I agree with the liberal blogosphere — Obama’s State of the Union was “Reaganesque.” Well written and well delivered. Awe-inspiring. Except that it was all distortions, false promises, and bait and switch. Don’t believe a word. It was pure sales and marketing, with zero substance. It was the same old “Cash for Flunkers.” Failed programs renamed “investments” in order to sell the con.
Obama’s State of the Union reminds me of the Taco Bell lawsuit in the news this same week. California consumers are suing Taco Bell for calling an item on their menu a “beef taco.” The class-action lawsuit claims that the “beef taco” barely has any beef in it — less than 35% to be exact. Instead, the lawsuit claims it contains isolated oat product, binders and extenders.
Well, that beef taco would make Obama proud. There’s no meat in Obama’s product either. Obama knows his audience likes meat, so he mixes in a spoonful of meat, along with isolated oat product, binders, extenders and other assorted artificial rubbish that tastes a little like meat. He wins your support with the bait and switch. But there is no substance. Where’s the beef? When Obama is done with the presidency, he’ll have the perfect skills to serve as CEO of Taco Bell.
Obama’s real State of the Union is just more campaign payola. Can you imagine if we played a game of “What does he really mean?” Just substitute “wasted government spending and debt for the same old failed programs” every time Obama used the word “investment” in the State of the Union speech. That’s the unvarnished truth — without the sales and marketing, without the bait and switch.
Why call it “Cash for Flunkers?” Because spending billions of extra dollars on education is not an “investment.” It’s just more money down the drain for the same programs and ideas that have already led to the disastrous catastrophic failure of the U.S. education system. We already spend the most in the world for the worst results. Why would we reward failure with extra billions of dollars? If spending money works, why do New York, California and Washington, D.C. spend the most per pupil in the country, with miserable failing results? The Department of Education’s budget doubled under President Bush. Anyone think education is twice as good after spending twice the money? Actually it got worse. If spending money works, why did we spend an EXTRA $100 billion in stimulus money last year on education and get no improvement? If spending money works, why are public school teachers paid far more than private or religious school teachers, yet produce far worse results?
The answer is that the only “investment” Obama cares about is bribery. Payback. Payola. Obama wants to “invest” billions more of your money in teachers’ unions to reward them for their Democratic campaign contributions. The same teachers’ unions that have failed our kids for decades. It’s just “Cash for Flunkers.”
Obama also wants to “invest” in green energy. Another failed idea. His idea of an “investment” is to give away billions of dollars of your money to his biggest campaign contributors — led by GE. This is about Jeffrey Immelt, the CEO of GE who has bet the ranch on green energy. GE survives nowadays on government “investments.” Bailouts, stimulus, tax credits. But these “investments” have no return. Government “invests” with taxpayer money, Democratic contributors get rich, and nothing ever comes back. The bonus is that we add billions to the deficit and debt of our children and grandchildren. Great deal for GE. For the rest of us — not so great.
If the green energy business worked, the private sector would be investing billions without any help from government. But green energy doesn’t work. It loses billions. It’s a never-ending money pit. No smart CEO in the private sector would invest a dime in green energy without obscene incentives from government, so government gives out billion-dollar gifts like it’s Christmas. The truth is that the “green economy” is a wonderful liberal fairy tale. A recycled failure (excuse the pun). Green energy is as real as global warming. Ask Spain. Spain has the greenest economy in all of Europe. The Spanish built their entire economy around the idea of global warming and “green jobs.” Like Obama, they chose to call it an “investment.” They have 20% unemployment. Is that Obama’s goal for America? Keep “investing” in Obama’s ideas. Trust me, 20% unemployment is within reach.
In the end, the word “investment” is unconstitutional. It never appears in the U.S. Constitution for a reason. Because government isn’t allowed to “invest.” Our Founding Fathers understood that government isn’t capable of choosing winners and losers. They knew that government is inherently corrupt and incompetent. They knew that if government was allowed to “invest,” it would always choose to pay back campaign contributors. It would always choose to “invest” with the same suspects — banks, Wall Street firms, AIG, GE, green energy companies — that gave millions in campaign donations to the politicians. They knew government would choose to invest in failures — “Cash for Flunkers.” That’s why President Obama gets an “F” as president. He’s a good talker, but there is no beef in his taco.
Wayne Allyn Root is a former Libertarian Vice Presidential nominee. He now serves as Chairman of the Libertarian National Congressional Committee. He is the best-selling author of “The Conscience of a Libertarian: Empowering the Citizen Revolution with God, Guns, Gold & Tax Cuts.” His web site: www.ROOTforAmerica.com.