Obama: A Keynesian, Not a Communist
Gary North
February 15, 2013
- "It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you
will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your
enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do
not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single
battle." -- Sun Tzu
The President's State of the Union address was long: 11 pages, single-spaced.
It was standard stuff: a laundry list of Keynesian programs, few of which will get by the House of Representatives. It was an exercise in futility. Fortunately.
He began his laundry list with economic inequality, as a good Progressive always does. "But we gather here knowing that there are millions of Americans whose hard work and dedication have not yet been rewarded. Our economy is adding jobs -- but too many people still can't find full-time employment. Corporate profits have skyrocketed to all-time highs -- but for more than a decade, wages and incomes have barely budged."
He appealed to the middle class, as every politician does. "It is our generation's task, then, to reignite the true engine of America's economic growth -- a rising, thriving middle class. (Applause.)" This is where the votes are. Then came bipartisan platitudes:
- It is our unfinished task to restore the basic bargain that built
this country -- the idea that if you work hard and meet your
responsibilities, you can get ahead, no matter where you come from, no
matter what you look like, or who you love. It is our unfinished task to
make sure that this government works on behalf of the many, and not just
the few; that it encourages free enterprise, rewards individual
initiative, and opens the doors of opportunity to every child across this
great nation. (Applause.)
- The American people don't expect government to solve every problem.
They don't expect those of us in this chamber to agree on every issue.
But they do expect us to put the nation's interests before party.
(Applause.) They do expect us to forge reasonable compromise where we
can. For they know that America moves forward only when we do so
together, and that the responsibility of improving this union remains the
task of us all.
He talked about the federal deficit. He lied. He said they have reduced the deficit. "Over the last few years, both parties have worked together to reduce the deficit by more than $2.5 trillion -- mostly through spending cuts, but also by raising tax rates on the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans." Reduce the deficit? It runs $1 trillion a year. Nobody has done anything to reduce it. As for spending cuts, both parties are trying to get out of the sequestration cuts that will hit in March.
"As a result, we are more than halfway towards the goal of $4 trillion in deficit reduction that economists say we need to stabilize our finances." At $1 trillion a year, the crisis is inevitable.
But he wants out of the 2011 deal.
- In 2011, Congress passed a law saying that if both parties couldn't
agree on a plan to reach our deficit goal, about a trillion dollars'
worth of budget cuts would automatically go into effect this year. These
sudden, harsh, arbitrary cuts would jeopardize our military readiness.
They'd devastate priorities like education, and energy, and medical
research. They would certainly slow our recovery, and cost us hundreds of
thousands of jobs. That's why Democrats, Republicans, business leaders,
and economists have already said that these cuts, known here in
Washington as the sequester, are a really bad idea.
He correctly identified the #1 problem: Medicare.
- Yes, the biggest driver of our long-term debt is the rising cost of
health care for an aging population. And those of us who care deeply
about programs like Medicare must embrace the need for modest reforms --
otherwise, our retirement programs will crowd out the investments we need
for our children, and jeopardize the promise of a secure retirement for
future generations.
- But we can't ask senior citizens and working families to shoulder the
entire burden of deficit reduction while asking nothing more from the
wealthiest and the most powerful. (Applause.) We won't grow the middle
class simply by shifting the cost of health care or college onto families
that are already struggling, or by forcing communities to lay off more
teachers and more cops and more firefighters. Most Americans --
Democrats, Republicans, and independents -- understand that we can't just
cut our way to prosperity. They know that broad-based economic growth
requires a balanced approach to deficit reduction, with spending cuts and
revenue, and with everybody doing their fair share. And that's the
approach I offer tonight.
- On Medicare, I'm prepared to enact reforms that will achieve the same
amount of health care savings by the beginning of the next decade as the
reforms proposed by the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles commission. (Applause.)
- Already, the Affordable Care Act is helping to slow the growth of
health care costs. (Applause.) And the reforms I'm proposing go even
further. We'll reduce taxpayer subsidies to prescription drug companies
and ask more from the wealthiest seniors. (Applause.) We'll bring down
costs by changing the way our government pays for Medicare, because our
medical bills shouldn't be based on the number of tests ordered or days
spent in the hospital; they should be based on the quality of care that
our seniors receive. (Applause.) And I am open to additional reforms from
both parties, so long as they don't violate the guarantee of a secure
retirement. Our government shouldn't make promises we cannot keep -- but
we must keep the promises we've already made. (Applause.)
- To hit the rest of our deficit reduction target, we should do what
leaders in both parties have already suggested, and save hundreds of
billions of dollars by getting rid of tax loopholes and deductions for
the well-off and the well-connected. After all, why would we choose to
make deeper cuts to education and Medicare just to protect special
interest tax breaks? How is that fair? Why is it that deficit reduction
is a big emergency justifying making cuts in Social Security benefits but
not closing some loopholes? How does that promote growth? (Applause.)
The real deficit is $222 trillion. He never mentioned that. They never do.
Then he returned to that old favorite, a simplified tax code.
- Now is our best chance for bipartisan, comprehensive tax reform that
encourages job creation and helps bring down the deficit. (Applause.) We
can get this done. The American people deserve a tax code that helps
small businesses spend less time filling out complicated forms, and more
time expanding and hiring -- a tax code that ensures billionaires with
high-powered accountants can't work the system and pay a lower rate than
their hardworking secretaries; a tax code that lowers incentives to move
jobs overseas, and lowers tax rates for businesses and manufacturers that
are creating jobs right here in the United States of America. That's what
tax reform can deliver. That's what we can do together. (Applause.)
He called for bipartisanship. That means "do it my way."
- I realize that tax reform and entitlement reform will not be easy.
The politics will be hard for both sides. None of us will get 100 percent
of what we want. But the alternative will cost us jobs, hurt our economy,
visit hardship on millions of hardworking Americans. So let's set party
interests aside and work to pass a budget that replaces reckless cuts
with smart savings and wise investments in our future. And let's do it
without the brinksmanship that stresses consumers and scares off
investors. (Applause.) The greatest nation on Earth cannot keep
conducting its business by drifting from one manufactured crisis to the
next. (Applause.) We can't do it.
- Let's agree right here, right now to keep the people's government
open, and pay our bills on time, and always uphold the full faith and
credit of the United States of America. (Applause.) The American people
have worked too hard, for too long, rebuilding from one crisis to see
their elected officials cause another. (Applause.)
- But tonight, I'll lay out additional proposals that are fully paid
for and fully consistent with the budget framework both parties agreed to
just 18 months ago. Let me repeat -- nothing I'm proposing tonight should
increase our deficit by a single dime.
- It is not a bigger government we need, but a smarter government that
sets priorities and invests in broad-based growth. (Applause.) That's
what we should be looking for.
- Our first priority is making America a magnet for new jobs and
manufacturing. After shedding jobs for more than 10 years, our
manufacturers have added about 500,000 jobs over the past three.
Caterpillar is bringing jobs back from Japan. Ford is bringing jobs back
from Mexico. And this year, Apple will start making Macs in America
again. (Applause.)
Boondoggles!
- There are things we can do, right now, to accelerate this trend. Last
year, we created our first manufacturing innovation institute in
Youngstown, Ohio. A once-shuttered warehouse is now a state-of-the art
lab where new workers are mastering the 3D printing that has the
potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything. There's no
reason this can't happen in other towns. So tonight, I'm announcing the
launch of three more of these manufacturing hubs, where businesses will
partner with the Department of Defense and Energy to turn regions left
behind by globalization into global centers of high-tech jobs. And I ask
this Congress to help create a network of 15 of these hubs and guarantee
that the next revolution in manufacturing is made right here in America.
We can get that done. (Applause.)
- Now, if we want to make the best products, we also have to invest in
the best ideas. Every dollar we invested to map the human genome returned
$140 to our economy -- every dollar. Today, our scientists are mapping
the human brain to unlock the answers to Alzheimer's. They're developing
drugs to regenerate damaged organs; devising new material to make
batteries 10 times more powerful. Now is not the time to gut these
job-creating investments in science and innovation. Now is the time to
reach a level of research and development not seen since the height of
the Space Race. We need to make those investments. (Applause.)
The man is a Keynesian.
More boondoggles! More Solyndras!
- Today, no area holds more promise than our investments in American
energy. After years of talking about it, we're finally poised to control
our own energy future. We produce more oil at home than we have in 15
years. (Applause.)
- But for the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to
combat climate change. (Applause.) Now, it's true that no single event
makes a trend. But the fact is the 12 hottest years on record have all
come in the last 15. Heat waves, droughts, wildfires, floods -- all are
now more frequent and more intense. We can choose to believe that
Superstorm Sandy, and the most severe drought in decades, and the worst
wildfires some states have ever seen were all just a freak coincidence.
Or we can choose to believe in the overwhelming judgment of science --
and act before it's too late. (Applause.)
The man is a standard liberal. He is not a Communist.
He reached out to other liberals:
- Now, the good news is we can make meaningful progress on this issue
while driving strong economic growth. I urge this Congress to get
together, pursue a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change,
like the one John McCain and Joe Lieberman worked on together a few years
ago. But if Congress won't act soon to protect future generations, I
will. (Applause.)
- I will direct my Cabinet to come up with executive actions we can
take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities
for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more
sustainable sources of energy.
- Four years ago, other countries dominated the clean energy market and
the jobs that came with it. And we've begun to change that. Last year,
wind energy added nearly half of all new power capacity in America. So
let's generate even more. Solar energy gets cheaper by the year -- let's
drive down costs even further. As long as countries like China keep going
all in on clean energy, so must we.
We need more government-funded research.
- In fact, much of our new-found energy is drawn from lands and waters
that we, the public, own together. So tonight, I propose we use some of
our oil and gas revenues to fund an Energy Security Trust that will drive
new research and technology to shift our cars and trucks off oil for
good. If a nonpartisan coalition of CEOs and retired generals and
admirals can get behind this idea, then so can we. Let's take their
advice and free our families and businesses from the painful spikes in
gas prices we've put up with for far too long.
- I'm also issuing a new goal for America: Let's cut in half the energy
wasted by our homes and businesses over the next 20 years. (Applause.)
We'll work with the states to do it. Those states with the best ideas to
create jobs and lower energy bills by constructing more efficient
buildings will receive federal support to help make that happen.
- America's energy sector is just one part of an aging infrastructure
badly in need of repair. Ask any CEO where they'd rather locate and hire
-- a country with deteriorating roads and bridges, or one with high-speed
rail and Internet; high-tech schools, self-healing power grids.
- So tonight, I propose a "Fix-It-First" program to put
people to work as soon as possible on our most urgent repairs, like the
nearly 70,000 structurally deficient bridges across the country.
(Applause.) And to make sure taxpayers don't shoulder the whole burden,
I'm also proposing a Partnership to Rebuild America that attracts private
capital to upgrade what our businesses need most: modern ports to move
our goods, modern pipelines to withstand a storm, modern schools worthy
of our children. (Applause.) Let's prove that there's no better place to
do business than here in the United States of America, and let's start
right away. We can get this done.
- Right now, there's a bill in this Congress that would give every
responsible homeowner in America the chance to save $3,000 a year by
refinancing at today's rates. Democrats and Republicans have supported it
before, so what are we waiting for? Take a vote, and send me that bill.
(Applause.) Why would we be against that? (Applause.) Why would that be a
partisan issue, helping folks refinance? Right now, overlapping
regulations keep responsible young families from buying their first home.
What's holding us back? Let's streamline the process, and help our
economy grow.
The man is a Keynesian.
We need federal day cares.
- And that has to start at the earliest possible age. Study after study
shows that the sooner a child begins learning, the better he or she does
down the road. But today, fewer than 3 in 10 four year-olds are enrolled
in a high-quality preschool program. Most middle-class parents can't
afford a few hundred bucks a week for a private preschool. And for poor
kids who need help the most, this lack of access to preschool education
can shadow them for the rest of their lives. So tonight, I propose
working with states to make high-quality preschool available to every
single child in America. (Applause.) That's something we should be able
to do.
He gave us statistics . . . but no evidence.
- Every dollar we invest in high-quality early childhood education can
save more than seven dollars later on -- by boosting graduation rates,
reducing teen pregnancy, even reducing violent crime. In states that make
it a priority to educate our youngest children, like Georgia or Oklahoma,
studies show students grow up more likely to read and do math at grade
level, graduate high school, hold a job, form more stable families of
their own. We know this works. So let's do what works and make sure none
of our children start the race of life already behind. Let's give our
kids that chance. (Applause.)
- Tonight, I'm announcing a new challenge to redesign America's high
schools so they better equip graduates for the demands of a high-tech
economy. And we'll reward schools that develop new partnerships with
colleges and employers, and create classes that focus on science,
technology, engineering and math -- the skills today's employers are
looking for to fill the jobs that are there right now and will be there
in the future.
We need Joe Biden's 20-year-old law to stop violence against women. He said: "Good job, Joe."
We need wage controls, too. "And I ask this Congress to declare that women should earn a living equal to their efforts, and finally pass the Paycheck Fairness Act this year. (Applause.)"
The man is a Keynesian.
We need a higher minimum wage. Government can do it. The free market can't.
- We know our economy is stronger when we reward an honest day's work
with honest wages. But today, a full-time worker making the minimum wage
earns $14,500 a year. Even with the tax relief we put in place, a family
with two kids that earns the minimum wage still lives below the poverty
line. That's wrong. That's why, since the last time this Congress raised
the minimum wage, 19 states have chosen to bump theirs even higher.
Tonight, let's declare that in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who
works full-time should have to live in poverty, and raise the federal
minimum wage to $9.00 an hour. (Applause.) We should be able to get that
done. (Applause.)
- So here's an idea that Governor Romney and I actually agreed on last
year -- let's tie the minimum wage to the cost of living, so that it
finally becomes a wage you can live on. (Applause.)
We need bailouts for cities.
- Let's offer incentives to companies that hire Americans who've got
what it takes to fill that job opening, but have been out of work so long
that no one will give them a chance anymore. Let's put people back to
work rebuilding vacant homes in run-down neighborhoods. And this year, my
administration will begin to partner with 20 of the hardest-hit towns in
America to get these communities back on their feet. We'll work with
local leaders to target resources at public safety, and education, and
housing.
- Stronger families. Stronger communities. A stronger America. It is
this kind of prosperity -- broad, shared, built on a thriving middle
class -- that has always been the source of our progress at home. It's
also the foundation of our power and influence throughout the world.
The man is a Keynesian. He is a front man for the Council on Foreign Relations. Nothing new here.
There never is.
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