02/16/06
By Justin Norris,
Senior Staff Writer
On January 31, 2006, President Bush outlined the issues that were going to be important to his administration for this year. His speech attempted to re-launch his presidency after political scandal, delayed emergency response during natural disasters, oil price hikes, and a stagnant economy.
Throughout the course of 2005, Bush’s approval ratings have sunk as low as 39 percent. Although the ratings have jumped about 10 percent, the rest of his term remains stagnant with approval.
Bush addressed in his speech the mounting problem of Social Security. Social Security composes a large portion of the United States budget, and the concern stands at a growing retirement population depleting the Social Security pot. Today, the baby-boomer generation, who have outnumbered the contributing generation below them, are depleting the resources of Social Security and collecting on their retirement. Smaller benefits are given to them, leaving them to invent new income to live off.
In 2005, Bush introduced legislation that would allow investment of Social Security dollars into Wall Street and create private retirement accounts.
He spoke on the issue saying, “Congress did not act last year on my proposal to save Social Security yet the rising cost of entitlements is not going away.”
Suddenly, a large mass of democrats stood up to cheer for the failure to act. The issue is really a hinge on the gridlock and lack of compromise in Congress.
It is not immaturity, rather the faith that there are better alternatives, and the inclination to synthesize the arguments at hand.
What is most interesting about the role of president in these addresses rests in his image as the unifier of the country. He stands as the President of the entire United States, and rightfully so, yet the flooding rhetoric of Bush’s address pours into a nation amassed and exhausted from rhetoric.
Tireless campaigns for election candidates, moral issues, and corrupt business flood commercials and the American people live despondently and cynically with “verbal” wars.
The president has proposed very wholesome, concrete solutions to Americans, such as the 22 percent increase in alternative energy research and development, which - for an oil man himself - is a remarkable proposal.
Bush proposed alternative energy sources such as ethanol from corn harvesting and wood chipping. However, the research will take much more time than allotted in his term.
The fate of the Union will remain as it always has, which is slow and inefficient. The Union is not decisive or swift-acting. But, perhaps the beauty of American politics is that good things happen, just in their own time.
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