Obama’s “weekly address” from the White House Blog on February 28th, spoke positively of Obama’s recently announced budget and how it meets the promises made during the campaign — from renewable energy, eliminating the “crushing cost of health care,” and a reform of the education system.

Speaking of renewable energy; market-based caps on carbon-based pollution, Obama says “will make renewable energy the profitable kind of energy.” Investment in wind and solar power, advancement of research in clean coal, biofuels, and fuel-efficiency in the automotive industry has been increased drastically in this budget, in such a way to suggest that the government is serious about increases in energy consumption “responsibility”.

Huge increases across the board in health care reform and education, mark what Obama calls a solution to many economic problems. Citing bankruptcy statistics related to large health care bills for the uninsured, and uncompetitiveness of current American students on the international plane, the new budget “offers incentives” for both focuses to excel.

“I promised to bring down the crushing cost of health care – a cost that bankrupts one American every thirty seconds, forces small businesses to close their doors, and saddles our government with more debt. This budget keeps that promise, with a historic commitment to reform that will lead to lower costs and quality, affordable health care for every American. I promised an education system that will prepare every American to compete, so Americans can win in a global economy. This budget will help us meet that goal, with new incentives for teacher performance and pathways for advancement; new tax credits that will make college more affordable for all who want to go; and new support to ensure that those who do go finish their degree.”

Finally, defending the huge deficit expected with such a overreaching budget, loaded with bailouts, funding for broad classes of government and injections of federal funds in industries in the most trouble from the financial crisis and economic collapse, Obama speaks of a set of niche industries who he believes will reject the budget proposal: notably, insurance, banks and oil companies. Speaking of the new Medicare proposals and health care reform, he says the insurance industry “won’t like the idea that they’ll have to bid competitively to continue offering Medicare coverage,” while the banks will not like the loss of their student customers making use of private student loans, and the oil industry won’t like the Obama administration “ending $30 billion in tax breaks.”

Small steps forward, “that is the change this budget starts to make, and that is the change I’ll be fighting for in the weeks ahead – change that will grow our economy, expand our middle-class, and keep the American Dream alive for all those men and women who have believed in this journey from the day it began,” finishes the President.

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