Barack Obama highlights quick action and Oversight for his new stimulus package
By John Amato Monday Jan 05, 2009 3:02pm
The economy is very sick," Obama said before meeting with Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid. "The situation is getting worse. ... We have to act and act now to break the momentum of this recession."
"The reason we are here today is because the people's business cannot wait,"
"Economists from across the political spectrum agree that if we don't act swiftly and boldly, we could see a much deeper economic downturn that could lead to double-digit unemployment and the American dream slipping further and further out of reach...
"This is not a Republican problem or a Democratic problem at this stage. It is an American problem and we're going to all have to chip in and do what the American people expect."
In Obama's "bi-partisan Congressional" presser today, he called the economy "sick" and stressed the need for accountability on how the money from his massive stimulus package will be spent. As we've seen with TARP, and with no real oversight in place, you can't trust CEO's to do the right thing.
The AP contacted 21 banks that received at least $1 billion in government money and asked four questions: How much has been spent? What was it spent on? How much is being held in savings? What's the plan for the rest?None of the banks provided specific answers and most refused to explain why they are keeping the information secret.
Obama is stepping into an economic situation that is eerily similar to FDR and he's hitting the right notes when he says transparency and accountability are a high priority for him. That is going to be paramount if his new economic package is going to move forward. In FDR's time, just the fact that "change" was happening in America that didn't have the name "Hoover" attached to it gave FDR a huge boost to his agenda and to the American psyche that helped him get through his first 100 days. Hope and change do matter to the American public and Obama is using it wisely so far.
Obama is in a similar position to FDR, but what will Conservatives do? Will they try to block his policies that he wants to sign into law as soon as his first 100 days begin or will they become part of the solution? I think we know where Mitch McConnell's head will go. They want to appear to be relevant, but it was their control that has put us in this position to begin with.
I hope Obama's love affair with bipartisanship will come to an end very soon. Not because I don't think it's a good idea to have both sides working together, but because Conservatives are incapable of doing just that. They do not want Obama to succeed because it will weaken their grip on American politics for years to come at the expense of average Americans just trying to get by.
It's about ideology for them and not about the healing that our country is in desperate need of. I think Obama will soon feel their un-partisan wrath sooner rather than later and hopefully it will snap him out of any thought he had that he could work with Conservatives, no matter how "centrist" he goes. So here's the question.
How fast will Obama get fed up with Conservative obstructionism? Will it be in his first 100 days or shortly after?
I do know they filibuster Franken (who has just declared victory) and Holder as soon as Conservatives can. Will that be the beginning of the end to this bipartisan nightmare? If Conservatives did join in then at least Obama would be able to start healing the country, but don't expect any help from them.
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He is in a position closer to where Hoover was in 1930.
Quite a ways from the bottom of the sink hole.
Except that now we have a seriously eroded manufacturing base and rather than being the leading creditor we are the leading debtor nation.
And of course we have serious environmental degradation and resource depletion.
Other than that things are swell.
It's not fair that Barack has to clean up The Decider's mess. I have all the respect in the world for him for even wanting the job, but that's how much he cares. He wants to heal this country, and I wish him the best of luck.
is the sharp contrast between Obama and the POS that occupies the WH now.
Absolutely.
We should all be greatful that someone has offered to fix this mess. I sure as hell wouldn't want the job.
-- the country they knew has been destroyed?
-- the trust they place in elected leaders is misplaced?
-- Obama is just another pol, very skilled, but just a pol?
…that President Elect Obama will be inheriting some mighty impressive unitary executive powers. The republicans should take this into serious consideration before they begin their political game playing. In my heart of hearts I’m hoping that Barry kicks them to the curb within 30 days. It won’t be that hard once he has a captive audience. I mean, after all, we are talking about republicans here. The ‘insert foot in mouth, shoot foot’ crowd.
just think of how much money he could really give each american tax payer if he was interested in helping us, id say 25.000 apiece because if he wasnt so interested in creating more war ,death and destruction in afganistan hed have some extra money to spend on getting us out of this mess, but hell you voted for more war when you voted for him, so eat the peach and enjoy that measly 500 bucks , and stay tuned to four more yrs of war for fun and profits!
Do you EVER do anything but whine and complain? Just curious.
$25k? Proof right there that you are a lunatic. Honestly, grow up and face reality. And for god's sake, take a mydol already.
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More proof that you are nuts.
And don't let your fantasies leak out of that sieve you have for a brain. It's disgusting.
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is with you and my sex life? I spread them for one person, got it? Happy to know the details of my personal life now? Stop seeming obsessed. It's gross beyond words and it makes you look like an old letch.
Sorry, but when you post out and out stupid comments (sure, send every American $25 grand) you prove that you live in a place which is completely unreal. Coupled with the consistent whining and complaining about everything, well, deranged comes to mind.
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Have you got anything original you can make up about me? Is that the best you've got? You are becoming pathetic.
So what are you saying Tyree?
Should we have voted for McWorse? Maybe Palin could have solved our problems. But that's OK, there are a lot of lurkers who feel the way you do!
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$25,000? I'll just be happy with taking back the income tax I had withheld this year. It's only a measly $12,000 or so. What Obama not gonna pay my rent? $500. Eh, maybe I can pay a bill or two.
That sounds like, uhh, republican.
no comparison to FDR. Manufacturing is dead. It wasn't then. Giving a payroll tax cut to people that aren't working is going to do what?
piss them off?
I was thinking the same thing! What a dumb idea. Even Krugman is shaking his head. Over half the "infastructure" spending is in a tax cut for working people that ARE NOT working. Like Hello? What dimwitted advisors does he have?
karl roves dog setter? oh and hi back good to cyah here!!!!!!
in my opinion.
Obama's plan is to throw money in the direction of problems but not solve them.
Problem with power: makes you think you're smart.
Lincoln knew power didn't make you smart.
Obama quotes but has not learned from Lincoln.
And I just know that you have betters solutions.
let's define the problem before we try to solve it.
You haven't done that yet? I'm not surprised.
ordinary Americans have been screwed, by being lured into credit card debt.
I blame banks, but mostly both parties.
ron, I'm not your enemy.
The evil fucks are your enemy.
Good luck.
I don't have a home mortgage.
I have done everything humanly possible to avoid the whole credit/debt scam.
Yet, I owe thousands of dollars in debt that I could never hope to possibly pay.
My only economic crime; my 8 year old got sick.
These debt merchants need a good old fashioned tar and feathering if you ask me.
I'm with you.
I am sorry to hear about your child. I hope he is better now.
I hope your 8 year old is doing well.
And you are absolutely right, these credit parasites have loaned sharked every last penny of disposable income out of the American working man with their 30% interest rates and so-called "universal default" fees. And the GOD DAMNED DEMOCTRATS voted for the legalized loan sharking banking bill too! The dirty backstabbing SOB's!
doesn't solve the problem.
I have never seen so much whining and complaining thread after thread about everything. And it is all Obama's fault, even though he is not our president yet, has not been sworn in, and is in no position to do anything.
It's surreal.
And more of the same Obama employee "he isn't even sworn in yet" mentality. He's the one who's publicly stating his policies. What people are responding to nothing? What, nobody is to question Saint Obama, cuz hey, that worked out well when Bush supporters said the same thing. I figured out what is wrong with the world's economies. It's quite easy. It's partisan hacks that support blindly. A few posters on here with their faithful loyalty, even though the guy announces his policies contradicting anything relating to common sense, are the root cause of what is wrong with federal politics everywhere. But you are so right. Tax cuts exactly like Bush did, are essential right now. Worked out so well then, it just might work this time cuz there is a D beside this president's name.
your right there concerned we listen to obummers plans for america and strangely they seem allmost republican like more bush war in afganistan garrison troops in iraq for yrs to come ,more billions for israel to buy more arms from us , and he wants to buy us off with a paltry few wpa jobs and a measly five hundread bucks i cant believe i whined that much truth out , imagine my gaul for sugesting that with the money obummers going to piss away killing folks in afganistan they could give every american 25'000 bucks instead of wasteing it on a useless war!
We MUST retroactively tax the shit out of the top 1%! Those bastards have stolen 25% of the wealth in the country from the rest of us, and it's god damned high time they gave it back!
I don't give two shits about a couple of measley bucks in tax cuts. Raise revenue, put pepole to work, and then tell them that if they want to keep their jobs, they need to give up the few pathetic dollars they get in the annual GOP across the board tax cut scam!
It's freaking time to disembowell the Grover Norquist brand of GOP thinking. Giving payroll tax cuts to people who aren't working? WTF?
There are, however, plenty of criticism of how Obama is approaching the current mess. That is completely different.
There is a dangerous attempt, IMHO, at equating giving the benefit of the doubt with blind acceptance.
I am withholding judgement until he is sworn in and enacts policy. Thus far, he has not done anything policy related. I am sorry if you all think I am just accepting everything that SAINT Obama does, for I am not. What I am doing is awaiting his policy decisions.
He is not the president yet. Period.
But he's laying out what he's going to do. Can you agree that it is fair to criticize his proposals?
That one can do heartily. To me, it would make more sense to do that at a site where he and his people would actually see it, but that is just my way of thinking. It gets old to read page after page here of nothing but bitching about everything...especially things which he, as of right now, should not be addressing (e.g., Gaza).
Constructive discussion is one thing. Nothing but whining is something else completely. Do you agree with that?
Withhold judgement; but, lite a fire up under his ass to get him moving.
That some of Obama's actions as president elect are what a lot of us are unhappy with: I am personally not too thrilled with his cabinet picks, and the policies he has announced.
Those are to me free game to be analyzed and criticized. In my humble opinion.
Whether you care to read about them or not, that is something completely unrelated.
I always love your posts and I think you know that, for I have said it time and time again (hopefully, you return to the threads after they've been up for a few hours).
I am not saying that people cannot question what Obama does...but there are certain people who bitch about every single thing, no matter what it is, day in day out, thread after thread, ad nauseum.
but at least, how I see it from my part. This thread is regarding Obama's policies/approaches. And thus, it makes sense that people either agree or disagree accordingly.
Maybe other threads unrelated to Obama, I can see how the criticism may be out of place. I fail to see that in this case though.
Probably, it is also the sense of urgency that we all feel that is putting all of us on the edge. We are at a historical crossroads, and some of my fears and criticisms steam from the fact that I think we really need to get this one right. There will be no more second chances. And as such, I am not willing to follow Obama blindly simply because he is "our guy."
Don't know if this makes any sense.
you make much sense. But read through these comments and a good amount of them are doing anything but constructive commenting; I see lots of whining and complaining but very little in the way of even targeted complaints, especially in light of the post itself.
While some do, many do not.
Just my observation.
or just your opinion!
is my opinion. DUH.
(shaking head)
...who were lured into credit card debt and mortgages they couldn't pay. Let's have a little perspective here. I get credit card offers all the time, but have never used one. I was offered a mortgage that I "could surely get into THAT house" some years back, and the promise that I could sell it for a lot more in a year or two (this was 2005.) Didn't go for that either.
Like children who need to be taught the very idea of personal responsibility and correct decision-making, people fell for these hard-sell gotta-have big-ticket items. Ultimately, people who made untenable decisions must pay the piper. Allowing folks to say it was not their fault doesn't move the plot line along at all.
Of course, the screwed-up nincompoops who created the percieved need in the minds of the mind-controlled, are to blame as well BUT it takes two to tango, my dad used to say. Taking responsibility for one's actions is a lesson more easily learned in childhood than when a middle-aged family breadwinner.
And banks... the real history of America is riddled with bankers making the big bucks off the gullible. Andy Jackson is the last President who fought the banks.
A significant drop off in the number of CC ads I receive in the mail. I used to get at least three per week from Capital One. I haven't received one from them in months. Maybe they gave up on me.
many, perhaps like yours, some like mine--no credit cards, no mortgage, savings gone, no health care, working at 50% of hours I was last year. I'm leaving my place in a week, going to hit the road for a few small contracts that will last a couple months. Between now and when those run out, about all I've got left IS HOPE.
I'm sure there are many who are far worse off than me; many don't have access to a board like us. Let's hope they can get some benefit soon from whatever is in the works.
I am glad to hear you are so responsible. Unfortunately, many people run into health problems or corrupt business people who can screw them over when they have done nothing wrong!
When those things happen now, it is nearly impossible to pay back the loan sharks!
I'm layed off right now. My government could give me 100% cut in my payroll taxes. What will it do for me? Pay my mortgage? Nope. And if it takes as much as the Dems are saying, there goes half his stimulus money....so if he leaves 500 billion on infastructure, that's (if equal) how much per state? And this is going to create jobs? Um. Don't think so.
n/t
I judge all Presidents based upon 1 criteria; would you want to a young 18 year old boy living during his Presidency?
Under Bush:
I can't find a job; I'm the laughing stock of the World; what the hell is going on in New Orleans.
Under Lincoln:
OMG!!! there's bullets everywhere. OMG!!! They're sawing my arms and legs off.
"I hope Obama's love affair with bipartisanship will come to an end very soon."
That, my friend, is the understatement of the year. (OK, it's only 5 days old!)
I get an uncomfortable feeling that he is going to stick to that dream and it will come at a terrible price and waste of time.
What kills me is that these Democrats still think they can work with the GOP. the GOP doesn't work or play well with others. They don't have any desire to help Americans who need help, they only what to increase the wealth of those who are already wealthy and all the rest be damned!
Republicans are the greatest enemy we have ever faced and until we come to terms with that reality we will never be free of their bullshit!
I realize you're using "big C" Conservative, but that still seems like it's an unnecessarily broad tarring.
That is to say that I don't think there's anything at all wrong with working in a bipartisan manner with conservatives, and I'm quite sure many would be reasonable enough to do so. Republicans, at least such as they have become in the US today, however, have demonstrated about as much interest in productive cooperation as a very angry badger.
I do think there are plenty of reasonable conservatives left in the US government, they just all have (D) after their names. Those with (R) have demonstrated little if any interest in any sort of conservatism past the label.
Point here is it seems more honest to just start calling the problem what it is--Republicans--rather than using the comparatively complementary term conservative, big C or small. Save "conservative" for people and policies that actually ARE, rather than those who claim they are.
Our country has got to start making things again! We have got to manufacture the goods to sell! Corporations have got to come home and if they don't, quit giving them business or tax breaks.
We have got to shore up the middle class who are almost non-existant in many places.
Buy American sounds corny but damn! If we lose the middle class altogether, we lose democracy and become another banana republic.
I think Obama will give up on bi-partisanship during the first 100 days.
right you are jo , they took our clothes manufacturing away first shipped it out of country then the rest were outsourced factorys closed then torn down so nothing else could be made in them , now if you have money what besides food is made here to spend our money on, obummers not going to return our jobs base hes just interested in jobs that are short lived!
Corporate Amerika has been claiming for decades that Global Warming is a load of B.S.
Yet, at the same time, they have been quietly moving every factory in America to more tropical regions.
The wealthy have all quietly packed up their family jewels and bailed South.
I'm very much afraid that things will continue to get worse no matter what the Obama administration does. The advisors he has on board do not exactly inspire confidence.
I am losing confidence in him daily. His long list of Clinton flunkies (republican lite) does not give me a lot of hope.
And earth to Obama - the republican's are American hating authoritarian fascist goons, who hate the American people! They ARE the enemy within!
You should be trying to obliterate them, not play nice with them. Make it obvious to even the most brain-dead redneck imbecile in red state amerkuh, that the republican party is an aristocratic country club that hates the American people. Get with the freakin' program - please.
are in favor of Obama.
To which I say, I'm with ya.
I hope he turns out to be the president people thought he would be.
Good luck to us all.
Good fucking luck.
That isn't allowed with Saint Obama. LOL. Do not question. Nope. He isn't Prez yet, so all his choices for cabinet and his policy announcements are nothing more than fiction ya know.
EXCEPT THAT
BACK THEN:
1. The country wasn't $11 trillion in debt
2. Most of the people were self-sufficient
3. Most of the people were rural and knew how to get by
NOW:
1. The country and the people are deep in debt
2. Most people rely on big corporations and/or the government
3. Most of the people are suburban or urban and not self-sufficient and don't know anything more that getting what they need at the mall
Spot on!
This situation is very different from the Great Depression. The situation is this country is more similar to the situation that took place shortly before the French Revolution.
1. A national debt, with no hope of ever paying it off, that was created by fighting meaningless wars to keep the Empire alive.
2. Food prices becoming so high that people cannot afford to eat.
3. An arrogant and disconnected aristocracy mouching off the government.
and it is very relevant to today....
Man, I have Post Election Blues or something...
Break up the damned monopolies! If it's too big to fail, it's too big!
THIS is what I'd really like to hear some talk about. I realize Obama is basically a centrist guy who is obviously not yet in office. But he has some intelligent people around him. Let's hope that some will push him to looking toward doing this. The "situation on the ground" may push him to act toward this, despite the pedigrees of some of his advisers. I guess we'll find out...
I declared bankruptcy 6 months before the new law was enacted in 2005. Even though bankruptcy filings are still on the rise, I can only imagine the numbers if people could still file for debt relief. The Biden sponsored bill has protected the CC companies from a huge loss, but the people in debt now get the shaft. Not so businesses.
Under the old bankruptcy laws, you could be cleared of all your debt.
Therefore, it was not in the better interest of the banks to for you into bankruptcy.
Under the new laws, you still owe the money to the bankers and they get to keep your house.
Therefore, it is in the interest of the banks to force everyone into bankruptcy.
To CC debt. And I don't believe that under the old laws if you kept the house you would be cleared of your mortgage. You could keep the house, but only your credit debt would be cleared. I did not have a house at the time (lost it in the divorce, which was the cause of the bankruptcy in the first place)so I'm not completely sure.
Old laws:
Mortgage debt erased.
Home goes back to the bank
New Laws:
House goes back to the bank.
You still owe the Mortgage.
You see the difference.
The bankers sure as hell do.
that if you declare bankruptcy you necessarily HAVE to give up your house. Can anyone clarify that for me?
is (was) different from bankruptcy.
Will be where it's always been; up his ass. Ditto his fascist party
End the war in Iraq.
The approval of Congress ran out at the end of 2008. Everything there has changed; our soldiers are no longer leading patrols. This has been winding down, which is why December was the lowest casualty rate month since the invasion. They're being shipped to Afghanistan, which has never been conquered.
How many of our troops are currently in Iraq?
How many people got blown up today?
How many millions did the war cost us today?
As much as the Iraq war will be costly (especially with the lives of soldiers and Iraqi civilians), there is also the extremely faulty de-regulation that the GOP pushed for, which resulted in all this toxic lending of home and car loans. When doing the math, it just doesn't add up between a bad credit score and obtaining a loan. It's also bad enough that a majority of the current gov't spending is derived from borrowed money from China. You could call deficit dollars "Chinese money" on America's side.
If Obama can't say anything about the obscenity unfolding in Palestine right now because "we have only one president at a time", shouldn't Obama just be silent about EVERYTHING until noon January 20?
Obama's duties right now are assembling the cabinet and announcing wht his major policies are going to be. And that is what he is doing.
Obviously this is not a black/white situation, but a relatively greyish one. I assume he needs to act with discretion regarding his personal views on foreign policy. As that is still been handled by the current administration, whether we like it or not.
"his [Obama's] personal views on foreign policy"?
Do Obama's announcements about his impending economic initiatives represent his "personal" views? This issue "is still been handled by the current administration, whether we like it or not", yes?
Do Obama's announcements about his impending plans to "redeploy" US troops to Afghanistan represent his "personal" views? This issue "is still been handled by the current administration, whether we like it or not", yes?
Your logic fails. Sorry.
There is a difference between policies by the US government that he is about to be in charge of, and both domestic economic policies, and army deployment schedules, fail under that umbrella.
...And an international conflict between two foreign parties.
Whether you like that or not, that is another issue.
Obama can't do jack squat at this moment as president elect regarding either Israel or Palestine.
Look, there is no way Israel could or would be doing what it is doing without the explicit and implicit "green light" and massive support from the United States Government. And the entire world knows it.
The USG gives $3+ billion each year to Israel to buy US weapons, equipment, and training. The IDF has "made in USA" stamped all over it. Every television viewer in the world sees this.
The USG has used its lone veto in the UN Security Council countless times over the decades to shield the State of Israel's actions from the overwhelming condemnation of the world. The latest example was this last weekend: "At the United Nations, the United States blocked the Security Council from issuing a formal statement on Saturday night calling for an immediate cease-fire...".
The President of the United States, whoever he or she is, approves weapons sales to Israel and directs the actions and votes of the US ambassador to the UN.
The entire Arab and Muslim world has seen and felt the hypocrisy of US foreign policy in the Israel-Palestine conflict for decades. The harm this injustice produces year after year after year constitutes a large part of "why they hate us."
This is not "an international conflict between two foreign parties" in which the US is an innocent, neutral bystander.
This is an issue that Obama will be forced to deal with publicly the instant he is sworn in. His silence now speaks volumes.
Words now could save many lives, including US lives in Iraq and Afghanistan and here in the United States.
I hope this makes my thinking clearer, friend. All my best wishes to you.
$500 in proportion to the help most people need isn't going to cut it.
You gotta ask, are the advisers who tell Obama that the solution is $500 per person total actually hearing what Americans' are telling them about the financial trouble that they are in? The average person more likely needs that much of a break per month to avoid meltdown.
Maybe if there was a stimulus package with numbers for every regular, hard-working American in 5 digits or more, that would really help stimulate the economy and the working class.
Although Obama tells us what we want and need to hear, is he too going to borrow from the Chinese for the stimulus package?
ok !so five hundread bucks will make you happy? are you going to be any better off? hell these congressmen just got thierselves a hefty raise and your expected to slobber over hardly enough money to make one months payment on your house? its unbelievable ! how anybody can believe obummer serious about helping the working class, as far as obummers stated policys thier on the record folks like it or not hes in the tank for the corporations and the crumbs hes offering wont save you! sorry didnt mean to whine , i should be happy for our meager gains under the new dictatorship thats comeing soon!
either or... just do it
*stretch*
wake me when he's president and count the dems that actually support him on any progressive idea.
Mitch McConnell and John Boehner will block help to Americans because it's to much money being requested. Now both had no problem giving Iraq 1 Trillion dollars or 700 billion to Hank Paulson who doesn't know where the money went or to the Contractors who haven't done anything with the taxpayers money. Now because Obama wants to help the American people these guys want to stop it. I guess the people in Kentucky and Ohio aren't in a recession and doing just fine because that's what their reperesentives are saying. Speaker Pelosi will contiinue her work for the Bush Administration and just smile at Obama.
I have the sinking feeling that "bipartisanship" is going to be what it has always been, the most convenient of all possible excuses to explain away why nothing gets done and why the bad guys continue to remain in control of this nation's fate. It will end up not being about co-operation but about a convenient cover for complicity.
The problem is foreign debt, Obama's stimulus package will require the willingness of foreign countries to hold our debt? So digging a deeper hole to stimulate the economy is going to help us how?
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