One week ago today President Barack Obama was inaugurated and I have to admit that I am surprised about what he has done so far. Sometimes in a good way, which is surprising in itself! Here are some of the highlights from this new administrations and my take on them.

Good

Freedom of Information Act:
Obama issued a memo^[1] suggesting that agencies err on the side of disclosure rather than secrecy when responding to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. He also directed the Office of Management and Budget to issue recommendations on making the federal government more transparent because, according to his memo, "[a] democracy requires accountability, and accountability requires transparency." I think this is a great step forward! Raising the level of openness will cause the government to be held accountable for their actions and then, perhaps, feel a greater responsibility to do the right thing in the first place.

To EPA: It's a State's Issue:
Just this week he signed a memo requiring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reconsider an application by California to be able to set its own emissions and fuel efficiency standards which would be more stringent than required by federal law. If the waiver is granted by the EPA, California will be allowed to require that all vehicles sold in their state get better mileage than what is required under the current national standard.

I applaud Obama for making this a state's issue and if he keeps on this track and all states are responsible for their own emission requirements then the EPA can go away all together! And imagine the government spending that would cut back on!

Sen. George Voinovich(R-Ohio) is against this saying in a written statement that he is "fearful that today's action will begin the process of setting the American auto industry back even further. The federal government should not be piling on an industry already hurting in a time like this."

I'm not sure why the government should care about private business. In a free market system the businesses that can't keep up fold and others take their place. If the current generation of automakers can't match the demands of a changing world then perhaps it's time for them to go away.

Bad

$800 Billion for Disabled Elderly:
Obama is working on an $800 billion economic recovery plan that would give more than 7 million poor people who are elderly, blind or disabled cash benefits averaging $477 a month, which is equivalent to an extra monthly payment. First of all an extra $477 for 7 million people comes out to $3.4 billion, not $800 billion, even if it's 8 million people the cost is less that $4 billion so where is the extra $796 billion going? And isn't this proposal coming on the heels of Obama saying that the previous bailout wasn't a plan, it was just a budget? It seems a little hypocritical that he wants to set aside such a large, unallocated sum after he called the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) “a concept with a staggering price tag, not a plan.”

On the Fence

Reversed Morality Legislation:
Friday he struck down a ban on giving federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide information about abortions. I agree with this from the point of not legislating morality. Why would the government deny money to groups that provide a perfectly legal service? The reason I have this under the heading of "On the Fence" is because I don't understand why the government is giving money to international groups at all. We have issues here that we need to deal with and this represents a larger expenditure to outside groups.