Obama Promises "Immediate Action" On The Economy

WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday outlined his plan to create 2.5 million jobs in coming years to rebuild roads and bridges and modernize schools while developing alternative energy sources and more efficient cars.

"These aren't just steps to pull ourselves out of this immediate crisis; these are the long-term investments in our economic future that have been ignored for far too long," Obama said in the weekly Democratic radio address. The economic recovery plan being developed by his staff aims to create 2.5 million jobs by January 2011, and he wants to get it through Congress quickly and sign it soon after taking office.

He called the plan "big enough to meet the challenges we face" and said that it will jump-start job creation but also "lay the foundation for a strong and growing economy."

Aides said the economic plan outlined Saturday went further that the president-elect has gone before.

WATCH WEEKLY ADDRESS:

A trio of crises _ housing, credit and financial _ have badly damaged the economy, and financial analysts have projected the country's economic hardships will continue through much of 2009.

Obama acknowledged Saturday that evidence is growing the country is "facing an economic crisis of historic proportions." He noted turmoil on Wall Street, a decrease in new home purchases, growing jobless claims and the menacing problem of deflation.

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He said he was pleased Congress passed an extension of unemployment benefits this week, but added, "We must do more to put people back to work and get our economy moving again."

Figures out this week showed new claims for jobless aid had reached a 16-year high. "If we don't act swiftly and boldly, most experts now believe that we could lose millions of jobs next year," Obama said.

He cautioned, "There are no quick or easy fixes to this crisis, which has been many years in the making, and it's likely to get worse before it gets better." But Obama said Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, "is our chance to begin anew."

Obama said getting congressional approval for his broad economic plan will not be easy.

"I will need and seek support from Republicans and Democrats, and I'll be welcome to ideas and suggestions from both sides of the aisle," he said. "But what is not negotiable is the need for immediate action."

Across the country, Americans "are lying awake at night wondering if next week's paycheck will cover next month's bills," people are showing up at work to clear out their desks and retirees are watching their life savings disappear, Obama said.

On Thursday, the Labor Department reported that claims for unemployment benefits jumped last week to 542,000. That marked the highest level since July 1992 and provided fresh evidence of a rapidly weakening job market that is expected to get even worse next year.

In this country's darkest hours, the American people have risen above their divisions to solve their problems, he said.

"We have acted boldly, bravely, and above all, together," Obama said. "That is the chance our new beginning now offers us, and that is the challenge we must rise to in the days to come. It is time to act. As the next president of the United States, I will."

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On the Net:

Video link to Obama's address: http://www.change.gov

Comments

[Peter007]

I come from a small village in upstate New York. I am so glad that Obama has promised to build us a road. It is very hard to get my crops to market in New York City without a road to travel on. The children in our Village have no school so we have to teach them to read down by the river bank, We will be so happy when Obama builds us a new school so my children can finally be educated and get good paying jobs. Maybe not on wall street but as a bridge builder or road laborer. That would make us very happy. Please help us. We need a new road.

[Ljeff79]

I like what Obama had to say, but he is REALLY terrible at reading off of a teleprompter!

So far it seems to be the only thing he is bad at, so I'll a take it :)

They really should consider switching im over to having his remarks on paper in front of him like he does during a live speech. His style shines through using that method.

[nomoredead]

This is a where a Universal Healthcare system in america next year would immediately create millions of jobs. Build small regional clinics staffed with nurses to see the majority of patients with simply health issues before referring them if needed to a large hospital. Construction workers building the clinics, teachers to teach the nursing students, office workers, suppliers, etc.... the list would go on and on. Now that is trickle down.
I would rather have several small clinics in my city than a new highway.
I'm in construction now and I wonder how many americans want to do back breaking bridge and road work in the hot sun or freezing weather ?

[Peter007]

Where is the money going to come from to pay all these people?

[Pdubya]

Nation-wide event yesterday not covered by U.S. MSM, but its covered by Russia Today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M1Rrp3hzUM

From the U.S. with love....thanks Russia!

[darker]

Obama has GOALS for America.

Bush-Cheney should have JAILS in America that they SIT in for the rest of their crappy lives.

[KAL4Obama]

goldrush said...

Doesn't anybody get it? The government can create NOTHING. It does not have the ability to create anything not even the dollar.

Not true...Article I Section 8 of the US Constituti­on...Congr­ess has the power to...coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures.

But it gave up that power to the Federal Reserve who buys it from the US Mint for the cost of printing it. The Federal Reserve then makes the government and everyone else pay for it through interest. But they can only take "credit” for the "sale" if someone ("we the people" or Uncle Sam) incurs a debt.

[AContrario]

That's a world class pyramid scheme - so basically with the current financial system, debt is the yardstick for wealth creation. The more people or company borrow money the better is is for the system, the problem is this virtual economy is not linked with the social and economic fundamentals.
People or company who borrow don't get wealthier but if you happen to control the system...Bingo.

So basically the current system is not designed to profit the majority of us.

[KAL4Obama]

Exactly!!! But nothing will change if "we the people" don't demand a change. "We the pepole" will continue to suffer under the high cost of debt and ever increasing taxes...time to call your congressman.

[KAL4Obama]

goldrush said... If he does "create" these jobs it'll have to be through money printed by the FED and we'll all be worse off. It's called the inflation tax and as the value of our money goes down, prices will go up. Prices go up, people stop buying, companies start firing, welcome 70's style stagflation or worse Zimbabwe style hyperinflation.

Not if the government IS the "FED". If the government either abolishes the "FED" aka the Federal Reserve Bank (a cartel of privately-owned banks) or takes complete control of it, it can control monetary policy that will prevent stagflation or hyperinflation. Meanwhile, the government can lower the American tax burden because it doesn't have to pay the humongous interest to the so called "FED". Those dollars get spent in the economy and if anything you'll have deflation because the price of everything falls. Everyone has more money to spend because they're not paying exorbitant interest rates to the "FED".

But all of this can be controlled with shrewd monetary policy...can't happen 'til the government takes over the central banking system.

[lockewasright]

Finally a president who cares as much about me as he does about my boss's boss's boss.

It's so refreshing to feel hopeful about the future that awaits my children again. I know that we have SERIOUS challenges ahead, but at least we're going to get on the right course now.

[Independent voter]

Well that's a nice plan if you're a construction worker or in the cement business, but it doesn't do squat for the rest of us.

[1differentdrummer]

Doesn't a rising tide lift all boats?

[angb0214]

Construction and cement workers simply do not show up and do jobs without instruction or a plan. There are a host of other jobs related to any type of constructi­on...engin­eers, architects, administrative staff, finance oversight, etc. Oh yeah, not to mention the guys who drive the roach coaches to the job sites.

[daddio5251]

You're wrong. With respect, this was a very narrow-minded response.

Programs like this have not a "trickle-down" effect, but a "ripple-out" effect. Yes: those who start working in the primary jobs will get advantages first. But even those are legion! If we if talk only about improving roads, bridges and schools (and there will be more infrastructure initiatives later), you have need for laborers, civil, electrical and mechanical engineers, painters, masons, landscapers, electricians, plumbers, ironworkers, companies that make school furniture, road signs, safety rails, asphalt, flooring, roofing, insulation, framing, heating and air conditioning, etc. etc.

A secondary layer includes of all the support industries: automobile, truck and equipment, food services, insurance services, municipal services such as police, fire protection, construction inspection, sewerage, trash removal, water, gas, and electric utilities, bankers, lawyers, etc.

And since many more people will be working, they will have more money to spend on their families' needs such as groceries, medical supplies, doctors, dentists, insurance, clothing, housing, cars, electronics, etc.

They will also have more money to save and to move through banks and the investment community.

In essence, this is how the economy is SUPPOSED to work: building UP instead of "trickling" DOWN. (That's what "trickle down economics" is... the wealthy and corporations take the government's money then "trickle" on the rest of us. Personally, I'm tired of being trickled on!) The wealthy owners will also have the opportunity of getting richer, but the working man must be paid first.

[Peter007]

People , you can't keep being so naive. The government can't create jobs out of nothing. If it could , places like Haiti wouldn't exist. If it was so easy to create jobs, why didn't the government get us out of the depression of the 30's?. There is no money to pay construction workers. No money to pay engineers. Any wages paid to these people have to come from other sources of wealth. Taking money from one sector of the economy to pay another sector is a net zero game. You can take money away from Doctors but than their purchasing power will go down by the amount you pay the bridge builder. Its a net zero game. Tell me how wealth is created?

[Moka11]

Wow. Where does one begin with responding to your breathtakingly narrow-minded remark.

[elcojonu]

Get a Job in construction.
Case solved.

[Cherubim]

"Because there are still two cities. There are still Two Americas.
One America that lives by the paycheck calendar; another that never has to look at the calendar before writing a check. One America that's afraid it won't be able to leave its children a better life; another whose children are already set for life.
One America – middle-class America – long forgotten by Washington; and another America – narrow-interest America – whose every wish is Washington's command.
It's no coincidence that our economy is only working for a few when Washington is only working for a few.
Since 1996, the number of Washington lobbyists has tripled to 36,000. That's 20 times more people than live in my hometown of Robbins, North Carolina. It's 60 lobbyists for every member of Congress. Sixty. And I can tell you from experience, a lot of them are more powerful than the members."
http://www.johnedwards.com/media/video/cooper-union-inequality/
http://www.johnedwards.com/news/speeches/20070621-reduce-debt/

[1differentdrummer]

Well said.

[Peter007]

I don't know. I sort of like what Pogo said. " We have meet the enemy and it is us". Why do 98% of our representatives get re-elected?

[Cherubim]

(1) create three new tax breaks to honor and strengthen three pillars of America’s middle class: savings, work, and families, (2) require a fair contribution from the wealth of high-income Americans, reversing the shift of the tax code onto middle class wages, and (3) end special tax breaks for insiders.
Declare war on offshore tax havens by cracking down on tax shelter promoters, cooperating with allies to fight tax havens, and closing the "tax gap" by improving IRS customer service, simplifying tax filing, auditing more large corporations and high-income individuals and requiring more third-party reporting.
Close unfair loopholes like the tax breaks for hedge funds and private equity fund managers and unlimited executive pensions.
http://www.johnedwards.com/issues/tax-reform/
http://jre.gigliwood.com/issues/plan-to-build-one-america.pdf
The Get Ahead Credit will expand the Savers Credit to match savings up to $500 a year, providing as much as an additional dollar for every dollar of savings. The credit will refundable to low-income families and be phased out with income and families earning up to $75,000 would receive a credit. The savings, match and investment earnings could be used for retirement, a college education, a home downpayment, or a small business. Families could also tap the account during a financial or medical emergency. [Aspen, 2007; Sperling, 2003; Gale, Gruber and Orszag, 2006]
http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2007/07/sweet_blog_special_john_edward.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7WbBuukrzo

[IBOAT]

Fair and Balanced for everybody. Not only for the FIXed news audience.

[ResidentChimpinExile]

The "ONE" is well on his way to instituting socialism. A large chunk of those jobs will be additional Federal employees who do nothing but draw paychecks. I'm sure his Marxists supporters will be cheering as Obama dismantles our Democracy.

[george venny]

Your guy Bush already walking us toward socialism..... Obama will pull us back!

Bush has dug such a deep hole.... its f-ing amazing. Impeach this terd!

[IBOAT]

Before you Right wing Neo trolls say something like this, you need to site the past 8 years of the president you help elect and why he is a lame duck. If not, you come off as bad salesmen who sold the U.S. a bad product but have no answers to remedy.

[Questioner In Chief]

What "-ism" is it when future generations are saddled with trillions in debt so that a minority of already well off individuals and corporations can benefit for eight years - and then lose it all and collapse at the end as a result?

What "marks" of progress are evident in our infrastructure, health care, educational system, poverty and hunger, home-grown business competiveness, foreign policy success, and overall financial strength can you point to that prove the superiority of the ideology of the last eight years?

Are there any facts, concept of reality, objective observations, properly functioning logic, or economic figures that can be offered to allow people to "dismantle" the fantasy world they inhabit, in which the current administration is seen as conservative, successful, or faithful to The Constitution and ideals of Democracy - or is the brainwashing too deep?

The expiry date of those talking points was on Nov.4 2008. The most important "-ism" Obama has begun to institute is REALism... for a change.

[IBOAT]

I would hope that the Right Wingers like FIXed news followers and complexity dooms day sayers of the Obama administration that has not yet taken office, but yet they try in hypocritical GOP Rethug fashion to pin W. Bush failures (the guy whom they got elected) could digest your logic. The U.S. could start healing and begin building. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=180W3_cJIXY

[daddio5251]

There is a word for this type of corporatism and oligarchy, where robber barons control everything, where the rich get richer, and the poor are starved to death... it's Fascism.

[andalsotoo]

The only thing he needs to dismantle is crumbling state this nation is in, and he'll need at least 2 years to sift through the debris of Duh - bya's legacy.

[angb0214]

Using words that you don't understand the true meaning of doesn't make you sound smart, it makes you sound ridiculous. For educational purposes, I have supplied you with the definitions of such words so that you may use them appropriately in the future and understand that you used them innapropriately in your post to describe Obama supporters and the current situation.

News flash for you...most public works projects (i.e roads, bridges, etc.) are handled with oversight at the state and local government level many of whom hire subcontrac­tors...not government employees.

Main Entry: Marx·ism
Pronunciation: ˈmärk-ˌsi-zəm
Function: noun
Date: 1887
: the political, economic, and social principles and policies advocated by Marx ; especially : a theory and practice of socialism including the labor theory of value, dialectical materialism, the class struggle, and dictatorship of the proletariat until the establishment of a classless society

Main Entry: so·cial·ism
Pronunciation: ˈsō-shə-ˌli-zəm
Function: noun
Date: 1837
1: any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods
2 a: a system of society or group living in which there is no private property b: a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state
3: a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done

[Cherubim]

How to Pay for Change:

Raising the top tax rate on long-term capital gains to 28 percent, the same rate signed into law by President Reagan. The 28 percent rate will ensure that high-income investors will pay taxes on their investment income at a similar rate to what regular families pay on their earned income.
Repealing the Bush tax cuts for the most fortunate families, who make more than $200,000 a year.
Ending the abuse of foreign tax havens.
Closing the hedge fund and private equity loopholes.
Capping executive pensions

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2007/07/sweet_blog_special_john_edward.html

[IBOAT]

That is a sound plan. Keep it coming.

[Independent voter]

It is not only high income investors who pay taxes on capital gains. Many middle class retired people depend on stock dividends and gains for their income

[Peter007]

Why not raise the rate to 50% or even 70% for capital gains. If raising them to 35% is good, 70% would be twice as good. Isn't that logical? And this year should be a real bonanza for capital gains. Stock prices have fallen 40% and home prices 30%. How much Capital gains do I have to pay if I bought a stock at 50 and sold it at 25. ? Who do you want appointed to determine executive compensation? Does Bill Clinton's income of $10 million count as compensation? Are baseball players part of the deal?

[BuckeyeGal]

You buy a stock at 50, sell at 25, you take a capital LOSS. Under current tax law, this will offset taxes you pay on capital gains.

[meltingpot101]

Jan. 20, 2009 seems so far away...

[goldrush]

Doesn't anybody get it? The government can create NOTHING. It does not have the ability to create anything not even the dollar. If he does "create" these jobs it'll have to be through money printed by the FED and we'll all be worse off. It's called the inflation tax and as the value of our money goes down, prices will go up. Prices go up, people stop buying, companies start firing, welcome 70's style stagflation or worse Zimbabwe style hyperinflation.

[amistad]

What do we have now?

[goldrush]

As long as Congress has the power and money to meddle in the economy and redistriubte wealth, than their will always be "technological stagnation, the lack of innovation, the absence of new industries producing everyday-items" because businesses hate markets and do all they can to stifle competition. You can't hope the government will come up with the appropriate pushes in the right direction because what if they push too far? What if they go through with the cap and trade and the middle class can't handle the prices like they couldn't when gas was high? Do we keep pushing ourselves into poverty? We have to go back to a sound monetary policy where a private institution is not in control of the money supply and then begin to take away the unconstitutional powers that Congress has given itself.

[spandautoseattle]

The technological stagnation, the lack of innovation, the absence of new industries producing everyday-items as cars with minimum gas comsumption or the no-gasoline-using fuel cell engine-car has peaked in the last eight years, when the CAR AND OIL INDUSTRIES were the government. That's why nothing new was created. The production of high profit mega SUV's is over now. And the spending on the infrastructure of the country is something that needs to be done or you won't have an economy at all.
Please don't ruin other people's hope with negativity when it's not appropriate.