The Audacity of Obama's Agenda

I had the scare of my life this morning. I actually went to the new Whitehouse.gov site and read Obama's agenda for America. Here are a few excerpts:

Require 100 Hours of Service in College: Establish a new American Opportunity Tax Credit worth $4,000 a year in exchange for 100 hours of public service a year.

Did I read that correctly? Required? $4,000 in tax credit for only 100 hours worth of public service work? That breaks down to $40.00 a hour! So, one could work two and a half weeks and get a $4,000 tax credit. Sure why not! The government has an endless supply of money so why not give it away for a few hours of volunteerism. Symbolism over substance coming out of the taxpaper's wallet.

Raise the Minimum Wage to $9.50 an Hour by 2011: Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe that people who work full-time should not live in poverty. Even though the minimum wage will rise to $7.25 an hour by 2009, the minimum wage's real purchasing power will still be below what it was in 1968. President Obama will further raise the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour by 2011, index it to inflation and increase the Earned Income Tax Credit to make sure that full-time workers can earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families and pay for basic needs such as food, transportation, and housing -- things so many people take for granted.

Extend Paid Sick Days to All Workers: Half of all private sector workers have no paid sick days and the problem is worse for employees in low-paying jobs, where less than a quarter receive any paid sick days. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will require that employers provide seven paid sick days per year.

With many businesses struggling to survive, the Obama administration wants to force another minimum wage hike and paid time off onto companies in this economic crisis. Yes, keep raising wages until no one has a job. Another example of the impracticality of the Obama's agenda.

Reverse Tax Cuts for the Wealthy: Obama and Biden will protect tax cuts for poor and middle class families, but they will reverse most of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest taxpayers.

Fantastic idea! The wealthy will slow down their spending on goods and services so the economy will delve deeper into recession! Hey don't forget, the wealthy are the ones who start companies! Take that incentive away too.

Glad to see that Obama is no different than any other Democrat who seeks to slow down progress by punishing successful Americans.

Move Toward a Nuclear Free World: Obama and Biden will set a goal of a world without nuclear weapons, and pursue it. Obama and Biden will always maintain a strong deterrent as long as nuclear weapons exist. But they will take several steps down the long road toward eliminating nuclear weapons. They will stop the development of new nuclear weapons; work with Russia to take U.S. and Russian ballistic missiles off hair trigger alert; seek dramatic reductions in U.S. and Russian stockpiles of nuclear weapons and material; and set a goal to expand the U.S.-Russian ban on intermediate-range missiles so that the agreement is global.

Does Obama think he can strike a deal with Putin to eliminate nuclear weapons? Will making the United States a weaker nuclear power protect us in the long wrong? Geez whiz, golly, surely those evil doers will see the light if we lay down our arms. They'll embrace America will hugs and songs of peace.

Talk to our Foes and Friends: Obama and Biden will pursue tough, direct diplomacy without preconditions with all nations, friend and foe. They will do the careful preparation necessary, but will signal that America is ready to come to the table and is willing to lead. And if America is willing to come to the table, the world will be more willing to rally behind American leadership to deal with challenges like confronting terrorism and Iran and North Korea's nuclear programs.

Without preconditions? If there are no preconditions how will it be to our advantage? Obama is incredibly naive to think if America bends over backwards that the world will rally behind us. The oversimplification of Obama's foreign policy rhetoric is downright disturbing.

Fight Workplace Discrimination: President Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and believes that our anti-discrimination employment laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. While an increasing number of employers have extended benefits to their employees' domestic partners, discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace occurs with no federal legal remedy. The President also sponsored legislation in the Illinois State Senate that would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation

So, does this apply to churches who employ people? Would churches be forced to employ and give benefits to people's lifestyles that goes against their church's teachings? It's getting into sticky territory where gay rights overlap religions rights.

I hope every American takes the time to read Obama's agenda to know what we're in for as a nation.