First Read : Economy

House GOP bashes Dems

firstread — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:01:00 GMT

From NBC's Wendy Jones
Four members of the House GOP Conference, engaged in a little Democrat-bashing this morning, criticizing President Obama's antiterrorism strategy and "Speaker Pelosi's" health care plan.

Minority Leader John Boehner (OH) criticized the Obama administration for not detailing an over-arching strategy to "fight terrorists and keep America safe." Said Boehner, "I spent last week travelling...and if there's one thing I heard out there it's that the Democrats in Washington are totally out of step" with America. He went on to criticize the Administration for its plan to bring Kahlid Sheik Mohammed to New York: "To come to the US is one issue...to be given the rights of US citizens is just awful."

He urged collegues to bring Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI)'s "Keep Terrorists out of America" legislation to the floor. The bill urges Congress to oppose transferring or releasing prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility to the United States.
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Admin. backs housing tax credit

Mark Murray — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:51:00 GMT

From NBC's Chuck ToddThe Obama administration, via a statement from the Treasury Department, is officially asking Congress to extend the tax credit for first-time homebuyers. From the release: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan called on Congress to approve three important measures to improve housing and the housing market for Americans: extension of the First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit for a limited period, extension of higher loan limits for home mortgages, and...(read more)

Poll respondents weigh in

firstread — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:06:00 GMT

From NBC's Ali Weinberg
Our latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll surveyed more than 1,000 adults across the country. We followed up with a handful of these respondents, to get their thoughts on President Obama, Afghanistan, health care, and more. Below are some excerpts from these interviews, and here's a Web video with their comments.

On Obama the President
Andrew Maxwell, California: If I have one criticsm of the Obama administration it's that they're too tepid. Ultimately they're worried about political atmospherics too much.

Rosalind Godin, Maryland: I know he inherited a lot of problems from the previous administration and I know it's going to take a lot of time to correct some of those problems.

Brian Gross, Maryland: We are seeing some of the same old tried and unproven solutions to things, so I dont think the last ten months have been incredibly productive... I was very excited at the prospect of someone who could be a bridge builder. I haven't seen a lot of bridges being built right now.
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Obama to aid small businesses

Mark Murray — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:26:00 GMT

From NBC's Athena JonesPer an administration official, President Obama tomorrow will visit a small business in Maryland, where he will announce a package of initiatives that will increase credit to small businesses. The proposal will increase the caps for existing Small Business Administration loans and give smaller banks better access to TARP funding to encourage more lending to small business. Video: Jared Bernstein, chief economist and economic policy adviser to Vice President Biden...(read more)

Economy watch

firstread — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:43:00 GMT

New data shows that the economic stimulus plan created -- get ready for it -- just over 30,000 jobs and has Republicans criticizing the stimulus as a failure. "The White House defended the partial data, which included jobs saved or created from contracts that made up just 5 percent of the $339 billion in stimulus funds spent through September. Though White House economists stressed that the data was incomplete, they still used it to argue that 1.2 million jobs had been either saved or created by...(read more)

House cmte votes on regulation

firstread — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:21:00 GMT

from NBC's Kelly PaiceThe House Financial Services Committee passed a bill today putting stricter regulations on financial derivatives–a multitrillion-dollar market–in an effort to bring transparency to the system. Derivatives are the complex financial securities that are widely blamed as a major contributor to the recent economic crisis. "The bill is the first in a series of measures the Obama administration and congressional allies are pushing to remake the financial system," The Hill...(read more)

Congress: Economy

firstread — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:42:00 GMT

There might not be a BIGGER problem for the Obama administration and the Congressional Democrats to deal with going into an election year than the fact that Social Security recipients are NOT receiving a COLA increase. Will the one-time $250 payment be enough?

"How quickly the $250 proposal could be enacted is uncertain. Partisan wrangling in Congress has been intense, holding up even relatively uncontroversial bills, such as the proposal to extend jobless benefits for three more months.

The stopgap measure passed the House more than three weeks ago, and Senate Democrats last week offered a version that would extend benefits another 14 weeks for the long-term unemployed in every state, plus six more weeks for those in the hardest-hit states. But legislative aides said Senate Republicans, concerned about adding to the deficit with short-term borrowing to fund the measure, were still working on amendments to the bill."

BTW, the AP notes the $250 comes up to about a 2% increase for Social Security recipients.

Administration officials said Obama wants to “generally” pay for the bill, but did not specify how he will fund it.
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Obama agenda: economy

firstread — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:39:00 GMT

White House senior economic adviser Larry Summers decided to engage House GOP leader John Boehner on the issue of the economy."In a letter to House Republican leader John Boehner, White House chief economic adviser Lawrence Summers said President Barack Obama "is committed to not repeating the fiscal mistakes of the last eight years."Summers' letter was in response to correspondence Obama received last week from Boehner and other top House Republicans, who complained that the administration was having...(read more)

Obama agenda: economy

firstread — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:39:00 GMT

Citing the "national mood" of anxiety about unemployment, Atlantic Media Group political director Ron Brownstein said on “Meet The Press” that a job stimulus package is on the White House's horizon. "There is discussion about a job creating--a, a tax credit for people who create jobs. The problem is it's expensive to do that in a meaningful way. And the next area of the debate will be if we go down the road of trying to create a jobs incentive tax credit, do you take the money away from already allocated...(read more)

Obama calls for consumer protection agency

firstread — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 21:16:00 GMT

by NBC's Bobby CervantesPresident Obama today urged Americans to support the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, a new federal entity intended to shield consumers from predatory lending and establish and enforce regulations on banks and mortgage brokers.The new agency “will have just one mission: to look out for the financial interests of ordinary Americans,” the president said in an East Room address this afternoon. “It will be charged with setting clear rules of the road...(read more)