President Obama delivered his sixth State of the Union message to a Congress that is now completely controlled by Republicans. In case you missed it, here is a brief synopsis:
“I fixed the economy (wages are stagnant and the work participation rate is a paltry 62.8 percent, the lowest since 1978), so it’s time to let the good times roll. I’m giving away free ice cream, and we’ll make the rich pay for it. Now, who wants free ice cream?”
Before you grab your dish and line up for a scoop, let me warn you. You may not get the flavor you want or need, and in the end, it will cost you more than you ever thought you would pay.
Two of the most appealing flavors he offered are free community college educations for all and paid family leave.
Be advised that while Obama wants to hand you a free community college education with one hand, he wants to tax the savings you put away in those 529 accounts for your own children’s college fund.
How far can you get with a community college education? Realistically, not a lot further than with a high school education.
Since the federal government got involved in education (a matter our Founding Fathers wisely left in the hands of the state), more and more young people are graduating high school without the ability to read and write and do basic math. If the federal government gains control of our community colleges, they will be dumbed down as well. Furthermore, college is not for everyone. Many young people would be better served learning a trade.
What all of our young people need is jobs. Government programs lead to higher taxes, which suck the life’s blood out of the economy.
As for paid family leave, it’s not free either. He wants to give it away to federal employees, who are the most coddled workers on the planet. That cost would be handed down to we the taxpayers. Furthermore, it would be an added burden on the private sector. These costs would be passed down to consumers in the form of higher prices for goods and services and to employees in the form of reduced jobs, wages and the elimination of other more practical benefits.
Will Republican leaders put a stop to this nonsense and show us the way forward? Unlikely, without your full, undivided attention.
In the November election, Republicans were given a mandate by the voters, which included many Democrats and independents, to put a stop to Obama’s socialist agenda as well as his blatant disregard for the Constitution and the rule of law, a mandate the GOP leadership has, thus far, undermined and ignored.
This is not the time to hit the snooze button and go to sleep for the next two years with the expectation that things will be better, or at least not any worse, before the next election. This is a time to get your elected representatives to apply the brakes to Obama’s agenda.
Last week, a group of conservative leaders put the mandate from the voters into words that anyone who believes in the rule of law and loves freedom and individual liberty can understand. Read it here.
It is a mandate to: end Obamacare, stop executive amnesty, hold the executive branch accountable for its abuses of power and its national security failures both foreign and domestic, and put the interests of the United States of America and Americans first.
Among the specifics in this seven-page document:
- increase free-market alternatives to Obamacare;
- end corporate welfare;
- expose federal overreach in education and stop Common Core implementation;
- deny public funds for lawless initiatives, like the amnesty decree;
- aggressively go after the cozy network among Wall Street, K Street and government, including the Treasury and the Federal Reserve;
- provide the military the means and leeway necessary to accomplish their mission;
- force the Executive Branch to come to Congress to fund foreign government bailouts by ending the International Monetary Fund’s $100 billion open line of credit from the U.S. Treasury.
These and the other common-sense initiatives in this document should be a priority for every citizen. We have a responsibility to make it a priority for everyone we elected to represent us in this 114th Congress, be he or she, Republican or Democrat.
Read the mandate. Send it to your elected representatives and get a commitment from each one to support the mandate. There will be an accounting at the end of this year and hopefully a formal opportunity to sign on.
Media wishing to interview Jane Chastain, please contact [email protected].
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