn’t sit well with me. I am not a fan of allowing children of illegal immigrants born in the USA automatic citizenship, so I am certainly not a fan of granting full citizenship to children brought across the border illegally.
Infrastructure rebuild was big point he made last night. And he has some valid points. Our infrastructure is falling apart. Bridges are crumbling. Our freeways are breaking up. Levees are leaking and in some cases failing with catastrophic results. But at the same time he brings up high speed rail and train travel.
“Within 25 years, our goal is to give 80% of Americans access to high-speed rail, which could allow you go places in half the time it takes to travel by car. For some trips, it will be faster than flying – without the pat-down. As we speak, routes in California and the Midwest are already underway.”
With all the money be driven into projects that are questionable at best as to whether they will actually be used (I’ve posted about high speed rail here), when that money could be used to repair roadways and bridges causes me concern.
I am on the fence about whether we should spend public money on infrastructure projects. Not that these projects shouldn’t be done using tax money, after all that is what it is for. But rather, how should we use it? There is no question repairing roads and bridges would create jobs, but not like the huge project of building the Interstate System did in the 50s and 60s. And these jobs are temporary, lasting only as long as the project itself. Once the bridge is done, the workers no longer have a job. Kind of like census workers, only for a longer period time. If these temp jobs are a direction that we want to go, then we need to fund many projects simultaneously. Get the Columbia River Bridge between Portland and Vancouver started. Repair I-10 across Louisiana. Get the Alaskan Viaduct replacement project in Seattle underway. Repair the many bridges across the Mississippi River. There are probably thousands of big projects that could be looked at as potential “get started now” projects. Trillions would have to be spent. To find the money in the budget, just take the people on welfare (unemployment, food stamps) and give them the jobs. The money used to fund the welfare programs could then be transferred to infrastructure projects. I know this is over-simplification, but shouldn’t it at least be explored before begin dismissed? One last thing, get the environmentalist out of the way. Not only do they hold up projects for years, they cost the taxpayer billions with all the studies and oversight. I don’t want to let the construction companies to have free rein, but get environmentalist who are realist, not ones who burn incense to mother earth.
Tax reform: Man, he just can’t let it go.
“And if we truly care about our deficit, we simply cannot afford a permanent extension of the tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. Before we take money away from our schools, or scholarships away from our students, we should ask millionaires to give up their tax break. It’s not a matter of punishing their success. It’s about promoting America’s success.”
For some reason, he thinks he and the federal government have a right to the money that people earn. The feds are confiscating property, which income is. I know the Sixteenth Amendment says the federal government can tax income, so this confiscation is perfectly legal. Doesn’t make it right, only legal. But just as Obama feels that at some point you have made enough money, should he also feel that at some point the federal government has made enough money? If the feds aren’t making enough to cover expenses, then maybe the feds are spending too much. Originally, the federal government was put into place to oversee international and interstate commerce and for the common defense of the nation. Over the years, it has become safety net that is threatening to become a hammock.
He wants to tax code to be fair and enforced.
“In fact, the best thing we could do on taxes for all Americans is to simplify the individual tax code. This will be a tough job, but members of both parties have expressed interest in doing this, and I am prepared to join them.”
He needs to give Neal Boortz a call. As Neal has pointed out many times on his web site (paraphrasing with my words, PACNW Righty writes), the President will never, ever, in a million years, under penalty of spending a day with Sarah Palin consider giving up the power of the IRS to control the American people.
As the Commander in Chief, he is obligated with giving a shout out to the troops and he did so last night.
“Tonight, let us speak with one voice in reaffirming that our nation is united in support of our troops and their families. Let us serve them as well as they have served us – by giving them the equipment they need; by providing them with the care and benefits they have earned; and by enlisting our veterans in the great task of building our own nation.”
I know I have told this story before on my blog but it bears repeating once again. When I did my last deployment in 2009 I found a cache of pictures and videos taken by people who, over the past few years, had worked for our organization. There were a couple of videos taken when President Bush came by for his visits (Thanksgiving and Christmas). These videos clearly showed the troops really did love President Bush. The crowds were loud and boisterous. I also viewed a video of a President Obama visit. While the crowds were respectful, they vide in the crowd was not energetic. I know firsthand there were people who did not want to go to Obama gatherings, preferring to either stay on duty, or go work out. This wasn’t the case when Bush visited. The crowds were standing room only. Obama is not popular with the troops. No question, there are some in the military that absolutely swoon over the guy, but this is no different than in the civilian world. We know when someone truly has our best interests at heart and Obama just doesn’t give off that vibe.
Some things never change though. Even two years after taking office, he still finds the need to blame the previous administration for the nation’s troubles.
“We are living with a legacy of deficit-spending that began almost a decade ago. And in the wake of the financial crisis, some of that was necessary to keep credit flowing, save jobs, and put money in people’s pockets.”
He never mentions the fact that in two years, his deficit spending equals what George Bush did in his entire eight years as President. Bush had a recession to deal with also, plus America was fighting the war against Muslim extremist on two fronts.
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