Obama’s SOTU was more of an old song on loop
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Obama : miles to go: A million broken promises
State of the Union a.k.a SOTU is a very popular annual address presented by American presidents to the nation. It can not only make or break a president's ratings' trend but also displays the vision and plans that a president has for his country. This would sound too clichéd, but it is an undeniable fact that Obama failed to fulfil the promises that he had made in his last two speeches. Starting from Guantanamo to withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, most of his promises are still awaiting
full materialisation.
In his State of the Union address this year, President Obama stressed on "we do big things," but at the same time failed to put forward any strong and doable policies to cut the deficit. In his address, he also spoke on how the economy is growing, simultaneously accepting the fact that US is gradually losing its “competitive edge” to China. Call it optimism or cynicism, Obama introduced a cap on annual domestic spending for the next five years which, according to him, would reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade. What he forgot or cleverly bypassed was that he won’t be here (as his term will be over) to account for the changes.
Most of his speeches revolved around domestic policies which were similar to his plans that he had proposed in 2010. However, issues that dented his ratings like government spending, federal deficit and the federal debt were given no space in the entire speech. Ironically, every statement he makes now contradicts his previous statements. While addressing the joint session of Congress, he said, "I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits neither now nor in the future." In the same speech he also said, "In theory, the Health Care Reform (HCR) may need an additional $90-100 billion a year to provide coverage. There's a couple of times where I pushed people on the need of paying higher taxes to implement it." Moreover, in his first year term, he announced his inability to confront the long-term fiscal problems but managed to introduce HCR in his second year term. What came as a major surprise was the way he blatantly ignored the gun control issue. Despite the recent Arizona massacre that impelled concerns on gun control, Obama was undeterred.
However, knowing the tough job that Obama inherited from Bush, he has been quite cleverer than effective in his words and deeds. His speeches in the last two years have only seen a transition from “I will” to “I am trying” to “I may”. It’s gradually becoming prominent that his promises are more of a rhetoric. But it is high time for Obama to ensure that instead of doing mere lip-service, real work surfaces! Or perhaps Obama has already resigned himself to the fact that this will be his last term...
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Obama : miles to go: A million broken promises
State of the Union a.k.a SOTU is a very popular annual address presented by American presidents to the nation. It can not only make or break a president's ratings' trend but also displays the vision and plans that a president has for his country. This would sound too clichéd, but it is an undeniable fact that Obama failed to fulfil the promises that he had made in his last two speeches. Starting from Guantanamo to withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, most of his promises are still awaiting
full materialisation.
In his State of the Union address this year, President Obama stressed on "we do big things," but at the same time failed to put forward any strong and doable policies to cut the deficit. In his address, he also spoke on how the economy is growing, simultaneously accepting the fact that US is gradually losing its “competitive edge” to China. Call it optimism or cynicism, Obama introduced a cap on annual domestic spending for the next five years which, according to him, would reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade. What he forgot or cleverly bypassed was that he won’t be here (as his term will be over) to account for the changes.
Most of his speeches revolved around domestic policies which were similar to his plans that he had proposed in 2010. However, issues that dented his ratings like government spending, federal deficit and the federal debt were given no space in the entire speech. Ironically, every statement he makes now contradicts his previous statements. While addressing the joint session of Congress, he said, "I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits neither now nor in the future." In the same speech he also said, "In theory, the Health Care Reform (HCR) may need an additional $90-100 billion a year to provide coverage. There's a couple of times where I pushed people on the need of paying higher taxes to implement it." Moreover, in his first year term, he announced his inability to confront the long-term fiscal problems but managed to introduce HCR in his second year term. What came as a major surprise was the way he blatantly ignored the gun control issue. Despite the recent Arizona massacre that impelled concerns on gun control, Obama was undeterred.
However, knowing the tough job that Obama inherited from Bush, he has been quite cleverer than effective in his words and deeds. His speeches in the last two years have only seen a transition from “I will” to “I am trying” to “I may”. It’s gradually becoming prominent that his promises are more of a rhetoric. But it is high time for Obama to ensure that instead of doing mere lip-service, real work surfaces! Or perhaps Obama has already resigned himself to the fact that this will be his last term...
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Arindam Chaudhuri bags Delhi team of i1 Super Series
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri Dean Business School IIPM
IIPM Excom Prof Rajita Chaudhuri
"Thorns to Competition" amongst the top 10 best sellers of the week.
IIPM RANKED NO.1 in MAIL TODAY B-SCHOOL RANKINGS
IIPM Mumbai Campus
posted by Surender @ 10:55 AM
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