oh the pity. it WAS good to be king.
Posted on 12/04/2013 10:42:57 AM PST by jazusamo
President Obama on Wednesday declared that addressing income inequality would be the focus of “all” of the White House’s efforts “for the rest of my presidency.”
In a sweeping address that touched on raising the minimum wage, investing in infrastructure and ending tax breaks for the wealthy, Obama warned that the American economy has become “profoundly unequal,” declaring economic mobility the “challenge of our time.”
“The combined trends of increasing inequality and decreasing mobility pose a fundamental threat to the American dream, our way of life, and what we stand for around the globe,” he said in an hour-long speech from a community center in one of Washington, D.C.’s poorest neighborhoods. Obama’s speech came as the president has seen his approval ratings drop with the disastrous rollout of ObamaCare.
A CBS News poll released last month showed six in 10 adults disapprove of the president's handling of the economy. Some 69 percent say the president has not made real progress toward fixing economic problems. And despite a booming stock market, unemployment remains high, at 7.3 percent.
Unemployment would be even higher were it not for the millions of people who have left the workforce. The percentage rate of people in the workforce has fallen since the recession that was in full force at the beginning of Obama’s presidency.
Republicans argue ObamaCare and regulations issued by the administration are holding back the economy further, hurting people at various income levels.
In his speech, Obama pointed the finger of blame at Congress, arguing its inaction on several issues was exacerbating problems.
Ahead of an push in the Senate to raise the federal minimum wage above $10, Obama argued that those who work hard “should make a decent living.”
“It's well past the time to raise a minimum wage that, in real terms right now, is below where it was when Harry Truman was in office,” said Obama, who called for a minimum wage hike in his 2013 State of the Union address. The White House has since focused its attention more on other issues, including immigration reform.
He reiterated calls to reform the corporate tax codes, repeal the sequester and pass legislation preventing discrimination against female and gay employees. And Obama said that rather than focusing simply on deficits, Congress should invest in technology and infrastructure.
“A growing deficit of opportunity is more of a threat to our future than our rapidly shrinking fiscal deficit,” Obama said.
He also again pushed for universal high-quality pre-K education, and said he would soon announce economic “promise zones” to help lift children out of poverty.
Obama called for an extension of emergency unemployment benefits set to lapse by the end of the year, as well. House Republicans have signaled they likely will not support an extension.
The president argued that his embattled healthcare law was boosting the economy and helping improve the economic security of poor and middle-class Americans.
“This law is going to work, and for the sake of our economy, it needs to work,” Obama said.
Still, it remains an open question what progress — if any — the president will be able to make towards his economic agenda.
Almost every one of the proposals the president outlined had been mentioned before, including during his inaugural and State of the Union addresses earlier this year. But aside from a slight tax increase on the richest Americans early last year, the president has seen his economic agenda stymied in the Republican-controlled House.
On Wednesday, Obama signaled that he would look to more aggressively challenge Republicans to “offer their own” ideas to address inequality.
“You owe it to the American people to tell us what you are for, not just what you're against,” Obama said. “It's not just enough anymore to say get the government out of the way and let the unfettered market take care of it.”
Fundamental transformation.
Vote for revenge.
Obama’s association with Van Jones.
He warned us. His media covered for him. So here we are.
You are very correct.
“Predistribution” is the economic theory I believe he is trumpeting. It can not become policy without an unconstitutional power grab.
there it is....the socialist came out of the closet.....
“What he is saying is that he would rather the poor be poorer, provided the rich were less rich. That is the liberal policy.”
Margaret Thatcher
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okHGCz6xxiw
“...punish your enemies” - in the context of politics.
!
So?
“in the context of politics”.
for now.
Later, who knows.
Oh, I don’t think they intend to keep their punishment of their enemies in the “political context”.
They made that clear from the beginning with the refusal to prosecute the Black Panthers.
And, we’re seeing ongoing “punishment” with the “knockout game”.
What a woman and leader, Margaret Thatcher! Little wonder she and Ronald Reagan were such good friends.
Thanks for that link.
Majority of 18-24 Year Olds Support Recall of Obama from Office.
-——Dan Greenfield, FrontPageMag.com
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3098196/posts
The “inequality” is exacerbated by policies that destroy the work ethic and promote dependence on the gov’t.
Destroying the industrial base, killing small business, placing huge regulatory burdens on employers, are the critical factors, contributing to constrained economic growth.
This speech could easily have been written in 1848 Europe..
How many po’ folks is he taking along on his Hawaiiian vacation?
FUBO... you kenyan BASTARD!
“The Dems have been peddling socialism for the better part of a decade now,”
Try a century! I have recently been given a middle school age civics book that was used in 1934. It is amazingly thorough in its support of big government programs. The difference is that in the Forward they actually admit that their intention is to actually support the “recent expansion of the federal government.”
You mean so his halfrican relatives have electricity, toilets and running water in their huts?
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