Spring Break
New administration already leaving negative mark
Dwight Wozich
Issue date: 4/24/09 Section: Forum
Recently I received a vivid reminder of the paradoxical state of American politics from a bumper sticker on a car in the parking lot behind Weniger Hall. The sticker read: "Defend Democracy, Impeach Bush!"
While our previous president certainly gave many of us reasons to be skeptical about the intentions of his policies, our current commander-in-chief, Barack Obama, has done nearly as much in his first months as president to trample upon the democratic freedoms of Americans.
Obama did not bring us "change," or the new politics in Washington that he claimed he would implement during his campaign. He has simply turned the political dial of the United States so far to the left that the word bipartisan can no longer be associated with the activities of the Obama Administration or a Congress dominated by Democratic leadership.
Obama's economic policies are a particular cause for concern.
In his March 26 column for the Wall Street Journal, conservative pundit Karl Rove pointed to an especially troubling report released by the Congressional Budget Office regarding the Obama Administration's plans for altering our nation's budget. In their report, the CBO predicted that the Obama budget - passed by Congress on April 2 - would add $9.3 trillion dollars to the current national deficit, and they expected this amount to double within six years, and triple within 10 years.
In an article for The Washington Times, Stephen Dinan provides similar commentary from the CBO, stating that Obama's budget will actually be more harmful to our economy in the long run, as government deficits will outstrip private investment and cause our Nation's GDP to drop.
The Obama Administration believes their budget will promote sweeping reforms in alternative energy policy, education and health care. Instead it is saddling future generations of Americans with oppressive taxes and has the potential to create large societal divisions in our country.
Obama's fiscal policies are tantamount to a socialism-tainted war on the wealthy. In a recent article for the New York Times, Richard W. Stevenson described significant plans by the Obama Administration to redistribute wealth towards the middle class through government programs funded by higher taxes on rich Americans. Stevenson noted that Obama believes he will create a more stable economic system where the wealthy aren't the dominant beneficiaries of economic success.
While our previous president certainly gave many of us reasons to be skeptical about the intentions of his policies, our current commander-in-chief, Barack Obama, has done nearly as much in his first months as president to trample upon the democratic freedoms of Americans.
Obama did not bring us "change," or the new politics in Washington that he claimed he would implement during his campaign. He has simply turned the political dial of the United States so far to the left that the word bipartisan can no longer be associated with the activities of the Obama Administration or a Congress dominated by Democratic leadership.
Obama's economic policies are a particular cause for concern.
In his March 26 column for the Wall Street Journal, conservative pundit Karl Rove pointed to an especially troubling report released by the Congressional Budget Office regarding the Obama Administration's plans for altering our nation's budget. In their report, the CBO predicted that the Obama budget - passed by Congress on April 2 - would add $9.3 trillion dollars to the current national deficit, and they expected this amount to double within six years, and triple within 10 years.
In an article for The Washington Times, Stephen Dinan provides similar commentary from the CBO, stating that Obama's budget will actually be more harmful to our economy in the long run, as government deficits will outstrip private investment and cause our Nation's GDP to drop.
The Obama Administration believes their budget will promote sweeping reforms in alternative energy policy, education and health care. Instead it is saddling future generations of Americans with oppressive taxes and has the potential to create large societal divisions in our country.
Obama's fiscal policies are tantamount to a socialism-tainted war on the wealthy. In a recent article for the New York Times, Richard W. Stevenson described significant plans by the Obama Administration to redistribute wealth towards the middle class through government programs funded by higher taxes on rich Americans. Stevenson noted that Obama believes he will create a more stable economic system where the wealthy aren't the dominant beneficiaries of economic success.
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