Critic way off base about president, reader says

In a letter that was published in your April 2 edition, one of your most prolific contributors of letters to the editor expressed his opinion regarding President Barack Obama's "financial acumen."

I would like to take this opportunity to perhaps answer some of the questions that were asked in the letter. I am writing this as a modestly educated citizen that belongs to neither of the major parties. Thus, I hold no biases here.

First, the Obama administration inherited a budget deficit of $1.1 billion in the current fiscal year from George Bush. The budget currently under debate in Washington contains an estimated deficit of $1.3 billion in the next fiscal year, with that number being reduced to approximately $550 million in five years.

There is your 50 percent deficit reduction. While it is way short of a balanced budget, it is a step in the right direction given the state of the worldwide economy.

O

n the issue of reducing our

dependence on foreign oil, President Obama did not say by doubling our use of solar and wind energy we will eliminate oil imports. While the doubling of energy obtained from renewable sources will go a ways in reducing oil imports, what is planned is on a much larger scale.

We have the ability to eliminate 100 percent of the oil we currently import within a 10-year period by taking steps right now to build wind and solar farms in the appropriate regions of the country and a new energy grid to enable us to transmit the energy efficiently. In fact, the Department of the Interior is looking into construction of wind farms off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, which will have the potential to generate more than the current U.S. energy demands nationwide.

We are seeing right here in Brick the move toward renewable energy. The solar panels on the Brick Memorial High School are to be joined by panels at the municipal building, and the new building at Brick Beach 1 will have a windmill generating nearly all of its power. This project will be funded entirely by the federal government. Thank you, Mayor Stephen Acropolis.

If you are interested in learning more about renewable energy and how it can be developed to replace foreign imported oil, I recommend that you visit the website www.pickensplan.com. Here you will see how over 1.4 million citizens have joined together to work toward this important goal.

Once you take the proper time to look at the issues cited in last week's letter, you can better see who the "circus midway barker" is.
Mike Morton
Brick