Obama’s wonder package…
Here is an interesting read from the NY Times today about Obama’s proposed stimulous plan… http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/us/politics/11radio.html
Some quotes from it:
President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday again raised the estimate of how many jobs would result from his economic recovery plan, now saying it would create or save three million to four million, nearly 90 percent in the private sector, by the end of 2010.
Mr. Obama’s address was his latest effort to sell a $775 billion proposal to Congress, where leaders have pledged to adopt a stimulus bill by mid-February, and to Americans stung by the recession.
“The jobs we create will be in businesses large and small across a wide range of industries,” Mr. Obama said. “And they’ll be the kind of jobs that don’t just put people to work in the short term, but position our economy to lead the world in the long-term.”
As most of my friends know I was an Obama supporter in the election for a slew of reasons. I am really looking forward to seeing President Obama’s plan in action particularly with its commitment to green jobs.
This said these are some bold predicitions. If his calculations are correct that sure would be a hell of an impact from a stimulous plan. I do wonder if it’s political rhetoric. Unfortunately sure sounds like it…
January 10th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
The job-creation numbers are impressive, but I hope the other details of the plan don’t get ignored because of they don’t make great headlines. I think we need the stimulus plan, and it needs to be very large, but Congress needs to make sure that it continues providing benefits in the long term, not just a shot in the arm for the short term.
The infrastructure spending will help keep the economy growing in the long term, but it would also be helpful if Congress could find a way to encourage businesses to invest in infrastructure as well. Possibly they could do this by making sure there are fewer unnecessary regulations that dissuade businesses from making those investments. There seem to be many businesses that have money to invest, but not as many that are actively investing in any forward-thinking enterprise. Hopefully Congress can find ways to get that money flowing.
The tax cuts on businesses would certainly be helpful, especially on small businesses or businesses in sectors where there is potential for significant job creation. We need the businesses like that to be able to resume their traditional role as the engine of our economy. The government can certainly assist the process getting started, but businesses will actually provide the growth.
I think the aid to the state governments is also needed, because the programs that the state governments support are needed for sustained growth. For instance, the state governments support schools and public workforce training programs. It is important to make sure both of those programs survive to make sure we are able to provide workers for whichever sectors of the economy are providing the jobs.
I recently saw that the Friends of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is working with Congress to make sure that they take these things into account when they are designing the stimulus package. They have a petition that I encourage everyone to sign to make sure Congress knows that we want the economy fixed – but we want it fixed for the long-term – http://www.friendsoftheuschamber.com/takeaction/index.cfm?ID=76