NASSAU COUNTY CIVIC ASSOCIATION, INC. "The government is us, we are the government, you and I." Teddy Roosevelt

America, Brick by Brick 

The disconnect in the President's speech

The President delivered his third State of the Union speech this week. The speech which is often a political statement on the theme of the fall elections was punctuated with a false sense of optimism and defiance.  He talked about America being back and declared "America built to last". What he failed to mention was that the America he referred to has been torn down brick by brick only to be rebuilt in the image of a failed socialist utopia.

The President talked about losing 4 million jobs toward the end of the Bush Administration and another 4 million during his three years in office. He tried to make the case that he actually saved jobs by bailing out the auto industry but at what cost. Both General Motors and Chrysler owe the government billions. Chrysler is majority owned by the Italian automaker Fiat and GM is building cars on the dictates of the government, the failed Volt. It's fair to say that he prolonged the inevitable and left taxpayers on the hook for the billions that were lost before the bankruptcy filings. His bailout plan forced losses on shareholders who risked their capitol and gave partial ownership of the companies to unions.

He again called for so called "immigration reform" or amnesty for millions of illegal aliens even though millions of Americans are still out of work. He acknowledged the difficult task of passing what eluded George Bush who's party controlled both houses of Congress and agreed to settle for the Dream Act, an amnesty light program which allows illegal aliens to attend college financed on the taxpayer dime. 

The President never mentioned the trillions he added to the debt but instead talked about spending even more money. He called for increased spending on infrastructure and pushed again to increase taxes on oil in his effort to fund "clean energy". With gas prices on the rise, Americans can hardly afford higher gas prices. He talked about another housing bailout for those behind on their mortgages and again showing his disdain for the constitution stated, "With or without this Congress, I will keep taking actions that help the economy grow."

He claimed that his signature program, "Obama Care" reformed the private insurance markets but never mentioned the government takeover of health care. As a matter of economics, the fine for not having healthcare is cheaper then actually paying for healthcare and based on dollars and sense, most employers will opt to pay the fine instead of providing healthcare. So by shifting millions into government run programs, the delivery of health care becomes another government run program.   

Playing the class card, he claimed that billionaire Warren Buffet's secretary, Debbie Bosanek payed a higher tax rate then her boss and called for higher taxes on the rich. Forbes magazine analyzed the reported tax rate for Bosanek, 34%  as compared to Buffet, 17.4% and  estimated Bosanko's income was between $200,000 to $500,000 based on IRS tax tables. How many middle class taxpayers earn that type of income. Forbes found that the average taxpayer paying the 17.4% tax rate earned an annual income of $100,000 to $200,000. As Buffet's income is based primarily on capital gains, his tax rate would be lower not his actual tax payment. As the majority of Americans are invested in stock, increasing the tax rate on capital gains would hit the middle class and would dry up money that would normally be available for business investment.  

 The President's disconnect is apparent as his "America built to last" cannot be sustained on the policy of ensuring equal outcome by the heavy hand of government. The President promised to bring unemployment below 8% and revive the economy. In three years he spent trillions causing the national debt to exceed the total gross domestic product of $15 trillion. His policies have increased the size and scope of government beyond it's means, created record unemployment and has remade America as the nation of hand outs. The President needs to  pick up the bricks of the American economy and get back to the foundation that has sustained this great nation, equal opportunity with limited government.