State of the Union

After watching the State of the Union, I left very happy with the speech. The President pushed bi-partisanship. While he doesn't have too much credibility, he backed up this initiative by not pushing any extreme measures in his speech. What he did push were health savings accounts, which are a baby step in healthcare improvement. They don't give anything to the uninsured, but what I liked about it was that health care is brought to the front of debate. Afterwards, on one of the networks, Senator Obama spoke of Illinois' own healthcare program (although fought from the administration), which gave health insurance to all kids. With HSAs coming to congress, public debate for further legislation can come.

Another surprising aspect of the speech was an educational initiative. The president outlined a plan for more math and science teachers, including 70,000 new AP teachers. This is a great idea that will, if implemented correctly, improve our education.

What I didn't like was the president's "stay the course" rhetoric on the war. It's realism to see that there are problems in Iraq, and helps to reform our effort, lay out clear goals, and eventually end this destructive war. Dampening criticism is not a way to improve our situation, but only gives an arrogant image that creates terrorism. Also, out of the blue it would seem, he mentioned free trade vs. isolationism. I agree with this move to keep our trade open. The jobs leaving the country are not because American jobs are more expensive than Chinese jobs, but because Chinese jobs are cheaper than mechanized jobs. The machinery that replaces autoworkers, for example, is more expensive than hiring a Chinese worker. This is the thinking of Robert Reich, in his book Reason, which I found very convincing.

The worst part of the speech was the defense of warrantless spying on Americans. He claimed constitutional authorities, and mentioned previous president's doing this. Unless they haven't been disclosed, this is a pure lie. All of the things he said about the scandal were lies. No other president has done this without a warrant. Also, there are not tens of thousands of Al Qaeda operatives in America, representing those we've spied on. Most of our spying has been "dead ends", as reported in the NY Times.

My favorite part of the speech was his line about social security. Although it is one of the best funded programs in government, with a huge surplus, he mentioned the problem 25 years away when we spend more money than we receive. Then again, we have a regressive tax that only taxes the first $87,000 of income. If expanded to $120,000-we've got another 50 years. If we lower the rate from 6.2% of income, and eliminate the cap, it'll truly be social security. As it stands, it is mostly forced savings. People get essentially what they give. But, to get to the great part, the President acknowledged that congress didn't pass his social security reforms. This created an eruption of applause from the Democrats, and a standing ovation. That’s the Democratic unity I expect on all major choices.