The Daily Hatch

I have been writing President Obama letters and have not received a personal response yet.  (He reads 10 letters a day personally and responds to each of them.) However, I did receive a form letter in the form of an email on July 30, 2012. I don’t know which letter of mine generated this response so I have linked several of the letters I sent to him below with the email that I received. However, I think it was probably this one below:

President Obama’s state of the union speech Jan 24, 2012

President Obama c/o The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

I know that you receive 20,000 letters a day and that you actually read 10 of them every day. I really do respect you for trying to get a pulse on what is going on out here.

The Heritage Foundation website (www.heritage.org ) has lots of good articles and one that caught my attention was concerning your State of Union Speech on January 24, 2012 and here is a short portion of that article:

Social Security Silence – David John

In a night of disappointments, the complete lack of any mention of Social Security other than as an excuse to raise taxes was one of the greatest.  Although the Social Security trustees, several of whom are members of the President’s cabinet, has warned that the program faces perpetual deficits, the President evidently has no plan to protect the retirement security of millions of Americans who face a 25% benefit cut in less than 25 years.  Most officeholders join the President in treating Social Security as an issue that can be discussed later – much later, but the reality is that just like a leaky roof, the longer that the President and Congress waits to fix the program, the more expensive the reforms will be.

Tax Reform? It’s Needed, but There’s A Better Way to Go – Emily Goff

President Obama says he is ready and willing to embark on tax reform. This is a welcome statement, as our current tax system is ripe for overhaul. However, instead of piecemeal approaches or solutions that give preferences to one industry or company over another, the President should look to the fundamental reforms that the New Flat Tax, as part of The Heritage Foundation’s Saving the American Dream, would bring.

Obama Doubles Down on the Worst U.S. Tax Policy – J.D. Foster

One of the universally acknowledged banes of the federal income tax has for years been the individual Alternative Minimum Tax.  Borne in its current form in the 1986 tax reform act, this parallel system which runs in parallel to the regular income tax forces taxpayers to calculate their taxes twice and pay the larger of the two.

Today, this tax makes no sense, and most tax reform proposals of sufficient heft seek as a primary goal the repeal of the AMT.  Tonight, President Obama proposed not merely to embrace the AMT in principle, but to extend the principle robustly to the business income tax – to create a new basic minimum tax for businesses.  Once again, when it comes to tax policy, President Obama sees what needs to be done – and does the exact opposite.

___________________

Got to tackle entitlement reform but your speech did not mention that once.

Thank you so much for your time. I know how valuable it is. I also appreciate the fine family that you have and your committment as a father and a husband.

Sincerely,

Everette Hatcher III, 13900 Cottontail Lane, Alexander, AR 72002, ph 501-920-5733, lowcostsqueegees@yahoo.com

July 30, 2012 Dear Everette: Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me.  I have heard from many Americans who are worried about the future of their retirement savings, and I appreciate your perspective. Retiring with dignity is a promise we must keep to all Americans, and I am working hard to strengthen our retirement system.  That is why I am committed to protecting Social Security and addressing Americans’ concerns.  Social Security cannot be subjected to risky privatization plans because the future of hard-working Americans should not be left to the fluctuations of financial markets. To better secure their retirement and prepare for unforeseen circumstances, Americans must also save for their future in other ways.  We are laying the foundation for all individuals to participate in workplace retirement accounts.  Employees would be automatically enrolled in pension plans and could opt out if they choose.  Simple and automatic enrollment makes it easier for people to plan for retirement.  This would assist the 75 million working Americans—about half the workforce—who lack access to retirement plans through their employers.  Please join me online to learn more at:  www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/seniors-and-social-security. Thank you, again, for writing. Sincerely, Barack Obama

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