I don’t need to remind you that when President-elect Barack Obama takes office, he will face what may well be the bleakest economic outlook since World War II. Over the past couple of years, we have stood by and watched as personal income has slowed to a crawl and then felt helpless and stressed these last few months because the economic forecasts have spiraled downward with ungainly speed. Today, many experts believe that unemployment could reach 10 percent by the end of next year and our economy could fall $1 trillion short of its full capacity. This translates into more than $12,000 in lost income for a family of four. This is on top of the money we have already lost in our investments and the value of our homes. But, this country will soon swear in a new president with a new plan providing us with a new hope. Read more »
Obama and his team had initially hoped after his election last month that they could remain largely detached from current events and plan behind the scenes for the new administration. But the demise of the economy, instability in the financial markets, the collapse of several big banks and the Big Three Automakers asking for assistance - combined with President Bushs’ lack of clout with Congress and the public - have heightened pressure on the president-elect to assert himself. Despite the fact that he has stated over and over again that we only have one president at a time, in the Democratic Party’s weekly radio address today, Obama, baited by Democrats who want a more aggressive Obama, began rolling out his plan for economic recovery. He has asked his economic team to develop an economy recovery plan that will help Wall Street and Main Street. His goals are to create 2-1/2 million jobs, rebuild our infrastructure, improve our schools, reduce our dependency on foreign oil and save billions of dollars. He did not say how much each idea would cost nor did he attach an overall price tag to the proposals. He said that he would fill in the details in the coming weeks. The Swamp speculated that his comments reflect the growing belief among his top advisers and Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill that the fast declining economy and the continued loss of jobs requires a massive spending program even if it means swelling the national debt. Read more »