Scott Hill – 6/14/05

This page was last updated on June 14, 2005.

Stumping or working?; Scott Hill; Beaver County Times; June 14, 2005.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“For the past few months, all I’ve seen of President Bush are scenes of him pushing his Social Security initiatives before audiences around the country.

“All he seems to do is travel the country and make promotional appearances.”

[RWC] What’s wrong with trying to sell your initiatives to the country, especially for Socialist Security? It’s clear no one else – not even Republicans – has the stomach to tackle this issue. If President Bush doesn’t push it – and push it hard – nothing constructive will happen.

“What about Iraq? What about the enormous budget deficit? What about the enormous trade deficit and the lost jobs it represents? What about the high cost, to those lucky enough to have it, of health insurance?”

[RWC] Regarding Iraq, what is President Bush to do on a daily basis? I hope he has left the day-to-day operations of the War on Terror to the military and intelligence services.

Regarding the budget deficit, his proposed budget held so-called “discretionary” spending increases below the rate of inflation. I would have preferred more and larger cuts, but I suspect Mr. Hill’s idea of addressing the deficit is to raise taxes.

We have a trade deficit, but the “lost jobs” comment makes no sense. The May 2005 unemployment rate was a low 5.1% and it’s been in this range for at least a year. In 1996, the liberal media claimed 5.6% was “already low” when Bill Clinton was in office. A recent forecast projects the U.S. economy will add 2.1 million jobs this year.

The price of healthcare is high, but I can bet Mr. Hill wouldn’t like the cure. The cure is to eliminate government interference in the healthcare marketplace by Medicaid, Medicare, and tax breaks for companies that offer healthcare insurance to employees. At the same time, Mr. Hill ignores that President Bush pushed through the Medicare prescription drug plan designed to make healthcare less expensive for senior citizens.

“The ability of Social Security to meet its obligations in 2047 is certainly a concern, but what about the problems that face us every day?

“Is anyone in the White House and paying attention?

“The election was last November. The campaign is over. Please, Mr. President, get back in the office, and get to work.”

[RWC] Anyone who believes any president isn’t working unless he’s in the Oval Office is woefully uninformed.