Child Advocacy

From http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/additional-issues

"President Obama and Vice President Biden are committed advocates for children. They will make sure that every child has health insurance, expand educational opportunities for low-income children, extend resources for low-income families, support and supplement our struggling foster care system, and protect children from violence and neglect."

Who isn't against violence towards children? They will make sure every child in the world has health insurance, or just America? The above paragraph is all I saw on the whole website, specifically dedicated to "child advocacy". I didn't see many specifics...



But should Obama "expand educational opportunities for low-income children? To many people, this is the most noble type of activity that a president could be engaged in. However, before stone me for daring to question something that seems so obviously beneficial, please consider the following:





The Federal Government shouldn't duplicate services provided for by the states. When you have administrators in Federal, State, and County agencies all with the same responsibility you are wasting money. When you have administrators in Federal, State, and County agencies all with the same responsibility there is no accountability for the performance of any of the government agencies. When the federal government has a mission that is the same as more local governments, they often don't really do anything besides set standards which the local agencies are not required to follow, and funnels money which they takes from individuals in each state, and put is back into other states. This whole process is overly complex, prone to corruption, bad incentives, inefficient with our money, and leads to bad results.



The Federal Government's power should be more limited than the states.



If cities, counties, and states all have agencies working to expand educational opportunities for low-income children, then there is no reason for the Federal Government to duplicate these efforts. 



There is no reason to have a Federal Department of Education, because no one from the Federal government teaches kids. All kids are taught by teachers who are employed by local jurisdictions. The Federal Government is worse at providing services than local governments. When the Federal Government gets involved in the same efforts as the states, it prevents us from learning which states are doing things the right way and which states are not running their programs correctly, because the duplicative efforts from the Federal Government make it more difficult to tell what is the cause of success or failure. 

Arts

From http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/additional-issues:

"Our nation's creativity has filled the world's libraries, museums, recital halls, movie houses, and marketplaces with works of genius. The arts embody the American spirit of self-definition. As the author of two best-selling books —Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope — President Obama uniquely appreciates the role and value of creative expression."

This is all about trying to make artist like Obama. Romney, Cheney, and Bush also had best selling books! Does this also make them "uniquely" qualified? 



Obama was wrong, in 2010 to spend $167.5 million on the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)

Reasons to agree:

1. Publicly financed art is too easily censored


2. The federal government is too broke to be spending money on the arts. 


3. The arts in America get enough money from the private sector that they don't need money from the federal government.


4. The Federal Government should only fund things we are OK with putting people in Jail, if they wouldn't want to pay their taxes for those things. For instance we can require people to pay their taxes to fund roads, because we all have to pay our share. But it would be wrong to put someone in Jail just because they didn't want money to go to a particular project.

Faith

In June of 2006, then-Senator Obama delivered what was called the most important speech on religion and politics in 40 years. Speaking before an evangelical audience, then-Senator Obama candidly discussed his own religious conversion and doubts, and the need for a deeper, more substantive discussion about the role of faith in American life. He has continued to foster open dialogues on faith across the political spectrum throughout his career.

The President believes a healthy discussion of faith in a pluralistic society includes the need for religious people to translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values during public debate, and sincere respect on all sides. President Obama has found common ground in the importance of faith in the global battle against AIDS in particular.

Women

Progress

The President signed an Executive Order establishing a White House Council on Women and Girls to provide a coordinated Federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls and to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and families.

The President signed the Affordable Care Act, which gives all Americans better health security, with a particular focus on women specific needs:

• In 2014, the new law makes it illegal for insurance companies to deny any woman coverage because of a pre-existing condition or charge more because of health status or gender.


• Up to 15 million women who now are unin¬sured could gain subsidized coverage under the law and 14.5 million insured women will benefit from provisions that improve coverage or reduce premiums.


• Access to care is also expanded, including guaranteeing choice of a primary care provider within a plan’s network, including OB-GYNs and pediatricians.

The President signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which included a number of provisions of particular concern to women:

• To help working mothers and fathers obtain quality child care, the Act includes an additional $2 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, $1 billion for Head Start, and $1.1 billion for Early Head Start.


• The Act boosts family incomes by expanding the Child Tax Credit to cover an additional 10 million children in working families and creating a new Make Work Pay tax credit.


• The Act includes unemployment insurance reforms that will particularly benefit women, such as incentives for states to cover part-time workers and those who recently reentered the workforce.


• The Act puts $225 million toward addressing violence against women in communities across the country, creating 5,000 jobs in the process.


• The Act put thousands more police officers on the street, funded mentoring programs for at-risk youth in hundreds of communities and bolstered law enforcement efforts in cases of Internet Crimes Against Children and child exploitation.

The President signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, restoring basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers.

• The President created the National Equal Pay Enforcement Task Force (pdf) to bolster enforcement of pay discrimination laws, making sure women get equal pay for an equal day's work.


• The President has called on Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which will stop retaliation against employees who share or seek wage information and close a loophole that some employers use to avoid paying women equal wages.

The President cut taxes 16 times for small businesses:

The President signed the Small Business Jobs Act, which includes 8 of these new tax cuts that went into effect immediately:

• Zero Capital Gains Taxes on Key Investments in Small Businesses


• The Highest Small Business Expensing Limit Ever– Up to $500,000


• An Extension of 50% Bonus Depreciation


• A New Deduction for  Health Care Expenses for the Self-Employed


• Tax Relief and Simplification for Cell Phone Deductions


• An Increase in The Deduction for Entrepreneurs’ Start-Up Expenses


• A Five-Year Carryback Of General Business Credits


• Limitations on Penalties for Errors in Tax Reporting That Disproportionately Affect Small Business

As part of the Recovery Act and subsequent legislation in 2009 and 2010, which put the following eight small business tax cuts into law:

• A New Small Business Health Care Tax Credit


• A New Tax Credit for Hiring Unemployed Workers


• Bonus Depreciation Tax Incentives to Support New Investment


• 75% Exclusion of Small Business Capital Gains


• Expansion of Limits on Small Business Expensing


• Five-Year Carry back of Net Operating Losses


• Reduction of the Built-In Gains Holding Period for Small Businesses from 10 to 7 Years to Allow Small Business Greater Flexibility in Their Investments 


• Temporary Small Business Estimated Tax Payment Relief to Allow Small Businesses to Keep Needed Cash on Hand

The President signed into law the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, which puts in place the strongest consumer financial protections in history, including the creation of a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau led by Elizabeth Warren.

The President proposed doubling the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit for middle-class families making under $85,000 a year, builds on historic increases in Head Start and child care provided in the Recovery Act, and helps states provide paid family leave to workers. 

The President is delivering comprehensive primary care for women Veterans at all VA facilities by 2013, placing full-time Women Veterans Program Managers at 144 health systems and expanding outreach to women Veterans in communities across the country.

The President signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which promotes workplace flexibility and work-family balance.

Guiding Principles

Ensure Economic Security

Our society has made tremendous progress in eradicating barriers to women’s success. Women make up a growing share of our workforce, and more women are corporate executives and business owners than ever before. Today, women are serving at the highest levels of all branches of our Government.

Despite this progress, certain inequalities persist. The income for the typical American woman is still only about 78 cents for every dollar of the median income for the typical man, and women are still significantly underrepresented in the science, engineering, and technology fields.

President Obama believes that women have a right to receive equal pay for equal work.

Promote Work-family Balance

Millions of women and men face the challenge of trying to balance the demands of their jobs and the needs of their families. Too often, caring for a child or an aging parent puts a strain on a career or even leads to job loss. President Obama believes we need flexible work policies, such as paid sick leave, so that working women and men do not have to choose between their jobs and meeting the needs of their families.

Support Reproductive Choice

President Obama has been a consistent champion of reproductive choice and believes in preserving women’s rights under Roe v. Wade. At the same time, he respects those who disagree with him. The President believes we must all come together to help reduce unintended pregnancies and the need for abortion.

Prevent Violence Against Women

Violence against women and girls remains a global epidemic. The Violence Against Women Act, originally authored by Vice President Biden, plays a key role in helping communities and law enforcement combat domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. At home and abroad, President Obama will work to promote policies that seek to eradicate violence against women.

Urban

Progress

The President signed an Executive Order establishing the White House Office of Urban Affairs.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included broad support for urban communities.

• To broaden access to affordable housing, the Act provides for $1 billion in increased funding for the Community Development Block Grant; $4 billion in increased public housing capital funds; $2 billion in payments to owners of project based rental assistance properties to keep them affordable; $2 billion in Neighborhood Stabilization Funds to purchase and rehabilitate forclosed homes; and $1.5 billion in Homelessness Prevention Funds to keep people in their homes;


• To expand educational opportunity for low-income students, the Act provides for $13 billion in Title I funds to go to K-12 education in disadvantaged school systems;


• To strengthen workforce development, the Act provides $3.95 billion in increased workforce investment training dollars to keep our workers skilled and to employ young people during the summer;


• To improve energy efficiency, the Act increases the Weatherization Assistance Program by $5 billion, helping low income consumers save on their energy bills while simultaneously training more workers for a growing field;


• To bolster our nation’s transportation infrastructure, the Act provides $1.5 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Transportation to fund projects of regional or national significance as well as $8 billion to jumpstart high speed rail and connect regions to one another; and,


• The Act also provides $4.7 billion to provide broadband access to underserved areas.

Guiding Principles

President Obama’s urban policy agenda is grounded in the recognition that our nation’s cities and metropolitan areas are vital engines for economic growth, innovation, and opportunity. To maximize economic productivity and opportunity in a 21st Century economy, federal policy must reflect the new metropolitan reality—that strong cities are the building blocks of strong regions, which in turn, are essential for a strong America.

Break Through Traditional Barriers

President Obama believes that the federal government must break from the siloed approach to urban policy development – where each facet of policy operates independently from all others - and replace it with an interdisciplinary approach that appreciates the interdependent nature of issues affecting urban communities. The President’s urban agenda will promote cross-cutting plans to revitalize urban areas, considering housing, transportation, energy, labor, education, and criminal justice policy as a system rather than independent of each other.

Take a Regional Approach

President Obama will also take a regional approach that disregards traditional jurisdictional boundaries, setting policy that takes into account how cities, suburbs, and exurbs interact. President Obama’s urban policy agenda will use this integrated approach to enhance economic competitiveness, sustainability, and equity in our cities and metropolitan areas.

Promote Inclusive Growth

President Obama believes that for our nation to thrive, the federal government must make and promote coordinated and strategic investments in our regions, cities, and neighborhoods that result in inclusive economic growth. The President’s urban policies will therefore seek to avoid creating winners and losers from his urban agenda, but rather will aim to lift up and revitalize urban areas holistically and invest in community development.

Technology

"To help build a new foundation for the 21st century, we need to reform our government so that it is more efficient, more transparent, and more creative."

-PRESIDENT OBAMA, APRIL 25, 2009

Progress

• The President issued a Presidential Memorandum to the heads of executive departments and agencies ordering them to compile recommendations for an open government directive on transparency, participation, and collaboration in government.


• The Recovery Act calls for a comprehensive plan for national broadband, and the FCC is developing a plan due in February, 2010. The Recovery Act also provides for $7.2 billion for broadband internet access nationwide, including grants for rural broadband access, expanding computer center capacity, and sustainable broadband adoption initiatives.


• The President launched Recovery.gov, an unprecedented step to provide transparency and accountability through technology.


• The President issued an Executive Order to restore scientific integrity in government decision-making.


• The President answered questions at the first online town hall from the White House that were submitted and voted on transparently by the public at WhiteHouse.gov


• Established a central portal for Americans to find service opportunities.


• Building New Communities like Business.gov – enabling conversation and online collaboration between small business owners, government representatives and industry experts in discussion forums relevant to starting and managing a business.


• The President appointed the first ever Federal Chief Information Officer to provide management and oversight over federal IT spending and nominated the first ever Federal Chief Technology Officer to provide vision, strategy and direction for using technology to bring innovation to the American economy. They will work together to support innovation inside and outside the Federal Government.

Guiding Principles

Innovation in the Economy: Drive Economic Growth and Solve National Problems By Deploying a 21st Century Information Infrastructure

The President believes that modernized infrastructure is a necessary part of the foundation for long term economic stability and prosperity. That includes everything from a comprehensive national broadband plan, to new health care information technology, to a modernized electrical grid.

The President has also directed the National Security and Homeland Security Advisors to conduct an immediate review of the plan, programs, and activities underway throughout the government dedicated to cyber security. This 60-day interagency review will develop a strategic framework to ensure that U.S. Government cyber security initiatives are appropriately integrated, resourced and coordinated with Congress and the private sector.

Innovation in Science: Invest in Science and Science Education

The President has named Dr. John Holdren, a nationally recognized expert on climate change and nuclear disarmament, as an Assistant to the President and the nation’s Science Advisor, and Dr. Steven Chu, Nobel-prize winner as the Secretary of Energy. These are just two of the many leading science experts who are serving in an Administration committed to science.

Innovation in Public Administration: Creating an Open and Secure Government

Strategic federal IT investments will make Government more transparent and accountable. At the same time, Americans will know that these investments by their Government are being leveraged to produce maximum value, and that the security of information systems nationally, and the privacy of Americans, are being protected. Strategic investments in IT are at the heart of the efforts to make Government services more effective, accessible, and transparent.

Restoring a Culture of Accountability through Openness and Transparency of Government Operations and Information

Moving Toward Unprecedented Openness: Change the presumption under the Freedom of Information Act to favor voluntary disclosure of government information to the public.

Making Critical Government Information Available: Working to provide public access to information of public import and concern, such as the Department of Justice "torture" memos, the President’s and Vice-President’s tax returns, the public financial disclosure reports for White House personnel, and presidential records.

Taxes

Progress

The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 provides vital tax relief and investments in our workers that will create jobs and accelerate economic growth. The law:

• Extends middle class tax cuts to prevent a typical working family from facing a tax increase of over $2,000 on January 1


• Provides a 2% payroll tax cut to 159 million workers – providing the typical working family with an additional $1,000 tax cut


• Allows businesses to expense 100% of key investments this year  – estimated to spur $50 billion in new investment


• Continues the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which provides up to $10,000 for four years of college and is helping over 9 million students and their families afford higher education


• Extends expansions of the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit that the President fought for, providing a tax cut for 15.7 million families with about 29.1 million children

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included a broad range of tax cuts aimed at making the tax code more fair and supporting the middle class:

• 95% of all working families received a tax cut


• 70% of the tax benefits went to the middle 60% of American workers


• Millions of families were lifted out of poverty by the tax cuts in the Recovery Act


• More than $150 billion in tax cuts helped low-income and vulnerable households during the economic recovery


• About 1 Million jobs were created or saved by these tax cuts alone

Guiding Principles

Restoring Fairness

For too long, the U.S. tax code has benefited the wealthy and well-connected at the expense of the vast majority of Americans. President Obama’s aims to restore fairness to the tax system by providing the Making Work Pay tax cut to 95 percent of working families while closing loopholes that prevent wealthy companies and individuals from paying a fair share.

Supporting the Middle Class

The President will also make it easier for more Americans to save for college education, homeownership, and retirement by expanding tax preferences that currently benefit only the wealthy.

Making Taxes Consistent and Simple

In addition, the President supports making refundable tax credits permanent and simplify confusing provisions in the tax code, encouraging saving and creating a tax system that works for all Americans.