Obama's address to Congress. Broken Down...

Before I get started here I wanted to bring this bit to the forefront.

I think about Leonard Abess, the bank president from Miami who reportedly cashed out of his company, took a $60 million bonus, and gave it out to all 399 people who worked for him, plus another 72 who used to work for him. He didn't tell anyone, but when the local newspaper found out, he simply said, "I knew some of these people since I was 7 years old. I didn't feel right getting the money myself."

I take the most issue with this bit. Sure this man Leonard Abess gave away $60 million. He said, I knew some of these people since I was 7 years old. I didn’t feel right getting the money myself”. The important thing here is that Mr. Abess gave the money away, he did not have it taken from him in the form of taxes. Obama talks of spreading the wealth around. There is a large difference in charity, and government mandated REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH!

The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation.

Notice the use of the word crisis again. This is right at the beginning of the speech.

A surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy instead of an opportunity to invest in our future.

This implies that it is the government’s role to transfer wealth. Since when has this been an American concept? The wealthy are wealthy because they earned it Mr. Obama. By this standard all of the current wealthy people are wealthy because of government. The opposite is true.

People bought homes they knew they couldn't afford from banks and lenders who pushed those bad loans anyway.

Lenders can’t “push” anyone into a loan that they cannot afford. Lenders lend, they help with an idea; that started with the borrower.

Now is the time to act boldly and wisely - to not only revive this economy, but to build a new foundation for lasting prosperity. Now is the time to jumpstart job creation, re-start lending, and invest in areas like energy, health care, and education that will grow our economy, even as we make hard choices to bring our deficit down. That is what my economic agenda is designed to do, and that's what I'd like to talk to you about tonight.

I do not like when he uses fraises like “build a new foundation”. Without any specificity, given his track record this could not be a good thing.

So the recovery plan we passed is the first step in getting our economy back on track. But it is just the first step. Because even if we manage this plan flawlessly, there will be no real recovery unless we clean up the credit crisis that has severely weakened our financial system.

I called this one. I was sure that he was going to lay the groundwork for future spending. The “stimulus bill” just passed was the largest in history. The economy is not going to rebound by increasing the countries debt.

Second, we have launched a housing plan that will help responsible families facing the threat of foreclosure lower their monthly payments and re-finance their mortgages. It's a plan that won't help speculators or that neighbor down the street who bought a house he could never hope to afford, but it will help millions of Americans who are struggling with declining home values - Americans who will now be able to take advantage of the lower interest rates that this plan has already helped bring about. In fact, the average family who re-finances today can save nearly $2000 per year on their mortgage.

There absolutely no way to, “make sure that the responsible families” get the money. Responsible families don’t need the money. To say, "I will bail out the responsible families" is an oxymoron.

Third, we will act with the full force of the federal government to ensure that the major banks that Americans depend on have enough confidence and enough money to lend even in more difficult times.

This is, again, opening the door for more government control of the banks.

I intend to hold these banks fully accountable for the assistance they receive, and this time, they will have to clearly demonstrate how taxpayer dollars result in more lending for the American taxpayer. This time, CEOs won't be able to use taxpayer money to pad their paychecks or buy fancy drapes or disappear on a private jet. Those days are over.

Once again, more government control exerted over private industry.

I will not spend a single penny for the purpose of rewarding a single Wall Street executive, but I will do whatever it takes to help the small business that can't pay its workers or the family that has saved and still can't get a mortgage.

There is absolutely nothing in the “stimulus bill” that has anything to do with helping small businesses.

The recovery plan and the financial stability plan are the immediate steps we're taking to revive our economy in the short-term. But the only way to fully restore America's economic strength is to make the long-term investments that will lead to new jobs, new industries, and a renewed ability to compete with the rest of the world. The only way this century will be another American century is if we confront at last the price of our dependence on oil and the high cost of health care; the schools that aren't preparing our children and the mountain of debt they stand to inherit. That is our responsibility.

If there is a problem with education; Obama needs to get with Ted Kennedy on that. Ted Kennedy wrote the last education bill. It was a deal under part of Bushes failed “New Deal”.

Given these realities, everyone in this chamber - Democrats and Republicans - will have to sacrifice some worthy priorities for which there are no dollars. And that includes me.

But that does not mean we can afford to ignore our long-term challenges. I reject the view that says our problems will simply take care of themselves; that says government has no role in laying the foundation for our common prosperity.

Government has no role in laying a foundation for anything. Freedom is the foundation of this country! Obama has little understanding of The Constitution, or despises it.

But to truly transform our economy, protect our security, and save our planet from the ravages of climate change, we need to ultimately make clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy. So I ask this Congress to send me legislation that places a market- based cap on carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy in America. And to support that innovation, we will invest fifteen billion dollars a year to develop technologies like wind power and solar power; advanced biofuels, clean coal, and more fuel-efficient cars and trucks built right here in America.

The introduction of a “cap on carbon pollution” is a sure way to hurt the U.S. economy. There is absolutely no proof that man has anything to do with the current climate. There is no proof that carbon dioxide is a pollutant. This is absurd.

This budget builds on these reforms. It includes an historic commitment to comprehensive health care reform - a down-payment on the principle that we must have quality, affordable health care for every American. It's a commitment that's paid for in part by efficiencies in our system that are long overdue. And it's a step we must take if we hope to bring down our deficit in the years to come.

Health care does not need to be reformed. The government needs to get out of its way. When the government proposes an alternative to traditional health insurance; it is an investment in SOCIALIZED MEDICINE. There is no other way to look at it. It’s simple, regulate the private sector out of business, and what are you left with?

I suffer no illusions that this will be an easy process. It will be hard. But I also know that nearly a century after Teddy Roosevelt first called for reform, the cost of our health care has weighed down our economy and the conscience of our nation long enough. So let there be no doubt: health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year.

Roosevelt also admitted that his “New Deal” didn’t help at all.

We have made college affordable for nearly seven million more students.

When the government increases tuition assistance, it simply guarantees more government money for colleges. Colleges in turn increase their tuition rates. People not using government assistance get the shaft, because they have to cover the newly increased tuition. People in turn will look at the government option instead of grabbing the ankles.

I'm proud that we passed the recovery plan free of earmarks, and I want to pass a budget next year that ensures that each dollar we spend reflects only our most important national priorities.

The entire bill was an earmark. There is no way the "stimulus bill" would have passed in a normal political climate. That is exactly why Obama set out to scare everyone into believing that the government had to do “something”.

In order to save our children from a future of debt, we will also end the tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. But let me perfectly clear, because I know you'll hear the same old claims that rolling back these tax breaks means a massive tax increase on the American people: if your family earns less than $250,000 a year, you will not see your taxes increased a single dime. I repeat: not one single dime. In fact, the recovery plan provides a tax cut - that's right, a tax cut - for 95% of working families. And these checks are on the way.

Those on the left still are pushing this idea that if you get money from the government that you are receiving a tax cut. You can’t cut something into the negative. Also the Congressional Budget Office predicts that the "stimulus bill" will cause a REDUCTION of revenue to the government". How is this plan going to cut the deficit?

Anyone that doesn't think that Obama is a socialist should be sure now that he is.