State of the Union outlines presidential plans
By Mary Whitfill Features Editor On Jan. 24 President Obama’s annual State of the Union address outlined what Obama considers to be the most pressing issues for his coming year in office. For those of you who missed out on the speech, that lasted over one hour, the following will serve as your guide to the 2012 State of the Union. Obama discussed how to creature more jobs and rolled out a specific “economic blueprint” as his proposed plan of action for 2012. In addition to his economic plan, the President also went over his plan for defense spending, his support of free trade and the opposition he will face from the Republican-led house of…
An arm and a leg: the true cost of health reform
by Blake Seitz In the words of famous free-market economist Milton Friedman, “there’s no such thing as a free meal.” It’s time to apply this common-sense logic to health care reform. The Obama administration claims the final health care package will extend coverage to 32 million formally-uninsured Americans. They also claim the bill will reduce the federal deficit by a significant amount. If we are to take their word for it, they have authored the ultimate health care panacea—a system that greatly expands coverage and remains cost-effective. I take exception to this second claim. At face value, it seems substantiated: in March, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scored the bill as reducing the deficit by $143…