Not Another Rush Job

The President wants Congress to deliver a Health Care Bill by the August recess, a task marginally smaller than establishing world peace. Congressional leaders are telling the President that the health care bill will not happen on the President's time line. I'm sure this is going to upset the President. I'm not upset. The last thing we need right now is another rush job.

The stimulus bill was a rush job. The 1000+ pages of legislation signing us up for a $800 billion expenditure was rushed through at the President's urging despite promises to let the people review the bill for 5 days. Instead, the bill was signed two days after it landed on the President's desk. To make matters worse, there were provisions in the bill which would have financially hurt the States in the long run. These provisions could have been identified and stripped given the proper time to review a 1000+ page bill. I don't know about you, but I could not read 1000+ pages of pending legislation in less than two days.

So back to the health care bill. What makes the President think that rushing to a health care bill is the right answer? We already spend $1 out of every $6 of the GDP on health care in this nation. If we don't get this bill mostly right, the monumental mistake is going to crush the economy. I'm certainly not in a rush to make that mistake.

Measure twice, cut once, as my Dad used to say.

The Right Message After All of These Years

President Obama gave a wonderful speach as the keynote speaker at the 100th anniversary celebration of the NAACP. The President's message was one of personal responsibility and motivation. He encouraged minorities to pursue higher education and achievement irregardless of their current situation or obstacles.

The President's outlook is refreshing and the message to the NAACP is clear. No more playing the victim card. Playing the victim card has not advanced the cause of any minority in this country. Unfortunately, past leaders of the NAACP were more keen on keeping their constituents 'needy' than giving them lofty goals, a vision, and a path forward.

I give the President a standing ovation for his speech last night. He displayed the courage to demand personal responsibility of his own people. Similar statemments by other Black leaders, such as the comedian Bill Cosby, have caused them to come under criticism by the Black community. Had work, education and success are powerful tools to combat discrimination. The power is there for any willing to grab those tools and make them work.