aTypical Joe: a gay New Yorker living in the rural South
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
The Obama Delusion
Ok, so Obama is post-racial. How about everything else? Robert J. Samuelson says there’s far less there than meets the eye. His column calls it The Obama Delusion:
By Obama’s own moral standards, Obama fails. Americans “are tired of hearing promises made and 10-point plans proposed in the heat of a campaign only to have nothing change,” he recently said. Shortly thereafter he outlined an economic plan of at least 12 points that, among other things, would:
• Provide a $1,000 tax cut for most two-earner families ($500 for singles).
• Create a $4,000 refundable tuition tax credit for every year of college.
• Expand the child-care tax credit for people earning less than $50,000 and “double spending on quality after-school programs.”
• Enact an “energy plan” that would invest $150 billion in 10 years to create a “green energy sector.”
Whatever one thinks of these ideas, they’re standard goody-bag politics: something for everyone. They’re so similar to many Clinton proposals that her campaign put out a news release accusing Obama of plagiarizing. With existing budget deficits and the costs of Obama’s “universal health plan,” the odds of enacting his full package are slim.
A favorite Obama line is that he will tell “the American people not just what they want to hear but what we need to know.” Well, he hasn’t so far. Consider the retiring baby boomers. A truth-telling Obama might say: “Spending for retirees—mainly Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid—is already nearly half the federal budget. Unless we curb these rising costs, we will crush our children with higher taxes. Reflecting longer life expectancies, we should gradually raise the eligibility ages for these programs and trim benefits for wealthier retirees. Both Democrats and Republicans are to blame for inaction. Waiting longer will only worsen the problem.”
Instead, Obama pledges not to raise the retirement age and to “protect Social Security benefits for current and future beneficiaries.” This isn’t “change”; it’s sanctification of the status quo.
