Spring Break
Latest Obama speech provides vision to Americans
Brandon Southward
Issue date: 4/16/09 Section: Forum
President Obama delivered a speech on the economy Tuesday, April 14. This is not unusual - Obama gives speeches all the time, and many on them focus on the economy. However, this speech was different.
Obama laid out the clearest vision his administration has for the future of America. Education, tax and entitlement reform were major points Obama stressed throughout the speech. He discussed reforming the tax code to cut down tax loopholes and to return fairness in his mind to the system. Pointing to America's recent slip in educational achievement, Obama discussed reform and laying the path for America to once again be the world leader in education.
The issue that could give Obama the most problems could be the very tricky aspect of reforming the entitlement programs. Entitlement reform has been talked about by presidents dating back to Eisenhower, so Obama has his work cut out for him.
Overall, though, Obama did not just focus on systemic changes he plans on making, but talked of a changing our culture as well. He attacked the culture of instant gratification that he believed helped to create the financial crisis in the first place, and he bashed the short attention span of our 24-7 cable news outlets and of Washington politicians.
Envisioning a new economic foundation, Obama turned to Scripture and the story of the house built on sand and the house built on rock, preferring the latter. A shift away from a dominance of the economy by the financial sector and to more manual jobs was a vision Obama said he would like to attain, if not during his presidency, then in the future.
Obama critics - and it seems lately there are more than ever - will once again say his focus is all wrong. Some will say he is taking on too much and should just stick to fixing the economy. They argue that solving the economic crisis is the most important thing and that Obama should be more focused on that.
Others, particularly the left of his party, have stated Obama is not doing enough. They say the stimulus should have been twice its size and that Obama needs to move quicker to nationalize the banks.
Obama laid out the clearest vision his administration has for the future of America. Education, tax and entitlement reform were major points Obama stressed throughout the speech. He discussed reforming the tax code to cut down tax loopholes and to return fairness in his mind to the system. Pointing to America's recent slip in educational achievement, Obama discussed reform and laying the path for America to once again be the world leader in education.
The issue that could give Obama the most problems could be the very tricky aspect of reforming the entitlement programs. Entitlement reform has been talked about by presidents dating back to Eisenhower, so Obama has his work cut out for him.
Overall, though, Obama did not just focus on systemic changes he plans on making, but talked of a changing our culture as well. He attacked the culture of instant gratification that he believed helped to create the financial crisis in the first place, and he bashed the short attention span of our 24-7 cable news outlets and of Washington politicians.
Envisioning a new economic foundation, Obama turned to Scripture and the story of the house built on sand and the house built on rock, preferring the latter. A shift away from a dominance of the economy by the financial sector and to more manual jobs was a vision Obama said he would like to attain, if not during his presidency, then in the future.
Obama critics - and it seems lately there are more than ever - will once again say his focus is all wrong. Some will say he is taking on too much and should just stick to fixing the economy. They argue that solving the economic crisis is the most important thing and that Obama should be more focused on that.
Others, particularly the left of his party, have stated Obama is not doing enough. They say the stimulus should have been twice its size and that Obama needs to move quicker to nationalize the banks.
Note: writers will not reply to comments.
Be the first to comment on this story
Comments by registered users are approved by default.