On Feb. 24, we all listened to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address. He proclaimed the message that we, the American people, can weather this storm of recession. However, our current course is not the swiftest or most prudent way back to prosperity. Obama outlined his hopes for this country’s 2010 budget, and I am shocked at his suggestions. Under this plan, our nation would add an additional $1.2 trillion to an ever-increasing national debt just this year. But there are other aspects to this plan that make even less sense.

First and foremost, Obama and his advisors based their plans on an extremely optimistic economic forecast. While I admire their confidence, most economists in this country anticipate increasing unemployment and only modest gains in economic growth through next year. When planning the budget, I would rather this administration hope for the best and plan for the worst.

Secondly, tax increases during a time of economic crisis will only further damage the economy. In the Obama plan, taxes would increase for individuals in the highest two tax brackets and also for individuals earning capital gains. These tax increases will reduce the amount people investing in business markets. Why penalize investors when they are helping the very markets this administration seeks to invigorate?

Finally, this plan’s outrageous deficits will become a huge obstacle in the future. At current levels, the government pays out over $170 billion every year in interest on our national debt. That is nearly a quarter of the price of the stimulus package in taxpayer dollars we are seeing go out the door before it can benefit anybody. By the end of a decade under this plan, our national debt would nearly double.

No intelligent citizen or business would operate in this manner, constantly running up debt, only to be buried under interest payments. So why is the government given a pass? If you or I found ourselves in this kind of debt, we would reign in our spending, increase our savings and work to pay back our debt as soon as possible so that no more of our earnings would be wasted to interest. And that is exactly what this budget plan should do.

Kevin Floore

mechanical engineering junior