President Biden spoke to a joint session of Congress this past Wednesday (the first speech to Congress by a new President not being considered a "State of the Union" address). He told us that he took office with 3 crises hanging over the country - the worst pandemic in a century, the worst economy since the Great Depression, and the "worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War." Let's start with that last assertion. Yes, it appeared that hundreds stormed the Capitol on January 6. Yes, there was extensive property damage. Yes, a Capitol police officer died and over a hundred people were injured. And some were armed with pepper spray, stun guns and bats, but few if any had guns. So, to my thinking, 9/11 was a far greater attack on our democracy and way of life than was January 6 (which I already condemned in a prior post).
Biden took credit for creating 1.3 million new jobs in his first 100 days. And for providing for 220 million Covid shots. Remember in his augural address Biden emphasized "unity?" He mentioned "unity" numerous times. If he meant it, he would have thanked President Trump for Operation Warp Speed, resulting in the development of vaccines in record time. The economy was already beginning to expand last year as the country started to reopen. The Wall Street Journal reported that GDP grew 33.4% in the third quarter, but contracted to 4.3% in the fourth quarter with the new lockdowns. The economy was already growing, with that growth accelerated by increasing numbers of people now being vaccinated.
Taken together, Biden's proposals for the expansion of government are estimated to have a cost of 6 trillion dollars. Yes, the government can print more money; but at what point do we see inflation eating away at the value of the dollar? And how will future generations ever be able to repay that debt? And to what end? Clearly, with the expansion of government benefits to the middle class, the Democrats hope to buy millions of votes for the foreseeable future. The Wall Street Journal asked this question: "Haven't we tried this before?" They remind us that Head Start had already provided pre-school and child care. They tell us we had Women, Infants and Children programs, food stamps, welfare, childcare subsidies, and public housing. The Journal: "Why did the trillions of dollars spent on those programs fail? And if they didn't work, why do we need more?"
As a conservative, I want to see everyone in the country succeed. So, if there is one thing I can see as a worthwhile expenditure, it is community college for all. I am not sure why it needs to free for everyone, even for those who can afford to pay. But community colleges can provide the needed education and job skills to enable people to succeed. Providing unlimited benefits to people discourages work; and, quoting the Journal, "work...is the real path to independence and self-respect."
Biden's worst moments were when he was discussing race. "We have all seen the knee on the neck of Black America." What we saw was the knee of one white man on one black man. Biden went on to assert that "systemic racism...plagues American life in many other ways." No, I am not claiming that there is no racism anymore. But I'll say it again - stop telling young people that the system is stacked against them. That is an evil message. Tell people that if they get an education and work hard they can succeed - because it is true. But if the country can be defined by racism, I do wonder why so many brown and black people keep pouring in from all over the world.
Senator Tim Scott gave the Republican rebuttal to Biden's speech. For daring to say that "America is not a racist country," he was called an "Uncle Tim." A sellout to his race (Scott is black). But we know that the most biased, most intolerant people are on the left. At least one left-wing commentator mocked the Republicans putting up a "token" black for the rebuttal, noting that Scott is the only black Republican Senator. But let's hear it for the Democrats because they have two black Senators.
Senator Scott said it best: "Just before Covid, we had the most inclusive economy in my lifetime. The lowest unemployment ever recorded for African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asian-Americans. The lowest for women in nearly 70 years. Wages were growing faster for the bottom 25% than the top 25%. That happened because Republicans focused on expanding opportunity for all Americans." Expanding opportunity vs expanding dependency on government. Which one do you think is better?
No comments:
Post a Comment