Presidential address and the water carriers

President Obama gave a really good speech tonight. The same however could not be said for the response. Bobby Jindal gave a terrible response. I will say that the guys giving the response are at a little bit of a disadvantage in that they are unable to prepare as long as the President but Jindal didn't even rehearse his family story enough to make it sound fluid. I think he may have just cost himself the chance to be Palin's VP candidate in 2012. Of course the GOP water carriers had no problem making it sound like the grandious nature of a Presidential Address in the presence of Congress put Jindal in a bad spot.... Like anyone had a problem showing up President Bush during a response....

Obama's Foreign Policy

I was reading The Emerging Obama Foreign Policy on Stratfor which for those that have never heard of Stratfor, it is a great way for your average person to get a professional intelligence report. For a price, a business can purchase more detailed intelligence services. It appears the biggest change in foreign policy thus far is a change in tone. A change in tone is very important but IMO is not the only change needed.

My Stimulus Plan

Well the stimulus plan has been passed and will be signed by President Obama in Denver tomorrow. I have a 4 part plan that I would have pushed for if I was a leader in Washington. The final package was better than the House and Senate versions but would not be as effective as my plan.

1. Cancel the remaining TARP funds. The TARP plan was completely ineffective and was wasted by the banks that received that money. Use that money to support the tax cuts in this bill.

2. A retroactive tax deduction for individuals for 2008. Without the numbers in front of me of the cost, let’s just call it $40,000 per individual $80,000 per couple. What this would do is immediately put money back into the citizen’s bank accounts. People will either save or pay off debt with this money which will recapitalize the banking system, or people will spend this money which will help the employment of cities and towns across America. The reason I call for a retroactive tax cut is because money clearly needs put back into the system and this will put money back into the system fast.

3. The President’s infrastructure spending. If we are going to spend money, it should be on something tangible that our economy will benefit from once it gets back on track.

4. Tax cuts for businesses that hire Americans. This was a great part that the GOP wanted to add in. I feel that the Democrats will fight this one based on a fear of companies laying people off to hire new people and get the tax cuts. To alleviate this fear I recommend that this tax cut only goes to companies have a net gain in American employees in 2009.