I dont know how many of you watched the State of the Union speech last night. It was hard to miss since it was on every channel anyway. So, here we go again. Calls for bi-partisanship, and collaboration on policy were made as usual, as well as the bold predictions for what we should be to the world in the future. But what about right now? Obama called for a 5-year freeze on non-defense spending (a drop in the bucket compared to actual defense spending), and an increase in education and clean energy spending. "At the same time, Obama proposed reforming how government spends and works, including the five-year freeze on non-security discretionary spending, eliminating earmarks from spending bills and reforming the corporate tax code to remove costly loopholes and subsidies, with the savings lowering the corporate tax rate." These are all things we have heard before. Obama also said "We are poised for progress," two years after the worst recession most of us have ever known, the stock market has come roaring back. Corporate profits are up. The economy is growing again." My wallet would disagree.
I also found it interesting that his calls for professional unity were lauded until the cameras went off, then it was back to kindergarten politics with staffers calling GOP plans the "meat ax" approach, and Republicans basically saying they don't care what the President says their ideas are better. They all sound like my kids fighting over who colors better.
I wasn't a fan of Boehner's tie either (totally irrevlevant, but it needed to be said)
If there were no cameras, CNN, or rebuttals. No fake smiles and ovations. If you were giving the state of the union speech, what would you say?
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/48203.html
ReplyDeleteHere is another article worth reading. Everyone's friendly when the cameras are on.....
I would probably tell everyone to move to Canada because the U.S. is in a world of hurt right now. Just kidding. I think the President would almost be better off with a pessimistic attitude up there. The hope he has instilled in many citizens of this country just seems to bite him in the butt when things don't go as planned. As we have said on many of these posts, there seems to be no solution to the numerous problems our country has, including the national debt crisis, high unemployment rate, crumbling infrastructure, etc.
ReplyDeleteThat is all he can say, repeat what he says in the past because it sounds good and in some way, it should work. But like everyone else, it is tough to keep those promises in the economic state we were in, as well as the state we are in now and the state of the future. We need to stop all this spending in some fashion, but it'll inevitably happen, whether Obama wants it or not. The economy is roaring back; the Dow is over 12000 today, which is a definite sign of a recovery, but it does seem like the rich are getting richer and the middle class is losing money. Tough to say what the right thing to do is right now; too many different actions at so many different angles that it is difficult to commit to one, especially when our spending rises.
ReplyDeleteI saw most of until the remote was seized by my oblivious housemates. I find most state of the union speeches are to highlight things that the administration wishes to accomplish and are not an actual discourse on policy, however I watch them all the same. Obama has some ambitious and philanthropic ideas for the nation. In a global economy where America can no longer afford to keep manufacturing jobs, I see the nation falling from the pedestal of a once great economic power. He mentioned every student receiving a college education. If that was a reality, college will become like a high school diploma equivalent. Even today, a degree is seen as the lowest possible amount of education to amount to any kind of middle class work or status.
ReplyDeleteI did not get a chance to see any of it, I was too busy studying for Spanish. Anyways, I agree with Brooks, what more can he say than what he already did. Honestly, I think the state of the union address is kind of pointless because the President just says what is currently going wrong, then builds hopes up, and make promises that can't realistically be made. I guess that is what the next state of the union address will address? Either way I think it's really tough to say what is the right or wrong thing to do right now, I guess it's a good thing I'm not a politician.
ReplyDeleteI by chance did get to see it. Obama definitely means well, and is really trying to deliver on his promises. Cutting out earmarks and non-discretionary spending would be great if we could do more than talk about eliminating financial waste. Hopefully it happens. But of course everyone wanted to play nice while the camera was on, I'm sure Republicans and Democrats went right back to their corners for another round when the cameras went off.
ReplyDeleteThe state of the union is just a place where every president gets the chance to test out his rhetoric skills every year. First year it sets out the high aims of the new government, second year it brings it a little more down to earth. By the time the mid term elections happen and bipartisanship takes control in terms of the President's party losing control of at least one house, it all ends up being just words that the people already know the President will say. It really does become erroneous.
ReplyDeleteAt this point if I was the president, I'd simply lay out the plan for the future and testify that we will work our very best to make sure these things/policy changes happen since we strongly believe this is the right course of action. Spending needs to be cut and it will be cut but then again to actually reach a fiscally sound state revenue generation would also need to rise to match all the debt and interest on that debt.
I have yet to watch the address (it's recorded on the dvr) but I was celebrating America with Kid Rock. I really would like to see the current state of affairs if everyone kept it real as Richard mentioned, with out the fake smiles and bad ties.
ReplyDeleteNo policy makes them all happy. I really hope Obama's decisions are wise and that we will see results.
It sounds to me that our future actions will help prevent our country from falling any deeper into debt, but what is going to happen to all of the things we've discusses before in the class as far as infrastructure and our watering systems?
ReplyDeleteDid Obama touch on the gun control policy or any concerns towards hostility withing our system?
There is a lot wrong going on in our country today and it seems the steps announced last night are not very radical by any means.. I hope things do improve, but I dont see any substantial progress occuring in the next year or two (or more...)
Congressional speed-dating? The "better looking members of the Senate" pairing up to be "prom king and queen"? Tweeting "date" rejections? Really Congress? This juvenile and fake camaraderie was a little ridiculous ..just had to throw that out there.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that stands out from what I saw of the State of the Union Address is Obama's goals for clean energy and innovative vehicles. I realize investing in strong renewable electricity and energy efficiency probably won't happen for a couple of years, but when it happens, I think it will really help boost the economy by creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs. Another obvious plus from investing in this area is the benefits to our atmosphere. It's great that there is hope for the future, but like Richard said, what about now? I don't have answers or suggestions for this question, but it would be nice if the present is addressed and fixed soon.