I may not watch any of the Presidential debates. Listening to President Obama is aggravating. First he just repeats the same failed ideas he has tried and pushed over and over since being elected. Second what he says ranges from outright lies, to just being deceptive. So thought I would write about some translation of Obama speak.
On the Economy he will repeat the oft repeated lie that he saved us from a great depression and that things are moving in the right direction. Translation this is as good as it gets under Obama. The truth is he prevented a better recovery and most indicators show we have seen the peak of the Obama Economy, so much so the Federal Reserve announced QE3 because of what they see coming in the labor market.
Whenever he talks of making investments, he means spending to benefit key contributors. The perfect example is “Investing in Education” means try to patch holes in state budgets to keep them from responsibly dealing with their challenges like Scott Walker has done. We already know Democrats don’t really care about improving education, every time they will chose benefiting the union over what is best for children.
He will again make the claim he is for an “all of the above energy policy”. Translation we need to waste more money on green energy scams and use the EPA to effectively implement Cap & Trade so our Energy prices will “Necessarily Skyrocket”. Reality is we all know he plans to use the EPA to shut down as much coal use as he can, and limit any expansion of drilling for oil on public lands.
He will claim Romney wants to lower taxes for “Millionaires and Billionaires” and raise taxes on the middle class. The later is just a lie based on faulty analysis by a think tank. As for President Obama's push to increase the top tax bracket, about 43% taxes from the top bracket come from small business, in healthy economy it would be close 50%. Obama will deflect this with the usual meaningless statement that 97% of small businesses are not affected by the top bracket. This ignores that most of the ones that create jobs are in the top tax bracket. Also when deciding to launch a venture what matters is what is the possible return if successful which would mean calculating based on the top rate.
He might even make the claim Republicans want to “End Medicare as we know it”. Reality is Obamacare already ends Medicare as we know it by creating a panel to determine what services to deny seniors. The GOP plan is restoring Medicare as we know it for people 55 and over and then responsibly reforming Medicare for people under 55.
President Obama will likely at some point complain that congress won’t work with him. The truth is it has been his strategy since April 2011, when he quit governing and launched his re-election campaign, to not work with GOP to blame them for his failures. Besides when it comes to the economy he has no ideas other than repeating mistakes from the stimulus package that did little but add to the debt.
I doubt President Obama will go as far as he has with his supporters and claim he has been frugal. Translation he thinks voters are stupid. This claim uses Fiscal 2009 as the base including TARP spending then saying he did not increase much from there. This is like buying a car one year and then wasting that much money every year after that and claiming your being frugal.
Listening to President Obama speaking is like listening to someone scratching a chalkboard. Since I know what both parties want to do and the GOP is better on every issue, I do not need to listen to the debates.
You and I do not think that way, but Bren makes it perfectly clear. Obaba Nation= Give everyone the best so they have no desire to work. This is one way to calm the masses.
If you can't afford your own internet service, there are several ways that you can still access the internet for free. Public libraries, NetZero, Public/Community computer labs, etc. The government should not be providing people with free individual access plans - that's absurd! By 2016, 24% of your phone/internet bill is going to go for providing low income/welfare recipients with free individual access plans and equipment. 15.7% of your monthly bill already does. And the telecoms and ISPs aren't going to give up their profit margins, so that means higher prices for those who can afford to pay. How many people are going to pushed into the free programs just because of the higher prices? That's not right and it's totally messed up!
You yourself just said it is better than nothing, which I do not agree with....
It's liberalism
How exactly do Romney's proposed policy positions compare to Hoover's enacted policies? Night and day difference there Randy! Not a very fair comparison at all.
Night and day difference there Randy! Not a very fair comparison at all." I have no idea how Romney's policies compare to Hoover's. If you'll recall, you asked me why I voted for Obama in 2008, not this election, so we're talking about McCain.
@McBride, I know people can access the internet at libraries, but wasn't there a discussion a month or so back about limiting funding to public libraries that provided this service, among other things?
Luckily as a 1% non road building white business owner, I can just pass on these taxes on to you, the common customer. You have no control and no means to pass it on. Ask your boss for a raise to cover the fees if you don't believe me.
If we offer slow dial up to those disatvantaged, then it is not giving them the same fair shake. A good liberal will scream foul if buffering occurs while their child is watching a movie for homework. (I used that example because it happened in my home.)
@Randy, downloading movies is not an additional fee with a dsl internet service provider. Our total cost for the highest dsl speed from Miilwaukee PC and the $8 for Netflix, is between $40-50/month including all the fees and taxes. We do not and never have had cable. We watch many cable programs through a computer hooked up to our tv. No buffering problems at all with Netflix. Occasionally with the internet but that depends on time of day and which source we are accessing the programming through.
Might some of this USF funding be buried/hidden in ones phone bill as part of the cost of service and then paid by the telephone company?(Hoffa notes in his post that the fee is a function of revenue @15.7%;soon to increase to 24%).
People that are truly in need deserve a helping hand, but it seems that many choose to just take advantage of that help instead of taking action to try to improve their lot in life. For too long, we have had a welfare system that penalized those who tried to provide their own income--if someone found a job, their welfare benefits got cut. That sort of system makes it very difficult to make the transition from welfare to work. I'd love to see a welfare system that provides a way to acquire additional job skills and use the public internet resources that are available rather than just handing out smartphones, high speed internets and foodstamps to the poor...
■The creation of a database to prevent one person from having more than one subsidized phone line. ■The creation of a database (by the end of 2013) to ensure subscribers are eligible for Lifeline. ■The end of the Link Up program, which gave phone companies $30 for each new subsidized connection. Link Up was originally intended to cover the cost of installing a new phone line. But it gave prepaid wireless carriers a “perverse” incentive to sign up ineligible subscribers. (Not all cell phone companies took the Link Up subsidy.)
So something else you said intrigues me. I agree the state of the present economy where there are available jobs, but a lack of a qualified work force is not acceptable. Do you think that part of the welfare program should be trade or technical educationt to qualify them for the job? I think maybe part time maintenance work should/could be included in the program for those who qualify. You know, something to offset the cost and not make it like folks are going to school for free - that they need to work for it, too. Do you think that may help the transition issues?
Another aspect that should be considered is childcare. Perhaps we need a system that pays a portion of childcare costs while the person is working or going to school.
At one time poor people did not have heat in winter, no indoor plumbing or running water. They did not have a TV, and if they wanted to cook they had to work to build a fire to cook it on. Fast forward 40 years. We now have people getting assistance who have cell phones with the ability to surf the web. Microwaves to cook the convienience food they buy with food stamps. Cable TV with pay channels, and several TVs, a refrigerator, computers, cars, the list goes on.. The point I am trying to make is if we give hard working people everything, what is the point of them working? I know we can't make a janitor into a rocket scientist, but we need to have some way to retrain these people who want to work and better their life. Please don't get me wrong- I do not want to see anyone go hungry, but I think those who work hard to have the little that they do have should not feel like: "Why bother working when the Government will give more to those who don't try?"
Wouldn't it be really nice if Congress could actually sit down and complete the exercise we just accomplished? Ahhh - to dream. If any message is sent this November, I would like this to be one of them - if not THE message. We, as a nation, are ready for a calm and rational discussion from all sides to really address and solve our problems.