President Obama unveiled his budget—his blueprint for America—and it’s ambitious, amazing, and unapologetically progressive. As Paul Krugman said, it will set America on a “fundamentally new course.”1

President Obama called his budget “a threat to the status quo,” and trust me, the status quo noticed. Oil companies, big banks and insurance companies are already mobilizing to stop it.2
Unfortunately, most folks don’t realize how far-reaching and progressive the plan is—that’s where we all come in.
Here are 10 really incredible things about Obama’s plan. Check them out and then send them on to your friends and family so that millions of people will have the information they need to fight to make this vision a reality.

10 things you should know about Obama’s plan (but probably don’t)

The plan:

1. Makes a $634 billion down payment on fixing health care that will go a long way toward paying for a more efficient, more affordable health care system that covers every single American.

2. Reduces taxes for 95% of working Americans. And if your family makes less than $250,000, your taxes won’t go up one dime.

3. Invests more than $100 billion in clean energy technology, creating millions of green jobs that can never be outsourced.

4. Brings our troops home from Iraq on a firm timetable, finally bringing the war to a close—and freeing up almost ten billion dollars a month for domestic priorities.

5. Reverses growing income inequality. The plan lets the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans expire and focuses on strengthening the middle class.

6. Closes multi-billion-dollar tax loopholes for big oil companies.

7. Increases grants to help families pay for college—the largest increase ever.

8. Halves the deficit by 2013. President Obama inherited a legacy of huge deficits and an economy in shambles, but his plan brings the deficit under control as soon as the economy begins to recover.

9. Dramatically increases funding for the SEC and the CFTC—the agencies that police Wall Street.

10. Tells it straight. For years, budgets have used accounting tricks to hide the real costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush tax cuts, and too many other programs. Obama’s budget gets rid of the smokescreens and lays out what America’s priorities are, what they cost, and how we’re going to pay for them.

This is the change we voted for. President Obama has done his part, now we need to do ours.

P.S. Turns out there are way more than 10 amazing things in Obama’s budget and we couldn’t resist sharing just a few more.

1. Stops unnecessary government subsidies to big banks, health insurance companies and big agribusinesses.

2. Expands access to early childhood education and improves schools by investing in programs that make sure every child has a qualified, strong teacher.

3. Negotiates for better prescription drug prices using Medicaid’s tremendous bargaining power.

4. Expands access to family planning for low-income women.

5. Caps the pollution that causes global warming, and makes polluters pay to support clean energy innovation.

I know that all official statements by spokesmen are, to some extent, “spin,” but I think there’s a message in this one.

To me, this validates what I’d been trying to say about the military and this issue. They don’t want to be pushed on this (or any other) issue. If they can wrap their minds around it in a way that it becomes “their idea,” then they will do it, and I’d bet they’d do it fast and efficiently.

On the one hand, we can slam the military for being pig headed.

On the other hand, I run into this with just about every client I work with as a Life Consultant. I can give advice until I’m blue in the face, but until I guide my client to “author” and “own” the idea for herself, then I’m toast…I’m getting nowhere.

Obama understands this human dynamic. He’s working it beautifully so far. Stay tuned.

He needs to shake things up and start making things happen. Even if the GOP minority in congress becomes stirred up and egged on by Michael Steele to oppose the sort of liberal with balls agenda this stuck in the mud country sorely needs to drag it kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

I may look at Canada since it speaks both English and French. Canada, I heard on a Canadian economic report on TV while I was staying in a Nova Scotia hotel was the best off economically speaking of many of the hard-hit Western countries even if it too was effected by the global downtown. Canada is currently doing better than the USA.

In Canada, gays in the military are a non-issue. My Canadian friend’s mother told me that recently there was a wedding on a Canadian military base in Nova Scotia for two gay male officers.

Obama stand up and be a man! Grow some balls! Show some leadership and move this freaking land into the 21st century NOW! I am sick and tired of the pathetic namby pamby hand-wringing we can’t do this and we can’t do that…it was already done in Canada and in parts of Europe. As we all know, in some of the European countries, Canada and Isreal gays in the military are no big deal.

Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Norway and Sweden quit wetting themselves in terms of making marriage equality the law of the land. And even in some of Eastern Europe like Czech Republic, Slovenia and Croatia civil unions have arrived. Years ago, Denmark passed civil union type partnerships for its gay citizens before anyojne else and then later Norway and Sweden. Later on in Iceland. Similar type arrangement for Germany, Portugal, France, Switzerland, Andorra, Britain etc. Even Eire (Ireland) is looking at legalizing civil partnerships in its country same as in UK. And in New Zealand, now a few areas in Australia and a few ares in Latin America and in all of Uruguay.

The Japanese government in 2009 now provides for gay Japanese people the documents current Japanese law requires of those of its citizens who do not plan to drop Japanese citizenship to have to marry if they want to marry in other countries. (In the case of gay Japanese who want to keep their Japanese citizenship to marry where marriage equality is the law of the land) In Japan itself as in most of the rest of Asia, marriage equality has not arrived.

Japan is one of the most modern of East Asian countries, so maybe it will be the first in Asia to one day a few years from now to have marriage equality.

USA, more and more of the world is passing you by as you stand there… still wetting yourself over equality.

I implore you all to read this book. Education is the only way that we will be completely free. Share this with others.

I am so sick and tired of the majority putting us on the back burner because they don’t want to face the REAL TRUTH. I grew up in a Christian home with an Air Force Dad; I’ve been through it all and I can no longer tolerate it.

I reserve the right to criticize the man’s actions for one specific reason: he’s seen discrimination, yet he makes the conscious choice to perpetuate institutional bigotry. There are those here (Shawn, I’m talking to you on this one) who will make no acknowledgement of any good Obama has accomplished, nor will the naysayers acknowledge that the worst we get from Obama is still better than we’ve gotten from ANY GOP President. Right now, the most good Obama is doing for us is heading a national party organization which is showing increasing support for us at the state level. Not perfect, but it’s a step better than what we had this time a year ago. Is it enough? HELL NO. But please don’t be so disingenuous as to suggest that voting GOP will help anything, because we’ve seen what eight years of that did. Also, jump off that fictional life-raft of the magical third party. Unless it’s based on a single issue or group of issues, a third party won’t do squat in US politics because of the cost of playing the game.

Israel believes it has an active existential threat from the Palestinians, most of the Arab League, and Iran; the US doesn’t really have an existential threat from anyone. Israel would believe that “frankly, if the odds are so against us, we need everyone, and being gay does not impede your ability to fight–and possibly die–to protect other citizens.”

Israel also has mandatory military for all citizens. The US has never had such a policy. In this regard, Israel would think “Being gay is not a valid excuse for not doing your civic duty to defend your country.”