State of the Union 2010

President Obama delivered his State of the Union 2010 address tonight.

There were several items he spoke about with which I agree.

What remains to be seen is how they will get implemented, how they will ultimately affect the national debt, especially in light of the fact that starting next year he is proposing a three-year freeze on government spending, and "the pay as you go" plan.

However, I will not take up time speaking about those things that would be nice to achieve for Main Street USA.

Well, except for education.

I agree that there needs to be reform, but with the power that the teacher's unions and others wield I am unsure how that will be achieved.

While there are those who do not feel that the No Child Left Behind Act, passed and implemented under President Bush but co-authored by the late Senator Edward Kennedy, is working, it is interesting to note that one of the reasons is that there were those within the education community at the local level who, basically, did what they could to thwart "outsiders" coming in to assist their most needy students.

Case in point, when Paul Vallas was Superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia (one of the largest in the country) he implemented something new every year that not only discouraged but made it nearly impossible for companies, community centers and churches to provide Supplemental Educational Services to their students. And today, Philadelphia is feeling the pain of those actions.

And there are many other cases like that of Vallas.

Thus, unless and until the internal obstacles are dealt with agressively, education reform, of any sort, will fail. I truly hope that President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan can accomplish this task they seek.

On to the few points where what is proposed is not good for Main Street USA.

First and foremost are the infamous earmarks.

Even though the President stated, while campaigning, that he would not pass legislation that contains earmarks, it continues. What is now being requested by him is that there be a website listing all earmarks so the people can see where their money is going.

And while the President states he does not like or approve of earmarks, had certain pieces of pork not been added to the senate version of healthcare reform, behind closed doors with Senator Harry Reid, it would not have achieved the super-majority vote of 60 US Senators in favor of the bill.

It is still this taxpayer's opinion that earmarks are nothing more than a Congressional Special Interest Group.

And, while the President feels that the US Supreme Court decision allowing companies to fund political advertising was wrong and would open up all kinds of problems for the country, the amount of money corporations would spend would still, more than likely, be a pitance to the massive sums of earmarks offered to politicans (for their states) to secure their vote for a particular bill.

Yes, Main Street USA those are your tax dollars at work-in another state.

There is also too much evidence to show that the healthcare reform that has been proposed will not achieve what is being promised.

One major point that would definitely reduce healthcare and insurance costs overall is Tort Reform.

Again, no one, not President Obama, not any Senator nor member of the House, is proposing such an action.

What exactly do they fear?

Will they lose previous campaign contributions?

Tough if they do. These elected representatives, every single one of them, are supposed to be serving Main Street USA.

So, yes, President Obama is right, we need healthcare reform.

No, we do not need what has been proposed.

Republicans and Democrats need to come together and draft legislation that provides most of the basics the President wants, but does not force people into buying health insurance, by fining or taxing them, if they do not wish to do so. (As a note, between 25% and 30% of the total number of people being counted as uninsured fall into this category.)

Food for thought.

Over For Now.

Main Street One