Obama: “It’s Too Late to Save Economy”

Economy in Flames

President-elect Barack Obama this morning will warn that unless “dramatic action” is taken quickly, it may be too late to pull the economy out of a recession that could last for years.

His staff just released excerpts from a speech the president-elect is due to give at 11 a.m. ET. Among those excerpts:

• “I don’t believe it’s too late to change course, but it will be if we don’t take dramatic action as soon as possible. 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. We could lose a generation of potential and promise, as more young Americans are forced to forgo dreams of college or the chance to train for the jobs of the future. And our nation could lose the competitive edge that has served as a foundation for our strength and standing in the world.

“In short, a bad situation could become dramatically worse.”

• “There is no doubt that the cost of this plan will be considerable. It will certainly add to the budget deficit in the short-term. But equally certain are the consequences of doing too little or nothing at all, for that will lead to an even greater deficit of jobs, incomes, and confidence in our economy. It is true that we cannot depend on government alone to create jobs or long-term growth, but at this particular moment, only government can provide the short-term boost necessary to lift us from a recession this deep and severe. Only government can break the vicious cycles that are crippling our economy –- where a lack of spending leads to lost jobs which leads to even less spending; where an inability to lend and borrow stops growth and leads to even less credit.”

• “It is time to set a new course for this economy, and that change must begin now. We should have an open and honest discussion about this recovery plan in the days ahead, but I urge Congress to move as quickly as possible on behalf of the American people. For every day we wait or point fingers or drag our feet, more Americans will lose their jobs. More families will lose their savings. More dreams will be deferred and denied. And our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse.”

It’s ironic that President-Elect Obama is urging “Congress to move as quickly as possible on behalf of the American people” for several reasons. The first reason is that Obama, during the campaign for the Presidency, wanted nothing to do with the original bailout package hastily approved by Congress, and yet that ill-conceived bailout package was hurriedly passed with little or no oversight because of hyperbolic language such as “if we don’t act now it will be too late to save the economy”. The second reason is that, as a U.S. Senator, Obama was part of a Congress that is responsible for bringing us to this point to begin with–of course, he only served two years in the Senate while the rest of his term he spent campaigning for President. The third irony is that it’s the young people of this country that came out in masses in support of Obama’s candidacy, and ultimately it will be the young people of this country who supported him that will have to postpone their dreams while Obama and his team set the rules that will determine how this country can be extricated from this economic mess. And the fourth irony is that the economy is so deep in recession that none of the programs Obama campaigned on to win the Presidency can be implemented because any monies that would have been available for his programs will have to be diverted to stimulus packages to stop the economic downturn and to prevent a collapse into a far deeper recession.

What a mess. And yet, Obama is putting the onus on Congress to act. The same Congress that acted to facilitate sub-prime mortgages that precipitated this economic crisis in the first place, and the same Congress led by Barney Frank and others that have approved hundreds of billions of dollars in spending with virtually no conditions and no oversight, the same Congress that gave Treasury Secretary Paulsen complete discretion on how to spend $350 billion and who subsequently used these dollars in ways other than Congress intended. Excuse me, but it’s hard not to be skeptical when it comes to Congress acting to “save the economy.”

Assigning blame and pointing fingers at this point is irrelevant. What is important, however, is to be sure that whatever Obama’s plan entails, it’s based on sound economic principles and that enough time and care is taken before passing the plan, no matter how urgent the current economic situation is, to be as sure as possible that the course Obama and Congress lay out for this country is the best one to take. To that end, Inside Government urges every one to call his or her Representative and Senators, ask for a copy of the plan, ask for an explanation of what it entails, and make sure that it contains strong protections and proper accountability for every dollar intended to be spent.

This economic plan is too important for the future of the United States to let Congress handle it alone without the input of every American citizen, especially since Congress has demonstrated poor judgement in recent months when it comes to spending taxpayer dollars, and since the current leaders of Congress now have overseen and approved the decisions that have brought us to this dark place.

Do not delay. Call your representatives in Congress today. If we don’t hold Congress accountable now, each and every once of us, then indeed it may very well be too late.

Thanks for reading.

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1. U.S. v. Barack Obama: The slippery slopes of the Constitution
2. WSJ Reports Travel Industry Slams Obama for Limits on Business Travel
3. Nationwide Tea Party
4. Obama chooses his Chief of Staff
5. $1 Trillion in Perspective

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