OBAMA'S VISION---TO FIX, TRANSFORM---OR GET RE-ELECTED??

So now the real budget battle begins---President Obama threw down his first gauntlet last week, as he gave a speech, which was strangely timed right after the conciliatory, 2011 budget agreement the week before. Not to be undone or outshone by Paul Ryan,author of the new sweeping Republican budget proposal, Obama finally came out fighting, and made it clear he's in the hunt this time, big time. Perhaps feeling, it was time to shut Ryan up or down before it gets out of hand and people actually start listening to it, the president presented an outline of his budget proposal, which in comparison to Ryan's is tepid at best, and which will never pass the House. At the same time, he tried to come across as a centrist, referring to Lincoln and Reagan, as reasonable and compromising men and even talked about "rugged individualism". Really? But as he gathered steam and hit his stride, the truth became clear---he does not believe in a smaller government----especially not now," as long as I am President". It was a confusing speech, designed to present himself as a believer in a traditional America, where independence and free markets rule, yet trumping all of that with the umbrella of a more expansive and expensive government budget--- needing, demanding more of its citizens' income---especially the "wealthiest among us". Of course, he also talked about eliminating some discretionary spending in domestic programs, cutting back on military spending, and how his healthcare plan will help reduce the budget. His overall budget would cut 4 trillion from the budget in 12 years. However, there were, notably and regretfully, very few specifics on how all this could possibly achieve enough reduction in the budget to make up the monstrous deficit and continued spending. And he knows it.

Obama is betting on taking a softer approach in hopes that the people of this country are too reluctant or ill informed to do more, even if it means disaster in the future for us and our children. He knows very well that more dramatic steps need to be taken in order to rescue us from financial disaster, but with the second biggest election of his life approaching in 2012, he is not about to rock the boat with massive entitlement cuts. He's gambling that the old "soak the rich" refrain will play better with the masses, and that the Republican/Ryan plan will be viewed as the machete wielding, evil, and uncaring enemy of his more "socially responsible" vision of an America. Casting himself as the guardian of all that he claims we hold near and dear, namely medicare, medicaid ,education, cleaner energy, and scientific research, not to mention our security, though that will be trimmed, Obama wants to have it both ways----be the generous benefactor (by spending for all of the above), yet mentions no specific ways to generate the cash---except for vague references to some minimal cutting, and higher taxes, especially for the rich, who will probably find other ways to structure their income, in order to avoid being taxed to the hilt. According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, which quoted figures from the IRS income tax statistics for 2008(the most recent year for available data), the top 10% of income earners already pay 69% of all total income taxes. The top 1% (earning over $380,000.00) pay 38% of their income to taxes. President Obama said they should be expected to pay a little bit more--how much more is fair?

In the meantime, the Ryan bill, which claims to cut the federal budget by over 6 trillion in 10 years, mostly by making drastic changes to medicare and medicaid, has passed the House, and though it will never pass the Senate, at least it's a starting point for the Republicans and a clear signal that they are sincere about actually wanting to do something major and bold to fix the sick state of our economy and not just apply band aids of rhetoric and ineffective cuts.

President Obama's poll numbers are once again slipping into the 40's, perhaps a sign that Americans are more than a little concerned. And while he may think that his vision of America is what all of us, or even a majority of us share,he may have under estimated our zeal and passion for independence from an over powering, over taxing government. And while we may value health care, education, scientific research, and welfare needs for the truly needy, we do not wish to sell our souls in order to be kept by a "big brother" government---or as some might call it a "nanny state". As much as Obama tries to portray himself as in alignment with our founding fathers, he is hardly that. His own choice of words, such as "progressive", "investments", and "personal sacrifices" reveal that he and his followers believe in quite a different America---one in which government is central to the lives of its citizens---or put bluntly, they believe in Socialism, or a close version of it. It would be far more admirable for Obama and his ilk to admit this, than to deny and shroud their purposes, for there are those who believe as they do, and would like to come out of the closet; and those of us who do not, are not fooled.

And so, the battle begins for the future of this country---who knew it would come down to a budget and not a philosophical debate? But,entitlement programs cost money---lots of it, and so we must decide how much of our money we are willing to spend in order to support everyone, and yes, how much we are willing to demand of others to give to support all of us.

There is an angst, a sorrow, and almost palpable mourning going on in this country for those who feel its very foundation and underpinnings are slowly being dismantled, piece by wrenching piece, in order to make way for a new America---one in which her greatness will only be a memory, but one in which the new way will be to take care of everyone's basic needs first. A truly lovely idea. The problem, of course, is that there is nothing new about this "new" way. It has unfortunately been tried, tested, and overthrown or discarded many times by other countries---even China, after many years of communism, is reveling in its new capitalistic freedoms. And closer to home, one only needs to look at Europe and its crumbling financial structure. We were actually the "new" way of doing things. Nowhere and at any time has there ever been a country as successful as ours, as strong, or as rich.

The coming months and next election will determine who and what we will choose to be--the choice for a debt free and robust economy should be clear, but the path is not. President Obama would have us believe that we can keep spending and taxing. That's not sustainable, and we all instinctively know it. We cannot keep spending and hoping that taxes are the answer. We'll either run out of rich people, they'll run out of money---or out of town. Consequently, sooner or later, the middle class will have to take on most of the burden. The other approach is to cut until it hurts and we return to a more balanced budget---but then, there's at least a chance we'll recover. Take your choice. This is getting serious---Obama may have an election to win or lose, but our stakes are much higher---we have a country which is in profound trouble. In the days to come, we need more specifics from President Obama, as to how his plan will work towards a long term fix, or will he simply put off what will need to be done later. Ryan's plan is more extreme, but at least recognizes the size and scope of the problem and offers possible solutions. There appears to be no easy cure , and much has to do with ideology and agendas---so we all must enter into what is sure to become the next great national conversation, and be prepared to make the necessary sacrifices.

A president's vision is only as valid as the people who stare back at him---may we let him know what we see, and may we somehow manage to merge our differing visions and rise up---leaner, wiser, but not transformed beyond recognition.