Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Unposter]

This was sent to my e-mail and I thought I'd share even though most of us live in Korea and it is probably too late to send in your absentee ballot. Anyway, some of Obama's accomplishments:

(Just some of) the Obama Administration' s accomplishments: *

1. The first bill President Obama signed was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair
Pay Act, to help women fight back when they don't get equal pay for
equal work.

2. His Recovery Act supported millions of jobs and helped to stave off a
second Great Depression.

3. He pushed for and won middle-class tax cuts that benefited every
American worker, and saved the typical family $3,600 in taxes over the
last four years.

4. President Obama rescued the auto industry, and now GM and Chrysler
are healthier than they've ever been. The American auto industry has
added nearly a quarter of a million jobs since June 2009 -- and they
most likely wouldn't exist right now without President Obama's leadership.

5. He doubled funding for Pell Grants, helping to make college more
affordable for nearly 10 million families.

6. His student loan reform ended billions in subsidies to banks serving
as middlemen and reinvested those savings directly into students.

7. The President established the American Opportunity Tax Credit, worth
up to $10,000 over four years of college.

8. His Race to the Top Initiative helped spur nearly every state to
raise academic standards.

9. His tax cuts, social-welfare programs, and economic policies lifted
nearly 7 million Americans above the federal poverty line in 2010.

10. President Obama has signed 18 tax cuts for small businesses since
taking office.

11. We've seen 5.2 million new private-sector jobs over the last 31 months.

12. The unemployment rate is at the lowest level since President Obama
took office.

13. Health care reform -- passed after decades of failed attempts by
every previous President -- provides affordable health coverage to every
American and will lower premiums by an average of $2,000 per family by 2019.

14. Obamacare expanded access to lifesaving preventive care such as
cancer screenings and immunizations with no out-of-pocket costs for 54
million Americans.

15. Obamacare ends insurance discrimination against the 129 million
Americans with pre-existing conditions.

16. Because of Obamacare, over 3 million more young adults have health
insurance today than would if the new law hadn't passed.

17. The parents of over 17 million children with pre-existing conditions
no longer have to worry that their children will be denied coverage.

18. President Obama has ordered the overhaul of federal government
regulations to make them smarter, practical, and more efficient. Just a
fraction of these commonsense initiatives will help save businesses $10
billion in the next five years alone.

19. His historic investments in clean energy have helped more than
double the amount of electricity we obtain from wind and solar sources
and helped increase biofuel production to its highest level in history.

20. President Obama is doubling fuel efficiency standards, which will
save drivers more than $8,000 at the gas pump, not to mention lessen the
impact of automobiles on our environment.

21. President Obama has taken unprecedented action to address climate
change, reaching historic international agreements to curb carbon
emissions, and taking action here at home to reduce carbon pollution
from our vehicles and promote clean energy production.

22. He has taken historic action to protect our environment -- signing
one of the largest expansions of protected wilderness in a generation
and putting in place standards to reduce toxic air pollution that will
save thousands of lives.

23. President Obama fought for and won landmark Wall Street reform that
reins in the abuses that led to the financial crisis and ends the era of
taxpayer bailouts and "too big to fail."

24. Wall Street reform created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,
the nation's first federal agency focused solely on consumer financial
protection -- and the Bureau is already protecting families from unfair
and abusive financial practices from Wall Street banks and shadowy
corners of the financial industry.

25. As part of President Obama's commitment to transparency, the White
House has posted its visitor records online for the first time ever.

26. President Obama's all-of-the-above approach to energy has helped cut
the United States' dependence on foreign oil to its lowest level in 20
years.

27. President Obama responsibly ended the war in Iraq.

28. He announced a plan to end the war in Afghanistan and transition
security responsibility to the Afghan people.

29. President Obama sent the largest security assistance package to
Israel in history and funded the Iron Dome system, which is protecting
Israeli homes and schools from rocket attacks.

30. President Obama rallied the international community to implement the
toughest sanctions on Iran in history.

31. Through the President's historic increases in Veterans Affairs
funding, he has expanded and improved healthcare and job training access
for our returning veterans.

32. President Obama negotiated the New START Treaty with Russia to
reduce the number of nuclear weapons in both countries. At the same
time, he also secured commitments from dozens of other countries to lock
down nuclear materials.

33. His administration naturalized 11,146 military service members as
U.S. citizens in 2010; more than in any year since 1955.

34. President Obama set a bold new plan for the future of NASA space
exploration, using the skill and ability of the private sector for short
trips to the International Space Station, while building a new vehicle
for exploration of distant space, and doing everything in his power to
support the economy on Florida's Space Coast.

35. President Obama recognizes that tourism is one of America's largest
economic engines; he's worked to encourage international visitors to
come here, maintaining our security while keeping millions of Americans
in good, paying jobs.

36. He has affirmed his personal support of marriage equality, directed
the Justice Department to stop defending DOMA in federal courts, and
took the practical and compassionate step of extending hospital
visitation rights to same-sex partners.

37. He fought for and won the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, allowing
gay and lesbian members of the military to serve openly for the first
time in history.

38. When Congress failed to fix our broken immigration system, his
administration did everything in its power to improve it, streamlining
the legal immigration process and announcing a policy that lifts the
shadow of deportation from hard working young immigrants brought to the
U.S. as children.

39. Oh, and he gave the order to send troops in after Osama Bin Laden --
and has decimated al-Qaeda's senior leadership.

[Unibrow]

Killed American citizens without a trial, unprecedented use of drone warfare, expansion of drones to Yemen, Somalia, and who knows where else. Extended the Bush Tax Cuts. Kowtowing to Israel, letting them build settlements and further entrench the apartheid regime. Support of coups in Honduras and Paraguay. Silence on Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and other countries where people are struggling for freedom. Failure to negotiate with Iran. Failed to get singlepayer healthcare. Squandered Democratic majority in both houses for failed policy of "bipartisanship." The surge in Afghanistan, basing troops in Australia and Poland and who knows where else. The bottom line is the Industrial-Military complex has America in a stranglehold and won't stop until every drop of blood and treasure has been squeezed from the husk of our country. Welcome to the new Gilded Age.

[visitorq]

[Kuros]

Thanks, Unibrow and Unposter. The list was yet too modest. Obama has outdone Bush in so many ways.

For example, he has raided over four times as Many Medical Marijuana Dispensaries As Bush did, in half the time.

In addition, Obama has averaged a 50% higher monthly deportation rate over Bush's eight-year average.

Most astonishing, Obama has killed four times as many insurgents in drone strikes in Pakistan and Afghanistan. That's not all! According to the Obama administration, ZERO of these casualties are civilians. Incredible!

[No_hite_pls]

The stock market is up around 30% and many posters on Daves ESL have made a lot of investment money during his first term.

[No_hite_pls]

[Titus]

[Unposter]

While my post was primarily for educational purposes, not politics, I do feel that I want to respond to Unibrow's post.

1. Kowtowing to Israel, letting them build settlements and further entrench the apartheid regime.

Why do you believe this? For an American President, he has been surprisingly even-handed and quite disliked in Israel. Bush and Clinton were much worse. Also, do you think he has the power, should use his power or has a moral right to use American power to interfer in other country's policies?


2. Support of coups in Honduras and Paraguay.

Sorry to show my ignorance, seriously, I have no idea what you are talking about? I would be more than willing to be educated on this topic though. Again, do you think he has the power, should use his power or has a moral right to use American power to interfer in other country's policies?

3. Failure to negotiate with Iran.

What should we be negotiating? Why do you think negotiating would work? Why don't you think any negotiating hasn't been done behind the scenes?

4. Failed to get singlepayer healthcare.

True. But, he did a much better job than Clinton and he deserves credit for what he has accomplished.

5. Squandered Democratic majority in both houses for failed policy of "bipartisanship."

False. The House of Representatives went Republican but the Senate maintained its Democratic majority. Historically, off-season elections are often won by the minority party, especially in recent history. As for the question of failed bi-partisanship, I think there is a lot of different thinking about that. All I can say is that Obama has tried to reach out to Republicans, he has tried to continue some Republican policies and he has even endorsed some Republican policies only for Republicans to repudiate those policies after Obama has endorsed them. Most people on the Left feel that Obama has compromised too much, not too little, with the Republicans.

6. The surge in Afghanistan

Unlike Bush's surge of Iraq; this has been highly effective. It is also over and Obama is doing his best to end the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan.

7. basing troops in Australia and Poland and who knows where else

I don't know what you are talking about or why this is a problem but I am willing to listen.

8. Silence on Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and other countries where people are struggling for freedom

He has worked hard to help those involved in the Arab Spring where he could and where it would not put too many American lives at risk. I cannot fault him for his efforts here.

9. The bottom line is the Industrial-Military complex has America in a stranglehold and won't stop until every drop of blood and treasure has been squeezed from the husk of our country.

True but it has been happening since World War II, Eisenhower warned the world about this and nothing has happened.

Again, Obama is just a man. You can blame everything in the world on him if you want but it would a gross over-simplification. Some may say his accomplishments have been small but I don't think so. I think he has had two historic legislations (health care and the repeal of don't ask, don't tell) and he has done a lot from tax breaks to targeted government spending to prevent the U.S. from going into a Great Depression. I even saw one of the partners of Bain Capital on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart agreeing that the Stimulous Bill was necessary and saved the country from catastrophe.

Was it a perfect four years? No. Was it bad? No. Obama has done a lot. And, I suspect he has learned a lot, too. I suspect the next four years will be better but it is just my suspicion.

[visitorq]

[actionjackson]

[No_hite_pls]

[Titus]

Wages are down and equities are up. Hint. Purchasing power is down and equities are up. Hint hint.

[No_hite_pls]

[Titus]

As a side complaint, why do I get the impression that the average obamadrone thinks Keynesian is whatever mr. Asbergers over at the nyt says it is?

[Titus]