Posted on 11/23/2008 4:11:58 AM PST by reaganaut1
WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama signaled on Saturday that he would pursue a far more ambitious plan of spending and tax cuts than anything he outlined on the campaign trail, setting the tone for a recovery effort that could absorb and define much of his term.
In the Democrats’ weekly radio address, Mr. Obama said he would direct his economic team to craft a two-year stimulus plan with the goal of saving or creating 2.5 million jobs. He said it would be “a plan big enough to meet the challenges we face.”
Mr. Obama said he hoped to sign the stimulus package into law soon after taking office on Jan. 20. He is already coordinating efforts with Democratic leaders in Congress, who have said they will begin work next month.
Advisers to Mr. Obama say they want to use the economic crisis as an opportunity to act on many of the issues he emphasized in his campaign, including cutting taxes for lower- and middle-class workers, addressing neglected public infrastructure projects like roads and schools, and creating “green jobs” through business incentives for energy alternatives and environmentally friendly technologies.
...
Nearly every spending program and tax cut that Mr. Obama proposed during the campaign could well end up in the stimulus package, advisers indicated. For example, Mr. Obama’s proposals to invest in energy alternatives and advanced “green” technologies will most likely be part of the package, rather than proposed later in his administration.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Higher spending today will mean even higher taxes tomorrow. Republicans could make this valid argument more convincingly if they had shown more spending restraint while in power.
Obama will try to steamroll opposition...
What opposition???
“Obama will try to steamroll opposition to his agenda by calling it a stimulus package that needs to be enacted now to prevent a Depression”
If the general public understood economics, they’d laugh this into shame. But we all like free money, don’t we?
By the way, how “swift” could Obama be with this package? He’s not even in office yet. I suppose he’s technically had the bully pulpit for about a year now, but so does Oprah, for pete’s sake, and nobody has to listen to her. Does he still have his Senate seat, ‘cause if he did he could introduce some legislation.
“Mr. Obama’s proposals to invest in energy alternatives and advanced ‘green’ technologies will most likely be part of the package”
Oh, great, that’ll save us. How about we invest in a gold machione next, so we’ll corner the market on gold and become the world’s financial powerhouse again?
Of course, in that case James Bond would be snooping around too much, either trying to kill us or trying to steal the plans so that the crown can design its own sterling machine.
So, are we doomed yet?
No. He resigned his seat last week. He is now taking over even though he hold only citizen status.
” If the general public understood economics, “
If the people who’re *supposed* to understand economics understood economics, we might be digging our way out of (instead of deeper into) these troubles by now....
Remember — it was less than three months ago that everyhing was just ‘peachy-keen-rosy’ (according to gummint and financial ‘experts’), and those of us who were saying “Wait a minute — something’s not adding up, here!” were attacked as “doom&gloomers”.....
OK, we went from the campaign goal of creating 5 million jobs, to creating 2.5 million jobs, to saving or creating 2.5 million jobs. I sense goal erosion.
I don't think he ever introduced any while he was there; too busy running for president and complaining about what ought to be done...
I thought he'd said right after the election that he was going to use his Senate position to start getting some things done...
But he resigned his seat effective a week ago, IIRC.
Government can't create wealth, it can only spread it. That's the way this foolhardy plan should be attacked.
Government make work jobs are only spreading the wealth. Republicans should push large tax cuts, so that wealth can be CREATED, not spread.
Taking your and my hard earned money and spreading it to someone else won't grow us out of this bad economy.
Obama will copy the policies of FDR, who waged war against capitalism, “created” government jobs, and not only kept taxes high, but added new taxes. FDR was a total failure, since his policies kept the depression alive for a decade. The only reason the depression ended was the need to rev up industrial production to fight WW II.
Obama will attack the Constitution with more socialist programs than we already have.
BTW, has anyone noticed that Obama looks a lot like Alfred E. Neuman of MAD Magazine fame?
Real jobs don’t go away when the federal dollars dry up. Obamajobs depend exclusively on Uncle Sugar and are nothing more than welfare.
“...but unless they are doing useful work, the money will be wasted.”
I’m guessing that a lot more of this than people realized will be GOVERNMENT jobs. Expect waste.
These were ALL DEM POLICIES...and we're left with the effects.
There's no way taxes will be DEcreased. Obama and the Dems have provided an "OUT" for themselves. He has promised "pay as you go". You tell me how that's going to happen without grabbing the bucks of middle class workers.
The trick is not to spend directly but to provide the regulatory framework and leverage for investment incentives to get the private sector to take on the spending. For example, I dont’t think this will happen, but, if fast track authority was given to allow power companies to build a dozen or so nuclear reactors it would have monster economic impact in many states over a very long period of time. Other big, privately financed projects like building oil and gas pipelines are already beyond the drawing board stage and seeking authority for a go. And, if we are serious about rebuilding the electrical grid the job creation and investment opportunities will be very substantial.
Everyone of these type projects will require large supply of base metals (iron ore, nickel, molybdenum) for steel production. Watch over the next few weeks. If shares in the natural resource producers (BHP, RIO, TC) and steel companies (X, NUE, MT) get a good boost it means that business believes it is going happen and they are prepared to follow Obama’s lead. I would also watch the stock of GE as it sits right in the middle of all of the energy strategies including wind and solar.
If business and investment signs on to an Obama initiative at this time, it would be suicidal for Republicans to oppose it. We will understand the true political dynamic in the next few days when we hear the position of the Georgia senate candidates. My guess is they will fight each other to appear the most supportive of Obama’s stimulus strategy. This is interesting, because the Republican strategy in Georgia so far has been to argue the need to provide a check on complete Democratic control. So, if Republicans in Georgia say they want to help Obama get a financial stimulus passed you know it is going to be a very big package of spending and Republicans will be signing on.
Ah, I remember the outhouse the WPA built my grandparents. And the sidewalks built by the same WPA around most of the blocks in the little town where they lived.
And the CCC, traipsing around in the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge, doing conservation work.
Good old days again? Hardly. That was in the depth of the depression.
And people from my native state hung their heads if they admitted they were “On Relief”. Proud people, reduced to taking money from the government because there were no other jobs to be had.
Oh, did I mention that the WPA’ers and the CCC’ers worked for the money they got?
Translation, your pain, Democrat’s gain. Truly as un-American as it gets.
Reject Obamunism.
All this election proves is it is quite easy to make idiot voters out of ignorant people. The government schools provide the ignorants in prodigious quantity, the community organizers turn them, into idiot voters.
Don't be silly. All those conservatives who stood by their principles over the past eight years who just won the House and Senate in a landslide and...
Oh.
Never mind!
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