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What has Obama done for us?
President Barack Obama has been in the white house office for more than a year now but I don't know anything he's done for the country yet. I know he was talking about fixing our health care but he hasn't done anything with that idea that I am aware of. He also promised to get our troops back home and they're STILL overseas fighting. I want to know what Obama HAS done though. I want to be proud of our president and not confused or unsure.
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Hello, health care bill?
> Stay under your parent's insurance until you're 26. This is EXTREMELY important for people who are continuing college after a Bachelors degree and will not be able to get a good enough job yet to pay for their own health insurance.
> People can't be refused health insurance due to a preexisting condition. (I think this will first apply to children, then adults in a few years)
> 30 million currently-uninsured Americans will be able to have health insurance.
> Medicaid expanded.
> Employers w/ 50+ employees will have to provide health insurance or pay a fine.
> Having health insurance will be mandatory. Starting 2014, if you have not had health insurance for over 3 months, you will have to pay a $600 tax. There are exemptions from this rule, particularly for low-income people.
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You know, it’s okay to disagree with your president. You might not always like what your leaders do. Of course, it’s great you asked this question! ‘Cause you should definitely have an idea of what sort of things they have actually done, but don’t feel you absolutely have to agree with everything… but here are a bunch of thing Obama has achieved that I think are worth being proud of:
Obama set asides funds for an electronic medical record system. Although not ‘health reform’ all by itself, this was really important step to allow doctors and patients traveling across state lines to have access to their health records when they need them. Definitely a step towards more efficiency.
The stimulus package that Obama got passed (which many people might be upset with, but almost all economists have agreed was the right move and kept the US out of depression) has definitely boosted one sector in a huge and lasting way: Transportation. There are thousands of highway projects underway across all states, and they are getting started very quickly and are expected to create 260,000 jobs within the next 18 months. It’s a good short term things for creating work, and a good long-term thing to fix up roads and build new ones.
Something Obama did that might help a young person like you? They created a $2,500 tax credit to help offset the skyrocketing cost of tuition for college students and their families.
Obama returned funding to numerous anti-gun and anti-gang programs that had been slashed during the previous administration, especially for the biggest cities where these issues are most prevalent.
Since taking office, Obama has put an addition two million acres of wilderness, rivers and parks under national protection. It’s the biggest conservation effort out of the White House in over 15 years.
You are right that there are still soldiers in Iraq and there probably will be for a while. Obama’s stated plan is to end the combat mission in August of this year. After that, the troop numbers will start to decrease and they hope to work mainly on counter-terrorism and the training, equipping, and advising of Iraqi security forces rather then direct combat. Whether you agree with Obama’s policies on Iraq or Afghanistan, it is unfortunately true that it would be irresponsible to just up and leave these devastated countries. There has to be an exit plan, and it will take time. We’ll see if Obama sticks to his plan or not. Many people are concerned that while Obama is working on ending the war in Iraq, things are just geting worse in Afaganastan and he's looking to continue in that war.
The big accomplishment though, is the health care bill, which passed and then was signed into law on March 23. The country is really divided about this. Time will likely tell if this is a good bill or not. Reform was needed, desperately. And any one who tells you they should have left the health care industry alone, well I think that’s just a silly position to take. But a lot of people disagree with the way the bill deals with it and some people are confused about what it does and means. There are lots of people out there lying and trying to scare people. A true thing is that the bill does mean most people will have to buy health insurance, but it also has ways to help people who can’t afford it on their own. Many people don’t like being forced by law to buy health insurance, especially when they aren’t sure this bill does enough to curb the abusive practices of many health insurance companies. A common lie is that the bill provide federal funding for abortions, it absolutely doesn’t. An early law made that illegal, and it’s still illegal today.
I wouldn't worry too much if you are confused or unsure sometimes. Politics are really complex, and you're still trying to figure out what you believe and what’s important to you. The important thing for you to do is ask questions, try to understand, and try not to let people lie to you or scare you into agreeing with them. Keep an open mind and listen to all sides of a debate for the serious and sensible comments.
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they just signed a health care thing sometime last week, but in my state they're fighting against it because most people here don't agree with this method. i have no idea what it does, though.
the only other thing i can think of is that he's gotten rid of the selling of clove cigarettes, since they're "sweet" and "encourage" children to start smoking. which a lot of people also don't agree with, mostly smokers though. ^.^ thats all i can think of, sorry. i don't know of much that he's done either. i'm glad you want to be proud of him, though, because everyone i talk to is already sick of him. have faith!
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