Planning To Succeed

Obama's Plans for America

President Barack Obama will go down in history as a man with great intellect, composure and resilience. Despite the makeup he and others wore during last night's broadcast, he's holding up physically better than many others. Even Biden still looks fresh.

Beyond appearances, Obama addressed several critical issues facing this nation. Affordable higher education, putting a halt on increasing interest rates on student loans, retooling Americans for current and future jobs by having community colleges serve as educational and retraining institutions. He called out the financial institutions that received the bail out; however the average American homeowner is still losing their homes. Let's hope the federal investigation of Wall Street is executed post haste.

Our President will be remembered for pulling US service people out of Iran. It was a long ordeal that resulted in deaths and property destruction. Whether Saddam Hussein was a national threat or Al-Quaeda is an organized body needs exploration. One thing the war brought to Americans is employment in the form of tour-of-duty. Soldiers sent money home and were able to pay off debts. We're living in critical times when men and women "join up" in order to sustain the family back home. Our rich American citizens need not have fighting in their income-generating considerations. President Obama didn't mention this but he did state it is time for those with incomes of $1,000,000 and more to pay their share of taxes. He said millionaires are paying less taxes than middle income households.

He didn't address whether Unemployment Insurance will be extended given the imbalance between the number of unemployed and available jobs. He mentioned that jobs have been created but the issue is whether people can live on these wages. So his talk was absent of stating the kinds of jobs created.

Yes, the United States has oil and gas deposits that could provide 100 years of energy. Isn't it time that this nation make significant investment into wind, wave, and solar energy? Back in the 70's and 80's there existed the US Dept. of Energy whose mission was to audit the gasoline industry and do R & D into alternative energy applications. That department was dismantled however, it's findings remain. We need to apply them. This world can't sustain the underwater oil spills or rock fracturing to release natural gas. Our President asserted his support of "fracking" which raised many "Ughs" from people seated around this writer.

Vice-President Joe Biden and House Speaker John Boehner sat quietly behind Barack Obama. Biden projected confidence and acceptance of the State of the Union Address, while Boehner wore the mask of rock hard opposition. Was that necessary? Did he not agree that Americans need jobs and to keep their homes? Did he not agree that Wall Street needs to be investigated? Does he think millionaires and billionaires shouldn't pay taxes based on their tax bracket? Bipartisanship has its limits. The legislature has to play another game. The American people need change.

Labels: Barack Obama, State of the Union, US economy, US politics

posted by Unknown @ 12:48 PM