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Barack Obama's Spread the Wealth Plan

by Josh Greenberger

(October 17, 2008) Barack Obama to Joe the Plumber on October 13: " ... I'm gonna cut taxes a little bit more for the folks who are most in need. And for the 5% of the folks who are doing very well -- even though they've been working hard, and I appreciate that -- I just want to make sure they're paying a little bit more in order to pay for those other tax cuts. Now, I respect the disagreement. I just want you to be clear, it's not that I want to punish your success, I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you -- that they've got a chance at success too."

If this statement doesn't worry you, you haven't looked at it too closely. It's been proven over and over that taking from those who've earned and giving it those who haven't, doesn't help those who gave or those who received -- it ruins everybody!

The mortgage crisis we're currently experiencing was about exactly that -- giving "opportunities" to the less privileged, by taking (undeserved loans) from the banks. We all know how that turned out. It did not spread the wealth. It spread disaster.

Social promotion does not help underachievers, it only reduces overall achievement.

What Obama is proposing is another form of Affirmative Action. But, instead of giving a job that you qualify for to a less qualified person, he wants to give money that you've earned to someone who has not. This is absolutely outrages.

Institutionalized handouts do not make people do better; it only makes them expect more. Obama's plan would turn the entire U.S. into an "inner city." Can you think of a more counterproductive plan?

Why does Obama's plan for giving people a "chance at success" revolve around taking from others, to begin with? It does not produce more goods and services, it only (unethically) reshuffles what we have.

There are options that take from no one and give to everyone.

A reduction in fuel costs would put money in the pocket of every American by reducing the price of a long list of other goods and services -- and we wouldn't have to take money from anyone. All we have to do is lift all oil drilling restrictions.

But Obama's answer to lifting oil drilling restrictions, as Senator McCain pointed out, is he'll "look at it?"

Let me see if I understand this correctly. To take money from one person and give it to another, that Obama doesn't have to "look at," he "knows" it'll work, despite the fact that other such programs have failed miserably. But lifting drilling restrictions, which has absolutely no drawbacks, no downside, it takes money out of no one's pocket, it'll produce jobs, it'll stimulate the economy even before gas prices drop drastically -- that he has to "look at?" Is he kidding? It's almost as if Obama's working for an enemy country and trying to bring us down.

And this nonsense about how well Obama carries himself in debates is idiocy. There's no question Obama came off calmer and "cooler" than McCain in the presidential debates. (Maybe Obama wouldn't be so calm and cool if he had gone through in life what McCain has gone through, but that's a whole other discussion.) But the notion that Obama would do better as a president because he debates better or comes off better is foolish. Who's he going to debate as president; bin Laden, Achmedinejad, OPEC, the Caribou reindeer in Alaska?

And do we really want a president whose going to look calm and cool while we're being nuked by Achmedinejad, or would we rather have a president who knows how to deal with brutal regimes?

Obama being plagued with allegations of links to shady people and activities -- from associating with a terrorist to ACORN's election scandals to threatening legal action against people who criticize him -- should give you pause for thought. McCain, on the other hand, who's been reviled by a media that is no friend of republicans and attacked by Obama, has not had one credible accusation of unethical behavior lodged against him that even needed defending. Doesn't this alone tell you something about the character of the two candidates?

It's difficult to understand why even blacks would want to vote for Obama. Sure it would be nice to have a black president, but doesn't the character of the person mean anything? If we had a respectable black candidate running against a shady white candidate, the majority of whites, I believe, would not vote for the white candidate simply because he's white. What good is a president of your ethnic background if he serves no one's interest?

Essentially, what we're faced with is a saint who doesn't come off very well and a devil who wants to sweet talk you out of your soul. Which one do you think is in your interest to vote for?

by Josh Greenberger

About the Author

Josh Greenberger: As a computer consultant for over two decades, has developed software for NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Studies, AT&T, Charles Schwab, Bell Laboratories and Chase Manhattan Bank. Has appeared, in the form of letters and articles, in The New York Post, New York Daily News, New York Times, Village Voice, Jewish Press, Hamodia and others. Articles have ranged from humor to scientific to current events. Wrote a book disproving the theory of evolution (Human Intelligence Gone Ape a.k.a. Who Let The Apes Out), available in stores and online. Has written several screenplays.

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Barack Obama

What has Barack Obama accomplished in his first year as President?

I am not asking this to be sarcastic or anything, I just need a list of the policies and bills and other things Barack Obama has passed in his first year as President. I am writing a paper. I am a sophomore in high school and have not kept up to date with what is going on in politics, though I should be.

If you can please tell me your perspective on how you think the President has done in his first year.

Thanks:)

On the environment:

* Included funding for "green" jobs in the stimulus bill

* Initiated first steps to develop a legally-binding treaty to reduce mercury emissions worldwide

* Dedicated more than $60 billion for clean energy

* Instituted "cash for clunkers," getting more fuel efficient cars on the street

* Acknowledges reality of climate change and his desire to work on an international policy like Kyoto

* Emphasized the value of science (not political opinion) within the EPA

* Allocated $2 billion in stimulus cash for advanced batteries systems (for automobiles)

* Declared (via EPA) carbon dioxide a threat to health, the first step towards regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act

* Funded Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant, which gives $2.8 billion to cities

* Put over 2 million acres of wilderness, thousands of miles of river and a host of national trails and parks under federal protection, the largest conservation effort in 15 years
* Funding a $475 million initiative to restore and clean the Great Lakes

On healthcare:

* Overturned the federal funding ban for stem cell research

* Instituted better standards for comparative research in medicine and an agency to handle this

* Added staff to the FDA and brought back emphasis on science

* Allocated over $1 billion to the National Institutes of Health, whose budget Bush let stagnate

* Eliminated funding for abstinence-only education

* Signed an executive order repealing the "Mexico City policy" or "global gag rule" that withheld U.S. funds from organizations that discuss or provide family planning services abroad

* Announced US would resume contributions to the UN population fund for family planning and more than double the previous contribution made in 2001

* Appropriated $19 billion in the stimulus package to help implement an electronic medical record system

* Set aside billions in budget to overhaul the health care system

* Enacted Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization, providing healthcare to 11 million children

* Established 65% COBRA subsidy for 7 million unemployed Americans

* Allocated $1 billion for prevention and wellness programs

* Provided $87 billion to states to bolster their Medicaid programs during the downturn

* Increased funding for urban HIV/AIDS Prevention and Awareness

On Education, Equality, Public Safety, Families, etc.:

* Expressed a desire to overturn Don't Ask Don't Tell

* Described the Defense of Marriage Act as "unfair" and "discriminatory" and said they supported it being overturned

* Includes atheists in his definition of Americans

* Extended tax credits for mothers to return to college, for tuition, and for college textbook purchases

* Has agreed to make the visitors' lists to the White House public

* Signed executive order requiring Guantanamo to be closed within 1 year and allocated funds/personnel for that purpose

* Included provision in stimulus legislation that, for the first time, supported the ideas of Net Neutrality-like non-discrimination and openness for the Internet

* The administration demonstrated a new commitment to fighting for change on the UN Human Rights Council by announcing it will run for a seat next year, reversing the Bush administration boycott

* Announced that the U.S. will support a United Nations declaration urging nations to decriminalize homosexuality

* Created office of Urban Policy

* Gave Department of Justice $2 billion for Byrne Grants, which funds anti-gang and anti-gun task forces (cut during Bush years)

* Allocated $5 billion for early learning programs, including Head Start, Early Head Start, child care, and programs for children with special needs

* Signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act to protect Americans from unfair and deceptive credit card practices

* Enacted the Making Homes Affordable Program

* Boosted credit flow to small businesses

* Increased focus on funding for high speed rail

* Funded the Community Oriented Police program (COPS)
* Appointed first Hispanic justice to the Supreme Court and most qualified Supreme Court candidate in decades

On foreign affairs (see link for more complete list):

* Secured $5 billion in aid commitments "to bolster [Pakistan's] economy and help it fight terror and Islamic radicalism"

* Foreign affairs experts insist that Obama's engagement with the Muslim world has been at once remarkable and under-appreciated..."He has been able to dramatically change America's image in that region"

* Led global response to the economic crisis through the G20, obtaining commitments of $1.1 trillion to safeguard the world’s most vulnerable economies

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