Agenda: Selling the stimulus
Posted: Thursday, January 08, 2009 9:20 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Here are more excerpts of the speech Obama will deliver today on his stimulus plan: “If nothing is done, this recession could linger for years. The unemployment rate could reach double digits. Our economy could fall $1 trillion short of its full capacity, which translates into more than $12,000 in lost income for a family of four… In short, a bad situation could become dramatically worse.”
More: “I understand that some might be skeptical of this plan. Our government has already spent a good deal of money, but we haven’t yet seen that translate into more jobs or higher incomes or renewed confidence in our economy. That’s why the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan won’t just throw money at our problems – we’ll invest in what works. The true test of the policies we’ll pursue won’t be whether they’re Democratic or Republican ideas, but whether they create jobs, grow our economy, and put the American Dream within reach of the American people. Instead of politicians doling out money behind a veil of secrecy, decisions about where we invest will be made transparently, and informed by independent experts wherever possible.”
In an interview with John Harwood of CNBC and the New York Times, Obama also said this: “[W]hat we are concerned about is making sure that the money is spent wisely, that there's oversight, that there's transparency. We are going to use this money to temporarily boost the economy, to create or save three million jobs, but also to put some down payments on things that we should've been doing over the last several decades that can help create a more competitive US economy.”
The Boston Globe on Obama's stimulus speech today: "President-elect Barack Obama faces a delicate task today as he pitches his economic recovery plan in a major address: He must underscore the urgency of the recession without further unsettling the nation's shaky financial system."
The Los Angeles Times takes a look at the timing of passage for the Obama stimulus plan. "Obama will make the case for urgent congressional action in a speech today. And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) is so concerned about a delay that she threatened, in an interview Wednesday, to cancel her chamber's Presidents Day recess and hold the House in session if legislation had not reached Obama's desk by the Feb. 16 holiday."
The New York Times picks up on Obama's promise to tackle entitlement spending. "Should he follow through with a serious effort to cut back the rates of growth of the two programs, he would be opening up a potentially risky battle that neither party has shown much stomach for. The programs have proved almost sacrosanct in political terms, even as they threaten to grow so large as to be unsustainable in the long run. President Bush failed in his effort to overhaul Social Security, and Medicare only grew larger during his administration with the addition of prescription drug coverage for retirees."
The New York Times also notes how one of Congress' Dem deficit hawks, Budget Chair John Spratt, is just shell-shocked by the push for more deficit spending. Spratt: “The thing I wanted to ask,” he said, “was if there was some limit which we should be wary of? Is there some limit in terms of how much borrowing and debt creation we should take on?”
More: "To a degree that would have been unimaginable two years ago, economists and politicians from across the political spectrum have put aside calls for fiscal restraint and decided that Congress should spend whatever it takes to rescue the economy. A startling range of name-brand economists -- Martin Feldstein of Harvard and a top adviser to Republican presidents; Mark Zandi of Moody’s Economy.com and a former adviser to Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign; and Robert B. Reich, secretary of labor under President Clinton -- urged Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday to think more boldly than ever before.”
“‘It pains me to say that because I am a fiscal conservative who dislikes budget deficits and increases in government spending,’ Mr. Feldstein told the lawmakers. But he said, ‘Reviving the economy requires major fiscal stimulus from tax cuts and increased government spending.’”
