Obama's Speech: The National Debt

Today, Obama gave a speech detailing his approach to balancing the national budget and paying the national debt. As usual, his speech was optimistic and inspiring; the type of speech Republicans should be keenly aware of when considering candidates for President in 2012.

Obama embraced the goal of the Republican House of Representatives to cut the national debt by 4 trillion dollars in the next decade. He did not embrace the Republican method of reducing the national debt. He spoke about eliminating tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% of US citizens. Some people and some politicians have claimed that this constitutes a tax increase on everyone earning $250000 or more; but I seriously question their implied statistics as well as the accuracy of their statements. If only 2 % of the people are earning over $250000 per year, we are a mighty poor nation. Furthermore, Obama referred to millionaires; people who are earning over a million dollars a year. Not people who are earning over $250000 per year.

Obama stated flatly that he would veto any budget plan that unfairly placed the burden of the national debt on those who could least afford to pay it. He called for a fair debt reduction plan that cuts all areas of government spending and does not destroy the entitlement programs.

Obama is against drastic cuts in some areas of the budget while leaving other areas of the budget untouched. He did not propose any tax increases other than those for millionaires. He spoke about not eliminating essential government functions like the Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, college scholarship programs, research and development grants, etc. He pointed out how the Republican budget cuts many programs that have helped our nation become the great nation it is today.

He spoke about how we failed to pay for the war on terror and how we failed to pay for the tax cuts and for the drug prescription program that has become part D of Medicare. He spoke about the emergency steps taken to recover from the deep recession of 2008.

He said that even after the debt is resolved, our government will still be spending more than it receives. It means we will continue borrowing money from China and by the end of the decade, the interest we owe on the debt will be one trillion dollars.

He stated that any serious plan to tackle the national debt will have to cut all government spending; not just targeted areas like entitlement programs. He stated that the Republican Medicare plan would leave an additional 50 million Americans without health care by the end of the decade (due to Ryan's reform of the current Medicare program.) And he re-affirmed his commitment to protecting the elderly and the poor from bearing the brunt of the burden of the National Debt. He said that he will not sacrifice the core investments needed for economic growth.

He spoke about improving Medicare rather then destroying it, improving the health care law instead of destroying it and lowering the cost of health care and prescription drugs. He said he will appoint a committee to study ways of reducing unnecessary spending while protecting the programs our elderly depend on. He said we should not leave our people to the whims of the stock market by via changes in Social Security. He said he will not extend tax cuts for millionaires again.

He again called on Congress to reform the individual tax code and the corporate tax code. He ended the speech by stating that he believed we could achieve our goal of reducing the national debt.