Regarding the State of the Union Address of February 2, 2005
George Bush has purported himself as being a president who dislikes “small ball”, and has proved himself to be such in the last four years. Personally, it seems that his administration is too focused on these “big” issues, while other comparably important issues slip by under the radar. Namely, these are continually rising medical costs and unaffordable insurance as well as environmental issues and the surging deficit.
America is the only high income nation that lacks universal health care. I find this to be deplorable; with tens of millions of Americans with unsatisfactory medical coverage, I believe it is time to focus on the health of our nation. We may not have to worry about Social Security if health care costs and insurance problems are not stabilized. The president has addressed health case issues in other forums, but I believe that the crisis surrounding this issue deserved a place in this important speech. As a supporter of “big government”, my opinion is that the health of the nation is the responsibility of those elected. The president disagrees with me, as a proponent of “small government, big business.” This is fine; after all, he’s the Yale and Harvard graduate, with four years of presidential experience under his belt. I am not going to attempt to argue with someone exponentially more qualified than I am to form opinions on issues such as this one.
In his fourth State of the Union, the president, a self-proclaimed large issue president, described our country’s current situation as strong and confident, and he, himself, beamed with confidence. Primarily, President Bush focused on two issues: Social Security and Iraq.
The state of Social Security has been a spotlight of the Republicans for a while now, and President Bush seems determined to get something done about it. I believe that he will try, but his privatization plan needs to be fine-tuned before he even attempts to push it through the legislature. It seems feasible in framework that this transition could be successful, but certain issues need to be better addressed. For me, these include: distinction of the disabled receiving Social Security payments, as well as a better definition of what happens to an account if someone dies before they reach the age of disbursement.
The need for reform of Social Security is obvious, even to a relative liberal like me. The ratio of workers to supported individuals on the program has shrunk from around fifteen to one in 1950 to around three to one currently. Something needs to be done to counter the growing retired community, and perhaps the President has the right idea with privatization. As I heard on the CSPAN debate of the President’s plan, this may even be more beneficial to minority and female workers, who typically spend less time paying into Social Security.
Following his administration’s political victory regarding the elections in Iraq the previous weekend, the President was confident in his words regarding the current situation in that area of his policy. I believe that he and his administration are entitled to their confidence after the effort they have put into the war and into winning a peaceful Iraq.
I applaud the President’s highlighting of the good things that have come out of the war on terror. An increase in women’s rights in both Iraq and Afghanistan is something that deserves recognition, as well as an increase in individual liberties in both countries. I was also impressed that the President did not, like so many presidents have before him did, out rightly support only the Israeli state. The president’s pledge of $350 million dollars for Palestinian political and security reform really surprised me.
I was relieved to hear of the proposed scaling back of offensive operations described by the president in his speech. Having friends on the front lines of combat in Iraq makes me very sensitive to issues concerning increased danger to their lives and the lives of American men and women just like them.
It was interesting to me that the President quoted the great Democratic president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt at the end of his speech. To me it signified the recognition of the great work FDR did during his three full terms, and the work that now needs to be done to build upon his New Deal’s framework. This, according to the President will be done by reforming the Roosevelt-founded Social Security and by spreading liberty to the oppressed nations of this earth. I applaud his ambition and his drive, even if I don’t agree with the semantics of his politics.
America is the only high income nation that lacks universal health care. I find this to be deplorable; with tens of millions of Americans with unsatisfactory medical coverage, I believe it is time to focus on the health of our nation. We may not have to worry about Social Security if health care costs and insurance problems are not stabilized. The president has addressed health case issues in other forums, but I believe that the crisis surrounding this issue deserved a place in this important speech. As a supporter of “big government”, my opinion is that the health of the nation is the responsibility of those elected. The president disagrees with me, as a proponent of “small government, big business.” This is fine; after all, he’s the Yale and Harvard graduate, with four years of presidential experience under his belt. I am not going to attempt to argue with someone exponentially more qualified than I am to form opinions on issues such as this one.
In his fourth State of the Union, the president, a self-proclaimed large issue president, described our country’s current situation as strong and confident, and he, himself, beamed with confidence. Primarily, President Bush focused on two issues: Social Security and Iraq.
The state of Social Security has been a spotlight of the Republicans for a while now, and President Bush seems determined to get something done about it. I believe that he will try, but his privatization plan needs to be fine-tuned before he even attempts to push it through the legislature. It seems feasible in framework that this transition could be successful, but certain issues need to be better addressed. For me, these include: distinction of the disabled receiving Social Security payments, as well as a better definition of what happens to an account if someone dies before they reach the age of disbursement.
The need for reform of Social Security is obvious, even to a relative liberal like me. The ratio of workers to supported individuals on the program has shrunk from around fifteen to one in 1950 to around three to one currently. Something needs to be done to counter the growing retired community, and perhaps the President has the right idea with privatization. As I heard on the CSPAN debate of the President’s plan, this may even be more beneficial to minority and female workers, who typically spend less time paying into Social Security.
Following his administration’s political victory regarding the elections in Iraq the previous weekend, the President was confident in his words regarding the current situation in that area of his policy. I believe that he and his administration are entitled to their confidence after the effort they have put into the war and into winning a peaceful Iraq.
I applaud the President’s highlighting of the good things that have come out of the war on terror. An increase in women’s rights in both Iraq and Afghanistan is something that deserves recognition, as well as an increase in individual liberties in both countries. I was also impressed that the President did not, like so many presidents have before him did, out rightly support only the Israeli state. The president’s pledge of $350 million dollars for Palestinian political and security reform really surprised me.
I was relieved to hear of the proposed scaling back of offensive operations described by the president in his speech. Having friends on the front lines of combat in Iraq makes me very sensitive to issues concerning increased danger to their lives and the lives of American men and women just like them.
It was interesting to me that the President quoted the great Democratic president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt at the end of his speech. To me it signified the recognition of the great work FDR did during his three full terms, and the work that now needs to be done to build upon his New Deal’s framework. This, according to the President will be done by reforming the Roosevelt-founded Social Security and by spreading liberty to the oppressed nations of this earth. I applaud his ambition and his drive, even if I don’t agree with the semantics of his politics.
posted by Brian at 5:24 a.m.
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