Most generous welfare program in history

by cactus

Bush, The View From 2004

In 2000, I ran the numbers and it was obvious to me GW’s economic plan was complete BS, so I assumed the rest of what he was telling us couldn’t work either. But I can understand why many people voted for him. 2004 is a bit harder for me to understand – after all, you didn’t have to work through what his plan was going to do, all you had to do was look around and you could see what his plan had done. Then there were minor details like Afghanistan and Iraq; in the former, we had secured an area 20 miles around Kabul and essentially turning over the rest to warlords, thugs, kleptocrats and fanatics, and in the latter we had a quagmire. (In fairness, Iraq has since developed to the point where its more stable, having been essentially turned over to warlords, thugs, kleptocrats and fanatics, just about all of whom are on the US taxpayer’s payroll, and even most neighborhoods in Baghdad have been ethnically cleansed so the “need” for violence has diminished.)

What I don’t understand I’ve never understood why Bush was re-elected in 2004. Here is GW himself telling us what he was planning to do:

To create jobs, my plan will encourage investment and expansion by restraining federal spending, reducing regulation, and making the tax relief permanent.

How’s that reduced regulation working out in the financial sector these days?

And this promise has since gone by the wayside:

Thanks to our policies, homeownership in America is at an all-time high. (Applause.) Tonight we set a new goal: seven million more affordable homes in the next 10 years so more American families will be able to open the door and say: Welcome to my home.

There’s another success story.

But now my favorite line is this one:

I support welfare reform that strengthens family and requires work.

As it turns out, reform apparently meant putting all of Wall Street on what has gotta be the most generous welfare program in history.

But most of his speech is on the military, and how freedom is on the march. It all bears reading. And whether you voted for him or not, its worth asking yourself: how much of what came to pass should have been obvious from 2004.
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by cactus