He is certainly handling the crisis well for those who believe that “more” and “government” are words that belong together. He is ramping up federal spending and debt to a level that is frightening. At the end of 2008, our debt equaled 70% of GDP. In Obama’s proposed budget, the 2012 debt equals 97% of GDP.
Louisiana Governor Jindal, who gave the Republican response to Obama’s speech, has been panned by pundits on both sides of the aisle. While the location appeared as staged as it was (Jindal walking down the hall to the podium) and his delivery lacked the emotion and charisma of the president – his words clearly outlined the choices we have to face.
“Democratic leaders in Washington, they place their hope in the federal government. We place our hope in you, the American people,” he said.
Jindal continued, “In the end, it comes down to an honest and fundamental disagreement about the proper role of government. We oppose the national Democratic view that says the way to strengthen our country is to increase dependence on government. We believe the way to strengthen our country is to restrain spending in Washington, to empower individuals and small businesses to grow our economy and create jobs.”
Right now, the people in our nation are placing their faith in the federal government and in its ability to fix the crisis by spending trillions of dollars, to cut the deficit in half after tripling it.
I agree with Jindal, “Americans can do anything.” We just have to decide that we want to.