Obama's economic policies benefit Ozarkian

Jeff Riggin's Voice of the day column in this morning's SN-L:

Thank you President Obama for the following:

1. The tax cut 95 percent of working Americans received. Even though my tax reduction was only $30 per paycheck (multiplied by 24 pay periods) $720 annually is nothing to sneeze at.

2. The $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit allowing my wife and I to buy our first home (using a VA loan).

3. The cash for clunkers program, along with the new car sales tax deduction, saved us over $5,500 on the purchase of a dependable, fuel-efficient, and safe automobile. I am now saving over $66 per month on fuel expenses. That's $792 annually no longer going to countries that want to kill Americans.

4. The tax credit for purchasing energy-efficient furnaces gave us the opportunity to replace our 30-year-old furnace (it died this past winter) with a 95 percent efficient model for the same price as an 80 percent efficient model.

5. The student loan reforms instituted that now calculate monthly payments based on a percentage of income above the poverty level and remove predatory banks from the student loan business.

6. The stimulus funds that provided me with a new job when I lost mine.

7. The credit card reforms that now require companies to notify cardholders before increasing interest rates allowing cardholders to opt-out of the new rate and pay off their balance at the prior rate.

8. The changes in health insurance law that ensures children with pre-existing medical conditions cannot be denied insurance coverage. My family has been lucky, but I know some wonderful families that have been struggling to make ends meet due to children being born with birth defects. No one should ever go bankrupt because their child is sick.

9. Saving the American automobile industry. I couldn't imagine not being able to ever again purchase a new Chevy truck or a Jeep. Now that General Motors is able to pay back the money borrowed from the government and Chrysler has been purchased by Fiat, I will still have a chance to someday take my kids for a ride in a new Wrangler or Silverado (hybrid Jeeps and trucks are on the way).

10. The financial industry reforms passed by Congress. Years of deregulation created the opportunity for investment houses to run our economy into a gigantic ditch. The new reforms will go a long way toward keeping that from happening again.

All told, my family has saved $15,000 in the past year and will continue to save over $3,500 per year as a result of these new policies. Additionally, we are using less energy and sending less money overseas. Once again, thank you President Obama. Your policies have meant much more to my family than any other president's in my lifetime.

Jeff Riggins lives in Springfield. His family includes Sarah, Hailey, and Zoë Mae Riggins.