I am SOOOO glad, now, I voted for Obama

[Th1onein]

I know there are people on DU who seem as if they are deifying Obama. I don't think that I do that. And I'm not doing it now.

BUT, if you owe a student loan, he's done something great for you. And I think the guy is going to get a halfway decent healthcare bill passed, too.

I see his faults, as well. But, I think that he is playing it safe during his first term, so that he will get elected to another term.

However, if these first five months are anything to judge by, he's going to be a great president. I think that a lot of the American people are going to be very happy with him.

He needs to fire Geithner, though.

[leftstreet]

1. "halfway decent " - The new Democratic Party platform n/t

[Th1onein]

2. You know, after eight years of GW Bush and his clan of criminals,

halfway decent is great. And this is just his first term. This man is going to do great things for Americans, by the time he's finished his two terms.

[FormerDittoHead]

19. I have to agree. Here's the expression: "Well, at least NOW, I KNOW who's running things..." n/t

[Winterblues]

38. "Been down so Goddamn long it looks like up to me"

:shrug:

[MarjorieG]

3. I wish more here gave credit for what he has to work with and turn around.

[Curtland1015]

5. Apparently, if he isn't perfect, you can't compliment anything good he does.

It's kinda sad, isn't it?

[choie]

34. what's kinda sad are the people who are

still in denial about Obama and the choices that he's made thus far.

[FrenchieCat]

8. I think that health care reform that we end up with will be more than halfway decent..

Of course, passing decent healthcare reform is better than passing totally fucked up healthcare reform, and also better than doing absolutely nothing.

For the fact that I pay $1,200 per month (w/t $75 copays) for health insurance, if my insurance can be lowered by a significant amount, I will feel quite fortunate.

[defendandprotect]

4. What did he do on student loans?

[FrenchieCat]

10. 2 things.

here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090715/pl_nm/us_studentloan_congress

http://getoutofdebt.org/7231/obama-student-loan-forgiveness-program

[defendandprotect]

12. Thanks . . . I'll check the links later . . . scanned quickly --

[the blues]

13. It seems these Obama-era student loan things have yet to happen...

Am I right about that?

[FrenchieCat]

15. Legislation is moving......

but yes, no bill has yet been signed.

Guess that in a democracy, things move slower than what we would choose. :(

Obama's Student Loan Plan Wins Support in House
WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Education Committee has dismissed a last-ditch plea from the private student loan industry and is throwing his support behind President Obama’s plan to end the role of private banks in the federal education lending systems.

Mr. Obama’s plan remains deeply contentious in Congress, and still faces strong opposition from private banks that for decades have earned big profits for handling federal student loans.

But after mulling the issue for months, Representative George Miller, the California Democrat who is chairman of the Education Committee, now plans to introduce legislation next week that would rely on direct government lending to replace the federally subsidized loans made by private banks. Administration officials who have reviewed drafts of the legislation said that it substantially adopts Mr. Obama’s proposal.
http://www.usstudents.org/obamas-student-loan-plan-wins-support-in-house

[hfojvt]

24. I am not sure that is a good thing

Seems to me that it will require tens of thousands of new government workers to process and review loan applications and payments and do collections. Which is a bit of duplication of the experience, training, and personnel that banks already have.

Wouldn't it be simpler just to add $50 million (or something) to Pell Grants which don't have to be paid back?

[FrenchieCat]

27. Wasn't that part of the Stimulus?

President Obama Increases Pell Grant and Perkins Loan Limits
http://consolidatingstudentloansonline.com/2009/05/president-obama-increases-pell-grant-and-perkins-loan-limits/211

However, the problem is that not all students qualify for pell Grants and Perkin loans, as these are loans available for students demonstrating a financial need. Students whose parents are better off (may have non liquid fixed assets such as a high valued residence) are not eligible, and so those students end up getting private loans, as opposed to having their parents take out equity loan on their assets (which would put the parents on the hook) to fund their kids' education. Plus Pell Grants can only pay for so much, as education is now pricier than a pell grant can fund.
Considering that the Student Loan business brought in $89.5 billion in loans just in the 2007-2008 school year, the government cannot take on the financial burden of turning all sources of funding for college into a Pell grant!

The move of having the government take over the student loan business from private banks is quite different indeed. The savings calculated to the government on this is 87 Billion. I think the computation as to what it will cost the government to process such was taken into consideration when the 87 billion savings figure was announced.

I think this is the way of the government controlling interest rates and repayment terms to students. I understand that the proposal also includes a forgiveness clause after 10 years of repayment on what has been a 25 year repayment arrangement when dealing with private institutions.

Bottomline is that Banks shouldn't be in the business for profit of Student loans.

[defendandprotect]

21. AND ...not much anyway . . .we need usury laws -- used to be 6 years on student loans!!!

[opihimoimoi]

6. The American peeps voted him in for, among other things, to establish a health

program for all Americans...

He is delivering his best..

All top office holders have one thing in common...trusted staff members.

its so hard to get good help these days...but the picking is far better than the Pubs side...

President Obama is still breaking in his staff....this is hard to pull off...ask any administrator...look wha hoppen to W...his staff Sucked....America regressed big time in 8 years...

Soon, we hope to see the blossoming of his ideas/concepts...."We Have a Dream" Nana Mouskouri

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCXIGJ9y9rk&feature=related

[Coyote_Bandit]

7. "...a halfway decent health care bill...."

Ummmm. No. It is a clusterfuck that will leave millions worse off - yet benefit the insurance industry.

I suspect Obama is going to lose some liberal support when he comes up for re-election because of his failure to even put single payer up for discussion. He was after all for it before he was against it.

And those stimulus dollars spent for trickle down job creation haven't exactly been an overwhelming success.

If there are not widespread tangible improvements in the economy then Dems are going to have a tough time holding their positions in upcoming elections. People who are struggling vote with their pocketbook before they vote with their heart or their head. Millions are struggling to survive with no change in sight that might ease that struggle. It's all about the $$$.

[FrenchieCat]

9. As for the totality of it all, in terms of being measured....

I have been personally affected in positive ways by this presidency thus far. I've been able to modify my mortgage loan with a 1.3% interest rate (it will eventually go up to a 5.3% fix in 5 years time, so we can catch our breath), my oldest, a '09 graduate has student loans that she will be able to modify according to Obama's new proposal once it goes through, and she was awarded a 5 year fellowship via the stimulus. The old 401K balance has certainly improved. Under Michelle's influence, I have lost weight, gained toner arms, and have started a garden at home. In addition, I am volunteering 12 hours per week in my community where I feel I can make a difference.

It is true that we are still at war, the economy is still very shaky, growing deficits will be used by the GOP as a political tool, the 40 year old health care problem still hasn't been fixed, certain folks still aren't enjoying their equal rights, and Americans are still out of work by the millions.....so no, no rainbows and ponies seen in the sky just quite yet.

So I'd say, we are on the right track, but there is quite a ways to go.

I'm also glad I supported this President.

[tosh]

11. +1/nt.

[rocktivity]

14. My final student loan payment for ten cents.

They kept after me until I sent them a check for TEN CENTS!!!

:rofl:
rocktivity

[gmoney]

17. should have paid them 20 cents...

just to make 'em write you back a 10-cent refund.

[Tim01]

16. I am a big fan of making education available.

Not everybody wants an education. But if it is too expensive then we loose a lot of good people who simply don't have the money to make it happen.

[defendandprotect]

23. We should have a national program to make higher education available

to everyone -- and I say that while the rightwing has come close to having destroyed

our public elementary/high school education over decades now --

Evidently, the national school budgets were large part money for the CIA!

And, of course, they've used the battering ram of patriarchal religion to hit public education.

[Tim01]

26. Somebody would have to pay for that program.

But I think it would give us a lot back. Probably a more useful return than just about anything else we could do.

Could we convince the American people that educating people is more important than buying coffee at Starbucks? I kind of doubt it.

[defendandprotect]

30. Nothing new in it -- everyone contributes, everyone benefits . . .

if you prize information - awareness --

NJ Sen. Bill Bradley had a plan for it -- beyond just our state.

[Tim01]

35. I agree with you, but I think we are mostly alone.

I think most people will scream to high heaven about how they can't pay for anything else. Since I have had a fair amount of rubbing elbows with average working class Americans, I won't be holding my breath.

[defendandprotect]

36. Enlightenment cures most of that thinking . . especially AFTER you've put

a few kids thru college and realize that your own kids are going to be doing that now!

Usury law on student loans used to be 6 years!

What they're doing is making it at the same time necessary/but impossible to buy that
piece of paper! Only the elite will have it. Elites like W -- !!!!

:evilgrin:

[bobbolink]

18. I'm grateful FDR didn't "play it safe"

:wtf:

[HughMoran]

20. Popcorn time

Complimenting our Democratic President on this Democratic site is a cardinal sin here.

:popcorn:

[safeinOhio]

22. Cardinal Sin, Brother

Once I was lost
Now I am found
I have a President
than know an adverb from a noun.

I know he can't move fast enough in the right direction for us, however, the ship IS turning around.

[HughMoran]

28. Cardinal Sin passed away a few years ago

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4113474.stm

No, I am NOT joking!

[quakerboy]

25. I have hope on the Healthcare Bill

But I am unimpressed by what I see on the student loan thing so far. Making it all direct will help those going for loans in the future, but there is not a single proposal on that front that I have yet seen that will do a thing for me. And I cant imagine I am the only one in my situation.

[RadicalTexan]

29. I owe $50,000 in federal student loans and am not eligible for this new "plan"

I am also not happy that single-payer was never on the table.

Then again, I only held my nose and voted for Obama, so I am neither shocked nor particularly disappointed. I'm more of a Kucinich supporter.

[deaniac21]

31. He has turned this country around. Finally, we are getting

new jobs!

[Silent3]

32. Given the alternative to Obama...

...I'm delirious he won. There's a lot I wish he'd do differently, but nevertheless it would be hard for any of his failings to be anywhere near enough to ever make me regret my vote.

McCain running the show and Palin an old man's heartbeat away from the Presidency? :scared: That was the alternative to Obama, and not voting or making a symbolic vote for an obscure more liberal or progressive candidate would have been risking too much.

[Liberal_in_LA]

33. Me too

[BREMPRO]

37. agreed. Obama gets it, and is working hard to get work done for the people

against the traditional corporate lobbyist that run washington. I don't agree with him on everything, but every time i hear him speak, i hear my concerns well articulated and understood, and feel he genuinely has my interest at heart. It's congress that's failing in my opinion. They appear weak kneed, and overly beholden to corporate money and influence. It's as if 300,000,000 citizens = 1000 corporate lobbyists. so 1 lobbyist has 300,000 times more influence that i do. That's the feeling i get with congress. They keep playing the lost jobs card- SO MISGUIDED- we need to transition jobs away from the inefficient and harmful HMO's, health insurance industry, drug companies, financial services, mountain top removal, factory farms, into a more sustainable economy: green jobs, nurse practitioners, preventive health care, organic local farming, alternative energy, manufacturing etc.. In a way the economy collapse is a good thing, a chance to make a change for the better. The corporate lobbyist and wall street want us to go back to business as usual- high private profits on the back of public resourses and individual citizens. I WON"T STAND FOR IT.

I voted for, am proud of, and support our President.

[Skidmore]

39. While everyone is whacking around in the weeds trying to

prove they can flay a Democrat as swiftly as they can a Republican, I'm watching this man skillfully deconstruct Washington. Despite the caterwauling, he has turned DC on its head. The manipulative games Congress plays are not working no nicely. Time and time again we've seen him force legislators back to the issue at hand. That is no small achievement.

I have stood for Obama for a long time. I continue to stand with him how.

[kjackson227]

40. Great post, K&R

[KillCapitalism]

41. I'm not even sure we'll get a healthcare bill at all.

The propaganda against it is unbelieveable. The propagandists have the DINO's turning against healthcare reform. I just don't expect much to happen in this 3rd world hellhole of a country anymore.

[DutchLiberal]

42. As long as he thinks he can keep people imprisoned without trial...

... for an unspecified length of time, I think he's a lousy president.