AP
What Michelle Malkin is dubbing “Cash for Caulkers” was unveiled today by President Obama standing in front of a Home Depot store in Virginia. The plan set forth by the President is directed at encouraging Americans to make “energy efficient retrofit improvements” to their homes. The idea is to give tax incentives for Americans who choose to make said improvements with the hope of generating commerce at all levels of the supply chain from manufacturing to installation. The President addressed the most critical point of the proposed plan – that Americans don’t have the disposable income to do these things – by saying that he understood that money is tight, but the benefit will be gained in the long term due to the savings that will be realized from the improvements. For those of you who can’t read between the lines… that means if you don’t have the money to do this, don’t worry its not meant for you. If you do have the money to do this, jump right on it and make your house eco-friendly on the taxpayer dollar even though you don’t need the money in the first place.
So will this generate a bump in this sector of the economy? I have no doubt that it will be marginally successful among those in a position to part with the disposable income amidst a recession to do so, but to the general population this is nothing more than a clever attempt to spend taxpayer dollars on programs that serve no legitimate end.
So what does the President have to gain from this plan if it will have little to no impact? The truth is this is one of those programs that a Liberal president like this one must do to throw a bone to the far left tree hugging wing of the party that really doesn’t care one iota for the average American. They care more about their eco-friendly agenda than spending hardworking taxpayers’ money willy nilly. President Obama even hinted at the formulation of this plan saying that his aides told him it wasn’t a “sexy program.” He laughed about it only illustrating the fact that this plan has appeal to no one with the exception of a small minority of constituents who have been furious with the administration because they feel that the most liberal president in American history has begun to ignore them. It appears to be a “blue collar” effort on the part of the President to lend a hand to ‘normal folks’ – hence the choice of locations – HOME DEPOT, but it is nothing more than a handout to those who are certainly not in need of a handout to do that which they may or may not do on their own if not nudged by the federal government- which will yield no legitimate benefit to American taxpayers or the “environment” for that matter.
The President said he disagreed with the comment made by one of the participants during the roundtable, that was held before his remarks, who stated that insulation was not sexy, “I disagree…here’s what’s sexy about it, saving money.”
Mr. Obama argued that by weatherizing homes and buildings, people would actually end up saving money. The challenge, said the President, was for people to get the money up front to make the investments into their homes: “that’s why I’m calling on Congress to provide new temporary incentives for Americans to make energy-efficiency retrofit investments in their homes, and we want them to do it soon.”
The President also asserted that energy efficiency could stimulate jobs and reiterated his feelings on insulation, “I’m excited about it. I hope you are, too. See, I told you insulation is sexy.”
The President who used the adjective “sexy” four times during his remarks, seems to subscribe to the view that “sex sells,” using the term to spice up some otherwise decidedly unsexy subjects in the past. During another speech on energy efficiency, Mr. Obama noted that “light bulbs might not seem sexy” but that replacing regular light bulbs with energy-efficient light bulbs held enormous promise in cost saving measures . He also used the term during a campaign rally for then Governor Jon Corzine of New Jersey, while trying to get people out to vote, “Here’s the time when it’s not as sexy, it’s not as flashy.”
I am just going to guess but I would say that this may have been his first time at a HOme Depot. Do you think he went looking for the pots and pans and the noodle strainer?
You know he has never been there before. I don’t think he was looking for pans though, I bet he was looking for the train conductor. Talk about a fish out of water. He stands there in front of a crowd of construction workers there for their daily truck dog and pepsi listening to a president speak about a “plan” to put them to work that they can’t comprehend and would have fifteen better proposals if he asked them.
I spent many mornings at Home Depot with my father in my adolescent and teenage years and the hot dogs are definitely a staple of any Hom e Depot parking lot. I would also agree with you that polling the audience for a set of ideas for how to fix “their” sector of the economy would produce far greater results than those he has chosen to rely upon in drawing up this plan.
Absolutely his first trip there. I love the hot dog reference Manny. There is always a line for that food – English is optional.
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