美國的未來
【邱鴻安】歐巴馬在周末例行廣播和網路演說中提到美國的未來，他說美國未來的經濟繁榮依賴兩點，一是創新精神，二是建立一個新基礎─一個可以承受未來經濟風暴、以及可以支持長久繁榮的新基礎。
歐巴馬這個說法，讓我們看到他的整體施政籃圖。以建設一個經濟新基礎來說，就包括了他要進行的各項改革，例如健保改革、能源改革、教育改革和大舉投資科研等。這些改革的目的就是要確保美國未來的經濟繁榮，而內政上的經濟繁榮，也是外交上國防上得以有所作為的基礎。
健保改革與經濟發展有什麼關係？健保成本的上漲幅度在過去30年中是薪金增長的三倍，因此必須進行改革，以降低成本，如果不改革，成本將繼續飆漲，終必拖累經濟。另外，健保改革準備將大部分無健保人士納入健保系統之中(約4600萬人)，因此這項改革必須控制成本，絕不能讓改革所需成本擴大聯邦政府的財赤，進而拖累經濟。健保改革如能控制成本，當然對經濟發展有利。
能源改革的目標是尋找替代石油的清潔能源，但開發太陽能、風力和生物能源的目的，卻不只是減排溫室效應廢氣和減慢氣候暖化，而且也是增加使用電力車和太陽能，以及創新綠色科技，而新一波綠色科技的出現，則可以為美國開創清潔能源的新經濟。
教育改革對美國未來的經濟發展更加重要。美國未來的競爭力必須依靠優秀的勞動力，歐巴馬的高等教育改革目標，是要在2020年前將美國變為全球大學畢業生比例最高的國家。目前，在美國的35歲以下人口中，大學畢業生的比例在全球只排第十，而單單在加州，到2025年時，就會短缺100萬名大學畢業生(加州公共政策研究中心的資料)，如果不作補救，屆時將會大大損害經濟的發展。這是加州現在大削高等教育經費將會造成重大破壞的原因。
過去八年，美國可說是全力貫注於伊拉克戰爭和戰後對伊的重建，諷刺的是，布希政府把美國的經濟力量投到伊拉克，卻沒有去建設美國。過去八年，布希政府又大舉給予富人退稅，自2001年到2011年，十年退稅總共耗費1.7兆元，但是這筆巨款卻沒有如共和黨人所迷信的那樣，達到推動美國經濟的目的。
更諷刺的是，當布希政府將美國的經濟實力耗在戰爭和退稅之時，以及不肯投資教育和科研之時(大學學費持續上漲、反對幹細胞研究、反對抗暖的科研)，中印等國卻趁機崛起。在金融危機發生後，美國出現1930年代大蕭條以來最嚴重的經濟衰退，而中國卻在金融海嘯後迅决恢復經濟增長，最新的經濟數據顯示，中國的國內生產總值(GDP)將於今年底「超日」，成為全球第二大經濟體，在超日之後，就是直逼美國。
現在竭力反對歐巴馬經濟政策和各項改革的保守派，實在應該看清楚美國的未來─美國未來的經濟繁榮，需要現在進行改革，以及建立一個可供未來經濟發展的新基礎。(「邱鴻安專欄」，世界日報，8.4.2009)
It's the same when Jessie Jackson said a black man should be a Democrat, otherwise he's a race traitor.
My non-Asian friends asked me once, "How are you not a Democrat? You're Chinese." I never understood the meaning of that. Maybe you Sir can tell me... Shame on you.
Ohhh I got it, that scrawny Chinaman is related to you? or is he your ancestor? Then in that case, I can tell you that scrawny little Chinaman gave more to this country then you or Mr. Chiu ever will.
Why don't you go do a little soul searching, as to the question, "why are you here?"
Please take a train. Look outside the window. You will see a tiny, scrawny Chinaman, leaning on a sledge hammer and kindly smiling at you. Remember he came here long before you did.
Yes, red as in Socialist Communist..
I often wonder why people like Mr. Chiu and yourself come here for? Just so you can turn this country into a socialist states like China, Cuba or Venezuela?
Of course anyone can criticize anyone else. It is just that some criticizes for criticism's sake. In your case, Mr. Chiu's name makes you see red.
while it makes absolute perfect sense to you, probably because you have very few of those to begin with...your new path is not where i want to go, understand?
(1) Beating a new path;
(2) Founding a new sound base,
makes absolute perfect sense to me! So why are you criticizing Mr. Chiu??
do you know why?
because the Chinese does not have the same regulatory laws for their business such as
"CAP N' TRADE" the stupid congress just passed
REMEMBER?
are you for real mr. chiu? did you actually use you brain at all when writing these articles?
So, even though the Democrats originally opposed any tax cut at all, they insisted that $10 billion in new "tax cuts" go to these low-income families.
When the bill passed the Senate, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer was asked what the president thought the House should do. He declared: "Pass it!"
So, to those who agrees to "大舉給予富人退稅" are either ignorant or lying or both.
The insurrance companies have been in the trough far too long. They have lived high hog at the expense of your well-being, my well-being, and everyone's well-being. It is high time that they be relieved of the charge of health care.
>>匿名 Aug 10 at 07:53 PM<< You have no idea what you were talking about. I suggest you to go away and think things over before posting. Even Obama agrees we should have competition. He proposes Public Option !
Why should anyone in his right mind let his life, health and wealth, or those of his loved ones for that matter, to be a trophy for the big insurance companies. To them, it is a game of raking in money. To us, it is a matter of life and death!
No. We just need healthy competition in those areas.
你對健保，能源，教育的觀點，有一個公因子，就是把它們當生財的工具。老邱跟你不同的地方就在這裡。
請忍耐點，讓 Obama 試試看，反正他在廚房裡，就讓他炒個菜。
說"西歐國家健保成功",這是膚淺的看法. 你們看不到的是西歐可怕的稅率,壓迫他們的經濟增長. 此外,他們快速的人口老化,將導致 heavy tax burden on their younger generations. If you study history, you will see that heavy taxation will cause either lost of productivity or revolution 和導致社會騷亂.
To fix our future, this is what we need to do. Like it or not.
健保 - 限制醫生和醫院的法律責任, 否則 all you'll do is fattening lawyers. Why do doctors and hospitals charge so much $$ ? Because their suffocating malpractice insurance. Try paying as much as 1/3 of you income for such insurance. Introduce government option, at the same time, strictly penalize individuals who failed to achieve and maintain his/her health. Example: smokers, alcohol consumers, and fat people. Reward those who have and use fitness gym on regular bases. Allow Health Savings Accounts (HSA) for all citizens, so patients have the motives and incentives to seek for the best care with best value. In other words, inject free market economy into the system.
能源 - Same as general consensus on renewable energy sources such as solar and wind energy development, EXCEPT bio-fuel (生物能源). Have we learned from our mistake from last year? If you don't remember, we wasted valuable farmland to grow "car food" instead of human food, and caused worldwide 糧食危機...
教育 - Dismantle and bar teacher's union, introduce voucher system. Let the better educators and educational institutions be rewarded for their effort, and let the incompetent ones disappear. Introduce free market economy into our educational system, simple as that. Hold our educators accountable for their failure.
Mr. Obama (and Mr. 邱), instead of talking about "what we should be", how about putting your career on the line, say and do the things that really need to be done, as politically incorrect as they may seem !! Remember, it's easy to dream. Everyone dreams. But not everyone can do.