Thursday, February 26, 2009
When President Barack Obama was pushing through his economic stimulus package, the tone of the White House was intentionally somber; some may say, scary. The doomsday scenarios spelled out by the Democratic president and others were designed to ensure quick passage of the $787 billion measure by the Democratic controlled Congress.
And while Obama did not get the Republican support he was seeking, the stimulus is now law and money should soon start flowing out of Washington.
But all the negative talk has had a downside: Wall Street is in a deep funk.
Thus, on Tuesday, in his first address before a joint session of Congress, Obama was positive, and exuded a level of confidence that the American people can cling to.
“ ... while our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken; though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this:
“We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.
“The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation. The answers to our problems don’t lie beyond our reach.”
With that, the president laid out a short-term strategy for dealing with the current crisis — his unequivocal support of the American automobile industry is music to the ears of the people of the Mahoning Valley — and a long-term plan for addressing the ballooning budget deficit and national debt.
The devil of Obama’s economic recovery and growth plan will be in the details. But as an opening salvo, the speech was on point.
During this period of uncertainty and turmoil, Americans need reassurance that the country is in competent hands.
Honest answer
Ask any five economists how they would solve the national and global economic crises, and you’ll get five different answers. But, the only honest answer to that question is as follows: No one knows with any degree of certainty.
On the other hand, what most economists do agree on is that doing nothing is not an option. And, they share the belief that the federal government is best equipped to calm the roiling economic waters.
The idea that the strategy embraced by the former administration — tax cuts for the wealthy — is the answer for what ails the nation today is political poppycock.
The Bush tax cuts, which President Obama has pledged to let expire, did not result in a major investment of capital. Neither did they generate significant job growth.
Ohio lost more than 200,000 good-paying manufacturing jobs over the past four years.
The current crisis demands a new approach, which is what the president is offering. Polls show that most Americans support his initiatives — even while acknowledging that they don’t know if the strategy will work.
To be sure, there are those who are so opposed to Obama, they will never give him any credit or any praise. Fortunately for our country, they are in the minority.
On Tuesday night, it was clear Obama is buoyed by a survey showing him with a job approval rating of 63 percent from Americans in both parties. More significantly, the New York Times/CBS News Poll revealed that while the public is under no illusions that the country’s problems will be resolved quickly, Americans are willing to be patient when it comes to the economy, the Times reported.
His speech should reassure Americans that the month-old administration is confronting the myriad problems it inherited from the Republican administration. In addition, Obama intends to tackle three important issues that will have long-term consequences for the nation’s economic well-being: energy independence, with an emphasis on clean fuels; health care reform — the skyrocketing cost is undermining the national economy — and education reform.