Predictions for Obama's Stimulus Package

Did you catch Obama's non-State of the Union address last night? If you didn't, you can catch it here or here. Many thoughts raced through my mind as I listened to his speech. He touched on so many topics ranging from our economy, to the housing crisis, to education, to the war in Iraq, and finally to his overall goals for our nation. He made it clear that all of these issues are tied together in some way, and that the first step to solving any problems within these issues is to stop this recession and to get the country back on track financially. That is why our government has recently passed this economic stimulus package. As with so many political speeches, this speech was rousing and full of hope and fiery words about getting through difficult times and meeting challenges, etc, yet there was very little specificity as what exactly is going to happen through the stimulus package and how exactly the presdient plans on fixing the deficit. This is frustrating and leaves a listener/viewer/reader to determine what it all means. So this is what I think Obama means; these are my predictions of what he has in store.

First of all: the bailout. Where is the money coming from? No one has said so outright on the news (at least it hasn't been news to me), but what I've discovered is that China is financing most of our bailout through their purchase of U.S. Government bonds. So that means that it's not the taxpayers immediately footing this bill. Of course who knows what kind of taxes we shall have to face in order for the government to make these investments for the Chinese sound. Obviously the Chinese are going to have certain expectations of the Obama administration for all that they are investing into our nation.

Ok so, the Chinese are paying for it...right now. We will have to repay SOMEHOW in the future. And what is the most convenient way for us to repay without even realizing it? CONSUME. yes consume. Look at all the items surrounding your computer screen right now. Where were these items produced? I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count, because the answer is probably CHINA. We import almost everything from China, which means that our economies are completely "joined at the hip" as one of those articles puts it. They are the producers, we are the consumers. Do you see a problem with this? I do. I wish we made more things in the US. I wish I could buy everything I need locally. I wish that the people in my local area could AFFORD to exist on what they produce. I wish I could afford to start the million and one businesses I have ideas or aspirations for. Obama wants banks to start lending again so people can afford their homes and small businesses. I wonder how successful these businesses are meant to be. After all, we don't want to take away from China's business. Cynically, however, I will have to say that Americans are so addicted to the cheap crap that comes from China that they will not be able to get their fix. So China's probably safe.

As for innovating here at home and creating jobs, there are so many things in the way. One of the biggest obstacles that the general population has to overcome its APATHY towards being smart and educated, and LAZINESS or distaste for hard work. I'm not saying that people who don't sweat or toil at their jobs are lazy. I'm saying that people have become so intoxicated with what they've consumed that they don't see the true value of knowledge and how it helps to overcome the challenges that inherently make us work hard.

This is where education steps in. Obama wants Americans to graduate from high school AND college. Makes sense to me. Notice how many international students our country attracts? It's probably because we have the highest number of public and private institutions of higher learning than any other nation. But after going to Hartwick, you know first-hand how much people take their oppurtunity to become smarter for granted. Who is at fault? The school? The student? Commercialism and Consumerism? Who knows! All I know is that I get soooo frustrated with the education system in America because it's not friendly to all learning types and, let's face it, there are BAD TEACHERS. I figure the only big difference I could ever make in politics is to become the best teacher I can be. And even if this only means that my students end up actually kind of liking school because of me, that's enough.

Obama talks of creating jobs and being the great innovating Americans despite hardships that there were in the past. I predict that one of the biggest innovations he plans to impose on us people is that of new, renewable energy. I wholeheartedly support this change, however it is not going to be easy, and there will surely be pitfalls and corruption along the way. Same applies for infrastructure re-vamping. It's a great idea, but it's going to take a lot of scrutiny. Obama claims that Joe Biden is going to lead a task force that is going to oversee projects like these. He's going to make sure the money is going where it should. I trust Joe Biden. He seems like an honest person. I hope he doesn't disapoint me.

I think I've ranted enough for now. Not sure if I accomplished what I set out to do. I meant to make predictions and the most important one is that Obama wants America to be the superpower leader that it was in the past. It's wonderful, yet scary. So much hangs in the air of our future, and our children's futures. Times change so fast in Washington, but back in my home town, things haven't changed for what seems like a long time. I hope I see positive changes where I live, and I hope it's a change I can really get behind. A change that satisfies my ideas of how I want to live my life. I believe that Obama will work for ME. That's why I voted for him. I can't wait to see if my predictions come true!