Friday, January 27, 2012

Obama's 2012 State of the Union repeats demands for spending on education, research, clean energy, and infrastructure

Last year, we wrote an article comparing President Obama's 2011 State of the Union speech to his 2010 State of the Union (Same State of the Union Address in 2011 and 2010 Emphasizes Obama Steps to Reelection).

Since the two were extremely similar in theme, we were sure that his 2012 State of the Union would be a regurgitation of the last two. Needless to say, we were not disappointed as our table below shows the major points in each of the past 3 speeches.

Obama's State of the Union Theme
201220112010
Manufacturing

EducationEducationEducation
ResearchResearch / InnovationInnovation
Clean EnergyTechnology & Clean EnergyClean Energy
InfrastructureInfrastructureInfrastructure

What was interesting is that this year, he boldly added a new category "Manufacturing" and dropped last year's "Technology" push.

Since the President is now pushing his concept of "fairness" (where everyone plays by the same rules and pays their own fair share), we wonder whether there is any financial connection his use of U.S. taxpayer funds for:
  • his Manufacturing and Research proposals and GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt
  • his Education focus and his friend Bill Ayers who also promotes education
  • his Clean Energy drive and the 3 bankrupt clean energy companies that received Department of Energy funding
  • his push to rebuild the country's infrastructure (bridges, roads, railway) and his friend Warren Buffet who owns BNSF Railway (Burlington Northern & Santa Fe railroads)
At least this year, many other professional writers and newsmen have realized the concurrent theme in each of his speeches, and his lack of originality.  For example, Townhall published a post Wow: RNC Video Highlights Obama SOTU Deja Vu which contains the following video:


To be fair to the President however, we must commend him for sticking to the same political platform during his presidential term.

3 comments:

  1. A future where we're in control of our own energy, and our security and For less than 1 percent of what our nation spends on education each year, Innovation also demands basic research.
    Don Blankenship

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your reply Don. Agreed - controlling our own energy and security is the utmost priority for our country at this moment.

      And, I do agree that research is a key to our future growth and innovation. But, in these difficult economic times, placing a priority of research will only help a few very educated keep their jobs (but will not trigger growth).

      However, I do believe research should be funded at the federal level. Whereas, most of our education costs are funded at the state, county, and local levels. There-in is the dichotomy.

      Meanwhile, lowering taxes plus opening drilling & pipelines will result in more demand for important research directed by the public need, rather than being directed at the Presidential level.

      Cheers,

      JL....

      Delete
    2. PS: Keep up the good work down there in Texas. I have a great deal of respect for your institution, programs, and research!

      Delete

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