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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Saturday laid out more pieces of an economic plan he says would add 3,000 miles of electrical lines, increase security at 90 ports and double the United States' renewable energy capacity within three years.
It was the latest appeal from the new president for a massive spending bill designed to inject almost a trillion dollars into a flailing U.S. economy and to fulfill campaign pledges. As members of Congress consider an $825 billion plan and Obama woos them, his White House released a radio and Internet address directed at voters who want answers.
"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. And we could lose a generation of potential, as more young Americans are forced to forgo college dreams or the chance to train for the jobs of the future," Obama said in a five-minute address that the White House released early Saturday.
"In short, if we do not act boldly and swiftly, a bad situation could become dramatically worse."
Along with the speech, Obama's economic team released a report designed to outline tangible benefits of the plan and shore up support. Aides said they wanted people to understand exactly what they could expect — more schools, lower electricity bills — if their members of Congress supported the proposed legislation.
The United States lost 2.6 million jobs last year, the most in any single year since World War II. Manufacturing is at a 28-year low and even Obama's economists say unemployment could top 10% before the recession ends. One in 10 homeowners are at risk of foreclosure and the dollar continues its slide in value.
That harsh reality has dominated Obama's first days in office and prompted a Saturday meeting of his economic team at the White House during their first weekend in power.
A day earlier, he invited Democratic and Republican leaders to the White House to hear their ideas on the economy, yet Obama didn't share the plan's specifics while they visited.
Many of the goals in the speech and report were familiar from Obama's two-year campaign, like shifting to electronic medical records and investing in preventive health care. Other parts added specifics.
Obama's recovery package aims to:
• Double within three years the amount of energy that could be produced from renewable resources, an ambitious goal given the 30 years it took to reach current levels. Advisers say that could power 6 million households.
• Upgrade 10,000 schools and improve learning for about 5 million students.
• Save $2 billion a year by making federal buildings energy efficient.
• Triple the number of undergraduate and graduate fellowships in science.
The plan would spend at least 75% of the total cost — or more than $600 billion — within the first 18 months, providing a massive infusion of cash to the struggling economy, either through bricks-and-shovels projects favored by Democrats or tax cuts that Republicans have pushed. Either could produce progress the administration could point to if it needs to justify a second economic package.
The broad plan puts heavy emphasis on infrastructure that crumbled as state budgets contracted. Governors have lobbied Obama to help them patch holes in their budgets, drained by sinking tax revenues and increased need for public assistance like Medicaid and children's health insurance. Obama's plan would increase the federal portion of those programs so no state would have to cut any of the 20 million children whose eligibility is now at risk.
Obama's plan would also provide health care coverage for 8.5 million Americans who lose their insurance when they either lose or shift jobs.
"It's a plan that will save or create 3 to 4 million jobs over the next few years" and recognizes "there are millions of Americans trying to find work even as, all around the country, there's so much work to be done," he said.
But he cautioned again against expecting instant results: "No one policy or program will solve the challenges we face right now, nor will this crisis recede in a short period of time."
"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. And we could lose a generation of potential, as more young Americans are forced to forgo college dreams or the chance to train for the jobs of the future," Obama said in a five-minute address that the White House released early Saturday.
scare tactics
"In short, if we do not act boldly and swiftly, a bad situation could become dramatically worse."
See above
Manufacturing is at a 28-year low
because you can't build anything in America and make a profit
One in 10 homeowners are at risk of foreclosure
One in 10 homeowners shouldn't have been able to get a house in the first place
and the dollar continues its slide in value.
Isn't one of the causes of oils slide under $30/barrel due to the dollar strengthening
o hear their ideas on the economy, yet Obama didn't share the plan's specifics while they visited.
like shifting to electronic medical records
so they can be hacked
and investing in preventive health care.
[/b]You can lead a horse to water...and most Americans aren't going to drink[/b]
Obama's recovery package aims to:
• Double within three years the amount of energy that could be produced from renewable resources, an ambitious goal given the 30 years it took to reach current levels. Advisers say that could power 6 million households.
Not really sure what this means, so I will hold judgment
• Upgrade 10,000 schools and improve learning for about 5 million students.
Kids aren't learning because the schools aren't nice enough. They aren't learning because their parents suck, families are broken down and the kids don't care
• Save $2 billion a year by making federal buildings energy efficient.
Cool with me
• Triple the number of undergraduate and graduate fellowships in science.
Cool with me
The plan would spend at least 75% of the total cost — or more than $600 billion — within the first 18 months, providing a massive infusion of cash to the struggling economy, either through bricks-and-shovels projects favored by Democrats or tax cuts that Republicans have pushed. Either could produce progress the administration could point to if it needs to justify a second economic package.
Oh, those brick and shovel jobs that can't go to white males? GOP has been pushing Tax cuts but Pelosi already put a rule into place they you can't make any tax cuts without making it up somewhere else...so the net tax difference is a big fat zero
The broad plan puts heavy emphasis on infrastructure that crumbled as state budgets contracted. Governors have lobbied Obama to help them patch holes in their budgets, drained by sinking tax revenues and increased need for public assistance like Medicaid and children's health insurance. Obama's plan would increase the federal portion of those programs so no state would have to cut any of the 20 million children whose eligibility is now at risk.
Maybe the state's wouldn't have such budget issues if they actually planned their spending and stopped feeding the top of their bureaucratic family.
Obama's plan would also provide health care coverage for 8.5 million Americans who lose their insurance when they either lose or shift jobs.
[b]Why can't they use Cobra?[b]
"It's a plan that will save or create 3 to 4 million jobs over the next few years" and recognizes "there are millions of Americans trying to find work even as, all around the country, there's so much work to be done," he said.
According to Obama's own guy, they can't say whether or not it will create jobs. This is a stump speech
But he cautioned again against expecting instant results: "No one policy or program will solve the challenges we face right now, nor will this crisis recede in a short period of time."
AKA - It probably won't work, don't hold me accountable it's Bush's fault
__________________ www.leftyguitartrader.com The ONLY place on the net for the left-handed guitarist!
I'm skeptical that EMRs will be the solution to high health care costs. It'll be nice to have a uniform standard for health records, but the bulk of health care costs is going into MRI's, CT scans, surgeries, interventional radiology procedures, and ICU care for 80-90 year olds in the last year of their life. And if you don't do all this, you'll probably have the family come back a few months later with a lawyer, and then you're out several million per case.
there are no savers - statistically - and that is the problem. and your savings are safe for the most part, inflation has been a part of life for.... ever... that has been eroding your savings for years, so I wouldn't bother complaining about this.
I want to see Obama hold a press conference telling America to start saving and spend less.
Last edited by Motormouth; 01-24-2009 at 10:01 PM.
I want to see Obama hold a press conference telling America to start saving and spend less.
I'd love to hear that also. He needs to get up there and say that the government is going to do the same thing. We'll only be able to lower taxes by lowering spending, otherwise it's just more debt. I don't see that happening, but gotta hope for change.
yeah, the government not using up all our money, then moving on to Japan... then china... now the middle east & russia... eventually everyone will be bankrupt.
AKA - It probably won't work, don't hold me accountable it's Bush's fault
valid points, Im meh about the plan also, we'll see.... however I agree with improving school, sure parents play a HUGE role in education, but shoddy schools are unacceptable. ie here in Indy, the majority of IPS school don't have AC, I cant imagine going to school in 90 degree weather and having to listen to someone without AC. Its not that it dosent work, they dont even have units...
__________________ Gun Totin' Liberals: Left of Center But Always on Target
valid points, Im meh about the plan also, we'll see.... however I agree with improving school, sure parents play a HUGE role in education, but shoddy schools are unacceptable. ie here in Indy, the majority of IPS school don't have AC, I cant imagine going to school in 90 degree weather and having to listen to someone without AC. Its not that it dosent work, they dont even have units...
there are no savers - statistically - and that is the problem. and your savings are safe for the most part, inflation has been a part of life for.... ever... that has been eroding your savings for years, so I wouldn't bother complaining about this.
I want to see Obama hold a press conference telling America to start saving and spend less.
Of course you would not bother complaining about this, you turn a blind eye towards all the negative aspects of Obama's economic plan.
__________________
03 touring Z - SB, custom Arias pistons (10:1), Eagle rods, NISMO 262 cams, 19 ro_jas w/PS2s, Vortech SC w/10lb pully, Stillen headers, test pipes, HKS highpower td, 5/16 spacer, Haltech, htchkis springs/sways, JWT clutch/flywheel and gauges, CF molded air duct, 20% tint, Rotora bbk, Alpine deck, Type S separates, V12 amp*2, 10" Type S, V1 hardwired in cubby, NISMO V1 bumper w/ 423rwhp/348ft/lbs.\
and thanks for taking the time to do my analysis on Obama's plan and determine I wouldn't find an issue with it. i didn't even have to read the whole thing and already it looks great!
valid points, Im meh about the plan also, we'll see.... however I agree with improving school, sure parents play a HUGE role in education, but shoddy schools are unacceptable. ie here in Indy, the majority of IPS school don't have AC, I cant imagine going to school in 90 degree weather and having to listen to someone without AC. Its not that it dosent work, they dont even have units...
I'm not gonna lie, I have a lot of respect for you
That being said, how bad could the schools really be that it could really be an honest excuse for "your" dumb piece of **** kids?
__________________ www.leftyguitartrader.com The ONLY place on the net for the left-handed guitarist!
I'm not gonna lie, I have a lot of respect for you
That being said, how bad could the schools really be that it could really be an honest excuse for "your" dumb piece of **** kids?
Likewise....
Trust me, it can be really bad. You and I went to schools where we were safe, teachers cared (somewhat), and all we had to worry about was chasing girls and passing pre-algebra.
When I was a PO, I often had clients that were still in HS, during field visits, I go to the schools and check up on the kids. Kids would be running the halls, adult men would be out in the lots talking to younger girls, and fighst would break out regularly in the halls. The campus was like a mini-criminal training camp. Drugs, tricks, gangs and anything else you could find. The teachers wouldnt teach because they were afraid of their students. The students that did want to learn, and I kid you not, taught themselves.... thats crazy. So from these schools, only the most highly motivated make it out.
I'm sure we both know of some stoner kid in HS,that we looked at as never having a chance and then at the 10 yr reunion, theyre a successful businessman or something. That's the difference those students we knew, at least the had a solid foundation to fall back on, others do not. Its complete BS that a kid graduates from HS, and yet has no idea how to read a newspaper.
Its hard to pin all of this on a parent, there are numerous good parents w/bad kids. Its not all crackheads and whores letting their children run amouck. The single parent working 3 jobs to make ends meet and so they don't have to be on welfare (and there are many too proud for govt assistance) comes to mind. What are they to do? In essence they cannot adequately address all of their children's need and thus there are two proxy parents, the street and the school....and when the school is no different that the street, what then.....?
Better schools isn't always about better equipment, its about cleaning out the trash thats not there to learn and giving those kids with a chance a fair shot...
__________________ Gun Totin' Liberals: Left of Center But Always on Target
Someone who can't afford to have kids shouldn't have kids. If you have to work 3 jobs to afford a kid, that means you. "Free" schools, tax breaks for children, and welfare just make this problem bigger. So do all the taxes and regulations that make U.S. manufacturing unprofitable.
__________________ You can't go around building a better world for people. Only people can build a better world for people. Otherwise it's just a cage.
I will prevail over any obstacle in my path. Including you. It is what I must do.
Ok Dwight!
__________________ You can't go around building a better world for people. Only people can build a better world for people. Otherwise it's just a cage.
But he cautioned again against expecting instant results: "No one policy or program will solve the challenges we face right now, nor will this crisis recede in a short period of time."
Here is the only thing he said that makes any sense. Although, I disagree. There is one policy that could restore confidence in our economic system. Have the government be fiscally responsible.
I'm not sure how any of that other stuff is going to create 3 millions jobs. Although, I'm in the construction industry so i'll probably benefit from his infrastructure stimumoose.
Likewise....
Trust me, it can be really bad. You and I went to schools where we were safe, teachers cared (somewhat), and all we had to worry about was chasing girls and passing pre-algebra.
When I was a PO, I often had clients that were still in HS, during field visits, I go to the schools and check up on the kids. Kids would be running the halls, adult men would be out in the lots talking to younger girls, and fighst would break out regularly in the halls. The campus was like a mini-criminal training camp. Drugs, tricks, gangs and anything else you could find. The teachers wouldnt teach because they were afraid of their students. The students that did want to learn, and I kid you not, taught themselves.... thats crazy. So from these schools, only the most highly motivated make it out.
I'm sure we both know of some stoner kid in HS,that we looked at as never having a chance and then at the 10 yr reunion, theyre a successful businessman or something. That's the difference those students we knew, at least the had a solid foundation to fall back on, others do not. Its complete BS that a kid graduates from HS, and yet has no idea how to read a newspaper.
Its hard to pin all of this on a parent, there are numerous good parents w/bad kids. Its not all crackheads and whores letting their children run amouck. The single parent working 3 jobs to make ends meet and so they don't have to be on welfare (and there are many too proud for govt assistance) comes to mind. What are they to do? In essence they cannot adequately address all of their children's need and thus there are two proxy parents, the street and the school....and when the school is no different that the street, what then.....?
Better schools isn't always about better equipment, its about cleaning out the trash thats not there to learn and giving those kids with a chance a fair shot...
Ok, I see what you are saying. However, I don't believe that a situation like that can be remedied with any amount of money. I don't see the root cause of those problems as a lack of funding. Most of the worst schools are the best funded.
I agree that what you described is a horrible place for children to be and likely dooms them from the start. I just don't think that more money is the solution, as it never has seemed to fix anything...ever
__________________ www.leftyguitartrader.com The ONLY place on the net for the left-handed guitarist!
Obama pitches ecomomic plan!
lol, I was giving him the benefit of the doubt.... He probably should have deconstructed the plan a bit more ....
