State of the Union
I just watched the State of the Union Address. My verdict? Well, I have to admit, the first half was pretty good. President Obama actually seemed moderate and reasonable. I like his idea to reward companies that hire new workers or raise wages and to eliminate the capital gains tax on small businesses.
But the second half of his speech…not so great in my opinion. One thing that I strongly disagree with is Obama’s idea to double the child tax credit. Child tax credits are unfair and discriminatory. Why give tax breaks only to people who have children? It would be a lot simpler and fairer to just reduce the federal income tax, since that would help everyone, both people who have children and people who don’t.
Although he started off with a strong emphasis on jobs and the economy, I knew that Obama would eventually mention health reform. I have written a lot about health insurance on this blog, so you probably know that I’m no fan of Obama’s reform plan. He spoke a lot tonight about the rights of people who can’t afford insurance or are denied it because of pre-existing conditions, but I wish he would pay more attention to individuals’ rights to decide how they want to spend their own money, a right that would be violated by the individual mandate to purchase health insurance, which is part of the “reform” plan that Obama supports.
And while Obama’s idea of a three-year freeze on the federal budget sounds like a step in the right direction, it cracked me up when he said something to the effect of, “spending on national security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will not be affected.” Those four things are most of the federal budget!
On a side note, Biden’s facial expressions were too funny, nodding solemnly at everything Obama said. It was hilarious when he broke into a huge grin and started laughing. I also loved how all the Republicans laughed when Obama said that the budget freeze won’t go into affect until next year because of the recession (“that’s how budgeting works!”).
Obama invited anyone who has a better health reform idea to share it with him. I have one, which I have mentioned before in bits and pieces but have never explained all together in one essay. Soon I will do just that. Maybe I’ll even send it to Obama, too!