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February 04, 2005
President Bush's SOU Speech
I didn't watch President Bush deliver his State of the Union Speech to Congress. I've read it though. So much applause. The text reads as if it were delivered to a rent-a-crowd. It's all about aspirations.
Bush said that his administration must be good stewards of this economy, and that it would renew the great institutions on which millions of our fellow citizens rely. He said that "America's economy is the fastest growing of any major industrialized nation and when When action was needed, the Congress delivered -- and the nation is grateful."
Now we must add to these achievements. By making our economy more flexible, more innovative, and more competitive, we will keep America the economic leader of the world.(Applause.) America's prosperity requires restraining the spending appetite of the federal government. I welcome the bipartisan enthusiasm for spending discipline. I will send you a budget that holds the growth of discretionary spending below inflation, makes tax relief permanent, and stays on track to cut the deficit in half by 2009. (Applause.) My budget substantially reduces or eliminates more than 150 government programs that are not getting results, or duplicate current efforts, or do not fulfill essential priorities. The principle here is clear: Taxpayer dollars must be spent wisely, or not at all. (Applause.)So Bush is going to address the growing budget deficit ($412 billion) by cutting government spending. If expenditure on the Iraq is going up and Republicans are not very keen on cutting back on certain expensive new weapons systems either, then the 'squeeze spending game plan' means what? Does it mean that Bush is going to privatise Social Security? A large chunk of his speech was devoted to social security.
And the trade deficit? What about that? Narry a mention. Did not Bush say that his administration must be good stewards of this economy? Strikes me that there is big gap between rhetoric and reality in all of this.
Posted by Gary Sauer-Thompson at February 4, 2005 05:27 PM
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