Mr. Speaker: The President of Fantasyland

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Christopher Curran
Posted 1/28/15

The 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, recited his sixth State of the Union Address this past week. In doing so, he stretched the truth of his administration’s record. Also, he …

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Mr. Speaker: The President of Fantasyland

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The 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, recited his sixth State of the Union Address this past week. In doing so, he stretched the truth of his administration’s record. Also, he presented far-reaching proposals that are in many ways untenable and impracticable. Additionally, he artfully insulted his congressional opponents interwoven in a speech, which was ultimately an attempt at personal vindication. The America that he described has been uplifted by his efforts as chief executive. However, after six years in office, the country as it exists in reality is still waiting to see his original campaign promises of positive “hope and change” come to fruition.

With a great expression of pride, President Obama spoke of the rebounds in the American economy since he has occupied the office. He stated: “The shadow of crisis has passed and the State of the Union is strong.” To support this assertion he spoke about the unemployment rate improvement. While it is true that the national unemployment rate has decreased from 9.8 percent in the fall of 2009 to 5.4 percent currently, this statistic has some unavoidable outliers, which negate its validity. The size of the labor force has shrunk dramatically over the last six years. The labor force participation rate has plummeted to 62.7 percent. When one considers the underemployed and those who have given up job searching altogether, the actual unemployment rate is more accurately around 11.2 percent according to academic statisticians.

Also, the median family income in the United States between 2009 and 2013 has decreased 4 percent, while Canada has seen an increase of 3 percent and the United Kingdom had seen an increase of 1.5 percent in the same time period. Thus, even though the United States economy has created a greater number of jobs since 2009, the jobs created pay less. Also, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, more children are below the poverty line than ever before, more people are on food stamps (EBT) than ever before, and more people are on public assistance than ever before.

Mr. Obama also heralded the drop in gasoline prices stating: “the typical family should save $750 at the pump (yearly).” Why the president presented this market driven factoid is puzzling. Considering the fact that these lower prices are directly related to the fuel recovery technique known as “fracking,” which Obama has long been against for environmental reasons, claiming these lower prices as his accomplishment is ludicrous.

The president also took a victory lap regarding his questionable and inconsistent foreign policy. He asserted: “Tonight for the first time since 9/11 our combat mission in Afghanistan is over.” Well maybe. We still have 15,000 military advisers in that sorrowful country. They are there to train the Afghan National Security Forces. Bullets are still flying where are advisers are working. Al Qaida is regaining strength there since our extraction of ground troops and our participation in the future may have to necessarily change. Just late last year, Obama ordered the use of air strikes in Afghanistan as needed for counter terrorism.

In regard to the debacle in Syria the president put a surrealistic spin on the Syrian reality. Obama stated: “We’re also supporting a moderate opposition in Syria that can help us in this effort, and assisting people everywhere who stand up to the bankrupt ideology of violent extremism.” Of course, the supposed “moderates” of today may be the extremists of tomorrow. The administration’s policy towards the Syrian Civil War and President Bashar al-Assad has been inconsistent and mercurial. After Obama’s “Line in the Sand” was marched over by the Syrian government, the president reneged on his promise to the Syrian opposition. Perhaps believing in the old adage “Better late than never,” now he intends to deploy one thousand United States military trainers this month to Qatar, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia to educate Syrian opposition fighters and then equip them. Whether this plan of action will save face for Obama, or for that matter have a remote chance of being successful is to say the least questionable. Currently, the Western Region of the country is held by Assad’s forces, the Eastern Region is held by ISIL, the much smaller North Eastern Region are held by the Syrian opposition and the smaller still North Western Region is held by the Curds. With several countries involved in support of differing combatants from all sides, to assert that America’s long awaited support of the moderate Syrian opposition will accomplish anything is presumptuous.

Relatively, the president also claimed that “U.S. leadership is stopping ISIL’s advance.” Supportive air strikes can only do so much without a residual forces agreement with Iraq, which the president failed to secure. With any American ground presence in Iraq, it is likely ISIL will eventually prevail. Considering that ISIL holds half of both Iraq and Syria already, and has secured more Iraqi towns than ever before, the statement regarding US leadership in this area seems equally ridiculous.

The president also brought to the floor of the House of Representatives a shopping cart full of financially impossible proposals. He wants to make child care more affordable by granting a $3,000 tax cut per child, which would triple the existing deduction. He wants to extend paid sick leave for workers. He wants to pass laws that strengthen unions, although Right to Work states have seen a boon in American manufacturing. He wants to grant free tuition Community College for all. This would be funded on a 75 percent federal and 25 percent state basis. State governors, including our own Gina Riamondo, have said funding the quarter contribution to the equation considering current budget constraints would be difficult if not impossible. Additionally, Obama wants to raise the national minimum wage, which historically has always increased the unemployment rate.

These are all nice dreamlike socialist notions if the federal government were swimming in revenue. However, the national debt has surpassed $17 Trillion and is escalating. This president has incurred a greater legacy of debt for future generations of American taxpayers than any other president in history. There isn’t even enough money to fix our decaying infrastructure, to properly care for our returning veterans, to upgrade schools and to repair public hospitals. Before we can dream a utopian fantasy Mr. Obama, how about resolving our most basic of problems first?

In regard to Islamic zealotry in the massacre at the French publication Charlie Hebdo, Obama was again an apologist for Muslims. “It is why we continue to reject offensive stereotypes of Muslims-the vast majority of whom share our commitment to peace.” Are you familiar with ISIS/ISIL or the Arab Brotherhood or various Jihadists groups Mr. President? Without question there are practicing Muslims who wish no harm to others who do not share their beliefs, yet there are millions of Islamic Zealots who do not tolerate anyone who does not embrace and espouse Islam. To continually dismiss violent senseless killing on a grand scale as miscellaneous crimes perpetrated by a few bad apples is foolish and unrealistic. Wake up Mr. President. Your weakness in understanding this reality has molded your failed foreign policy.

For some obscure reason, the president spent an inordinate amount of time on wind power. He boasted that America was number one in wind. Perhaps when one considers the self-aggrandizing windbag politicians on capital hill that is correct. According to the National Wind Energy Association, it is true that the United States produced 167 billion kilowatt hours of energy in 2013 whereas the number two producer, China, only produced 138 billion kilowatt hours of energy. This over dramatized example of superiority amounted to 32/100 of 1 percent of electric energy used in our country. Also, China has widespread plans to build wind farms expansively especially in rural areas over the next five years. In other words, China will well surpass us in this sort of energy production in short order.

The president also spoke of his signature achievement the Affordable Care Act. He claimed that ten million uninsured Americans now have health care coverage thanks to his efforts through health exchanges or Medicaid. According to the New England Journal of Medicine that assertion is correct. However, what the president did not talk about was the added costs to small businesses that are suffering because of this law. Nor, did he speak of the number of workers who are now working less than 30 hours so their employers will not get saddled with the additional expense. Neither did he refer to his previously spouted falsehood when he was selling the legislation that “if you like your doctor, you can keep him.” Nor, did he talk about the increased deductibles and limited choices of plans at the exchanges. Simply, he did not inform anyone that the middle class he claims to want to uplift is burdened with higher medical insurance expenses. All in order to provide for the lower class insured who pay very little for coverage.

Throughout his soliloquy, one could sense his disdain for the congress he was addressing. Jibes like “this is good news people” and “you know I am not running again” and “I will just veto it” show a belittling undercurrent of enmity for the House. Such condescension is counterproductive when it comes to actually addressing the needs of the citizens. The executive branch and the legislative branch should ideally seek compromise through constructive deliberation. The alternative is the stagnancy we have been enduring within the Washington Beltway for the last four years.

All presidents and for that matter all politicians embellish, exaggerate, and sometimes fictionalize their accomplishments. Mr. Obama’s talent for stretching realities, as displayed in the State of the Union address, had certainly been exhibited. No matter how earnest his fantasy like wishes for our nation may be, his ability to execute in an efficacious fashion any positive plans has been found lacking. A dose of reality is warranted. The president needs to stop dreaming about a socialist America where he has equalized the wealth of the nation’s citizens regardless of one’s determination, drive or capaciousness. Instead, he needs to attend to repairing our nation’s foundation. He can use his last two years to actually accomplish something for our citizens, or he can continue to inflate his achievements and propose the undoable. If he does not come to grips with reality, then he will leave office still the President of Fantasyland!

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