July 18, 2010 :: staff :: 2 Comments
In his weekly address, Pres. Obama criticizes Republicans in the United States Senate who are obstructing passage of an emergency extension of unemployment and efforts designed to help steer capital to small business. “When storms strike Main Street, we don’t play politics with emergency aid,” he says. “We don’t desert our fellow Americans when they fall on hard times. We come together and do what we can to help. We rebuild stronger and we move forward.”
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December 13, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
The difficult steps we’ve taken since January have helped to break our fall, and begin to get us back on our feet. Our economy is growing again. The flood of job loss we saw at the beginning of this year slowed to a relative trickle last month. These are good signs for the future, but little comfort to all of our neighbors who remain out of a job. And my solemn commitment is to work every day, in every way I can, to push this recovery forward and build a new foundation for our lasting growth and prosperity.
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December 5, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Every month since January, when I became your President, I’ve spoken to you about the periodic reports of the Labor Department on the number of jobs created or lost during the previous month; numbers that tell a story about how America’s economy is faring overall. In those first months, the numbers were nothing short of devastating. The worst recession since the 1930s had wreaked havoc on the lives of so many of our fellow Americans. Yesterday, the numbers released by the Labor Department reflected a continuing positive trend of diminishing job loss.
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October 18, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) used to insure one in fifty US mortgages; now FHA insures one in four. The financial crisis allowed the most reckless banks to shift their losses to the American taxpayer. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, a Democrat of Toledo, Ohio, serving her 14th term in the House of Representatives, called the 2008 [...]
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August 8, 2009 :: staff :: One Comment
So, let me explain what reform will mean for you. And let me start by dispelling the outlandish rumors that reform will promote euthanasia, cut Medicaid, or bring about a government takeover of health care. That’s simply not true. This isn’t about putting government in charge of your health insurance; it’s about putting you in charge of your health insurance. Under the reforms we seek, if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.
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July 21, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Pres. Barack Obama has proposed a national high-speed rail program that would develop eight to ten regions for high-speed rail (currently, only the so-called northeast corridor, running from Washington, DC, to Boston, through Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York, has a regular high-speed service), as part of a phased-in long-term economic recovery plan. The rail project comes into play also as part of Obama’s plans for a comprehensive energy-sector overhaul, aimed at reducing carbon emissions.
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July 11, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
At the G8 summit, leaders from nearly thirty nations met to discuss how we will collectively confront the urgent challenges of our time, from managing the global recession to fighting global warming to addressing global hunger and poverty. And in Ghana, I laid out my agenda for supporting democracy and development in Africa and around the world. But even as we make progress on these challenges abroad, my thoughts are on the state of our economy at home. And that’s what I want to talk to you about today.
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May 12, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
The US economy has faced serious challenges on a number of fronts, over the last few years, contributing to a complex downturn with little easy salvation in sight. In order to transition to this new era of recovery and slower growth, the US consumer will have to cut back drastically on luxury spending, and the market will have to rely less on the easy flow of consumer credit.
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April 28, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
We are witnessing the systematic implosion of the American auto industry. The situation is so grave that instead of seeking to reinvent, or spin off or sell off its Pontiac division, GM is simply closing it down and laying people off. No attempt to fix problems or to take advantage of the opportunity to comprehensively reinvent a company already fitted with major industrial manufacturing capacity, just the unilateral shuttering of major plants and an entire company.
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April 25, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
There are few things as fundamental to the American Dream or as essential for America’s success as a good education. This has never been more true than it is today. At a time when our children are competing with kids in China and India, the best job qualification you can have is a college degree or advanced training. If you do have that kind of education, then you’re well prepared for the future — because half of the fastest growing jobs in America require a Bachelor’s degree or more. And if you don’t have a college degree, you’re more than twice as likely to be unemployed as somebody who does. So the stakes could not be higher for young people like Stephanie.
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April 14, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: 8 Comments
Pres. Obama today gave an address at Georgetown University, in which he explained his economic policies and how his budget and recovery plan will achieve not only better healthcare for more Americans and a green energy agenda, but real substantive entitlement reform, new financial regulations intended to both curb abuses and spur sustainable investments in future prosperity, and protect against long-term decline stemming from mass under-education.
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March 24, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Pres. Obama tonight held his second prime time press conference, in the East Room of the White House, at 8pm, EDT. The main topic of the evening was the president’s budget proposal and the process of economic recovery. Obama opened with a prepared statement, before taking questions from the press corps. He praised efforts being made around the nation to implement projects that are creating new jobs, and defended his plan for a tax cut for 95% of working families.
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March 5, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
There is an irresponsible analysis of economic outlook speeding over the airwaves these days, implying that if the stock market doesn’t “respond” favorably to a given political announcement then that is 1) a “vote” of no confidence in said policy, and 2) proof that said policy is obviously wrong. This analysis is a vicious disservice to the American people: markets respond to thousands of variables, which in combination represent countless numbers of interests large and small, problems large and small and long-term outlooks more and less long-term.
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March 3, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Pres. Barack Obama today visited the Interior Dept., noting it was once called in jest “the Department of Everything Else”, a government agency with responsibility for nearly 1/5 of the entire land area of the United States. He professed his intention to task the Interior Dept. with taking major steps to help build green infrastructure for an energy economy based on solar-voltaic and wind-turbine-generated energy.
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March 3, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Zimbabwe has released a top human rights activist whose detention was illegal, according to activists, the opposition and foreign governments. Zimbabwe power-sharing arrangement still under strain as Mugabe regime seeks to guard against prosecution for past crimes. After a sustained series of bombings across Pakistan, an attack by gunmen in Lahore, this time targeting a [...]
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March 2, 2009 :: Denver Lessing :: 2 Comments
The Obama administration is looking at the severity of the banking crisis with a mind to settling the issue of survivability and recoverability of banks, case by case, based on facts in evidence. The first step will be to gather evidence, through a series of ‘stress tests’ designed to examine what resources troubled banks have to weather oncoming storms, then plan according to the results of those tests.
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March 2, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
The hardest thing to understand about the current, and deepening, economic crisis, is that it came about largely because some of the most experienced, well-staffed and prestigious financial institutions in the world gambled on untenable projects of unlimited expansion, without ever producing sound mathematics to back up the projections. Philosophical exuberance replaced philosophical underpinnings, and the dynamo of financial speculation greased the wheels of commerce in a way that masked underlying shortfalls.
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February 28, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Transcript of President Barack Obama’s Weekly Address Saturday, February 28th, 2009, as released by the White House Two years ago, we set out on a journey to change the way that Washington works. We sought a government that served not the interests of powerful lobbyists or the wealthiest few, but the middle-class Americans I met [...]
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February 27, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
CitiGroup announces deal to let US government take 36% stake in firm, up from 8% stake, a move that will intensify regulatory scrutiny and possibly move firm toward solvency by way of nationalization. Move is third rescue in five months in ongoing effort to save massive banking operation. Obama announces plan to remove most US [...]
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February 27, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
In keeping with my commitment to make our government more open and transparent, this budget is an honest accounting of where we are and where we intend to go. For too long, our budget has not told the whole truth about how precious tax dollars are spent. Large sums have been left off the books, including the true cost of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. And that kind of dishonest accounting is not how you run your family budgets at home; it’s not how your government should run its budgets, either. We need to be honest with ourselves about what costs are being racked up — because that’s how we’ll come to grips with the hard choices that lie ahead. And there are some hard choices that lie ahead.
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February 20, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
A few years back, an ambitious youngish president staged an impressive event, in which he landed a fighter-jet on an aircraft carrier, then declared “Mission Accomplished”, in the midst of what would turn out to be only the first baby steps of a very complicated war. The $780 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is a victory for the president in terms of his organizing Congressional support, but it is just the beginning of a very long, high-stakes journey, for his nascent administration, and for the nation.
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February 10, 2009 :: staff :: One Comment
I took a trip to Elkhart, Indiana today. Elkhart is a place that has lost jobs faster than anywhere else in America. In one year, the unemployment rate went from 4.7 percent to 15.3 percent. Companies that have sustained this community for years are shedding jobs at an alarming speed, and the people who’ve lost them have no idea what to do or who to turn to. They can’t pay their bills and they’ve stopped spending money. And because they’ve stopped spending money, more businesses have been forced to lay off more workers. In fact, local TV stations have started running public service announcements that tell people where to find food banks, even as the food banks don’t have enough to meet the demand.
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February 10, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Pres. Barack Obama led his remarks with a mention of today’s town-hall meeting in Elkhart, Indiana, which he highlighted as a town whose troubles illustrate the gravity of the current crisis. He said that job losses and recession have become so deep there that local television stations are broadcasting public service announcements notifying residents where to find food banks.
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February 9, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Pres. Barack Obama today held a unique town-hall meeting in Elkhart, Indiana, in which he explained to a community beset with the worst unemployment rate in the country, at 15.3%, why the recovery and reinvestment bill before Congress is urgently needed and how it will work. First delivering a detailed assessment of the nation’s economic woes, then answering questions from unscreened citizens in attendance, Obama gave a vigorous defense of the unique stimulus project that blends “economic recovery” and “community reinvestment”.
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February 8, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: One Comment
Pres. Barack Obama announced, just one week after taking office, the creation of a new website, Recovery.gov, which will detail the manner in which all the money from his American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, once passed by Congress and signed into law, is being spent. The website is another in a series of steps to create a far-reaching reform of the federal government’s reporting to the public about its activities, with the aim of achieving Obama’s promise of the “most transparent” government in US history.
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February 6, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Pres. Barack Obama today announced his Economic Recovery Advisory Board, a panel of business leaders and economic advisors who will advise the president as to the better or more risky proposals which may be used to reverse the economic downturn. Obama sought to press lawmakers on the “urgency” of the crisis, warning that inaction will only allow the problem to worsen.
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February 6, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Pres. Barack Obama is struggling to make a case for economic stimulus, despite being one of the most talented communicators seen in American politics for decades. Political pundits on television and in print are criticizing the White House for failing to communicate the virtues of a very large, very complex economic stimulus plan. But, in defense of the new model of the presidency which Obama has sought to manifest, the man has been working diligently on a vast range of issues that require attention or correction, and most likely, he wanted the legislative process to be more effective than it has been.
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January 14, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Citigroup forced to join with Morgan Stanley —which will hold 51% of shared assets— to hold onto Smith Barney, which accounts for 30% of its profits. Analysts suggest government of $45 billion to prop up massive bank now “underwater”, Citi will be forced to start selling assets. US retail sales fell by 2.7% last month, [...]
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January 10, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
We start this new year in the midst of an economic crisis unlike any we have seen in our lifetime. We learned yesterday that in the past month alone, we lost more than half a million jobs – a total of nearly 2.6 million in the year 2008. Another 3.4 million Americans who want and need full-time work have had to settle for part-time jobs. And families across America are feeling the pinch as they watch debts mount, bills pile up and savings disappear.
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January 4, 2009 :: Denver Lessing :: Comments Off
As the economic downturn deepens, and job losses continue, with the Treasury moving tens of billions of dollars in “bridge loans” into Chrysler, GM and GMAC, in hopes of preventing the collapse of American manufacturing and the loss of millions more jobs, with banks desperate enough to “deal over debt” that credit-card holders can no longer pay, President-elect Barack Obama is reported to be planning an expansion of unemployment assistance.
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January 4, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Radio & web address by President-elect Barack Obama, 3 January 2009 As the holiday season comes to end, we are thankful for family and friends and all the blessings that make life worth living. But as we mark the beginning of a new year, we also know that America faces great and growing challenges—challenges that [...]
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December 14, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: One Comment
A hard core of Republican senators demanded ideological concessions from autoworkers, blaming the front-line manufacturing workers —whom John McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin, repeatedly called “the best in the world” during their campaign for the White House— for America’s embattled automakers’ financial hardships. The bloc included all 8 senators from the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia, where foreign automakers, like Toyota and Hyundai, have spent billions to build factories that have led to the creation of thousands of jobs in those states.
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December 11, 2008 :: Webb Tisch :: Comments Off
The United States House of Representatives has passed a bill to deliver bridge loans to the “big 3″ US automakers, in order to stave off bankruptcy and the potential loss of millions of jobs related to the industry. Stiff opposition to “sending good money after bad” had stalled the rescue loans, but November’s staggering job losses of 533,000 changed the mood in Washington, raising fears of a trigger event that could push the economy into depression.
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December 10, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: One Comment
It may be that “a few bad apples” got the ball rolling on what has turned into a massive international financial disaster. Or, it may be that a few bad apples got their names in lights, while the entire system conspired unwittingly in a spectacular collapse. Either way, the best expression of the problem might be to say that markets have stopped working, in part, because they have been comprehensively modified to stop working like markets. An open banking transparency network would reduce the motivation for wrongdoing and privilege more reliable sources of information, creating confidence and motivating sound market dynamics.
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December 7, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
US president-elect Barack Obama pledged on Saturday, in his weekly radio and web address, to initiate a massive public works program to help create jobs, build a greener economy, restore US industrial relevance and spur economic growth. The plan announced by Obama would also require that states who participate in the massive investment in new and upgraded infrastructure use the money quickly or lose the funding.
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December 7, 2008 :: staff :: Comments Off
[W]e need action — and action now. That is why I have asked my economic team to develop an economic recovery plan for both Wall Street and Main Street that will help save or create at least two and a half million jobs, while rebuilding our infrastructure, improving our schools, reducing our dependence on oil, and saving billions of dollars. We won’t do it the old Washington way. We won’t just throw money at the problem. We’ll measure progress by the reforms we make and the results we achieve — by the jobs we create, by the energy we save, by whether America is more competitive in the world.
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November 26, 2008 :: staff :: 2 Comments
Today, I’m pleased to announce the formation of a new institution to help our economic team accomplish these goals: the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board. This Board is modeled on the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board created by President Eisenhower to provide rigorous analysis and vigorous oversight of our intelligence community by individuals outside of government — individuals who would be candid and unsparing in their assessment. This new board will perform a similar function for my Administration as we formulate our economic policy.
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November 26, 2008 :: Denver Lessing :: Comments Off
President-elect Barack Obama, in his third press conference in as many days, has announced a new entity, the independent Economic Recovery Advisory Board (ERAB), to be headed by former Fed chairman Paul Volcker. ERAB will include individuals from government, private business, organized labor and academia, pooling the knowledge and analysis of individuals with a wealth of experience and who are not bound by being employees of the president, in order to get the best advice for weathering the storm.
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November 24, 2008 :: staff :: Comments Off
President-elect Barack Obama has officially named a team of top economic officials and advisors which has been well-received by political leaders, market analysts and the press. Timothy Geithner, president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, will serve as Secretary of the Treasury, while former Treasury secretary and onetime Harvard president Lawrence Summers will serve as chief of the National Economic Council.
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October 14, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: 2 Comments
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA/Dow) today had its single biggest day of gains in history, climbing 936 points. It could be a good sign, that on Friday the market “established a bottom”, but it’s important to remember: the nature of volatility is not that it is ripe for gain or ripe for loss, but that it is volatility, and one’s will and judgment are not always as relevant as one would like.
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