Read a Pacific Northwest, liberal perspective on world, national, and local politics. From majestic Redmond, Washington - the Northwest Progressive Institute Advocate.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Swift action needed on recovery plan, President Obama says

In the first weekly address of his presidency, President Obama urged support for the stimulus package he's asking Congress to approve. Inaction, Obama explained, will lead to continued deteoriation of our economic security.
In short, if we do not act boldly and swiftly, a bad situation could become dramatically worse.
7.2% unemployment is bad, but 25% (what we saw in the Great Depression) is worse. The stimulus package will help cushion our slide, even if it doesn't produce a recovery all by itself.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan will be the largest transportation public works since the National Highway Act in the 1950's. The biggest investment of our common wealth domestically to revitalize the economy since the New Deal.
It’s a plan that will save or create three to four million jobs over the next few years, and one that recognizes both the paradox and the promise of this moment - the fact that there are millions of Americans trying to find work even as, all around the country, there’s so much work to be done.
For the past sixty years, the infrastructure created during and since the New Deal has served as a foundation for economic growth.

When you turn on a light in Washington State, odds are the power for that light was created by hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River.

When you drive across I-90 to go to Eastern Washington, you use a road that was built as part of an extensive interstate highway system.

Currently, our nation is relying upon outdated and crumbling infrastructure which needs to be replaced. By investing in our communities, we'll save billions by becoming more prepared for emergencies and averting catastrophes like the Minneapolis bridge collapse of July 2007.
We’ll save taxpayers $2 billion a year by making 75% of federal buildings more energy efficient, and save the average working family $350 on their energy bills by weatherizing 2.5 million homes.
The plan doesn't just encompass public works, either:
To ensure our children can compete and succeed in this new economy, we’ll renovate and modernize 10,000 schools, building state-of-the-art classrooms, libraries, and labs to improve learning for over five million students. We’ll invest more in Pell Grants to make college affordable for seven million more students, provide a $2,500 college tax credit to four million students, and triple the number of fellowships in science to help spur the next generation of innovation.
Projects that benefit over five million students. Think of that!

We will not be the last Americans to walk this Earth. To make sure that our posterity - our children, their children, and our great-grandchildren - are adequately prepared for a future as Americans we must invest now. That is exactly what President Barack Obama promises to do.

And when money is spent, it'll be spent transparently:
I know that some are skeptical about the size and scale of this recovery plan. I understand that skepticism, which is why this recovery plan must and will include unprecedented measures that will allow the American people to hold my Administration accountable for these results. We won’t just throw money at our problems - we’ll invest in what works. Instead of politicians doling out money behind a veil of secrecy, decisions about where we invest will be made public, and informed by independent experts whenever possible. We’ll launch an unprecedented effort to root out waste, inefficiency, and unnecessary spending in our government, and every American will be able to see how and where we spend taxpayer dollars by going to a new website called recovery.gov.
After eight years of a regime that squandered our common wealth, we finally have an administration that is going to put our shared resources to good use creating jobs. America, this is our time to change our neighborhoods, change our state, change our nation, and change the world.

Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home