In this thread, we talk about the State of the Union Address

[PeppyGPhiB]

I was inspired by the speech. I liked the whole "reinvent" theme. Ford has done it - other companies need to follow suit. But the thing is, they can't do it without the government's help. And by that I don't mean bailouts - I mean government policy that supports American jobs, manufacturing and exports. Companies aren't locating their operations, manufacturing, etc. in other countries because of their educated workforces - they're doing it because it's cheaper for them! So I'm tired of hearing from two presidents now that educating the American workforce will take care of the problem. It won't! I want to hear a president talk about how they are going to convince companies that an educated, higher-paid American worker is worth it, and then I want to see them put it into action!

[ggforever]

I found all the clapping and standing very disruptive. It was not as bad as last year when Nancy Pelosi clapped and stood every time the President took a breath, but I still felt made the speech disjointed.

The President is a wonderful speaker but I felt the speech was lacking.

[agzg]

Originally Posted by ggforever

I found all the clapping and standing very disruptive. It was not as bad as last year when Nancy Pelosi clapped and stood every time the President took a breath, but I still felt made the speech disjointed.

The President is a wonderful speaker but I felt the speech was lacking.

The standing and clapping was disruptive? Every SOTU from every president always has the standing and clapping. I don't see how it's more disruptive this or last year than it ever has been.

[ThetaDancer]

I wasn't particularly moved by the speech but I did like that the seating was mixed up and that everyone seemed a lot less angry than we've seen in a long time.

Originally Posted by agzg

The standing and clapping was disruptive? Every SOTU from every president always has the standing and clapping. I don't see how it's more disruptive this or last year than it ever has been.

Agreed. I guess I missed the part where it was particularly disruptive.

And ggforever, Pelosi was far from the most disruptive person last year, but that's a different discussion.

[agzg]

Originally Posted by ThetaDancer

I wasn't particularly moved by the speech but I did like that the seating was mixed up and that everyone seemed a lot less angry than we've seen in a long time.



Agreed. I guess I missed the part where it was particularly disruptive.

And ggforever, Pelosi was far from the most disruptive person last year, but that's a different discussion.

Agreed on your first point, although I missed most of the speech so maybe I would have been better moved if I had heard the whole thing.

And wasn't there a guy last year who screamed out "You're a liar!"?

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

I was inspired by the speech. I liked the whole "reinvent" theme. Ford has done it - other companies need to follow suit. But the thing is, they can't do it without the government's help. And by that I don't mean bailouts - I mean government policy that supports American jobs, manufacturing and exports. Companies aren't locating their operations, manufacturing, etc. in other countries because of their educated workforces - they're doing it because it's cheaper for them! So I'm tired of hearing from two presidents now that educating the American workforce will take care of the problem. It won't! I want to hear a president talk about how they are going to convince companies that an educated, higher-paid American worker is worth it, and then I want to see them put it into action!

Government policy that makes it cheaper for companies to maintain a workforce in the United States? Single-payer healthcare.

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

Government policy that makes it cheaper for companies to maintain a workforce in the United States? Single-payer healthcare.

I don't think healthcare should be connected to employers at all.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

I don't think healthcare should be connected to employers at all.

... which is how a single-payer system benefits employers.

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by KSig RC

... which is how a single-payer system benefits employers.

I wasn't disagreeing, just making a statement that I think it's stupid that this country still depends on employers to supply health care.

Eta: to be clear, I believe a universal, socialized system, when done right, could be a good thing for this country.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

I don't think healthcare should be connected to employers at all.

I agree, but I don't think we should have a single payer system either. I think employers should give health insurance vouchers and allow us to shop for our own. This would increase competition among health insurance providers and make us their REAL customers while providing them incentives to keep costs down, because we could switch if we are unhappy. Currently, their customers are the employers. Why should our employer get to choose our insurer? I want options.

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by AGDee

I agree, but I don't think we should have a single payer system either. I think employers should give health insurance vouchers and allow us to shop for our own. This would increase competition among health insurance providers and make us their REAL customers while providing them incentives to keep costs down, because we could switch if we are unhappy. Currently, their customers are the employers. Why should our employer get to choose our insurer? I want options.

What would be the point of the vouchers? If they were going to give you a $200/month voucher, and you purchase your own health insurance, why would that be different from them just paying you $200 more than they would have?

[agzg]

Also, did any of you guys see the word cloud that NPR did? Basically, they asked their twitter followers to tweet them one word to describe the speech. Then they did a word cloud. This was the result.



Link.

[Indy1795]

The speech was well-written and eloquently delivered. The staging of the event was just pure genious. To mix up the parties like that was a great idea. It shows to all of us: yes, we might have different views, however, we must work together. I believe the Tuscon tragedy has forced everyone to stop and take another look at the way things are being handled.

"New laws will only pass with support from Democrats and Republicans. We will move forward together, or not at all — for the challenges we face are bigger than party, and bigger than politics." President Barack Obama, State of the Union Address, January 25, 2011

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by Indy1795

The speech was well-written and eloquently delivered. The staging of the event was just pure genious. To mix up the parties like that was a great idea. It shows to all of us: yes, we might have different views, however, we must work together. I believe the Tuscon tragedy has forced everyone to stop and take another look at the way things are being handled.

"New laws will only pass with support from Democrats and Republicans. We will move forward together, or not at all — for the challenges we face are bigger than party, and bigger than politics." President Barack Obama, State of the Union Address, January 25, 2011

The seating chart was no more than a Sadie Hawkins style political brownie point Kumbya showfest. It means nothing until it actually means something....and I'll believe that when I see it.

[PiKA2001]

So if one was to opt out of SS what would happen to the money they already "invested" into it? I'm not a fan of it myself, but I don't see it going away... Ever.