In the speech he brought out many points he felt were of interest and utmost importance to the American people. Some of the main points that were mentioned had to do with the economy, war on terror, immigration, energy, social security, healthcare, education as well as other topics. In addition the President outlined succinctly his vision to insure the continued growth and safety of the United States.
The following are some of the highlights of what the President's plans are:
Economy - As President Bush said "Our economy is healthy and vigorous, and growing faster than other major industrialized nations."[1] Although many Americans believe that the economy is on a downward spiral, the facts just do not bear this out. While it is true that prices for oil and gasoline are at record highs, every leading economic indicator continues to show a uniquely robust sound and growing economy. Early in 2002 for example the unemployment rate was nearly 5.8%. This rate has continued to go down. The strong economy is validated by an unemployment rate of February 2006 at 4.8%.[2] Another leading economic indicator would be the stock market. For example, in October 2002 the Down Jones Industrial Average had plummeted all the way down to 7289.27 as it was still buried in the aftermath of the tragic events of 9/11/01, which had catastrophic effects on our nation's economy.[3] By 2006 the DJIA, again, despite soaring record high oil prices, reached a 4 year high level of 11,229.47.[4] This growth which shows an approximate 50% increase in the Dow Jones Average is a clear indicator of just how well our economy has recovered in such a relatively short period of time.
Immigration - President Bush said "Our nation needs orderly and secure borders..." and "We hear claims that immigrants are somehow bad for the economy -- even though this economy could not function without them. 1 Despite what most conservatives believe President Bush plans on calling for a guest-worker program that provides for automatic citizenship for illegal immigrants now living and working in the United States. As Daniel Henninger mentions in his article in the Wall Street Journal that President Bush affirms that he believes in respect for the law, as he mentioned it in a radio address: "America is a nation of immigrants, and we're also a nation of laws". The President's plan is to keep our borders strong. While believing this, however he also understands that our nation's economy has always been built up by the hard work, blood, sweat, and tears of immigrants.
Education - Also, President Bush said "Our greatest advantage in the world has always been our educated, hard-working, ambitious people - and we're going to keep that edge." Recognizing that the nations future lies in its advances in the technologies, the President called for more and precise Math and Science courses, and to help the struggling students so that they can further better themselves and we can continue to compete with other countries.1 I think this is an excellent plan because we should always strive to keep the United States of America number one in any category.
While the president spoke on many topics, there are the three issues I am mostly interested which are: Homeland Security/ War on Terror, Social Security and our national policy on energy. In my opinion these issues are important amongst other things, because we are at war; I need to worry about my social security as we are a nation growing older; and lastly we need to create new means of energy and to become less reliant on imports.
The events of September 11, 2001 highlighted the importance of home land security across the nation. It was clearly our nations pompous belief that we could not be attacked at home that led to a lax security system in the United States. Therefore, and because of the tragedy of 9/11, the United States Department of Homeland Security was created. The Department of Homeland Security (hereinafter DHS) was established November 25, 2002 but legitimately began on January 24, 2003. The plan was to merge any organization associated to "homeland security" into a single cabinet thereby making us more responsive and able to act quickly. The Department is currently headed by federal judge Michael Chertoff. [5] The reorganization plan of the DHS in November 25, 2002 consists of some of the following responsibilities and plans:
1) Transferring other existing agencies into the department such as the Department of Health and Human Services, the Coast Guard, the United States Secret Service etc.;
2) Establish the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency and Acceleration Fund for Research and Development of Homeland Security Technologies;
3) Establish Bureau of Border Security;
4) Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection - identify and scope out terrorist threats; consult with the CIA and other federal agencies, state and local governments to ensure proper exchanges of information;
5) Coordinate training in information analysis;
6) Develop emergency preparedness systems;
7) Science and Technology - develop a national policy and strategic plan for identifying chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and any other terrorists threats;
8) Detecting, preventing and protecting against terrorist attacks etc. [6]
I believe that creating the DHS on President Bush's part was a great idea because homeland security is a priority for him and the Department is in fact doing their job.
Some of the accomplishments of the Department are:
Cracking down on terrorists financing with our international partners;
Improving border screening and security through the US-Visit Entry-Exit System;
Transforming the FBI to focus on preventing terrorism;
Increasing cooperation and reform among the international partners at the front lines of the war on terror;
Strengthening transportation security etc.
DHS also worked on establishing the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO), and the Terrorist Screening Center, and National Targeting Center (NTC) etc.
In part due to all of these accomplishments and actions, not only has the United States not been attacked since 9/11, but we have taken the offensive while putting terrorists on the run.
Flying has never been any safer and the US-Visit Entry - Exist system exists in 115 airports, 14 seaports and 50 land border crossings. The NTC examines about 9 million high risk shipping containers per year. 1
President Bush says it best ..."We're living in historic times when you think about this world we're in. It is a time of challenge, and it's a time of opportunity. We've got the challenge to protect the American people. My most important duty is to protect you from harm. And we have an opportunity to lay the foundation of peace for generation to come. "
-President George W. Bush-
We must never forget the day of September 11, 2001, when all of those innocent people died because of the actions of radical terrorists. We must stop all actions of terror even if they may not on our lands. The more democracies we create, the more allies we have and the safer we are.
I know that there is this concern of our freedom and civil liberties slowly being taken away. For example, Wire Tapping is a huge issue in the news, but if you have nothing to hide, then what's wrong with trying to protect us?
The next topic I would like to mention is another important issue addressed in the State of the Union, Social Security. The Social Security Act was developed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935 during the Great Depression as part of his New Deal. It was originally created to help retirees and the unemployed by insuring an income for people as they got older or became unemployed. FICA was created in 1937 and all the employed were required to pay payroll taxes (contribute to the fund) in order to help fund the national retirement vehicle which we know as Social Security. Social Security was one of the greatest successes. [7]
Social Security faces future problems under the system today. If we do not reform Social Security there will be a high percentage in benefit cuts. The system is funded by payroll taxes and as our nations grows older and life expectancy continues to get longer fewer people will in fact be contributing to the system for more recipients. This is a tremendous problem because the government will have to come up billions of dollars in someway and eventually the system will be bankrupt. 7 Yes, Social Security is in crisis and the answer is not to raise taxes. Raising taxes would just be devastating to homes because it would just be making savings more difficult.
President Bush's plans are to allow people to put a small portion of their payroll taxes into bond and stock funds and retirement accounts. The President's goals are to strengthen the safety net for future generations; protect those who depend on Social Security; and offer every American a chance to experience the opportunity of ownership through voluntary personal retirement accounts. 1 President Bush's plans gives people a chance to save and enjoy their benefits, to put money aside and plan for their future.
The last topic I would like to discuss is energy. Before the industrial revolution we relied on the sun and burned wood for heat. For transportation we relied on horses and boats. For our machines we relied on water and wind to for energy. We went from water wheels to water turbines. Then we discovered that oil which processed into gasoline can be used for automobiles. Thomas Edison and Henry Ford were the turn of the century. Today we depend on energy to survive; therefore there is an increase in demand for the fossil fuels and the cost just keep rising. [8]
In the President's State of the Union he says
"Keeping America competitive requires affordable energy. And here we have a serious problem: America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world. The best way to break this addiction is through technology ... By applying the talent and technology of America, this country can dramatically improve our environment, move beyond petroleum- based economy, and make our dependence on Middle Eastern oil a thing of the past."
The president would like to reduce our dependency on foreign oil from 75% to 20%, which would be a lot cheaper for us. He would also like to see a 22% increase in clean coal technologies, wind technologies, clean safe nuclear energy, hybrid and hydrogen cars and a popular topic ethanol. Energy conversion is a serious issue today. A way to increase domestic energy production is by using renewable energy resources here in the United States. Renewable resources are constantly replenished and never run out. Some renewable energy technologies, such as water- and wind-driven mills, have been in use for centuries. The United States has the world's largest known coal reserves, about 275 billion short tons. There is enough coal to last over two hundred years at today's level of use. Coal can be used for electric power. Wind technologies produce electricity at low costs with minor harm to the environment.[9] In John M. Urbanchuk's article "Contribution of the Ethanol Industry to the Economy of the United States" he states that ethanol industries spent billions of dollars in raw materials to create ethanol and a large portion of their spending went to corn. He also lists the positive effects that ethanol will have on American economy such as: creating new jobs, reduces dependency on foreign oil, provides a growing and reliable domestic market for American farmers, etc.
President Bush has already acted on energy conversion even before his State of the Union address for example in August of 2005 President Bush signed the Energy Policy Act, which set a standard of 7.5 billion gallons of renewable resources such as ethanol to be used in the nations highway fuel supply by 2012. I see that there is a plan for energy conversion, but I do also understand that it will take many years for us to even see a noticeable result. As long as we continue with a plan and the technologies our domestic market will increase therefore will help the nation's economy to grow and help others individually.
President Bush has done an outstanding job overall, besides the normal issues that always face a President for example the economy. President Bush has appeared to put together a clear, concise vision for our nation's future. In addition he has enumerated a clear proactive approach in which to lay the ground work to accomplish his goals. However in my views he often times seems focused on only one topic terrorism. I speak for myself and probably for most I do not want to witness another day like 9/11 happen in my life time or any lifetime, we as a country should do anything to prevent that. I am proud that our President is concerned with the issue of terrorism but on the other hand I think he needs express his concerns for domestic issues a little more often. I don't know how soon the social security reform will take place, but hopefully soon because if so it will eventually no longer exist. President Bush's plans overall is to create affordable healthcare, save social security, reduce America's dependency on foreign oil with renewable resources, reform the immigration system, homeland security etc. I hope the next President will agree and continue with President Bush's plans for the future of this nation.
peter mangano
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