Since taking office back in January, President Barack Obama has issued a weekly address to the nation every Saturday on the internet. Each address is around five minutes long, and they consist of Obama explaining an issue that his administration is currently focused on. I watched the April 25th address, which dealt with the Obama Administration’s quest to decrease government spending and to try and put a dent in the massive budget deficit in the U.S. government.
A president addressing the nation on a weekly basis like this is something that is unprecedented in the history of the United States. Granted, a huge part of that is the fact that modern technology has made it infinitely easier for someone to talk to the entire country no matter where in the world he might be. Still, Obama seems to be much more eager to talk to the country then previous presidents, especially his direct predecessor George W. Bush. Used properly, I think that this kind of thing can be a great tool for educating the general population about what the current administration is actually doing to solve this country’s problems.
Unfortunately from what I have seen so far, these weekly addresses have generally been less about actually informing the public and more about giving the illusion of informing the public. This particular address was four and a half minutes long, and about three minutes of it was Obama basically just repeating in different ways that the government needs to start using money more responsibly. The only semi-useful part of the address was a short list of generic steps that Obama and his administration plan to take:
1. Adhere to the basic principle that new tax or entitlement policies should be paid for.
2. Create new incentives to eliminate wasteful spending and promote what works
3. Look for ideas from the bottom up. (Talk to low-level workers, not just management)
4. Reach beyond the halls of government. (Ask businesses for help)
These steps are all extremely vague, and do not give the slightest bit of insight as to the specific things that the Obama administration may or may not be doing to eliminate our country’s massive debt. If Obama really wants to give these addresses, and personally I do not think they are necessary at all, he should at least come to the table with something useful to say, and not just say things like “wasteful spending is bad.” I suspect that all these addresses are just a way for Obama to keep his face in the public view for when re-election time comes along, but that’s another story entirely…
Unfortunately from what I have seen so far, these weekly addresses have generally been less about actually informing the public and more about giving the illusion of informing the public. This particular address was four and a half minutes long, and about three minutes of it was Obama basically just repeating in different ways that the government needs to start using money more responsibly. The only semi-useful part of the address was a short list of generic steps that Obama and his administration plan to take:
1. Adhere to the basic principle that new tax or entitlement policies should be paid for.
2. Create new incentives to eliminate wasteful spending and promote what works
3. Look for ideas from the bottom up. (Talk to low-level workers, not just management)
4. Reach beyond the halls of government. (Ask businesses for help)
These steps are all extremely vague, and do not give the slightest bit of insight as to the specific things that the Obama administration may or may not be doing to eliminate our country’s massive debt. If Obama really wants to give these addresses, and personally I do not think they are necessary at all, he should at least come to the table with something useful to say, and not just say things like “wasteful spending is bad.” I suspect that all these addresses are just a way for Obama to keep his face in the public view for when re-election time comes along, but that’s another story entirely…
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