Since I usually criticize president Obama, I thought it would be appropriate to publish a list of his biggest successes for 2013. They are not in any particular order.
1. Raising taxes on some wealthy folks -- Obama used the expiration of the Bush tax cuts to get Republicans to agree to tax increases on those who make over $450,000 per year. This is about a quarter of those for whom Obama wanted income tax increases. In exchange, the law is now settled that for the remaining 99.5% of Americans, the Bush tax cuts are permanent.
2. Getting the public to consider gun control -- After the Newtown shooting, Obama spent a great deal of time focusing on gun control. As a result, many people took the time to reconsider their views on the issue. Congress did not pass any of the sort of legislation on the subject that Obama wanted and the public came down against him according to the polls, but the issue did get full consideration.
3. Destruction of chemical weapons in Syria -- The Syrian regime of Bashir Assad used chemical weapons against the Syrian people on 16 or 17 occasions despite Obama's pronouncement that doing so would cross a "red line" of the USA. Obama tried and failed to get allied support for a strike on Syria; even the British declined to participate. Then Obama turned to Congress for authority to strike and it became clear that he would lose that battle too. At that point, the Russians stepped in and made Obama a deal that would safeguard Assad's rule in Syria in exchange for the destruction of at least some of that country's chemical weapons. We do not yet know what percentage of these weapons will ultimately be destroyed.
4. A nuclear arms deal with Iran -- after secret negotiations, Obama relaxed sanctions on the Iranians in exchange for their promise to stop part of their nuclear activities. The Iranian promise does not stop uranium enrichment, the necessary precursor to building a bomb. It does require the Iranians to stop about three weeks short of getting the bomb, however.
5. Obamacare remains the law -- The roll out of the Obamacare law has been filled with inexplicable disasters. It seems that no one oversaw or even paid attention to that roll out. Millions have seen their policies cancelled. Millions have been unable to buy insurance from the exchanges. Further disruptions of much larger magnitude are expected in the next months. Despite all the upset, Obamacare has remained the law of the land. Obama has managed to avoid its repeal.
6. The federal budget deficit has declined due to sequestration-- after the Republicans took over the House in 2011, they insisted that the ever rising federal spending be brought under control. In the ensuing battle, Obama came up with the idea of the sequester, an automatic across the board reduction in the size of spending increases. The sequester kicked in last winter, and coupled with the winding down of America's efforts in Afghanistan, resulted in a lower level of federal spending in 2013 than in 2012. When the sequester went into effect, Obama complained bitterly that it would be a disaster. That turned out to be completely erroneous. Even though he was totally wrong, it was his idea, so he should get some of the credit.
7. American energy production has risen dramatically -- since taking office, Obama has made move after move to slow down or even reverse the rise in American oil and gas production. That rise is due to the technological advancement that allows shale to produce oil and gas in copious amounts. Obama has tried to limit such drilling on federal land. He has also delayed permitting for regular drilling on land where the feds have jurisdiction. He has taken other steps as well, but his efforts have failed because the increase in production on private land has been so huge that they outweigh the cuts in production on federal land resulting from Obama's efforts. Because he failed, Obama should get some of the credit for the increase in America's energy output.
8. The Budget Deal -- Just in the last week or two, Congress finally passed a budget negotiated by Congressman Ryan and Senator Murray. The success of the negotiation is largely credited to the failure by Obama to get involved in any way. For staying away from the process, Obama deserves some of the credit for this deal. After all, he could have gotten involved and screwed it all up.
1. Raising taxes on some wealthy folks -- Obama used the expiration of the Bush tax cuts to get Republicans to agree to tax increases on those who make over $450,000 per year. This is about a quarter of those for whom Obama wanted income tax increases. In exchange, the law is now settled that for the remaining 99.5% of Americans, the Bush tax cuts are permanent.
2. Getting the public to consider gun control -- After the Newtown shooting, Obama spent a great deal of time focusing on gun control. As a result, many people took the time to reconsider their views on the issue. Congress did not pass any of the sort of legislation on the subject that Obama wanted and the public came down against him according to the polls, but the issue did get full consideration.
3. Destruction of chemical weapons in Syria -- The Syrian regime of Bashir Assad used chemical weapons against the Syrian people on 16 or 17 occasions despite Obama's pronouncement that doing so would cross a "red line" of the USA. Obama tried and failed to get allied support for a strike on Syria; even the British declined to participate. Then Obama turned to Congress for authority to strike and it became clear that he would lose that battle too. At that point, the Russians stepped in and made Obama a deal that would safeguard Assad's rule in Syria in exchange for the destruction of at least some of that country's chemical weapons. We do not yet know what percentage of these weapons will ultimately be destroyed.
4. A nuclear arms deal with Iran -- after secret negotiations, Obama relaxed sanctions on the Iranians in exchange for their promise to stop part of their nuclear activities. The Iranian promise does not stop uranium enrichment, the necessary precursor to building a bomb. It does require the Iranians to stop about three weeks short of getting the bomb, however.
5. Obamacare remains the law -- The roll out of the Obamacare law has been filled with inexplicable disasters. It seems that no one oversaw or even paid attention to that roll out. Millions have seen their policies cancelled. Millions have been unable to buy insurance from the exchanges. Further disruptions of much larger magnitude are expected in the next months. Despite all the upset, Obamacare has remained the law of the land. Obama has managed to avoid its repeal.
6. The federal budget deficit has declined due to sequestration-- after the Republicans took over the House in 2011, they insisted that the ever rising federal spending be brought under control. In the ensuing battle, Obama came up with the idea of the sequester, an automatic across the board reduction in the size of spending increases. The sequester kicked in last winter, and coupled with the winding down of America's efforts in Afghanistan, resulted in a lower level of federal spending in 2013 than in 2012. When the sequester went into effect, Obama complained bitterly that it would be a disaster. That turned out to be completely erroneous. Even though he was totally wrong, it was his idea, so he should get some of the credit.
7. American energy production has risen dramatically -- since taking office, Obama has made move after move to slow down or even reverse the rise in American oil and gas production. That rise is due to the technological advancement that allows shale to produce oil and gas in copious amounts. Obama has tried to limit such drilling on federal land. He has also delayed permitting for regular drilling on land where the feds have jurisdiction. He has taken other steps as well, but his efforts have failed because the increase in production on private land has been so huge that they outweigh the cuts in production on federal land resulting from Obama's efforts. Because he failed, Obama should get some of the credit for the increase in America's energy output.
8. The Budget Deal -- Just in the last week or two, Congress finally passed a budget negotiated by Congressman Ryan and Senator Murray. The success of the negotiation is largely credited to the failure by Obama to get involved in any way. For staying away from the process, Obama deserves some of the credit for this deal. After all, he could have gotten involved and screwed it all up.
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