One of the joys (perhaps curses) of being semi retired is that I can watch a Presidential news Conference in the middle of the day. (why don't they do these at 6 pm so working folks can actually see their President in action?) So today I decided that since this was his first news conference in eight months I would tune in.
He made a surprisingly brief opening statement reiterating that the Fiscal Cliff is upon us and we can solve it as long as Congress does it his way. Then he started taking questions from the press.
I want to learn more so I listened carefully. A lot of questions were around Benghazi and the Petraus scandal. Sadly it is apparent we will never know the truth on either so we probably should just drop it. The President says there is a an investigation of Benghazi and we will find the killers and bring them to justice. He diverted all specific questions about his role in trying to save the four American on 9/11 and why they did not have adequate protection. Short of a Congressional Select Committee investigation we will never know why these four folks died so tragically. Fox seems obsessed with getting answers but it ain't going to happen so lets drop it.
On Petraus he was complimentary of the general and all he has done for the country and said he hopes he can work things out with his family. He dodged answering specific questions about when he knew about the affair and whether Justice or the FBI told him of the generals affair back in September. Again this is a minor scandal with no real national security implications and it will be swept under the carpet - probably where it belongs.
One interesting part of the news conference was when he got mad at Senators McCain and Graham because they said this morning that they will do all they can to block Susan Rice's nomination for Secretary of State. He defended her actions around Benghazi and said while he has not decided who he will nominate for the post that attacking her is "outrageous" and they will "have a problem with him".
I found this segment fascinating because he says Rice was only stating the intelligence she was given on the Sunday shows after Benghazi and had no involvement in any of it. He says she is assigned to the UN and should not be held responsible for anything to do with Benghazi. So why did he/the White house use her as the face of the administration on national TV shows right after the tragedy? If she had no involvement why would she be the spokesperson? Why not someone from State or the White House?
Then the news conference then seemed to focus on the fiscal issues. The President said that he wants a "balance approach" and a "big deal solution". When pressed for specifics he repeats for the millionth time that he wants the middle class tax breaks to stay in place and hit the rich. He said any deal that does not include tax rate increases on folks making over $250K will not be signed by him. When asked about closing some loopholes and deductions rather than an outright tax increases he said he did not think that was permanent enough and could easily be changed. He also repeated that the "math does not add up".
Did you know the president thinks folks who make over $250,000 a year "don't need the money" so we can tax them more? He actually said that today on national TV. Wow!
When he was pressed on spending cuts that could be made he again said we must fix the tax problem first. He said we could fix that today by just agreeing to holding taxes on the middle class and then on December 31st the rich will get nailed per the Fiscal Cliff arrangement. So in short he wants the revenue first then he will look at expenses. No company operates this way and we all know this means we will never see appropriate spending cuts.
He said he met with business leaders yesterday, he will meet with Americas largest company CEO's today and Congressional leaders by the end of the week. I am thrilled he is getting all this input but what is sad is that none of it has changed a single word in his battle cry yet - tax the rich!
I want a leader that has vision and economic savvy. My concern with Obama is that he seems to have neither. So we do as he asks and we tax the "rich" and small business. He then hits us with a slew of Obamacare taxes in addition and then the states pile on. So now we have the rich pinned down to massive overall tax rates (well over 50% in many States). With a projected budget deficit annually through 2016, how will we decrease the growing debt? He often says that the Republicans "math just doesn't add up", well I don't think his does either.
Look at our spending - Obamacare is so massive (now estimated to cost well over $1.7 trillion); still fighting/financing a war in Afghanistan; all the promises from the campaign to special interest groups; more money on Green energy and more on education. Where are we going save enough to dent the deficit? Someone please explain this math to me - it just does not add up!
I am a huge proponent of a strong working America (in Obama terms the middle class). I just could not find any details in the news conference today that inspired me to believing we have a plan to create jobs and drive economic growth. What am I missing? Seriously will some of my Democrat friends help me see the path to success?
Here is where we are today - so start from these economic realities and provide me some answers:
Where do we live? Canada? France? How can one get motivated to get out of bed in the morning knowing that more than half of everything you earn is gone to the government. Also what do you get for it? Under Obama and Browns rules people making over $250K are excluded from every tax break, subsidy or assistance program whether it be Federal or State. So in a nutshell you pay half your earnings to the government and get nothing in return other than knowing you are helping to support a slew of folks who need free programs. (I say nothing because while you do get roads, the armed services etc. these are given to all so perhaps it is better said - nothing additional for all these tax dollars).
So when I speak to college classes and they ask me how do you become successful I guess I will tell them go work for the government. Does anyone but me see the absolute idiocy of this? We cannot tax our way out of this crisis. We don't have enough rich folks to attack. I wish we did because I have no specific love for the rich - especially Wall Street types. We need a bigger tax base and less spending. THAT IS THE ONLY ANSWER!
So I spend an hour today getting more depressed about where our country is headed. More confused about the plan and more frustrated with our President whose indignant, flippant, attitude toward "rich" working Americans is palpable. I have said many times I don't care about politics - never have - but I do care deeply about economics. I have four kids and they all are entering the real working world and have to make a life for themselves. How do they proceed? What do I offer then as motivation about the future? What will their lives be like in 10 years with these economic policies?
All I can do is pray and suggest to all my kids that they get government jobs because that is all that will be growing for the foreseeable future. I think I will go to work the next time the President has a news conference. At least that way I will be distracted by being productive even if more than have of my earnings are going to folks I don't know. God Save America.
He made a surprisingly brief opening statement reiterating that the Fiscal Cliff is upon us and we can solve it as long as Congress does it his way. Then he started taking questions from the press.
I want to learn more so I listened carefully. A lot of questions were around Benghazi and the Petraus scandal. Sadly it is apparent we will never know the truth on either so we probably should just drop it. The President says there is a an investigation of Benghazi and we will find the killers and bring them to justice. He diverted all specific questions about his role in trying to save the four American on 9/11 and why they did not have adequate protection. Short of a Congressional Select Committee investigation we will never know why these four folks died so tragically. Fox seems obsessed with getting answers but it ain't going to happen so lets drop it.
On Petraus he was complimentary of the general and all he has done for the country and said he hopes he can work things out with his family. He dodged answering specific questions about when he knew about the affair and whether Justice or the FBI told him of the generals affair back in September. Again this is a minor scandal with no real national security implications and it will be swept under the carpet - probably where it belongs.
One interesting part of the news conference was when he got mad at Senators McCain and Graham because they said this morning that they will do all they can to block Susan Rice's nomination for Secretary of State. He defended her actions around Benghazi and said while he has not decided who he will nominate for the post that attacking her is "outrageous" and they will "have a problem with him".
I found this segment fascinating because he says Rice was only stating the intelligence she was given on the Sunday shows after Benghazi and had no involvement in any of it. He says she is assigned to the UN and should not be held responsible for anything to do with Benghazi. So why did he/the White house use her as the face of the administration on national TV shows right after the tragedy? If she had no involvement why would she be the spokesperson? Why not someone from State or the White House?
Then the news conference then seemed to focus on the fiscal issues. The President said that he wants a "balance approach" and a "big deal solution". When pressed for specifics he repeats for the millionth time that he wants the middle class tax breaks to stay in place and hit the rich. He said any deal that does not include tax rate increases on folks making over $250K will not be signed by him. When asked about closing some loopholes and deductions rather than an outright tax increases he said he did not think that was permanent enough and could easily be changed. He also repeated that the "math does not add up".
Did you know the president thinks folks who make over $250,000 a year "don't need the money" so we can tax them more? He actually said that today on national TV. Wow!
When he was pressed on spending cuts that could be made he again said we must fix the tax problem first. He said we could fix that today by just agreeing to holding taxes on the middle class and then on December 31st the rich will get nailed per the Fiscal Cliff arrangement. So in short he wants the revenue first then he will look at expenses. No company operates this way and we all know this means we will never see appropriate spending cuts.
He said he met with business leaders yesterday, he will meet with Americas largest company CEO's today and Congressional leaders by the end of the week. I am thrilled he is getting all this input but what is sad is that none of it has changed a single word in his battle cry yet - tax the rich!
I want a leader that has vision and economic savvy. My concern with Obama is that he seems to have neither. So we do as he asks and we tax the "rich" and small business. He then hits us with a slew of Obamacare taxes in addition and then the states pile on. So now we have the rich pinned down to massive overall tax rates (well over 50% in many States). With a projected budget deficit annually through 2016, how will we decrease the growing debt? He often says that the Republicans "math just doesn't add up", well I don't think his does either.
Look at our spending - Obamacare is so massive (now estimated to cost well over $1.7 trillion); still fighting/financing a war in Afghanistan; all the promises from the campaign to special interest groups; more money on Green energy and more on education. Where are we going save enough to dent the deficit? Someone please explain this math to me - it just does not add up!
I am a huge proponent of a strong working America (in Obama terms the middle class). I just could not find any details in the news conference today that inspired me to believing we have a plan to create jobs and drive economic growth. What am I missing? Seriously will some of my Democrat friends help me see the path to success?
Here is where we are today - so start from these economic realities and provide me some answers:
· 47 million on Food Stamps and growing
· Over 100 million on some form of means tested government
assistance
· 16 million out of work - 23 million underemployed or gave up
· 2012 GDP of 1.98%
· Housing prices still 40% off 2008 numbers
· Gas prices close to double 2008 rates
· A war that costs $124 billion per annum
· 4.3 million on welfare – 20% for over 5 years or more
· 55 million people on Medicaid – or 1/6 of America
· 5.6 million on unemployment and growing
· 47% of Americans paying no taxes
· A $1.7 trillion health reform plan to implement
· A huge immigration problem
· Multiple natural disasters to contend with
· A broken educational system
· $16 trillion in debt expected to be $20 trillion by 2016
· A deadlocked Congress
· Low consumer confidence –still around 70%
· A trade deficit at over $500 billion
· Tight lending policies
· Increasing business regulation – 43 new major regulations in
2011
- 25% increase in food prices since 2008
Where do we live? Canada? France? How can one get motivated to get out of bed in the morning knowing that more than half of everything you earn is gone to the government. Also what do you get for it? Under Obama and Browns rules people making over $250K are excluded from every tax break, subsidy or assistance program whether it be Federal or State. So in a nutshell you pay half your earnings to the government and get nothing in return other than knowing you are helping to support a slew of folks who need free programs. (I say nothing because while you do get roads, the armed services etc. these are given to all so perhaps it is better said - nothing additional for all these tax dollars).
So when I speak to college classes and they ask me how do you become successful I guess I will tell them go work for the government. Does anyone but me see the absolute idiocy of this? We cannot tax our way out of this crisis. We don't have enough rich folks to attack. I wish we did because I have no specific love for the rich - especially Wall Street types. We need a bigger tax base and less spending. THAT IS THE ONLY ANSWER!
So I spend an hour today getting more depressed about where our country is headed. More confused about the plan and more frustrated with our President whose indignant, flippant, attitude toward "rich" working Americans is palpable. I have said many times I don't care about politics - never have - but I do care deeply about economics. I have four kids and they all are entering the real working world and have to make a life for themselves. How do they proceed? What do I offer then as motivation about the future? What will their lives be like in 10 years with these economic policies?
All I can do is pray and suggest to all my kids that they get government jobs because that is all that will be growing for the foreseeable future. I think I will go to work the next time the President has a news conference. At least that way I will be distracted by being productive even if more than have of my earnings are going to folks I don't know. God Save America.