Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Obama Speaks before Joint Session of Congress: Glimmer of Hope Amid Economic Crisis

"WE WILL RECOVER!"
"The time to take charge of our future is here"
Stimulus Plan:
Priorities: 3.5 Million New Jobs; Reduce Foreclosures
Focus on:
1. Energy: Clean, Renewable Energy
2. Healthcare: Cant afford to put it on hold. Time is now!
3. Education: Expand and Improve Early Education. College Affordable.
The Washington Post Reports:
President Obama plans to sound a note of hope at a time of crisis tonight, delivering to a joint session of Congress an address heavily focused on the ailing economy and how to fix it. Five weeks into a presidency already marked by dramatic highs and lows, Obama will tell the lawmakers and luminaries assembled in the House chamber that he sees light at the end of the tunnel, despite rising unemployment, a cratering stock market, teetering banks and an auto industry gasping for breath.
"But 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," Obama will say, according to a preliminary excerpt released by the White House.
Obama will lay out his economic recovery plans and discuss the challenges of trying to pull the nation out of its worst recession in decades while setting a course of greater fiscal discipline, according to the White House. Obama is expected to flesh out the details of an economic strategy that some critics - and the markets - have tarred as too short on specifics to inspire confidence. A week after the president signed a $787 billion economic stimulus package, his administration is moving on separate fronts to shore up the housing market by stemming foreclosures and bolster the banking industry, possibly by purchasing shares of Citigroup and Bank of America.
After days of mostly negative news, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke offered a glimmer of optimism today by testifying that 2010 could be a "year of recovery." "The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation. The answers to our problems don't lie beyond our reach," Obama will say, according to the excerpts.
"They exist in our laboratories and universities; in our fields and our factories; in the imaginations of our entrepreneurs and the pride of the hardest-working people on Earth. Those qualities that have made America the greatest force of progress and prosperity in human history we still possess in ample measure. What is required now is for this country to pull together, confront boldly the challenges we face, and take responsibility for our future once more."
But Obama will also distribute some blame for the economic crisis.
"We have lived through an era where too often, short-term gains were prized over long-term prosperity; where we failed to look beyond the next payment, the next quarter, or the next election," he will say. "A surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy instead of an opportunity to invest in our future. Regulations were gutted for the sake of a quick profit at the expense of a healthy market. People bought homes they knew they couldn't afford from banks and lenders who pushed those bad loans anyway. And all the while, critical debates and difficult decisions were put off for some other time on some other day."
Obama will reiterate his desire to cut the federal budget deficit in half by the end of his first term in office, saying his team has "begun to go line by line through the federal budget in order to eliminate wasteful and ineffective programs. ...
"In this budget, we will end education programs that don't work and end direct payments to large agribusinesses that don't need them. We'll eliminate the no-bid contracts that have wasted billions in Iraq, and reform our defense budget so that we're not paying for Cold War-era weapons systems we don't use."

6 comments:

Lateeno Wayz said...

I am very hopeful for this administration and believe that President Obama can lead us out of this downfall. Its sad that our first African American President happened to inherit a struggling economy that some say resemble the depression. I congratulate this administration for making a real attempt for bipartisanship but as we've all learned the challenge is just too much. This could be a very good start for the United States Lord knows its desperately needed, just ask the estimated 4.5million unemployed and the businesses. This country is a strong and prosperous nation that has the ability to pull itself out of this recession if we can follow a good plan that is beneficial to the strengthening of our economy. I stand by President Obama and remain optimistic and hopeful in these next 4 years.

pcorn54 said...

Sadly though, some folks are resorting to drastic means while waiting to be "stimulated"!

http://mexicotrucker.com/waiting-on-the-stimulus-checks

Dee said...

Lateeno,
I agree and I also stand by our President, remaining hopeful and optimistic not only in the next 4 years but his next 8 years as President.

Defensores de Democracia said...

The Making of a Great President

It is very easy for me to see the Greatness in Barack Obama. I see it with my heart and my third eye of intuition and foreknowledge.

I come here to "Immigration Talk with a Mexican American" because I am an ignorant in many matters, and here I get a lot of illustration. I learn a lot here.

I am not an expert in Economics ( Which is a science that I love and admire )and I spend a lot of time reading the economists or watching videos of Economists.

This is to say that the heart sees many things that are hidden to the brain. There are things that are not cerebral :

I am a fan of Obama, I love his family and friends. I like the proposals of the Democrats and find the Republican Opposition very poor in ideas and proposals. Very partisan and obstructionist.

I pray for the success of Obama, The Democrats and America.

Only thing that I can not approve is Escalating Wars. Because of Morals, Ethics, Humanitarism, and I am a Man of the Heart and Intuition and I see a big Hole ahead, a super big trap of many years.

Escalations would have been worse with McCain.

And by the way ... Did You see John McCain is Standing Ovations ???

VERY PATHETIC !!!

Milenials.com

Prophesizing.com

Vicente Duque

Anonymous said...

The applause at the beginning gave me goose bumps. When Bush the Younger spoke I only felt ill. What a difference between the two.

I thought it was very unprofessional for the republicans to boo during parts of the speech they did not agree with-like when Obama mentioned they deficit he inherited.

ultima said...

See comments on Obama speech here The Obama Watch

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