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My Fellow Americans
The State of the Union is tonight, which will be a constant applause-break speech by President Obama with plenty of partisan soft balls to his political allies and jabs at his political opponents. There will be fact-checking throughout (as well as following the speech, as is protocol) to determine the validity of his many statements about the past, present and future. Serving as just one example, it’s probably a safe bet the near historically low labor force participation rate number will not make its way into the section concerning the “growing economy,” quality jobs being created and the true unemployment rate.
How about introducing fiscal conservatism and equal opportunity into the lowest-income places around the country for the purpose of creating high-quality jobs through entrepreneurship and by luring prosperous businesses into communities that can economically sustain individuals and families, while recognizing the vitally important correlation between the economic success and sustained safety of a community with the academic success of its public and/or private schools, as is clearly evident in great communities nationwide?
Probably not going to happen, as fiscal liberalism has always self-appointed “genius” leaders for that (Gruber…Gruber…). They haven’t fixed the problem so far, but this century will surely see vastly different results with the same ideas and economic philosophy…
With that being said, most Americans are expecting to be lured into a false reality regarding policy truths/results, in some way or another. It will be a political speech from a president who loves reading political digs from his trusty teleprompter and who believes everything he reads from said teleprompter is the truth: period. In other words, President Obama is “the Ron Burgundy” president. If he reads it, it must be true.
“America: I’m a job-creating, debt and deficit-reducing, healthcare fixing, massive freedom of speech moment realizing, foreign policy expert.”
It will be an interesting speech, partly because it will be in front of the newly Republican-controlled Congress and also partly because his proposals will be heavily unrealistic ideas. President Obama will likely make political points close to his heart, regardless of its plausibility or if it’s all at geared toward the genuine need/benefit of the country as a whole. It’s sad to say, but it’s the truth. On the same note, Republicans need to be cautious and measured in their response(s). Specifically, with substantive rebuttals and positive solutions of their own.
This will be more of a legacy/power-up to liberal politicians considering 2016 than any serious suggestions for fixing the broken economic foundation of the United States (ie -transformational tax reform, entitlement reforms, meaningful and necessary spending cuts).
It’s been six years and the economy still isn’t running with vigor or purposeful direction. Most six-year-olds are racing around with excitement and unbridled creativity, growing with a clearer vision each day.
Unfortunately, far too many Americans feel like we’re still crawling out of The Great Recession six years later…
Big Government’s New Slogan
“…because the American people are too stupid to understand the difference.”
Believable.
You might be thinking that I meant to write “unbelievable.”
I didn’t.
This statement from one of the chief architects of Obamacare, Jonathan Gruber, makes total sense coming from such a high-minded (yet, ironically close-minded) liberal professor at an elite university where there is diversity in everything except thought and perspective. The phrase above promoting the opposite of policy transparency in writing and selling Obamacare to the public and the Congressional Budget Office as to whether it’s a tax and a major distribution of wealth (yes on both counts) should be the front page headline of the week, except that it was said by a liberal academic, so the major networks (NBC, ABC, CBS) clearly view this as unimportant, not shocking to their own personal beliefs or, since it’s damaging to President Obama and the Democratic Party’s ramming through, lies and shocking incompetence surrounding the ACA, it can’t be reported on or mentioned. In so many ways, the strategic deceit behind the structure of this bill gives credence to the well-supported belief that corruption and purposeful deceptions come naturally with big government.
President Obama’s big government is dependent on big lies (Obamacare, IRS, Benghazi, national surveillance of private citizens, targeting of journalists, Fast and Furious, etc.).
Not only does this fit perfectly into the narrative of how President Obama views his opponents (political and private citizens alike), but it confirms a much larger presumption about the theoretical “experts” that hail from the nation’s top academic institutions and the highest levels of government. Not all of them of course, but generally speaking in today’s divisive atmosphere, yes (FYI – Gruber is a professor at MIT). Liberal academic professors and legislative bureaucrats declare themselves (ever so subtly) as the “geniuses” of society and, therefore, the people are secondary (or possibly worse, we’ll have to wait for the next video) when it comes to intelligence. While Gruber’s intellect (well, “intellect”) clearly stems from a disgustingly insulting, trash-filled and oblivious-to-reality gutter, this blog will not step down to his level. Instead, a broader and positively measured reaction will be presented.
The pompous and incompetent statement (made at least twice, according to a new video) by Professor Gruber underscores a critical distinction between conservative and liberal thinkers. Generally, liberals believe that a powerful and influential centralized government is the best aspect of American society. This is where the power and supposedly real intelligence resides. These “geniuses” are smarter than all of us, so, therefore, we need them (their assumption) to tell us how to live, think and spend. Trust (in public and private institutions) is a valuable and fragile asset and once it’s abused or when those in power insult its customers/constituents, reactions of anger, resentment and distrust towards its leaders are undeniably valid and consequential.
Trust is earned, not given.
Conversely, conservatives tend to believe that a limited government is supreme because the best aspect of American society is the people, along with the competitive, innovative-inspiring dynamic of the marketplace. Americans have always and continue to willfully support and promote the virtues of freedom, liberty and opportunity as enacted by our brave, revolutionary founders. That’s really incredible because it’s been more than two centuries and many generations of people who voluntarily support and defend democracy, freedom and liberty without the government mandating such thoughts on the public. However, if Gruber has his way, perhaps free will and free speech will soon come with its own mandate of predetermined thought as set by himself and other like-minded and likely self-proclaimed “genius” individuals.
Yes, government plays a small, critical role and has had some unmistakable victories, like the decade-long mission to land on the Moon. Remarkable. But the real genius and shining, defining characteristics of the successful American society is deeply rooted in the belief in and actions of its people. This list is literally impossible to compile. And it’s the legislative leaders (and its advisers) who realize this, believe this and proudly promote this that will inspire an inherently motivated, intelligent and savvy population that can and will rise to fix any challenge (including healthcare).
That’s the transparent truth.
A Rhetorical Abstention from Reality
Here is a brief recap of President Obama’s State of the Union speech from last night:
No serious proposal for opportunity-centric tax reform to help the middle class and low-wage earners
No legitimate solutions that would help those living in poverty move up into the middle class, far above the poverty line
No hints of genuine bipartisanship
No fresh, new vision for a country hurting in a stagnant economy exacerbated by his policies
No debate or reconsideration/adjustment at all on climate science-related policies, even though Europe (of all places) is scaling back funding for such projects and the fact that scientists are progressively suggesting a mini-Ice Age may be upon us (the Polar Vortex, anyone?)
No mention of the debt
No mention of excessive government spending
No reexamination or humble remarks regarding Obamacare as he refuses to even entertain suggestions dealing with structural changes from Republicans, despite his nearly 20 executive orders/delays for the law
No new, innovative plans for the energy sector that would produce jobs and energy now
Nope, nothing.
And President Obama and the media calls the Republican Party the “Party of No”?