Statism of the Union

So tonight we get to hear the State of the Union, and it will no doubt follow the usual storyline of glossing over the bad, highlighting the good (if there is any?), but in the end not really providing us an honest evaluation of where we stand right now, January 27, 2010. With all that has happened in the past year, I sincerely hope the President will address the nation honestly and openly.

Since January of 2009, we have seen the growth of the government like almost no other period in history: the government takeover of General Motors, government takeover of financial institutions, the massive bailout (that was actually a goody bag for special interests and has done zero for increasing jobs), the explosion in government spending (can someone explain why federal employees making salaries of $100,000 or more jumped from 14% to 19% during the last 18 months? And here I thought there was a recession . . . ), and now government is 40% of GDP, which means since government is bigger, it can insert itself even more into our lives. And I haven’t even mentioned the healthcare bill of 2009, which was a crass grab by our political class to control 1/6th of the American economy.

So what I’d like to see done tonight is just an admission by the President:

“Yes, America, we think the state needs to grow. We think that the increased role of the government in your lives is obviously a great thing (i.e. statism). We think we know better than you.”

Although I do not agree, at least then he would be telling the truth about where the state of our union really lies.

What about you? What would you like to see discussed?