Well, Mr. President, as we continue through your speech to congress, it seems you are speaking in contradictions. Your words say one thing but your actions are just the opposite. You said, “…I will submit a budget to Congress. So often, we have come to view these documents as simply numbers on a page or laundry lists of programs. I see this document differently. I see it as a vision for America – as a blueprint for our future.” It looks just like a laundry list of programs to me as it has over 8,600 earmarks of wasteful spending in it. Personally, I don’t think you have much of a vision if your blueprint for America is to waste our taxpayer dollars and spend us further into debt.
You had to yet again show your hatred for the Republicans when you said your budget “reflects the stark reality of what we’ve inherited – a trillion dollar deficit, a financial crisis, and a costly recession.” Had to get “inherited” and “crisis” in there again, right? Don’t forget, the Democrats in Congress had a BIG hand in causing this “crisis” that you “inherited.”
Then you said, “Given these realities, everyone in this chamber – Democrats and Republicans – will have to sacrifice some worthy priorities for which there are no dollars. And that includes me.” Noble words but the REALITY is that nobody is sacrificing anything, including you, since there are a handful of earmarks included in that 8,600 that you personally authored. If you actually mean anything you say, you will not sign this budget until all of the earmarks are removed. I seriously doubt we will see that happen though.
You went on to say, “That is why, even as it cuts back on the programs we don’t need, the budget I submit will invest in the three areas that are absolutely critical to our economic future, energy, health care and education.” What exactly did you cut back on? The spending bill you speak of increases spending 8% over the last budget, which is much higher than the inflation rate, by the way, so how did you CUT anything? Usually, when I hear someone say they are cutting something, I think it means LESS, not more. Do you have some other definition of “cut” that nobody knows about? Maybe Bill Clinton has been tutoring you on creative word definitions…
So… starting on your “big 3”, energy, health care and education. When it comes to investing in renewable energy and ending our dependence on imported oil, I have to say, I’m with you. I think it’s a high priority to eliminate the possibility of Middle East nations holding us hostage with oil. I did, however, think that your statements about it lacked substance. You said, “…we will double this nation’s supply of renewable energy in the next three years.” What “supply” of renewable energy do we have? Are we stocked up on some renewable form of energy somewhere? What is it?
You went on to say, “We have also made the largest investment in basic research funding in American history – an investment that will spur not only new discoveries in energy, but breakthroughs in medicine, science and technology.” We know you’re spending a crap-load of money, but just because you throw money at a problem doesn’t mean that is going to guarantee a breakthrough. Then again, I guess it wouldn’t be a political speech unless it was riddled with platitudes…
You went on to say, “…we need to ultimately make clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy. So I ask this Congress to send me legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy in America.” You know, that sounds good on the surface but I can’t help but think that if a power company is restricted on how much energy they can produce with existing plants and you FORCE them to invest in other methods that maybe aren’t profitable at existing rates, it’s going to mean us consumers are going to be paying a lot more for our electricity. I don’t really think that’s a great idea right now in our present economy. Maybe after we recover a bit, but not now.
On to health care… “Our recovery plan will invest in electronic health records and new technology that will reduce errors, bring down costs, ensure privacy and save lives.” Hmmm… Is this going to be our health records maintained electronically by the government? I’m not sure I like that idea. How would maintaining health records electronically save lives, by the way? Oh, and while I’m thinking about it, how is health care reform going to stimulate the economy? It’s in the recovery plan, right? How does this improve the economy? Or is this just one of those things that has been on the Democrat’s wish list for so many years you thought now would be good time to sneak it through and call it part of the stimulus package? Or are you blurring the lines and calling the budget spending bill part of the “recovery plan” now?
You went on to say that the “historic commitment to comprehensive health care reform” is a “down-payment on the principle that we must have quality, affordable health care for every American.” So the enormous spending that is taking place right now is only the “down-payment”. I guess that means the major payment us taxpayers will have to cough up comes later. They you said, “And it’s a step we must take if we hope to bring down our deficit in the years to come.” I gotta say, you totally lost me here… Universal health care is going to bring down our deficit? Which deficit are you talking about? I see absolutely no logic here whatsoever.
Then you made me laugh again when you said, “…I’m bringing together businesses and workers, doctors and health care providers, Democrats and Republicans to begin work on this issue next week.” Right… I bet you’ll get some workers off the street to help solve this problem… But the really funny part was when you mentioned Republicans, like you are going to listen to a single thing THEY have to say. This is just another case of you paying lip service to being bi-partisan. Why don’t you just tell the truth, come right out and say it, you and the Democrats in Congress are running the show and the Republicans are powerless to do anything about it so you’re not going to listen to a thing they have to say unless they agree with you. Period.
And you finished off health care by saying, “So let there be no doubt: health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait and it will not wait another year.” I guess it’s sort of like the stimulus package that couldn’t wait until anybody read it before you signed it…
Don’t you think it might be a good idea to try and recover the economy first before you change the world? You think maybe that trying to accomplish all this reform by unbridled spending on everything ever wanted by the liberal left wing might just push our economy to the limit when it's already on the brink? Or is it your intention to get this Democrat Christmas list passed at any cost, even if it wrecks the economy? Maybe you think it's ok to take that chance to get what you want.
Well, I guess I’ll wait until tomorrow to talk about your third big reform, education, because that one might take a while…
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