Q & A: Obama answers questions at town meeting
Friday, May 6, 2005
Printable FormatMORRIS DAILY HERALD
By Jo Ann Hustis
OTTAWA - A standing-room-only crowd Thursday cheered U.S. Senator Barack Obama's take on Social Security privatization, treatment of veterans, trade deficits and federal spending.
A freshman senator on the federal level, but a veteran of the Illinois General Assembly and a Harvard graduate, Obama reminded his audience he is 99 of 100 senators in order of seniority in Washington. Therefore, he said, it will take a little time to accomplish some of the issues about which he and his constituents care deeply.
The Chicago Democrat said his experience has been that being in the minority may seem frustrating after awhile.
"But then when you get to the majority, things happen very quickly," he said. "We're laying the groundwork now to hopefully make some significant changes. When I was in the state legislature, I passed 10 bills in my first six years and 25 in my seventh year, when we went into the majority, including bills like increasing the minimum wage.
"I think some of that same pattern is going to be happening at the national level."
The event marked Obama's 20th town meeting throughout Illinois since his election last November to the seat Republican Peter Fitzgerald of Inverness vacated. Obama promised to continue the town meetings throughout his six-year term, and invited questions and comments from the audience.
"You can say whatever you want," he added.
Taking Obama literally, a woman said George W. Bush should be informed he "is the president of the United States, not the world."
"I think that comment speaks for itself," Obama noted. "Obviously this does speak to the issue of our spending priorities. When we were leading up to the war in Iraq, a Pentagon official estimated it was going to cost $200 billion to mount this war. And he was dismissed, essentially, by the administration that said, 'This is ridiculous - its going to cost about $50 billion to $60 billion.'
"We are about to vote on an $80 billion supplemental, which will put the price tag on money spent so far at close to $200 billion. And I guarantee we're going to have more spending to do."
When the federal government spends money on military ventures like Iraq, there is a direct cost in terms of what can be done at home, Obama said.
"As proud as we are of our troops, and as worthy a cause as democracy is, it's a costly enterprise," he noted. "That's something that needs to be debated."
To a question on concurrent pay for military veterans discharged from service after being wounded in combat, Obama said that is among the issues he and Senator Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, will raise with the secretary of veterans affairs when the secretary visits Illinois on May 20.
"The way we treat our veterans has been somewhat shabby," he agreed. "One thing I know for certain is, whether you support the war or were against the war, our obligations to our troops are sacrosanct.
"If we are going to be standing next to them and the flag when they're leaving, then we'd better make darn sure that when they come back, we are treating them and their families with dignity, honor and respect. And that's something that right now just is not happening."
Another question was his opinion on the Bush-proposed revamp of Social Security.
"If the question is what do I think about the president's Social Security plan, the answer is, 'Not much."
The audience cheered.
Other questions Obama dealt with during the town meeting were:
The trade deficit - "This is an issue I agree is of utmost importance to our long-term future and that of our kids and grandkids, but it's just not being talked about in Congress.
"We have countries like China and India and some of the former Soviet Union countries that are entering into the global marketplace at a rapid pace. China is growing at 10 to 12 percent per year. They have over 100 cities with one million people each.
"There are some things we have to do at home to get our house in order. No. 1 is we shouldn't be running up budget deficits."
Social Security revamp - "Part of the reason I'm so opposed to the president's privatization plan is it would cost trillions of dollars in transition costs - basically the money that would be going to current seniors would be siphoned off into these private accounts, and you've got to figure out how to pay those seniors back.
"The president proposes we borrow that money. You've got to pay interest on it, so you've got horrendous budget deficits that we are piling on, and that our children and grandchildren are going to pay the interest on. It's inexcusable, and it makes us uncompetitive, became the only way we can finance half a trillion dollars in debt every year is to borrow the money.
"So, we have the government issue treasury bills, and the Chinese and South Koreans and other countries that are running these enormous trade surpluses buy these up. We're mortgaging our future. We're taking a credit card for our children, in our children's name and our grandchildren's, and we're running up the card and being completely irresponsible."
Little-known fact - "To those of you who think the Democrats are big tax-and-spend liberals, the federal government has increased the budget 33 percent since George Bush came into office. Think about it. We're living beyond our means, and that puts us at a competitive disadvantage."
Education system - "Our education system is not keeping up with the demands of an information society. We've got to revamp our education system. The last thing I'll say about the budget is this - Warren Buffett, who has become a friend of mine over the past year, said, 'If there's class warfare going on, then my class is winning.'
"When President Bush passed the first tax cut when he first came into office, Warren Buffett received $375 million in a tax break. He said at the time, why are you giving me $375 million. His tax break for that one year was more than this entire roomful of people makes in their lifetime combined.
"In terms of the budget, there's no such thing as a free lunch. You can't want to have a first-class education system and prescription drug benefits for seniors and roads and bridges and transportation improvements that make sure were competitive over the long term, and at the same time, cut taxes for the wealthiest one percent in the United States."
Fraud in the Social Security system - "There's fraud everywhere. The basic problem with Social Security is that our population is getting older and Baby Boomers, a huge portion of our population, are moving into retirement age. That means fewer workers supporting retirees.
"If we don't do anything and just keep the current system in place, then around 2042 to 2052, those receiving benefits will only get about 75 percent of what they're owed.
"Social Security won't go bankrupt like the president says, but there's not enough to pay the full benefits that are owed. There's two ways of solving the problem - take more money in or reduce benefits. Privatization doesn't solve the problem at all, but makes it worse.
"The Democrats say put aside privatization... and shore it up, the same as (former House speaker) Tip O'Neal and (President) Ronald Reagan did back in the 1980s. They raised the retirement age slightly, and slightly increased the cap on the payroll tax."
Gay marriage - "I'm not in favor of gay marriage, but I do support civil unions because our civic religion is based on not discriminating against people and on providing them their basic civil rights."
Healthcare insurance - "General Motors is finding it costs them more in healthcare insurance for their workers than purchasing steel. They spend more money on healthcare than on steel for building cars. The joke is that GM is no longer a car company that offers health insurance - it's a healthcare company that makes cars.
"One of the main driving factors for the rise in healthcare is prescription drugs. President Bush last year pushed through a prescription drug plan - and I'm embarrassed some Democrats voted for this - on the central premise that senior citizens cannot negotiate the best price for their prescriptions."