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By Arthur Piccolo

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Jan. 3, 2014:  Don’t worry about any big bold plans from Barack Obama for the New Year his agenda and the so called Democratic leadership is modest indeed.

Why would we expect anything more?

Here are their big themes for 2014 – an increase the minimum wage … and that’s about it. Obama and the Democrats are about playing  defense to the right wing Republican nonsense about doing even more for  the rich.

O yes, Obama is going to talk and talk and talk about inequality in  America and do nothing about it except preside over more inequality as  he has for the first 5 years of his Presidency.

He and his fellow DC Democrats will try and convince us by trying and failing to raise the national minimum wage to all of $9.75 an hour that  he is effectively combating inequality in America.

Yes, wouldn’t everyone be well off and inequality ended if every American  made at least $375 a week before taxes or $19,500 a year?  After payroll  tax, income tax, state tax, rent or mortgage, food costs,  transportation, clothes, etc. that should leave any American with less  than nothing. If you are making a gross pay of about $1,500 a month and  just your rent or mortgage are over $1,000 a month, how does that combat  inequality in America, or allow most Americans to live a good life.

Yes, we need a minimum wage law set at a minimum of at least $15 an hour, which Obama and the Democratic “leadership” will never support or get  past the Republicans, and if it did, all most businesses would do is cut  more jobs.

Without a far bolder agenda, inequality and despair will only increase.

Here are some good resolutions for Obama and the Democrats for 2014:

Get serious about the REAL issues facing Americans and the fact that  the rich will always complain they are paying too much in taxes as they  become richer and richer on the backs of everyone else and the strength  of the entire American society all over 300 million of us.

Now as usual, be prepared for Obama’s state of the union speech to  Congress late in January a laundry list of nonsense that will be  interrupted by applause from Democratic members of Congress dozens of  time, and endless gone over by the media for days afterwards, a speech  that means absolutely nothing, is ignored by most Americans and quickly  forgotten.

Anyone remember what Obama promised in his 2013 State of the Union  speech? Here is the Washington Post’s review of the 2013 speech …

On job creation: “I’m announcing the launch of three more of these  manufacturing hubs, where businesses will partner with the Departments  of Defense and Energy to turn regions left behind by globalization into  global centers of high-tech jobs. And I ask this Congress to help create  a network of 15 of these hubs and guarantee that the next revolution in  manufacturing is made right here in America.”

On Afghanistan: “Tonight, I can announce that, over the next year,  another 34,000 American troops will come home from Afghanistan. This  drawdown will continue. And by the end of next year, our war in  Afghanistan will be over.”

On the deficit: “Most of us agree that a plan to reduce the deficit must  be part of our agenda. But let’s be clear: Deficit reduction alone is  not an economic plan.”

“… Let me repeat: Nothing I’m proposing tonight should increase our  deficit by a single dime. It is not a bigger government we need, but a  smarter government that sets priorities and invests in broad-based growth.”

On immigration: “As we speak, bipartisan groups in both chambers are  working diligently to draft a bill, and I applaud their efforts. So  let’s get this done. Send me a comprehensive immigration reform bill in  the next few months, and I will sign it right away. And America will be  better for it.”

On gun control: “Overwhelming majorities of Americans — Americans who  believe in the Second Amendment — have come together around commonsense  reform, like background checks that will make it harder for criminals to  get their hands on a gun. … Senators of both parties are working  together on tough new laws to prevent anyone from buying guns for resale  to criminals. Police chiefs are asking our help to get weapons of war  and massive ammunition magazines off our streets, because these police  chiefs, they’re tired of seeing their guys and gals being outgunned.  Each of these proposals deserves a vote in Congress.”

On the role of government: “It is our unfinished task to make sure that  this government works on behalf of the many, and not just the few, that  it encourages free enterprise, rewards individual initiative, and opens  the doors of opportunity to every child across this great nation.”

On the minimum wage: “Tonight, let’s declare that, in the wealthiest  nation on Earth, no one who works full time should have to live in  poverty — and raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour.”

On entitlements, generally: “We can’t ask senior citizens and working  families to shoulder the entire burden of deficit reduction while asking  nothing more from the wealthiest and the most powerful.”

On Medicare: “On Medicare, I’m prepared to enact reforms that will  achieve the same amount of health care savings by the beginning of the  next decade as the reforms proposed by the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles  commission.”

On climate change: “I urge this Congress to get together, pursue a  bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change, like the one John  McCain and Joe Lieberman worked on together a few years ago. But if  Congress won’t act soon to protect future generations, I will. I will  direct my cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and  in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the  consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy.”

On energy: “Tonight, I propose we use some of our oil and gas revenues  to fund an Energy Security Trust that will drive new research and  technology to shift our cars and trucks off oil for good.”

On voting rights: “I’m announcing a nonpartisan commission to improve  the voting experience in America. And it definitely needs improvement.  I’m asking two long-time experts in the field — who, by the way,  recently served as the top attorneys for my campaign and for Governor  Romney’s campaign — to lead it. We can fix this. And we will. The  American people demand it, and so does our democracy.”

On education: “Tonight, I’m announcing a new challenge, to redesign  America’s high schools so they better equip graduates for the demands of  a high-tech economy. And we’ll reward schools that develop new  partnerships with colleges and employers, and create classes that focus  on science, technology, engineering and math, the skills today’s  employers are looking for to fill the jobs that are there right now and  will be there in the future.”

Those were Obama’s big ideas last year even though the speech went on  and on for more than an hour including all the rounds of applause for  nothing.

Take particular note of raising the minimum wage then to just $9 an hour  which didn’t happen. This time around expect to hear INCOME INEQUALITY  mentioned again and again throughout the speech, and nothing will  happen. Correction income equality will get worse in 2014.

About The Writer: Arthur Piccolo is a professional writer and commentator and often writes about Latin America for New Americas.

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