Obamanomics - Current Issues

There’s quite a bit to keep up with where Obamanomics is concerned; it’s been a long time since a President took office and immediately took action. Many skeptics are saying he is doing too much too fast, but there are just as many people saying he is doing what long should have been done.
Here are some bullet points to keep the Ponderers up to speed on some of the key initiatives that are taking place within the Obama administration:

• Stimulus Bill – the $787 Billion Stimulus bill was approved in the House on Friday Feb 13, 2009 (with no Republican support) and was also approved in the Senate later that night. President Obama signed the bill on Tuesday Feb 17, 2009 in Denver, Colorado. More info from For You to Ponder on the bill.
• Housing Relief Program – President Obama is scheduled to unveil his Housing Relief Program at 12:15 PM ET. Stay tuned to For You to Ponder for a full breakdown.
• Afghanistan – President Obama has agreed to increase our presence in Afghanistan. The Pentagon released news that they are sending 17,000 more troops into Afghanistan. The President has stated that he believes there is something more needed there other than troops and will be looking towards diplomacy as a key ingredient.
• The Auto Industry – Obamanomics gave and additional $billion to GM on Wednesday Feb 17, 2009. The bailout continues.
• Buy American – To increase jobs, there is a provision in the Stimulus package requiring the use of U.S.-produced iron, steel, and other manufactured goods in public works projects funded by the $787 billion economic stimulus bill.
• Don’t Ask Don’t Tell – Spokesperson Robert Gibbs responded Yes to the question of whether the President still intended to get rid of this policy within the Military; he later expanded his answer to say that "So not everything will get done in the beginning but he's committed to following through". It looks like it’s coming, just no hard date on when.

These are all issues we should stay on top of, the time has come for us to be aware of the decisions our leaders make, and how those decisions affect our daily lives. Our President has come out of the gate at full speed; we owe it to him to keep up.

Who's Killing Our Soldiers

Whose killing our soldiers? I can hear the answers coming in, “Iraq, Afghanistan”, just about any Middle Eastern country might be blurted out as the answer. Now for the shocking revelation, our soldiers are killing themselves.
The United States Army confirmed seven suicides in the month of January and has 17 suicide cases pending, bringing a possible total of 24 military suicides in a single month. If the numbers prove to be accurate, this will mean that more soldiers killed themselves in January than died in combat last month. Pentagon statistics show that there were 16 U.S. combat deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq in January.
What’s wrong with this picture? If Soldiers’ emotional states are such that they are killing themselves, are we really doing any good in these countries? I hardly doubt that a person with suicidal thoughts is any shape to be protecting themselves, let alone a country!
I listen to debates on whether we should pull troops out of Iraq or deploy troops to Afghanistan, and most of the debates center around the cost of keeping the troops abroad and the trillions of dollars we are spending on war; maybe it’s time to discuss the cost of a soldiers emotional well-being, and in the end, their life. Yes, I know they signed up on their own and were not forced into the military, I’m not arguing that point, however I do think the length of time abroad in war-torn countries is a point that needs to be discussed.
With suicide rates as they currently are within the military, somebody should be asking the WTF question and making some decisions/modifications. We are bailing out the auto industry, the banks, and the economy as a whole, how about a bailout for the men and women abroad.

Obamanomics Position on Afghanistan

Ponders, a decision is expected "shortly" (this could be days in political talk) on whether

President Obama will increase the number of troops in Afghanistan. Obama's Republican Defense Secretary Robert Gates made a statement that decisions have to be made on this matter. A strategic review is being conducted to help determine the best course of action.

Now I know what you are thinking, "Is this the change we can believe in?", It sounds vaguely familiar to the Iraq situation and the trillions of dollars spent on our activities there.

Obama stated many times during his campaign for presidency that he was in favor of withdrawing troops from Iraq, so far, there is no reason to think that he won't stand by that conviction, the bigger question to ponder is whether those troops will be diverted to Afghanistan.

Unnamed pentagon officials relayed that thousands of ground combat Marines, a marine aviation unit and Army Special Forces could be sent to southern Afghanistan in the weeks ahead.

Money spent on war is money spent on war, regardless of the location. I will be anxious to see how Obamanomics plays this out.

Due to the amount of press the Stimulus bill has gotten, this item has almost been left in the shadows; keep your eyes on it Ponderers, this decision will have a large impact on the American dollar.