Can Obama fit any more on his plate?

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/29/obama.full.plate/index.html?eref=rss_politics

In this article Crowley goes over Obama's fall agenda. His to-do list includes: a trip to Copenhagen to try and get the 2016 Olympics to take place in Chicago, Illinois, health care reform, financial reform, Iran's nuclear ambitions, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and closing down Guantanamo Bay prison. Crowley also noted that during Obama's campaign he said that he was up for the job and that he could handle dealing with multiple issues at one time. The ending statement implies that he isn't staying true to his word.

This article slightly annoys me. It's not just that it is criticizing Obama like the rest of the media but the fact that we stand from a far and judge the President saying that he isn't getting anything done. What is he doing then? He is obviously not just lounging around on the couch watching TV all day. Health care reform is his number one priority right now. He is working diligently to change the way that system works in our country and no one can deny that. It's the fact that "we" (the people) are disagreeing, arguing and creating different bills and versions of bills that's taking so long. I don't think that we should look at the President and accuse him of not getting his agenda done. I think that we should look around, unite ourselves as a nation, and solve the problems that need to be fixed so that the President can stay true to his deadlines and move our nation forward into a better economy and society for ALL people.

Gov't made 70 percent of clunker payments

Basically, this article reinsured people that the car dealerships that participated in the "cash for clunkers" program are being reibursed. The government has already compensated for 70 percent of the dealerships and hopes to compensate for the rest by the end of September. They also said that there was no doubt that this program was a success because many auto dealerships were saved from bankruptcy. Including a GM dealership in a small town in MO saving hundreds of jobs. All in all the government and the auto dealerships were very pleased about the success of the "cash for clunkers" program.


I think that the cash for clunkers program was a really good idea to save jobs and get the economy moving again. The thing that i don't understand is where all this money is coming from. This country is in extreme debt and paying car dealerships money so people can get a discount on a new car isn't exactly helping the cause. It worries me a little that we are spending so much money and making so little. I am not really sure what the solution is. I think that as Americans we are a little spoiled. We import so many things and export a significantly lower amount than what we import. In other countries, such as Norway, they barely import anything. This also means that they have fewer choices of food, clothing etc. There is not 5 different types of sports drinks or hundreds of brands of clothes. They manufacture their own clothing and that is where their selection comes from. Back to cash for clunkers, weighing the pros and the cons, was it worth putting the govornment in more debt? Or did the economy pick up enough to cancel it out?


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32877454/ns/business-autos/

Obama projects $900 billion to fix health care

During Obama's health care reform speech, he clarifyed his plan for America. He confronted various myths about his health care plan such as death jpanels, public option and coverage for illegal immigrants. He also promoted bipartisanship, saying that all parties have to come together as a whole in order to accomplish the reform of health care. He also stated that previous presidents have tried and failed to reform the health care program and that he would be the last one to fail because he would succeed. He also said that he is completely open to all ideas from both parties as long as they accomplished the ultimate goal of ensuring coverage for uninsured Americans and promising security and stability for those who already have coverage. All of this information is based off of the following link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32752036/ns/politics-health_care_reform/


Honestly, before this blog assignment, i have never gotten in depth with politics. Of course i slightly pay attention to the presidential election when it comes around ever four years, but nothing really beyond that. The first time i read through this article i was confused. First of all i wasn't sure if i knew exactly what health care was. I am only 17 years old so i have never been involved in the insurance process because my parents took care of it all. Even though at first i didnt really understand the article, I was intrigued by it. All this controversy was exciting so i decided to look into it a little deeper. So, i watched some news clips and I started talking to people. I could absolutely not believe how irrational some people are. It boggled my mind that a representative would yell out during a presidential speech to the President himself! Accusing him of lying!!! There are many things i agree with Obama on concerning health care but also a few i don't. I think it is important that an insurance exchange will be created, and also that insurance companies will no longer be able to deny families coverage because of pre-exsisting conditions. I also think that it is smart to require employers to provide health ensurance for their employees. I think that this will lower the number of people taking advantage of the government by mooching off of the fact that they are unemployed, therefore recieving free insurance, among other things. That is one of the downfalls of requiring everyone to be ensured is in fact people taking advantage of the system. Unfortunately, hard working Americans will have to pay for it. On the other hand, having everyone ensured will save millions of people from financial disaster if someone in their family becomes extremely ill. It will also save peoples lives because they will be able to get medical help when they need it. Personally, my little brother was diagnosed with leukemia 3 years ago, and even with the great health insurance my father recieves from 3M, we are still paying for some of his treatment, but i can't even imagine how much debt we would be in if we didn't have that insurance so i do think that this plan is overall a good way to start off. Obama also said he was completely open to more reform from anyone who had ideas so honestly i don't know why anyone doesn't support more, and better health care for millions of Americans.

If you would like to hear a different opinion on this topic. Aaron Rentschler's blog discusses the topic from another point of view.