Out of a 53 minute speech, a full 26 minutes of it was dedicated to issues *out* of our Union. Then the last half had all of his ideas/incentives/etc stuffed into it.
!! - Renew the Patriot Act
$$ - Double the budget of the Nat'l Endowment for Democracy
$$ - New 'Jobs for the 21st Century' program
--- for middle and high school students
--- larger Pell grants for high achievers who take demanding classes
--- more $$ for community colleges
- Renew these tax cuts (they are expiring soon or fading out) and make them permanent:
--- keep reducing marriage penalty tax
--- renew $1k/child child tax credit
--- renew small business tax cuts
--- death tax cuts
- Cut federal regulations for small businesses
?? - Modernize electricity system and reduce dependence on foreign oil, increase conservation
- Boost personal retirement accounts
?? - Says his new budget will cut the deficit in half over the next 5 years
!! - Enact the Temporary Worker Program for illegal aliens (yet says he's against amnesty)
- Create Association Health Plans (group health care for small businesses and co-ops)
- Refundable tax credit for health costs
!! - Computerize all health records
- Make Health Savings Accounts where premiums are 100% tax-free
$$ - New funding to fight drugs
$$ - $23 million for schools to do drug testing
?? - Told sports teams, coaches and players to get rid of steroids
$$ - Double the funding for abstinence programs to fight STDs
?? - Enforce the Defense of Marriage Act (signed by Clinton) to "defend the sanctity of marriage"
$$ - Codify into law an Executive Order Bush signed giving "Billions of $$" to encourage competition for churches and faith-based organizations (??)
$$ - $300 million Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative
--- gives prisoners getting out free job training, free job placement, free housing, and free mentoring
All in all I'm
very disappointed. The call for renewing the tax cuts are good, that's about it. Spending the entire first half of the state of the union address talking about Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and Libya just pissed me off. Sure, rah rah cheer cheer - but this is the State of the Union address... not a speech from the deck of a carrier called the State of the War address.