A quick summary of the Obama town hall meeting held at 11:15 CDST at the American Airlines maintenance facility in Kansas City, Missouri.
This is a quick summary of the Obama town hall meeting held at the American Airlines maintenance facility in Kansas City, Missouri at 11:15 am CDST today. (I'm watching it live-stream on the local ABC affiliate, KMBC. That live video is found at: http://www.kmbc.com/...
This diary will be updated at the end of the broadcast.
The audience is assembled; the cameramen for the national networks have shown up. Apparently the vehicle with Obama has also arrived. We're waiting for the broadcast to begin. Obama has arrived and is standing off to the side.
You can watch the broadcast live at the Obama Blog website, found at:
http://my.barackobama.com/...
Summary:
Introduction:
The audience stands and applauds. Ron Harp (sp?) was the first person introduced; a long-time worker at the facility, since he was 19 years old in 1977. (His family have been aviation mechanics for many years.) Mentions loss of good-paying union jobs throughout the airline industry, loss of pensions, and the possibility of layoffs & facility closure at this plant.
Believes country has taken a wrong turn... turns to introducing Obama. Mentions book "Audacity Of Hope" and core American values found in the Constitution. Mentions work Obama's familiarity with their situation, and need to make right choices for America.
Introduces Barack Obama as his choice as the next president, a "true working man's president..." Barack Obama.
Barack Obama steps up to the microphone. Takes off jacket. Mentions things that he and Ron have in common... grandmother an inspector on an assembly line, and both have daughters. Plugs Ron's daughter's CD (musician) The Wreckers (?).
Obama thanks Kay Barnes, former mayor who negotiated facility remaining open during her tenure.
Obama mentions his wife's comments last night at the convention; mentions he's not the star of the Obama family. Mentions how proud he is of his wife.
Has been on the campaign trail for 19 months... is impressed with the size and magnificence of our countryside. How impressed he is with how wonderful the American people are, from all walks of life; decent, generous, hardworking, sacrificing... take pride in their work. Common values, regardless of race, age, station in life... liberty, community, honesty, hard work, etc.
Learned that people are anxious; scared about the future. American Airlines is only major US carrier that still does its maintenance in the US. The airline has worked with the union to make sure the jobs stay in the US. But the airlines are getting clobbered due to rising fuel prices, and many other things that are the same things that are affecting individual families.
This economy is not working for ordinary Americans. Statistics issued today:
Since 2000, the typical family income has declined $2000.
(contrasted with $6200 increase under Bill Clinton.)
816,000 additional people fell into poverty in 2007.
More than 7 million additional people do not have health benefits; and premiums have gone up.
More home foreclosures than at any time since the Great Depression.
"I don't have to tell you about gas prices." We still do not have an energy policy in this country; and everything has gone up in price. Groceries, home heating oil have gone up. More and more American jobs have been shipped overseas.
McCain is saying this country has made great progress economically, under Bush. Advisor said Americans have become a nation of whiners. "The fundamentals of the economy are sound," a direct quote from McCain last week.
Obama indicates that McCain seems to think that the middle class is anyone making less than $5 million per year. Mentions the incident where McCain didn't know how many houses he has.
Obama says, "If you don't know how many houses you have, no wonder you think the economy is sound." Doesn't think McCain gets it; he's out of touch. He doesn't realize what ordinary Americans are going through; neither does the Bush administration.
"But I do, and that's why I'm running for President." Absolutely convinced if we get some leadership in the White House, we can begin to take steps toward restoring the American Dream.
Change tax code: no tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas.
Close tax loopholes & tax havens going to corporations making billions of dollars; give tax break to 95% of American families.
(Contrasts his tax plans with McCain's tax cuts for the wealthy.)
Change energy policy to one that's worthy of American innovation. "Drill here, drill now..." says we need to increase domestic production. Mentions ad by T. Boone Pickens... can't drill our way out of the problem. Main way to solve energy crisis is if we start developing plans to create a clean energy future... solar, wind, nuclear, natural gas... increased fuel efficiency in cars and trucks. 15 billion dollars per year to go into these plans every year... like the Apollo plan. So we don't have to import oil from the Middle East.
Will ensure trade agreements that are fair. Even playing field... make sure there are no barriers to us selling American products & goods to others.
Health care system that works. Expanding employer-sponsored health care for those who have insurance; if uninsured, offer a program like what he enjoys as a member of Congress.
Make our education system work for our children; pay teachers more, make college affordable (public service exchange). We want engineers educated here, and building planes here.
Infrastructure; roads, bridges, sewers, levees, electrical grid... invest in our infrastructure. Taxpayer money needed not for rebuilding Iraq, which has a surplus; we need to use taxpayer money to rebuilding America.
Mentions close election; says the election isn't about him, but about you (audience). Need somebody who gets it, who understands people aren't looking for a handout; just need an American government that's on their side.
Question & answer session (girl, boy, girl, boy):
First question: Constitutional rights. Habeas corpus specifically mentioned.
Answer: Not aware of property being taken away for disagreeing with Bush. But mentions wiretapping, habeas corpus suspended, Guantanamo. Wants every tool available, but says that it needs to be consistent with our values, ideals, & Constitution. Says he would go through every executive order created by Bush, and if found unconstitutional, will reverse.
Second question: OSHA ergonomic standards; asks for stance on OSHA and worker protection in general.
Answer: Says possibility for injury is enormous. Coal mines, meatpackers, factory floor... used to be a time when workers had no protection, and could easily lose an eye, limb, or life. One of the revolutions brought about partially by organized labor is government that helps ensure that workers aren't at unnecessary risk. Continual improvement in workplace safety has improved workers lives and business (fewer days off).
Strengthen OSHA, enforce OSHA, work with employers in such a way to ensure it doesn't hinder with getting the job done. Trade agreements should have sufficient protections so that exploitation doesn't happen with goods being shipped into the US.
Third question: Health care and education. Put 110% into what they do. Students are hungry for change; not seeing where they can go with it. Not seeing the jobs when they get out of college... no jobs available for college graduates.
Answer: Education system has fallen behind. Math & science are way behind (16th and 19th in world). Making sure that kids start school prepared (pre-school learning letters, numbers, colors, etc.).
Improve teacher salaries; want best & brightest to become teachers. Work with unions to support ongoing education, etc.
Make college more accessible to all students; $4k credit for college in exchange for service.
How do we make education relevant to their employment? Junior high & high schoolers need to encounter the work world earlier & more often. Mentions need for apprenticeships, trade schools, etc. much earlier than currently. Would give young people a sense of direction much earlier... reducing dropout rate. Use community colleges much better for additional education & training; improve financial aid programs for non-traditional students.
Fourth question: Prescription drugs as part of rising health care costs. FDA understaffed to get new drugs on market. Any plan to better staff the FDA so they can get the job done better.
Answer: Reason it's so high is because we don't have negotiation for drug costs. Special interests & drug company lobbyists have made sure those clauses aren't available.
Points out that he doesn't take PAC money, etc.
FDA is understaffed; much financing comes from drug companies. Tie between funding and approval process makes it not as independent as it should be. Staff FDA with best scientists & experts to make sure how the best drugs get to market, not how drug companies
Fifth and sixth questions on health care: Ask about unconventional health care such as chiropractic, holistic. Also asked about eye care and dental care.
Dental care needs to be part of health care package. Ties this back to poor school performance, heart disease, etc. Needs to have dental health care, mental health care; very important for preventing future, further health problems.
Non-traditional care... says that if scientific studies show it improves outcomes, then yes, they should be covered. If scientific studies show it doesn't have an effect on outcomes, then no, it shouldn't be covered.
Obama said that even if you're keeping your health insurance, and not going through a government option, he wants to make sure claims are paid and insurers aren't excluding people improperly.
(Lost audio on feed.)
Next question: Social Security; what do you think about it?
Answer: It's the greatest social program we ever created in the United States. If it weren't for SS, millions more seniors would be in poverty. It has worked.
(Lost audio on feed.)
Privatization... mentions Enron. Wants people to invest in addition to SS, not instead of Social Security.
The problem has been SS trust fund borrowing.
(Lost audio on feed.)
Also demographics (if nothing is done about it). Cut benefits is one way; not a good option. Another way is to raise retirement age; hard with physically taxing jobs. Third way is to raise payroll tax, similar to 1983. Payroll tax already puts biggest burden on working families.
Best option: raising the cap on the payroll tax; only currently paid up to $102,000. 94% of Americans earn less than this. Set up system where after you make $250,000, you start paying more into payroll tax.
End of question & answer session.
Thanks audience; only 70 days to the election. Asks audience to pay attention to both Democratic and Republican conventions; wants them to be well informed voters.
Says that Americans have been falling behind; are less secure, more likely to have lost health insurance, less able to save money, and home values are dropping. Says that's the track record; those are the facts.
Says that McCain is promising to do more of the same. Says that if you think things are going great, then you should vote for John McCain. Says that if you think things need to change, then we can make the changes needed if you'll vote for me in November.