Progress Report: What's Old Is New Again

January 29, 2008

by Faiz Shakir, Amanda Terkel, Satyam Khanna, Matt Corley, Ali Frick, and Benjamin Armbruster Contact Us | Tell-a-Friend | Archives | Permalink

STATE OF THE UNION

What's Old Is New Again

In his past State of the Union addresses, President Bush has told the nation of an "axis of evil," warned against "human-animal hybrids," and even proposed initiatives to help "keep young people out of gangs." This year, however, Bush -- facing his lame duck status -- simply rehashed old proposals. There were no grand new ideas and even the modest ones seemed like deja vu. For example, hours before the President's speech yesterday, the White House excitedly told the media about "Pell Grants for Kids," Bush's new $300 million program for low-income students. But even this initiative was a recycling of previous voucher plans endorsed by Bush. The fact that Bush used this speech to again call on Congress to pass his older ideas, such as immigration and health care reform, underscores how much he has failed in political endeavors that require more than unilateral action. For a man hoping to have the legacy of Abraham Lincoln, Bush will be fortunate to leave office with higher approval ratings than Richard Nixon.

BIG FAILURES: Since reaching out to Latino voters during his 2000 campaign, Bush envisioned immigration reform as one of his legacy issues. But as the president begins his last year in office, immigration reform is nowhere on the agenda. Last year, it suffered a crushing defeat -- not because of objecting Democrats, but because of right-wing lawmakers and hate radio spokesmen whose support Bush was unable to muster. Last night, Bush's call to "find a sensible and humane way to deal with people here illegally" went largely unheard. Similarly, his health care proposals this year -- expanding health savings accounts, changing the tax treatment of health insurance, and undermining state and local consumer protections -- mirrored his plea to Congress last year. "We need to expand Health Savings Accounts," he said. Bush largely ignored congressional concerns that these proposals would undermine employer-based health insurance, increase the number of uninsured, and primarily benefit the wealthy. He instead repeated the same tired proposals. His old pet issue, Social Security, was mentioned just once -- in passing -- during last night's address.

TRYING TO CORRECT HIS OWN MISTAKES: With money issues at the top of Americans' "worry list," Bush put the economy at the top of his State of the Union address. But under his administration, the number of Americans living in poverty has continued to grow. In 2006, the latest year for which Census Bureau figures are available, 12.3 percent of Americans were living in poverty, compared with 11.7 percent in 2001, the year of the last recession. Currently, 64 percent of the American public disapprove of Bush's handling of the economy. Bush's low approval rating for his handling of the economy is not surprising given that most Americans' finances are in worse shape than when he first took office. Two of the most widely supported proposals for improving the economy include continuing to increase the minimum wage and lowering taxes for middle- and lower-income taxpayers only. Yet Bush rolled out the same failed proposals yesterday. "Make the tax relief permanent," he bellowed last night. But making permanent the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts and alternative minimum tax relief would have a total cost of $4.3 trillion over the next 10 years. The tax cuts would also increase the after-tax incomes of households with annual incomes above $1 million by an average of 7.5 percent, compared to 0.5 percent increase for the lowest-income 20 percent of households.

NOTHING BUT EMPTY RHETORIC: Last year was the only year that Bush failed to tout his Office of Faith-Based Initiatives. This year, he returned to the failed program. "Faith-based groups are bringing hope to pockets of despair, with newfound support from the Federal Government," he claimed. But this office has been primarily used for political purposes. David Kuo, formerly the head of program, revealed that the office was mainly used "to mount ostensibly 'nonpartisan' events that were, in reality, designed with the intent of mobilizing religious voters in 20 targeted races." A 2006 national survey of 750 black churches by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies found that fewer than three percent of black churches have received federal faith-based funding. Bush also again rolled out his Millennium Challenge Account, arguing that it has "changed the way we deliver aid." But as the Wall Street Journal reported last year, the program was nearly bankrupt, undermining the President's alleged focus on democracy promotion. Bush similarly bragged about the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, even though his administration has hamstrung the program by requiring one-third of prevention funds to be spent on ineffective abstinence-only programs.

MEANINGLESS CHEERLEADING ON IRAQ: Bush spent a considerable amount of his speech last night lauding the Iraq war. "While the enemy is still dangerous and more work remains, the American and Iraqi surges have achieved results few of us could have imagined just 1 year ago," he said. Conveniently, he didn't linger on the lack of Iraqi political progress, troublesome de-Baathification legislation, or the strain on the military. While violence is currently down, U.S. troops continue to die and fighting may again break out if radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr decides not to extend a cease-fire when it expires next month.