Storybook Vacations

Legislation passed by the US House could ease travel restrictions, among other things, to Cuba and the Cuban embargo in general. The next hurdle, thanks to our bicameral system, is the Senate.

Don’t put on your guayabera just yet. Even if this bill does pass it would expire on September 30 unless President Obama extends it. But Obama may be on board per his previous statements. According to Reuters, “Obama has made clear he favors relaxing limits on family travel and cash remittances by Cuban Americans to Cuba… [but that the] U.S. trade embargo against [Cuba] should stay in place to press for democratic reforms.” That means travel to Cuba may become easier, but the Kennedy-era embargo may remain in effect.

What does the bill do? Per Reuters, while the embargo is still in place, it does prevent the Treasury Department from upholding “…rules requiring payment of cash in advance for agricultural sales to Cuba”.  Ok, so traveling to Cuba may be difficult but purchasing grain would be less complicated.

Perhaps in the future the embargo will end, Communism in Cuba will be abolished, and we will be free to travel to Cuba which once was a beautiful, thriving country.

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Brian Cuba, Embargo, House, Obama, Senate, Travel

President Obama has just completed his trip to Canada and was received not only warmly but with admiration and joy.

I must confess it is nice to have our president admired when he visits another country. When Bush went to Canada admiration was not what he got; rather protests and detestation!

I visited Toronto for a week about 5 years ago and admiring a United States president was not, at that time, something anyone I met could have conceived. We’ve clearly come a long way.

The purpose of President Obama’s visit was partially to reassure Canadians about NAFTA and to discuss Afghanistan with them. The Canadians are very likely withdrawing the small number of troops they have there.

Canada is a small example of a general trend. The world right now is optimistic about President Obama, very optimistic. The question is, can he hold that optimism and use it to restore the United States damaged and fallen image.

So far, it appears to me Obama can and will.

The author of this post is Matt Wion who blogs at Thoughts on Democracy, Freedom, and Justice.

Brian afghanistan, Barack Obama, Canada, NAFTA, Obama

I am pleased that the Obama’s stimulus package has finally been passed. And while I understand the resistance to spending upwards of one trillion dollars to bailout America, I’m not sure how the dissenting politicians expected to combat the current recession without spending money.

In business, money has to spent in order to make money. So of course the price tag on Obama’s stimulus package would be high, but hopefully, the US will make a return on their investment via job growth, increased consumer spending, and a better infrastructure.

The republicans call to only cut taxes doesn’t make sense because most people are saving their extra money or using it on cost-of-living expenses not consumer goods.  Also, does anyone else remember how well that approach worked for Bush? Exactly.

Unlike Republicans, Obama is, as expected, thrilled by he passage of the bill, “This is a major milestone on our road to recovery, and I want to thank the members of Congress who came together in common purpose to make it happen.”

According to President Obama, the bill “will save or create more than 3.5 million jobs over the next two years, ignite spending by business and consumers alike, and lay a new foundation for our lasting economic growth and prosperity.”  This of course would be a huge accomplishment as job losses are at record highs.

But how are the billions being spent? Here are some highlights:

-120 billion for infrastructure (includes highways)

-20 billion for renewable energy

-11 billion to modernize the US electrical grid

-Tax cuts/tens of billions of dollars for extending unemployment benefits, healthcare

-Funds to help struggling states avoid cuts in services like education

Now we will have to wait and see how this money is spent and the effect it has on the economy. Fortunately, there will be transparency during this process via Recovery.org.

If all else fails, perhaps Ty Inc. can re-release the Sasha and Malia beanie babies.
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Brian economy, Obama, stimulus package, tax cuts