I think the Pres. had one of his better public speaking nights. Especially in light of the news clip I just finished watching on the news of a Q&A session after a speech he made earlier today. Of course, his oratory skills have always been....well....rough lets say. Very few verbal mistakes last night and he looked very confident.
I thought some of his domestic energy policy was a little sketchy. I fully understand the need for a reduction of foreign POL's. I am not so certain E85 is the way to go; Good for the environment: Bad for economics. My experience with E85 has been: fuel economy goes to crap and I paid 25-30 cents per gallon more for E85 than what I could buy UL89 for. As I understand it, Ethanol production is pretty pricey and therefore higher gas prices when buying blended fuels. Until technology produces a cheaper process for making and blending Ethanol with petrol, the economics don't make sense to me. Of course forcing industry to comply with heavy-handed Federal laws sometimes produces results and maybe this would be one of those situations. And what ever happened to increasing domestic POL production?
On the topic of healthcare reform; I think the Pres. has a decent plan. I have heard folks all day debating the merits of changing the tax laws for/against a "Healthcare Credit."
Most of the folks who didn't like the idea drug out the tired argument of "what about the poor and the old?" My thoughts: Medicare/Medicaid were designed for those less fortunate, to include the old.
-Soapbox- I think those posing that question need to examine a larger problem: Why has our society gotten to the point where it is ok for total strangers to take care of other peolpes' family members? There
is a time and place for this, but it's not during a legislative session. Those sitting in the Ivory Tower inside the beltway need to understand that. I don't have any siblings, but if my/or my wifes parents ever fell tragically ill with a life-altering disease, we would take the burden of caring for them in thier time of need as they did for us as defenseless children. We owe them that much, and when the financial burden gets too tough we are willing to re-evaluate the luxuries we share, make the cuts necessary to minimally sustain, and move on. But I could not justify in my own conscience that I live in a 4,000 sq ' home with 4.5 automobiles, a private plane, and fat bank roll and ask the middle class to pay for my familiy members' medical bills.
-off of the SB-
Those
for the idea genarally understood that even being part of a HMO merely defrays the cost for medical treatment and will not cover everything. Some "model" employer medical plans cover everything, and some do not. For those small business employers that can't afford to offer a premium health/retirement plan, this concept would enable them to keep good employees without fear of losing them because of medical benefits. Being able to put money into a "health savings plan" or invest in a good health care plan without being taxed (up to $15k) would provide them with a dedicated way to save in the event of the "big one" or buy adequate services to meet thier needs. The concept goes right along with optional retirement/investment plans, similar to a 401K. I like the concept, but I'd like to see more to better understand it.
The Pres's foriegn policy. I thought he stopped shy of saying what really needed to be said. I think he re-presented some of the GWOT & OIF cases and attempted to sure them up, but didn't really make a compelling argument to the genaral public why we need to hand Abu his ass. It kind of sounded like the S-o-t-S address from '05 and '06. He doesn't need to sell those who already get it, but he needs to convince those who oppose his war policies. I know that's a hard sell to those who won't fight for thier own security and survival.
All in all, I thought the President had a decent night.
Just my .01...I lost my other .01 in this terrible economy
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