If I Were the President of the United States

Photo by Andrew Milner

As the first African-American president in United States history, President Barack Obama bears a considerable amount of weight upon his shoulders. During the 2008 election campaign, then presidential candidate Obama promised a change in the federal government, a change that would be comprised of responsible decisions and ethical behavior. Presidential candidate Obama promised the American people that he would create jobs, save our economy, and provide health care and eco-friendly energy for all. Millions of people fell in love with his delivery instead of his message and were unable to see through the rhetoric and truly understand how far to the left his political ideology resides. Currently, millions of Americans remain out of work, our economy has grown stronger but our federal spending is completely out of control, and President Obama has chosen to focus on landmark legislation rather than America’s legitimate issues. His leadership at home has been mediocre and his foreign policy, well, his foreign policy has been relatively non-existant and when he has made an attempt, his efforts have been elementary at best. If I were the President of the United States, I would be leading this country differently.

If I were elected President of the United States, I would give a primetime speech broadcast over all of the major networks on the night following my inauguration. It would go something like this:

Good evening. I come to you following an exciting day of great joy and happiness for my family and for this country. Tonight, I wish to discuss our current situation and present to you my plan for our nation’s future. Difficult times tend to require difficult measures and I must warn you, some things I say tonight may be painful to hear but at a time when the survival and future prosperity of our nation is at stake, it is my duty to lead, and I intend to do so.

The United States of America is the most free and prosperous nation on planet Earth. We are quite lucky to have our remarkable Constitution, and the principles set forth by our founding fathers have facilitated our progression and paved the way for the life we enjoy today. Unfortunately, many of us seem to have forgotten the lessons of the founding of our great nation and the ideals of our forefathers.

For the last sixty-six years, the United States has been at the forefront of technology and renowned as the world’s leader in industry and innovation. Sadly, many Americans have taken it upon themselves to contribute as little to our society as possible and we have begun to experience the repercussions. A country created on the backs of a hard-working, dedicated nation of people is a country that will continue to thrive and progress. As former president John F. Kennedy stated, America was not founded on the premise of the people asking what the country can do for them. America was founded by people asking what they could do for their country. Unfortunately, many of you are not living up to your civic duties and have chosen a lifestyle of dependence.

Throughout our history, our citizens have fought to overcome oppression. From our revolution against the British, to the Civil War over state’s rights that led to the abolishment of slavery, to women’s suffrage and women’s rights, and to the Civil Rights movement and the acceptance of all people of color into our society. Martin Luther King, Jr. said “We shall overcome,” and we have throughout our existence as a sovereign nation. Until now. Now, ladies and gentlemen, we have developed a dependence on government; a dependence that has caused our spending to spiral out of control while our output remains stagnant at best. There can be no protection from government if everyone must rely on the government to survive. America was not meant to be this way!

My fellow Americans, we can and must rise up and overcome the lazy attitude we have incorporated into our daily lives. If your current job is not paying you enough to pay the bills and support your family, apply for a second job. If you are one of the nine percent of our population that is currently unemployed, you should be treating your job search as if you were working a full-time job. It is your duty to your family and loved ones to do what it takes to help keep them happy and healthy. Unfortunately, many have chosen the easy path and are relying on the federal government to keep them afloat. Consequentially, our government is unable to pay its bills because of our fluid dispersement of capital in the form of entitlements. State and federal unemployment benefits are straining our budgets as we attempt to provide the means necessary for you to feed your families. Many of you have been on unemployment for months and years and continuing to request it is irresponsible; although we are doing our best to provide some relief, this practice is unsustainable. I encourage each and every one of you, who is between jobs, to apply for any job you come across that relates to your abilities and knowledge. There is no such thing as a job that is not good enough for you. Again, if you apply and are hired to a job that will not meet your monetary requirements, apply to a second job to fill in the gap. Such practices in hard work will earn you a better position, as such is the American dream.

Welfare, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are all programs provided by the federal government that are currently bankrupting the United States. Social Security and Welfare were never intended to be the major entitlements they are today. Social Security was designed to only pay out for one to three years, but with Americans living longer, the government is providing retirement assistance for five to ten years longer than its original intent. As the Baby Boom generation continues to retire and as millions of Americans reach the age of 65, we will be unable to pay for everyone to receive payment each month. I will immediately begin working with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to raise the age of benefit to 68 and eliminate payments to the independently wealthy who do not require government assistance during their retirement.

With regard to our Welfare program, the original intent was to provide temporary assistance to those in desperate need during the Great Depression. Although payments have steadily declined over the past 80 years, our government is still spending billions of dollars each year on assisted living. I harbor no objections to individuals or families who are truly struggling to obtain food and shelter with their income and I will continue to encourage Congress to fund the program for you. However, a great number of people who receive these benefits are undeserving of them; these people are willing to take handouts rather than contribute to society through hard work. I will be working with Congress to draft legislation that will effectively eliminate Welfare fraud. A return to personal responsibility is imperative to our future survival.

Medicare and Medicaid make up one-sixth of our annual budget. Unfortunately, my predecessor decided to add $1 trillion dollars to our national debt by introducing and signing into law the Health Care Reform Bill. Instead of correcting the problem and making health care more affordable for Americans, we now have a bureaucratic mess that is crushing us financially. At a time when we should be focusing on cutting federal spending and bringing down our national debt, we are forced to focus on repealing the health care law, fore the negatives far outweigh the positives. I believe we need a plan that will utilize the beneficial parts of the Health Care Reform Bill, such as the elimination of pre-existing conditions and allowing children to remain on their parent’s health plan until the age of 26, while helping ordinary Americans receive the best care available. I am willing to entertain suggestions from Congressional Democrats and Republicans on legislation that will maintain the Medicaid benefits that currently help so many people in need, so long as they are citizens of the United States and truly qualify.

We will also do our best to eliminate governmental waste, fraud, and programs that unnecessarily overlap different jurisdictions and departments. I plan on exploring the possibility of reducing the role of the Department of Education, as the billions of dollars allocated to them is doing nothing to help our education system. Our state government’s provide the funding for our schools and the issues with our children’s education, or lack thereof, is due to unsupportive parents and teachers who are unable to effectively find ways to educate. The majority of our education problems begin in the home. Parents, I urge you to begin to take a greater responsibility with regard to your child’s education. Going over homework, aiding in their study for quizzes and exams, and the simple act of encouraging them to set goals and reach for the top are all part of being a parent. We currently have a major breakdown at home that is translating into poor performance and behavioral issues at school. This is unacceptable and we can do better.

America, we are at a difficult point in our history. The key to our future begins with a renewal of personal responsibility and an observance of thrifty principles within our government. We have never been a people to give up in the face of adversity. We must rise up as a nation and confront the issues of our day. If we continue down this path of irresponsible behavior, we will have given up on the American dream. I can not and will not allow this to happen. Ladies and gentlemen, I will be here for you; now you be here for your country.

I leave you, tonight, with a quote from our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln:

“You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down… You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away people’s initiative and independence. You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.”

Good night and thank you for spending a few moments of your time with me.

The Pied Piper of America- How President Obama’s 2012 Budget Will Lead Us Down a Path of No Return

Once upon a time, in a land where all men and women had the opportunity to live a free and prosperous life, there was a president by the name of Barack Obama who came to power at a time of great economic peril. The citizens had grown weary of George Bush II and were mesmerized by the prospects of hope and change spoken by Mr. Obama as he traveled from the shores of the great Atlantic to the mighty waters of the Pacific and everywhere in between. Mr. Obama promised employment for all, health care for the poor, and vowed to lower the levels of the oceans and re-freeze glaciers. As if a magnanimous magician had swept the people off of their feet, his victory was sealed. Two years, 9% unemployment and a couple trillion dollars spent on health care and Wall Street reform later, the debt owed by this land amounts to $14 trillion and our glaciers are still melting. The people have spoken out against this fiscal irresponsibility by electing representatives of the opposition party to cut federal spending. In a time when entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid should be reduced, President Obama has unveiled his $3.7 trillion budget for fiscal year 2012, neglecting to address any of our most pertinent financial issues. This land, formally known as America, has transformed into Hamelin. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you President Barack Obama, our very own Pied Piper.

The United States is in a legitimate financial crisis. Quite frankly, we are on the verge of collapse. If our government were a private business, it would have filed for bankruptcy years ago. Our current level of spending is unsustainable and President Obama’s feeble attempt at cutting costs is laughable. Granted, his 2012 budget will reduce the deficit from $1.6 trillion to $1.1 trillion – but is that really enough? Absolutely not. This is a time when our legislators need to make some really tough decisions, namely cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. The Department of Education should also be the recipient of major cuts. I am not even sure what that department does on a day-to-day basis. I am referring to legitimate spending cuts, not a superficial trim of the top layer of government waste that has piled up over the last decade. It seems the Democrats have collectively decided to use smear tactics to attack Republicans instead of addressing our financial problems.

Speaker of the House John Boehner held a press conference on Monday concerning the 2012 budget and made these remarks (please watch this short clip- very important to the remainder of the article):

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7352467n

Former Speaker of the House and Democratic Representative from California Nancy Pelosi immediately released a statement denouncing Speaker Boehner for his “lack of caring for American jobs.”

MSNBC political blowhard Chris Matthews referred to Speaker Boehner’s comment as something akin to that of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh:

Did any of you notice the careful editing of Speaker Boehner’s statement and how Chis Matthews decided to focus more on “so be it” than the “we are broke” part? There can only be one explanation for this behavior: Democrats truly believe in a nanny state in which the government spends vast amounts of capital without taking into account any financial repercussions. This is typical of Democrats. Hold rallies leading up to the election and talk about reigning in government spending and then turn around and attack Republicans for attempting to make it a reality. This is truly despicable behavior and it provides definitive proof of the disconnect between Democratic lawmakers and the American people.

So what has driven President Obama to propose a budget that expands the government and the national debt when the American people and many lawmakers are calling for dramatic spending cuts? The 2012 presidential election. Obama knows that the necessary cuts will upset recipients of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and he will lose votes and quite possibly the election. Think about it for a second. Take his comments today in which he claimed that this budget will “put us on a path to pay for what we spend by the middle of the decade.” Translation: listen to my promises and re-elect me and we will take hold of our spending problem during my second term when you cannot vote me out of office. President Obama is dooming my generation, my children’s generation, and my grandchildren’s generation financially in order to remain in the glory of the White House.

Obama claims he is inspired by Abraham Lincoln, yet he will not sacrifice his presidency for the sake of the country. Lincoln ended up giving his life to preserve our great nation and Obama needs to seriously weigh the long-term consequences against his short-term, personal benefits. He needs to do everything within his power to save the U.S. from financial ruin and collapse; and indeed, such selfless actions would certainly land him a place in history. Instead, he has chosen personal glory and power over the survival of the very country that looked up to him as its savior. We all knew the tune he played sounded sweet, but as with the Pied Piper of Hamelin, his enticing notes seem to be leading us down into the cold, awful depths of the river of no return.