Posted on 09/07/2011 7:06:43 AM PDT by pabianice
We’ve seen this image before: Barack Obama putting the final touches on an important economic speech calling for stimulus spending, job creation, infrastructure investment, assistance to those hit by the housing crisis and an extension of unemployment benefits.
As the president prepares to deliver a pivotal address to a joint session of Congress on Thursday, it seems like a replay of the economic agenda he outlined when seeking the Democratic nomination.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
If true, it should shave a couple more points off his approval numbers.
One hopes.
It will be a tremendous waste of time to even listen to this speech.
We can go to Utube and watch any of his previous speech’s .
They are all the ame. Mo’Money, Mo’ Money, Mo’ Money.
Speaker Boehner to Obama: “DOA”
The GOP’s decision to have no response is perfect.
The word is that Obama’s speech is going to be more of the usual claptrap.
This could backfire a bit on Obama. With all the build up for the speech, if he just comes out and wants more spending, along with talk about green jobs, wind and solar energy, etc. it will not resonate with the American people.
I must say it’s interesting to see how the liberals are turning on Obama. This speech may be as much about trying to keep the liberals enthused about his re-election as really trying to develop a new jobs policy.
In 2008 John McCain asked Obama to join him and suspend his campaign to go back to Washington to help fix the countries economic problems.
Obama refused to follow McCain.
So remember 2008 and all the Republicans in Congress should refuse to follow Obama and allow him a presidential looking photo op tonight.
The stimulus didn’t work. hey! Let’s do it again!
Don't forget investing in infrastructure to rebuild crumbling roads and bridges, and investing in education.
Excerpt of Obama speech September 8, 2010 (notice upcoming speech is exactly one year later).
EXCERPT: So that’s the choice, Ohio. Do we return to the same failed policies that ran our economy into a ditch, or do we keep moving forward with policies that are slowly pulling us out? Do we settle for a slow decline, or do we reach for an America with a growing economy and a thriving middle-class?
That’s the America we see. We may not be there yet, but we know where this country needs to go.
We see a future where we invest in American innovation and American ingenuity; where we export more goods so we create more jobs here at home; where we make it easier to start a business or patent an invention; where we build a homegrown, clean energy industry - because I don’t want to see new solar panels or electric cars or advanced batteries manufactured in Europe or Asia. I want to see them made right here in America, by American workers.
We see an America where every citizen has the skills and training to compete with any worker in the world. That’s why we’ve set a goal to once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020. That’s why we’re revitalizing our community colleges, and reforming our education system based on what works for our children - not what perpetuates the status quo.
We see an America where a growing middle-class is the beating heart of a growing economy. That’s why I kept my campaign promise and gave a middle-class tax cut to 95% of working Americans. That’s why we passed health insurance reform that stops insurance companies from jacking up your premiums at will or denying you coverage just because you get sick. That’s why we passed financial reform that will end taxpayer-funded bailouts; reform that will stop credit card companies and mortgage lenders and Wall Street banks from taking advantage of taxpayers and consumers.
That’s why we’re trying to make it easier for workers to save for retirement, and fighting the efforts of some in the other party to privatize Social Security - because as long as I’m President, no one is going to take the retirement savings of a generation of Americans and hand it over to Wall Street.
That’s why we’re fighting to extend the child tax credit, and make permanent our new college tax credit. Because if we do, it will mean $10,000 in tuition relief for each child going to four years of college.
And finally, we see an America where we refuse to pass on the debt we inherited to the next generation.
Now, let me spend a minute on this issue, because we’ve heard a lot of moralizing on the other side about it. Along with tax cuts for the wealthy, the other party’s main economic proposal is that they’ll stop government spending.
Of course, they are right to be concerned about the long-term deficit - if we don’t get a handle on it soon, it can endanger our future. And at a time when folks are tightening their belts at home, I understand why a lot of Americans feel it’s time for government to show some discipline too.
But let’s look at the facts. When these same Republicans - including Mr. Boehner - were in charge, the number of earmarks and pet projects went up, not down. These same Republicans turned a record surplus that Bill Clinton left into a record deficit. Just this year, these same Republicans voted against a bipartisan fiscal commission that they themselves proposed. And when you ask them what programs they’d actually cut, they usually don’t have an answer.
That’s not fiscal responsibility. That’s not a serious plan to govern.
I’ll be honest - I refuse to cut back on those investments that will grow our economy in the future - investments in areas like education and clean energy and technology. That’s because economic growth is the single best way to bring down the deficit - and we need these investments to grow. But I am absolutely committed to fiscal responsibility, which is why I’ve already proposed freezing all discretionary spending unrelated to national security for the next three years. And once the bipartisan fiscal commission finishes its work, I will spend the next year making the tough choices necessary to further reduce our deficit and lower our debt.
Of course, reducing the deficit won’t be easy. Making up for the 8 million lost jobs caused by this recession won’t happen overnight. Not everything we’ve done over the last two years has worked as quickly as we had hoped, and I am keenly aware that not all our policies have been popular.
So no, our job is not easy. But you didn’t elect me to do what’s easy. You didn’t elect me to just read the polls and figure out how to keep myself in office. You didn’t elect me to avoid big problems. You elected me to do what’s right. And as long as I’m President, that’s exactly what I’ll do.
This country is emerging from an incredibly difficult period in its history - an era of irresponsibility that stretched from Wall Street to Washington and had a devastating effect on a lot of people. We have started turning the corner on that era, but part of moving forward is returning to the time-honored values that built this country: hard work and self-reliance; responsibility for ourselves, but also responsibility for one another. It’s about moving from an attitude that said “What’s in it for me” to one that asks, “What’s best for America? What’s best for all our workers? What’s best for all our businesses? What’s best for our children?”
These values aren’t Democratic or Republican. They aren’t conservative or liberal values. They’re American values. As Democrats, we take pride in what our party has accomplished over the last century: Social Security and the minimum wage; the GI Bill and Medicare; Civil Rights and worker’s rights and women’s rights. But we also recognize that throughout history, there has been a noble Republican vision as well, of what this country can be. It was the vision of Abraham Lincoln, who set up the first land grant colleges and launched the transcontinental railroad; the vision of Teddy Roosevelt, who used the power of government to break up monopolies; the vision of Dwight Eisenhower, who helped build the Interstate Highway System. And yes, the vision of Ronald Reagan, who despite his aversion to government, was willing to help save Social Security for future generations.
These were serious leaders for serious times. They were great politicians, but they didn’t spend all their time playing games or scoring points. They didn’t always prey on people’s fears and anxieties. They made mistakes, but they did what they thought was in the best interest of their country and its people.
That’s what the American people expect of us today - Democrats, Independents, and Republicans. That’s the debate they deserve. That’s the leadership we owe them.
I know that folks are worried about the future. I know there’s still a lot of hurt out here. And when times are tough, I know it can be tempting to give in to cynicism and fear; to doubt and division - to set our sights lower and settle for something less.
But that is not who we are, Ohio. Those are not the values that built this country. We are here today because in the worst of times, the people who came before us brought out the best in America. Because our parents and grandparents and great-grandparents were willing to work and sacrifice for us. They were willing to take great risks, and face great hardship, and reach for a future that would give us the chance at a better life. They knew that this country is greater than the sum of its parts - that America is not about the ambitions of any one individual, but the aspirations of an entire people and an entire nation.
That’s who we are. That is our legacy. And I’m convinced that if we’re willing to summon those values today; if we’re willing again to choose hope over fear; to choose the future over the past; to come together once more around the great project of national renewal, then we will restore our economy; rebuild our middle-class; and reclaim the American Dream for the next generation.
Thank you, God Bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America./
Look for his next speech to be a rerun of this one given one year ago in Cleveland Ohio.
The spending is for a purpose, but that purpose is not to create jobs.
It was the Communist plan in 1934. It is 0bama’s Communist plan today.
“The GOP’s decision to have no response is perfect.”
I agree. Let him thrash about. The 2012 Presidential race will be decided by independents who poll in record numbers against the Obama stimulus plan. And here he comes with another one.The last thing the Republicans want to do is have a rebuttal hour to raise the specter of partisanship with them that turns them off.In this case, silence is golden.
“investing in infrastructure to rebuild crumbling roads and bridges, and investing in education.” Has anyone noticed that these are all union jobs. He turns his back on the rest of the country and only supports the unions.
“We’ve maxed out our Visa. We need Republicans to let us max out the Mastercard now. For the children.”
1. Squander $300 billion on infrastructure, etc. which will vanish.
2. Mass refi of all GSE loans,
Sanders from GMU has pointed out that 1) only 150k heavy construction jobs were lost (it was mostl housing construction jobs that were lost) and 2) mass refi will contribute less than 1/10 of 1% to Personal Consumption Expenditures ($90 billion), but will harm MBS holders and taxpayers. Just another spreading the wealth scheme by Obama.
http://confoundedinterest.wordpress.com/
On the other hand, I hope they're very partisan during the speech by also observing that silence is golden and not getting up once to applaud no matter what Obama says unless it's his immediate resignation.
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