President Obama has been doing weekly Youtube addresses for several weeks now. As these were created for civil discourse and honest discussion, I thought it would be worthwhile to talk about the merits and drawbacks of the video's weekly topic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDfpd8GV9dI
In his first Presidential YouTube Address as the sitting chief executive, Barack Obama promote his stimulus plan, announcing that citizens will be able to hold the government accountable by monitoring the spending at a new Web site called Recovery.gov:
One key quote that should hopefully allay some people's concerns regarding the transparency of how the money will be used
[quote name='President Obama']"I know that some are skeptical about the size and scale of this recovery plan," says President Obama. "I understand that skepticism, which is why this recovery plan must and will include unprecedented measures that will allow the American people to hold my Administration accountable for these results. We won't just throw money at our problems - we'll invest in what works."[/quote]
Detractors will often say that they don't want to utilize tax payer money that their kids and grand kids will eventually have to pay. It's a totally understandable concern, but the President also brings up a good point regarding the potentially lost generation of students who may not be able to afford college due to the worsening credit crisis (thereby making it harder for them to get loans). Add the already sky rocketing cost of tuition (both public and private schools), and I fear the country's colleges may see severely diminished student populations. And should this happen, the country loses its economic and technological advantage, thereby hurting everyone's long-term prospects. So in a way, failure to intelligently handle this crisis will hurt our kids and grand kids as well.
One thing I do support the Republican talking points on is the appropriateness of including additional funding for Pell Grants and health care in this stimulus. Funding going to such projects are not "shovel ready," and the whole point of stimulus is for a quick release of money into the economy. I definitely support increased spending in education and health care, but done through the normal appropriation's process. Although, with everyone hurting, can the country wait that long?
What are your thoughts? Let's try to keep this civil. If you disagree, what would you change?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDfpd8GV9dI
In his first Presidential YouTube Address as the sitting chief executive, Barack Obama promote his stimulus plan, announcing that citizens will be able to hold the government accountable by monitoring the spending at a new Web site called Recovery.gov:
One key quote that should hopefully allay some people's concerns regarding the transparency of how the money will be used
[quote name='President Obama']"I know that some are skeptical about the size and scale of this recovery plan," says President Obama. "I understand that skepticism, which is why this recovery plan must and will include unprecedented measures that will allow the American people to hold my Administration accountable for these results. We won't just throw money at our problems - we'll invest in what works."[/quote]
Detractors will often say that they don't want to utilize tax payer money that their kids and grand kids will eventually have to pay. It's a totally understandable concern, but the President also brings up a good point regarding the potentially lost generation of students who may not be able to afford college due to the worsening credit crisis (thereby making it harder for them to get loans). Add the already sky rocketing cost of tuition (both public and private schools), and I fear the country's colleges may see severely diminished student populations. And should this happen, the country loses its economic and technological advantage, thereby hurting everyone's long-term prospects. So in a way, failure to intelligently handle this crisis will hurt our kids and grand kids as well.
One thing I do support the Republican talking points on is the appropriateness of including additional funding for Pell Grants and health care in this stimulus. Funding going to such projects are not "shovel ready," and the whole point of stimulus is for a quick release of money into the economy. I definitely support increased spending in education and health care, but done through the normal appropriation's process. Although, with everyone hurting, can the country wait that long?
What are your thoughts? Let's try to keep this civil. If you disagree, what would you change?
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