The More Americans Demand Change, The More The State Of The Union Address Stays The Same

The Drum Major Institute for Public Policy's Rapid Response to the 2008 State of the Union

Click here to read DMI's full analysis of the President's domestic policy prescriptions - complete with statistics and talking points -- online here.

The American people want change. Every presidential candidate, Democrat and Republican, has made this a mantra. But the State of the Union Address reveals no alteration from President George W. Bush. This year the president labored to keep breathing life into the same worn out ideology that has repeatedly failed America's current and aspiring middle class.

The president continues to proclaim the foundation of our economy sound when so many current and aspiring middle-class Americans are losing their spot in the American Dream. He prioritizes ideology over proven methods of stimulating the economy and providing health care. He uses the language of consumer choice to dress up what really amounts to unbridled corporate power and profiteering. He continues to assert that the market will right itself, if only people understand it more and restrict it less, despite all of the evidence to the contrary.

Despite the praise-worthy components of President Bush's address tonight - his signing of the Energy Independence and Security Act, his cooperation with Congress to pass a stimulus reform that would include millions of low-income Americans he initially intended to exclude, his newfound interest in supporting military families - his approach reflected a commitment to ideology, as opposed to willingness to see how that ideology has actually impacted current and aspiring middle-class Americans.

After years of insisting that the economy was doing great as middle-class families were squeezed by stagnant wages and a rising cost of living, it takes weak corporate profits to make the president recognize that times are tough.

* Because the president's ideology insists that tax cuts are always preferable to government spending, the stimulus proposal includes costly and ineffective incentives for business rather than a fast and efficient expansion of unemployment benefits that would both boost the economy and help the middle-class households hardest hit by the downturn.

* Looking at the corporate recklessness and lack of government oversight that created the subprime mortgage crisis, President Bush avoids regulating the industries at fault. Rather he touts a plan that allows banks to decide on a purely voluntary basis whether they care to work out a payment plan with beleaguered homeowners. We don't imagine that's the kind of volunteerism he heralded elsewhere in his address.

* A middle-class standard of living is defined by things like access to education, health coverage and the opportunity to hold down a stable, well-paid job, yet from education to health care to tax policy, the president preferred to experiment with market-based solutions that won't help aspiring Americans work their way into the middle class. It was particularly shocking that the president urges Congress to make his failed tax cuts for the wealthy permanent, despite their failure to help the nation recover from the last economic downturn.

The president tells us that he trusts the American people. The more important question is whether the American people have any reason to trust the White House. The president's support of choice in this State of the Union address reveals that he is choosing not to heed the call of the American people for common-sense solutions to the challenges they face.

Yet, what is most important this address, is not the president delivering it, but the ideas represented. This State of the Union can either serve as a blueprint for continuing to move backwards, or a line of demarcation away from a policy outlook that has caused irreparable harm to America's middle class. While the president's years of imposing dangerously flawed policies on the nation are drawing to a close, future leaders, in Congress and the White House, will determine whether his distorted worldview lives on, and continues to afflict the middle class and the nation.

*****

You will find DMI's full analysis of the president's domestic policy prescriptions online here.

Click here to read DMI's analysis of what Bush's State of the Union address means for:

Economy (including the foreclosure crisis)
Budget
Energy and Environment
Healthcare
Education
Veterans
Immigration
FISA Immunity

Comments

[realpolitic]

Let's hope that during his last year in office Bush spends a considerable amount of time on the ranch, where he belongs.

And George, when your term is over good luck with all the weeds and brush down there. Chop them down to your hearts content.

[Garvagh]

The idiot in the White House has doubled the national debt, and wants to inflict the maximum further injury (by squandering many more hundreds of billions of dollars in his foolish effort to refashion Iraq into a docile client state)before he leaves.

[SubparDude]

Let's look at the facts since Mr. Bush became president:


Middle class incomes have stagnated the entire time, the price of oil has more than tripled, and the dollar is at historic lows against virtually every foreign currency.

Half of the nation's individual income now goes to just 2% of the taxpayers - which means that it takes the other 98% together to earn the other half. Wages for most Americans have stagnated every year. And income inequality, which has increased every year since 1992, is now at its worst since 1928.

5 million jobs have been lost overseas, including 3.3 million manufacturing jobs and more than 1.6 million service jobs, and economists now say that at least twenty percent of all jobs in our economy today - that's 25 to 30 million jobs - could potentially be sent off shore over the next decade.

The gross federal debt has grown by $3.3 trillion, personal debt has increased by $6.9 trillion, and the nation's cumulative trade debt has grown by $4.3 trillion.

The number of Americans living in poverty has increased to 37 million.

And 7 million more Americans - now 47 million in total - are without any health insurance, despite the fact that most of them are working full time or are the dependents of workers. And another 50 million Americans are chronically under-insured.

[janmB]

ONLY A WOMAN LIKE HILLARY CAN BRING REAL CHANGE.

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATION BRING CHANGE.

OBAMA IS A GREENHORN---
MORE GREEN THAN BLACK OR WHITE

THIS COUNTRY NEEDS TO BE SCHOOLED ON HOW TO CHOSE LEADERS.

[DixieMelody]

Please read TRAFFIC JAM ON THE HIGHWAY TO HELL at:

http://sheilastuff.blogspot.com

[AnninCA]

Yes, as do the Democratic primary race.

[Crowhaul]

Change?? Nope. Uh uh. No way. Never gonna happen.

Give a listen to my buddy George Carlin. He tells it - truly - like it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTfcAyYGg&feature=related

[realistic2008]

Tthere is nothing to analize in the president's address which no surprise he had it wrong on every level and every instance. What is surprise is that the Democrats got up and applauded him. Bush is con-man together with the insipid lier of the Vice president who sat looking bored and hardly paying attention for he problable wrote the speach.
Bush delivered one great BS package with the stupid smirks in his face knowing that the Democrats are gutless and won't dare to even not boo him and no one question him if he felt the 5 soldiers that were killed yesterday in Iraq are probe that the insurgents are being eliminated, what a victory indeed...

[wrabbitt]

Change? Look closely at "W" is his mouth moving? Its a lie, But, at first his plan for getting the economy moving was a good idea! but, now by the time congress and the senate get done adding money to their pockets with attachments the rebates will be $20 and take 8 to 9 months to show up. And for every dollar we get congress will end up charging us 5$ Business as usual, we lose. congress gets richer. Isn't it time for a congressional pay raise? its been several days! I am starting to wonder why anyone would willingly come to America? You still can't say Health or Care in the same sentence!

[wrabbitt]

We can't seem to get the point across to our elected officials that we are not going to put up with the same shit for much longer! Are they stupid as well as greedy? Who ever we elect goes to Washington and forgets all the promises they made, and who they work for. Could some one wake up some of the old farts in Washington and tell them its time to produce or go home! If they don't want to do what we want they can leave, they are not worth 10% of what they are paid. or 2% of what they steal.

[deminmo]

Alternatives to oil, new industries, Pell grants
for students to attend private schools, allowing
un-used education from military to transfer to
spouse or children. Nothing new on alternate
energy, in fact no real funding to make an
incentive for new business, and thus new jobs
that would stimulate the economy. Ok, funding for private schools, but not for children's
healthcare? No explaination of how the World
Market affects our local markets.
FISA is set to expire on Friday. In reality it
will continue but Bush will have to use the
FISA court to wiretap. Immunity for alleged help
from Telecom companies. The Telecoms gave info
before they were asked to do so, and are being
sued. So let's wipe that clean.
And there was that implied threat that Iran is
going to feel our wrath over uranium enrichment.
Did we really expect a plan, with only 10 months
left of a failed Presidency? Oh, and Iraq. I
guess it's a given we are there for 10 years.

[blackwell98]

Shrinking the US Dollar from the Inside-Out
By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts12132007.html

[Bob Egan]

This 'economic boost' is necessary because the middle class and lower incomes can no longer afford to support the rich! This is a temporary move to stop the wealthy from feeding off each other!

[BinBaldwin]

Change back to failed Liberal Policies of the 60s as Obama suggests? No Way

[rabun666]

I refer to Dana Milbank's book, Homo Politicos, about what the buzzword change means for Washington politicos. It's done with a wink,wink, to the Big Dogs of DC., the lobbyists who bribe, campaign contributions and after congress jobs, the politicos get during and after service who are really lap dogs, for the Big Dogs who are reported to number some 500. So while talking change, the wink, winks at the same time means nothing will change and they won't change anything.