The Speech President Obama Should Give on the Economy

My fellow Americans, I come to you tonight with reflections of where we’ve been, where we are and where we will be.  Unfortunately, the news is not good, and what currently is on the legislative horizon is looking even worse.  Unless we are able to learn from the mistakes committed during our past and present state of the Union; we threaten our nation’s survival.  This is a sad irony:  a nation that liberated the world is now faced with a collapse from within.

Nearly a decade ago America bore witness to the deadliest attack since Pearl Harbor.  Planes high-jacked by Jihadists flew into the twin towers and Pentagon.  Another was headed for the White House, but crashed into a Pennsylvania field due to the heroic efforts of a group of passengers who had realized their plane had been turned into a weapon of the enemy.  Following the attacks, we recognized that we were now at war with an enemy that had been at war with us for the past 20 years.  President Bush put us on a war footing. After eight years, and continued fighting on two major war fronts, the American soldier has defended America honorably while bringing freedom to those who have not known it.

Freedom is a gift from God.  The desire to be free lies in the heart of every man, but as the cliché goes:  freedom is not free.  Thomas Jefferson said the price of liberty is eternal vigilance.  When a marine falls in the sands of Iraq or the mountains of Afghanistan, we must all honor their sacrifice by asking:  What are they dying for?  Is it to bring freedom to a chaotic world which finds its theological foundation in a doctrine that has, and continues to be, used to subjugate and murder? Is it to conquer, and rule over resource laden fiefdoms and travel routes in order to build an empire? Is it to distract a domestic population with an outside threat as to distract its own citizens from the corruption of the state?  No, it is none of these familiar canards.  Their sacrifice is about one thing; protecting America.

So just what are we protecting? Is it a piece of land or a majestic government building?  I suggest that it is neither ground nor physical structure. Rather, the outlined system of rights found in our Declaration and Constitution. These divinely inspired documents clearly outline a limited government where the state is not the dispenser of rights regarding life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  It is merely an organizing structure in which citizens express these Gods given rights. Today, we find these rights under assault, not only from jihadist’s attacks, but from statism.  However well intentioned this statism is, it threatens current and future generations with oppression from a growing government that, with every bailout, stimulus or new regulation, enslaves its citizens.  This enslavement does not manifest in the form of physical chains, but reliance upon the state.  The state is no longer the protector of rights; it is the personal manager of freedom.   How can we prevent this current trend from becoming a permanent reality?  We must not only address the question of what we need to do, but also, how we got here.

Just as on 9-11 we saw the physical destruction of Jihadism, in the fall of 2008, we felt the economic destruction of government manipulation.  When a government manipulates the economic system in order to engineer a politically advantageous outcome; they will end up with crisis.  Whether it is to increase home ownership or to ensure retirement security, the seed of destruction is planted. Today’s crisis is not a failure of government to regulate; it is the government’s use of regulation and power (perceived and actual).  The result of this insidious meddling is evidenced: a weak currency, a government owned banking system and debt hemorrhaging from unfunded entitlement programs and so-called stimulus.  These interventions have produced the worst economic environment since the Great Depression.  It will worsen unless we take immediate action.

That action does not involve a centrally planned green economy, a redistribution of wealth or a takeover of the health care system.  These socialist policies violate common sense, basic economics, and most importantly, the constitution.  The answer to our crisis is not found in government programs to combat greed, which, besides being a constant in our fallen nature, also is not mutually exclusive to those outside of Washington.  The answer is in the recognition, transition and restoration of our rights.  Through personalizing entitlements, simplifying the tax code, and creating an environment friendly to business because it allows them to succeed and yes, at times, fail, we will stabilize our economic system.   The foundation of this proposal is freedom.  Freedom from government Ponzi schemes, taxes on success and influence (through picking winners and losers) and regulatory agencies.  The bottom line, the tax code and government coffers are not to be disproportionately enforced, and/or distributed.

I believe that we can and will survive this crisis by simply adhering to our founding principles. In America, we believe in freedom. From markets to speech, we embrace this fundamental concept.  By its nature government growth takes that freedom.  Be it campaign finance or health care reform, environmental or media regulation, or judicial activism; they all depart from the constitution.  Each step America takes away from it, the more enslaved we become.  We do not need hope and change; we need restoration.  Again, fundamental principles do not have an expiration date, but societies that violate them do.