I appreciated how at least two reporters last night asked Obama about this. His answer each time was very long (usually starting with "Let me make two points"), attempted to justify the spending (e.g., healthcare is really important, we need to spend) and then each time (the most telling part) he made reference to "this being harder than you'd think" or "not easy" (paraphrases). Wondering if the President is seeing the tension between fiscal responsibility and taking on all the things he wants the Government to do. Everything is clear when you're campaigning, not so clear when you're in the hot seat.
Bush squandered his spending...on a devastating war of choice, on tax cuts that primarily benefited the wealthy, etc...he had no plan.
Obama has a plan; this money will be invested in areas that have been neglected for far too long: energy, education, and health care.
Pres Obama has spoken many times about how hard choices will be coming...but for now we need to dig ourselves out of the holes we have dug.
Will it work? Who knows at this point. But right now we need to stimulate the economy...we also need to solve the health care issue, get energy independent, and ground our economy in a good education system.
If we fail on any of those fronts, we risk another huge problem. Think of health care costs alone. The rise of health care costs, esp. as the baby boomer generation ages, threatens to generate another crisis. As a nation we spend more on healthcare than any other nation, and get less results. It's atrocious that a nation as rich as we are has as many people uninsured. It's an untenable situation.
Think about energy...how much longer can we afford to be dependent on foreign oil?
Sure, Pres Obama has inherited a huge set of problems, but given that no one else has any other good ideas, what's to be done?
Indeed, it's that lack of alternative ideas among the critics that stands out in my mind.
As they say in business...don't just come to me with a criticism, come to me with a solution or an alternative idea. So far all I hear is criticism.
"Will it work? Who knows at this point. But right now we need to stimulate the economy...we also need to solve the health care issue, get energy independent, and ground our economy in a good education system."
You mentioned that there are a lot of problems, but that no one else has any other good ideas. I think that's because a lot of of the other ideas don't answer your above quote on its own terms.
Who exactly the "we" in your quote is is the key. If the question is "What should the Government do to fix all these things?", then by and large, the answer should be, "Get out of the way." If we are approaching these issues assuming the Government can solve these problems for us, then our answers will often be along the lines of increasing the power of Government and spending more.
Your initial response of "The big difference is how it is spent" summed up perfectly President Obama's responses to his spending last night. It's a lot, but in his mind, because of what it is being spent on, it is justified.
3 comments:
I appreciated how at least two reporters last night asked Obama about this. His answer each time was very long (usually starting with "Let me make two points"), attempted to justify the spending (e.g., healthcare is really important, we need to spend) and then each time (the most telling part) he made reference to "this being harder than you'd think" or "not easy" (paraphrases). Wondering if the President is seeing the tension between fiscal responsibility and taking on all the things he wants the Government to do. Everything is clear when you're campaigning, not so clear when you're in the hot seat.
The difference is how it is spent.
Bush squandered his spending...on a devastating war of choice, on tax cuts that primarily benefited the wealthy, etc...he had no plan.
Obama has a plan; this money will be invested in areas that have been neglected for far too long: energy, education, and health care.
Pres Obama has spoken many times about how hard choices will be coming...but for now we need to dig ourselves out of the holes we have dug.
Will it work? Who knows at this point. But right now we need to stimulate the economy...we also need to solve the health care issue, get energy independent, and ground our economy in a good education system.
If we fail on any of those fronts, we risk another huge problem. Think of health care costs alone. The rise of health care costs, esp. as the baby boomer generation ages, threatens to generate another crisis. As a nation we spend more on healthcare than any other nation, and get less results. It's atrocious that a nation as rich as we are has as many people uninsured. It's an untenable situation.
Think about energy...how much longer can we afford to be dependent on foreign oil?
Sure, Pres Obama has inherited a huge set of problems, but given that no one else has any other good ideas, what's to be done?
Indeed, it's that lack of alternative ideas among the critics that stands out in my mind.
As they say in business...don't just come to me with a criticism, come to me with a solution or an alternative idea. So far all I hear is criticism.
"Will it work? Who knows at this point. But right now we need to stimulate the economy...we also need to solve the health care issue, get energy independent, and ground our economy in a good education system."
You mentioned that there are a lot of problems, but that no one else has any other good ideas. I think that's because a lot of of the other ideas don't answer your above quote on its own terms.
Who exactly the "we" in your quote is is the key. If the question is "What should the Government do to fix all these things?", then by and large, the answer should be, "Get out of the way." If we are approaching these issues assuming the Government can solve these problems for us, then our answers will often be along the lines of increasing the power of Government and spending more.
Your initial response of "The big difference is how it is spent" summed up perfectly President Obama's responses to his spending last night. It's a lot, but in his mind, because of what it is being spent on, it is justified.
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