Obama says, "The cost of our debt is one of the fastest growing expenses in the federal budget. This rising debt is a hidden domestic enemy, robbing our cities and states of critical investments in infrastructure like bridges, ports, and levees; robbing our families and our children of critical investments in education and health care reform; robbing our seniors of the retirement and health security they have counted on. . If Washington were serious about honest tax relief in this country, we'd see an effort to reduce our national debt by returning to responsible fiscal policies."
While it is true that government overspending will have and does have a severe impact upon the economy, the fastest growing expense in the federal government is Medicare and Medicaid. The cause of debt isn't debt; it is spending too much in too many areas. The government is trying to do everything for everyone in a search for votes and in so doing is hurting and bankrupting the economy. The rising debt isn't the enemy. The overspending is the enemy.
WHAT OBAMA SAYS: Obama will cut skyrocketing pork barrel spending projects by forcing more transparency about who is requesting projects and what the projects would accomplish before Congress votes to approve them.
WHAT IT MEANS: The only way the President can eliminate pork barrel projects is to veto bills that contain pork barrel. The President cannot stop earmarks unless he is willing to veto the complete bill. The President cannot force Congress to be more transparent. It's a separate branch of government.
WHAT OBAMA SAYS: Obama will build on his bipartisan work to penalize companies that abuse the tax code and stop the use of tax havens.
WHAT IT MEANS: Obama's plan to balance the budget seems to be pretty light on cutting government spending and very heavy on stopping supposed abuse of the tax code. Either the company's are breaking the tax law or they are not. There is no such thing as abuse. That is a subjective, political term used to score political points. Businesses or individuals that follow the tax code, no matter how unpopular it might be, are not abusing or break the tax code if they follow the code. They didn't create the mishmash of our tax law. Smart taxpayers will always look for ways to pay less tax. This is once again a part of Obama's anti-business plan. He blames most of America's problems on corporation or businesses.
WHAT OBAMA SAYS: Obama is committed to repealing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.
WHAT IT MEANS: According to recent statements by Obama, the wealthy are those who make over $250,000 a year. Are these really the wealthiest Americans? I don't think so. You can hardly call someone who lives in California, Hawaii, or New York who makes $250,000 to be wealthy when it takes in excess of $500,000 to buy a small home. What Obama fails to make explicitly clear is that he plans on raising the social security tax on Americans making above approximately $90,000. This tax hike will be affecting many more Americans than Obama's "wealthiest" few. Obama is committed to fixing the overspending of the American government through taxing the people, not through curbing spending.
WHAT OBAMA SAYS: Obama will stop funding wasteful, obsolete federal government programs that make no financial sense. Obama has called for an end to subsidies for oil and gas companies that are enjoying record profits, as well as the elimination of subsidies to the private student loan industry which has repeatedly used unethical business practices. Obama will also tackle wasteful spending in the Medicare program.
WHAT IT MEANS: Once again, Obama uses some interesting semantics here. He wants to cut programs that make no financial sense, not programs that don't work. I'm sure there are many government programs out there that are run efficiently, but they might not accomplish much. Shouldn't one of the criteria for determining whether or not a program should be cut be "Does a program work? Is it worth taking the money out of the private sector to pay for this government program really worth it?" The thing that I find most disturbing about Obama is that he sounds fairly reasonable, but when you really look at what he is saying, it isn't reasonable and it isn't as clear-cut as you initially think it is. It is most generally anti-business and pro-government. That isn't change that I can believe in.
In summary, Obama's plan to restore fiscal includes more taxes and very few reductions in spending. He seeks to tax individuals and businesses more. He fails to see that the more the government attempts to central plan, the more the standard of living will decrease. Of course, the lower standard of living never affects the ruling class, of which Obama and his lovers of socialism will be. It will hurt the middle and lower classes. Does it make any sense to give an alcoholic more alcohol? Of course not. Then it makes no sense to give a failing, dishonest government more money. The surest cure for fixing the fiscal ills of the government is to abolish the 16th amendment which gives government the ability to tax up to 100 percent of your income through the progressive taxation, a central tenet of socialism.