The Thrift Economy Versus Obama

Can government be as frugal as the people?

President Obama will deliver later tonight what is undoubtedly the most important speech of his presidency so far.

His domestic policy priority depends on convincing Congress -- or at least the right mix of influential moderates (like Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus) and liberal Democrats -- that a plan to guarantee the American people's physical health is a necessity at this time, not a luxury. 

Problem is, the aforementioned American people -- the other principal audience to which this address is directed -- seem to have adopted a priority that may be 180 degrees from the president's.

To wit: The public has seemingly decided that fiscal health might be more important than guaranteeing physical health. 

The signs are everywhere:  Americans cut their debt by a record amount in July. And it wasn't even close -- debt was slashed five-fold from what economists were predicting. Consumers are turning more frugal in all areas. The back to school period, traditionally the second-biggest sales period of the year (after pre-Christmas), has seen a clear drop since last year.   

Besides cutting debt and adopting thrifty behavior from a bygone days, the public is also putting more cash into savings

So, with all of this, President Obama will ask the Congress to approve a plan that will cost taxpayers at least $1 trillion over the next 10 years. And, yes, that's in the face of a projected 10-year deficit of $9 trillion.  

Barack Obama, who adopted new social media tools like Twitter and Facebook two years ago as he launched his presidential campaign, found novel ways to reach his voters and the public at large. 

Alas, President Obama has forgotten the old Nietzsche phrase, "If you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you." Just as individuals are achingly aware of their own financial circumstances, so too has this information-drenched age made the public as a whole much more painfully aware of how much the nation now over-spends. Indeed, people are more worried about ballooning red ink than they are about whether health care will be overhauled. They're cutting up the credit cards in their personal lives and are beginning to wonder why the government can't start doing the same with their public dollars.

That's the reality to which President Obama speaks this evening. He may be able to corral enough of Congress to get members to go his way.

But what if that direction is completely different than the one the American people are going in? 

 New York writer Robert A. George blogs at Ragged Thots. Follow him on Twitter.   
 

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