Update: AZ Protestors Angry & Students Skeptical: Obama’s Pork-Ridden Stimulus Bill
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on February 19, 2009
By Vicki McClure Davidson * Frugal Café Blog Zone
This evening, I caught this unexpected story about Pres. Barack Obama’s Arizona address at Dobson High School in the East Valley Tribune (click here to read “Dobson students question Obama’s plan” in its entirety), so this is an update of my earlier post on Obama’s AZ visit. The reaction of the Dobson high schoolers to his visit and stimulus package was not that of adoration or blind faith, but of good old-fashioned skepticism. From teenagers – hope lives!
It’s refreshing that a number of our youth are not easily cajoled by the flowery speech of politicians. They want more nuts-and-bolts information on how this horrifically bloated, pork-oozing bill is going to help America get out of this recession. Here’s an excerpt from the Tribune article:
Senior Syna Daudfar took some notes during the speech and was among the most vocally opposed to Obama’s words.
At one point, when he talked about the costs of his stimulus plan, senior Maaike Albach and Daudfar looked at each other and said, “uh-oh.”
“Overall I think it’s a good idea, but he’s not addressing the issues of the economic crisis,” said Daudfar, a John McCain supporter who added he leans more toward being a moderate conservative. “The spending bill he just passed is just progressing the Democratic agenda rather than addressing the economic issues in the country.”
Daudfar thinks Obama’s plan is backward and deals with the “less important stuff” first. “Bailing out businesses” and “providing better regulatory systems for giving out money to businesses” should have been first, he said.
“If businesses can’t afford to hire people, then people won’t be able to work and pay off their mortgages,” he said. “It’s kind of like putting money into a funnel.”
Albach, who is also a Republican, said Obama’s plan sounds good but questioned how Obama can want to rely on “people’s responsibility” when that is “what got us in this economic crisis in the first place.”
“This puts us more into debt,” said Albach, 18. “It’s a horrible situation we’re in.”
Senior Brandon Miller wore a shirt with the words, “Hitler gave great speeches, too” above a picture of Obama.
The students also questioned why Obama chose their school for his speech since he wasn’t talking about education and wondered how much money the district spent on beautifying the campus while district positions and services are being cut.
District officials noted this week that the landscaping project completed over the weekend at Dobson was already in the works and was just expedited by the president’s visit. Funding came from voter-approved bonds.
New sod was laid in front of the school Tuesday, and Daudfar said, “The joke at the school is they’re going to take it away when he (Obama) leaves.”
More on the student reaction is provided in Michelle Malkin’s blog: Hope lives! High school students skeptical of Obama spending binge
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