STOCK MARKET WATCH - Thursday, 26 January 2012

[Demeter]

17. Obama's State of the Union Plays to His Base -- But Not Everything Was Worth Cheering

http://www.alternet.org/story/153880/obama%27s_state_of_the_union_plays_to_his_base_--_but_not_everything_was_worth_cheering?page=entire

...The president, it seems, has heard the hew and cry from his base, coming out strong against the banks, and laying the economic devastation he inherited at the feet of his predecessor. "In 2008, the house of cards collapsed..." Obama said. "Banks had made huge bets and bonuses with other people's money. Regulators had looked the other way, or didn't have the authority to stop the bad behavior. It was wrong. It was irresponsible. And it plunged our economy into a crisis that put millions out of work, saddled us with more debt, and left innocent, hard-working Americans holding the bag."

Following a shout-out to Richard Cordray, his recess-appointed Consumer Financial Protection Board chief, the president announced the creation of a new entity in the Justice Department, the Financial Crimes Unit, "to crack down on large-scale fraud and protect people's investments." In fact, because of the gridlock in Congress, Obama laid out several initiatives he could create within the executive branch; unfortunately, without congressional funding, the jobs program he asked for is unlikely to be among them. Neither is the DREAM Act, despite the president's call to revive the bill that would allow a path to citizenship for people born abroad but raised in the U.S. The president also called on Congress to "stop the interest rates on student loans from doubling in July."


.....Obama also spoke to the unfairness of the tax code, but coupled his criticism with concerns about the national debt. Among the guests who sat with First Lady Michelle Obama in her box was Debbie Bosanek, secretary to Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett, who has immortalized her for paying a much higher tax rate than he does.

"Right now, we're poised to spend nearly $1 trillion more on what was supposed to be a temporary tax break for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans," Obama said. "Do we want to keep these tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans? Or do we want to keep our investments in everything else -- like education and medical research; a strong military and care for our veterans? Because if we're serious about paying down our debt, we can't do both."

Obama also sought to put a dent in the Republican narrative about him as a regulation-happy, job-thwarting chief executive by noting that his administration has issued fewer new regulations than did predecessor George W. Bush at the same point in his presidency, and noted that since he took office, the private sector has added 22 million new jobs....