◼ Restoring the American dream. Upward mobility depends on smaller, not bigger, government - Washington Times EDITORIAL via ◼ Washington Times Opinion
We can expect President Obama’s big speech Tuesday night to be full of his usual class-warfare bloviation about the “lack of upward mobility” being the “defining problem of our time.” He wants more and bigger government, so he defines problems in a way that demands another federal solution.
...The United States has fallen in almost every ranking of economic freedom over the past decades. Government has ballooned, the regulatory burden has become onerous and property rights are precarious and insecure.
The Great Recession ended five years ago, but few feel the effect of an improved economy. These are the barriers to upward mobility, not the prosperity of entrepreneurs and investors.
If Mr. Obama really wants to make a difference, he’ll negotiate a truce in the war on poverty and the culture, and call in his State of the Union speech for a restoration of the freedoms that gave birth to the American dream. Only then can we hope to see morning in America again.
◼ Competence questions threaten Obama's executive push - - Brian Hughes/Washington Examiner @BrianHughesDC
President Obama will unveil a slate of executive actions in his State of the Union address Tuesday just as questions about competency plague his White House.
...On the eve of Obama's address to Congress, the White House accused Republicans of overplaying the president's intentions.
“We're not saying this is an either/or proposition,” press secretary Jay Carney said of executive action versus new laws. “It's a both/and. It's reaching out to Congress and looking forward to the possibility of further bipartisan cooperation on big, medium and small issues.”
“The president should absolutely use the powers available to him and the unique authority that the office provides to move forward,” Obama's top spokesman added.
Some Republicans argue, however, that Obama's latest State of the Union pitch is just a rhetorical gimmick. They say Obama's address Tuesday is just the latest version of his “we can't wait” tour and other campaign-style messages employed to change the narrative in Washington.
“He can work with us to create opportunity and prosperity. Or he can issue press releases,” Brendan Buck, spokesman for Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said of Obama. “That's the choice the president faces this year.”
