Obama Says Recovery Act is Working

Contrary to the cries of gloom and doom from the same people who took eight (8) years to drive the economy into the ditch, President Obama reports that the first phase of the Recovery Act is actually working.

Transcript:

This week, we’ve made important progress toward the goal of bringing about change abroad and change at home. During my visit to Russia, we began the process of resetting relations so that we can address key national priorities like the threat of nuclear weapons and extremism. At the G8 summit, leaders from nearly thirty nations met to discuss how we will collectively confront the urgent challenges of our time, from managing the global recession to fighting global warming to addressing global hunger and poverty. And in Ghana, I laid out my agenda for supporting democracy and development in Africa and around the world.

But even as we make progress on these challenges abroad, my thoughts are on the state of our economy at home. And that’s what I want to talk to you about today.

We came into office facing the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression. At the time, we were losing, on average 700,000 jobs a month. And many feared that our financial system was on the verge of collapse.

As a result of the swift and aggressive action we took in the first few months of this year, we’ve been able to pull our financial system and our economy back from the brink. We took steps to re-start lending to families and businesses, stabilize our major financial institutions, and help homeowners stay in their homes and pay their mortgages. We also passed the largest and most sweeping economic recovery plan in our nation’s history.

The Recovery Act wasn’t designed to restore the economy to full health on its own, but to provide the boost necessary to stop the free fall. It was designed to spur demand and get people spending again and cushion those who had borne the brunt of the crisis. And it was designed to save jobs and create new ones.

In a little over one hundred days, this Recovery Act has worked as intended. It has already extended unemployment insurance and health insurance to those who have lost their jobs in this recession. It has delivered $43 billion in tax relief to American working ...

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Public Health Insurance Option Key to Obama Healthcare Plan

If Congress passes Obama's plan and Americans are given the choice of a public health insurance option similar to Medicare, we could all save up to 30% on our health care premiums. That's a huge savings, and we'd still get high-quality coverage and be able to choose our doctors.

And even if you choose to keep your current insurance, you'd save anyway. HMOs and big insurance companies are the only game in town right now—so they overcharge us to boost profits and pay out CEO bonuses. If Obama's plan passes, they'd have to compete with it, and their prices would have to be more honest.

Lower premiums for us means lower profits for them, so insurance companies are putting extreme pressure on Congress to drop the public health insurance option. But Americans deserve to have this choice—and it's necessary to help rein in out-of-control health care costs.

Imagine how different things would be if we all had quality health care that costs up to 30% less than what we're paying now. Would you use the money toward college for a child? A safe retirement? Or maybe you'll finally be able to afford the treatment or medicines you need.

The simple truth is that having the choice of a public health insurance option would make all of our lives better. Here's why:

Health care costs are spiraling out of control. From 2000 to 2008, health insurance premiums increased five times faster than wages.

A public health insurance option would provide an affordable, quality alternative. Two new studies show that Americans could save 25% or more off of a traditional private plan. The New York Times says this would "keep the private plans honest."They'll have to lower rates and offer better value to compete.

Plus, a public health insurance option would be reliable coverage for all.

Private insurers are notorious for dumping people with little notice. A public option would allow consumers who've been dropped—or just don't like their current coverage—to switch to a steady public choice.

Thankfully, the public health insurance option is gaining steam in Congress. The 77-member Progressive Caucus recently endorsed the policy. And the chairmen of five critical congressional committees came out in support. Now we need to get the rest of Washington on board. Click below to

Tell Congress how the choice would help you.

Sources:

1."The Path to a High Performance U.S. Health System," The Commonwealth Fund, February 19, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51221&id=15917-8972352-4hapTax&t=5

2. "Health Insurance Costs Outpace Wages," WebMD, October 23, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51311&id=15917-8972352-4hapTax&t=6

3."The Path to a High Performance U.S. Health System," The Commonwealth Fund, February 19, 2009
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51221&id=15917-8972352-4hapTax&t=7

"The Cost and Coverage Impacts of a Public Plan: Alternative Design Options," The Lewin Group, April 6, 2009
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51315&id=15917-8972352-4hapTax&t=8

4."A Public Plan for Health Insurance?" The New York Times, April 6, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/opinion/07tue1.html

5. "Obama Should Offer Public Health Insurance to All," The Progressive, March 13, 2009
http://www.progressive.org/mag/mpcastellblanch031309.html

6. "Progressive Caucus Draws a Line on Health Care," Open Left, April 2, 2009
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51313&id=15917-8972352-4hapTax&t=9

7. "Democrats Agree on a Health Plan: Now Comes the Hard Part," New York Times, March 31, 2009
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51314&id=15917-8972352-4hapTax&t=10

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Stimulus "Tea Party" Steeped in Deceit

Republican Tea Party Not Like the Original

As I scan through the right-wing blogs that enthusiastically are reporting that the very sparsely attended stimulus tea party somehow constituted a new counter-culture movement, I am laughing hysterically. One thing about your right wing is plainly evident, and this is that facts don't matter. One perfect example is their hysteria about Obama's birthplace. Never mind the fact that his mom was NEVER in Kenya, or that that they completely disregard this item.  When asked, "Does this mean Obama was born in Hawaii"?  "Yes," said Hawaii Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo, in both email and telephone interviews with the Tribune. "That's what Dr. Fukino is saying." Facts don't matter.  They simply disregard them and continue their rants.

Now we have a new rallying point -- a Tea Party.  What are the facts?  CNBC's Rick Santelli's call for a "tea party" in Chicago next summer was quickly picked up by a website called ChicagoTeaParty.com and spread from there to the Drudge Report. However, the ChicagoTeaParty.com domain is not new. It was registered last summer by the producer of a right-wing radio show in Chicago and, the writers allege, is one of several tied to the anti-tax group FreedomWorks, which is among the sponsors of the current protests.

FreedomWorks is the latest incarnation of an organization formerly known as Citizens for a Sound Economy, which was founded in 1984 "to anonymously leverage corporate contributions into debates on public policy." CSE had close ties to Koch Industries and became one of the major recipients of grant money from conservative foundations and major corporations such as Exxon, Philip Morris, and General Motors.

In 2003, CSE's affiliate, the Citizens for a Strong Economy Foundation, split off and renamed itself Americans for Prosperity. (That group is also a sponsor of the current protests.) CSE itself merged the following year with Empower America -- another fake grassroots group created by Republican Party insiders to promote conservative candidates -- and formed FreedomWorks.

Posters at Democratic Underground have found that a number of anti-bailout and anti-stimulus groups are hosted by the dedicated servers of Citizens for a Sound Economy. In addition to cse.org, empoweramerica.org, and freedomworks.com, those servers also host such domains as angryrenter.com (which was registered in March 2008 to oppose bailouts for mortgage holders), destimulus.com, earmarkpledge.com, nowallstreetbailout.com, and usteaparty.com.

Nice spontaneous "tea party".  

source:  RAW STORY

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Ten Important Facts About Obama's Budget

The Buck FINALLY Stops Here

As Barack Obama lays out his plans in accordance with the promises he made during his campaign, the usual Republican spin and negative reactions are filling the airwaves. From Rush Limbaugh to Karl Rove to their latest token hero, Bobby Jindal, the reaction is predictable and expected. The Republicans stole a huge surplus and spent their way to obscurity, destroying our economy in the process. Now they expect us to listen to them? Not a chance.

Here are the ten facts about Obama's plan that America must know so the next time they hear a Republican lie they'll know it.

The plan:

1) Makes a $634 billion down payment on fixing health care that will go a long way toward paying for a more efficient, more affordable health care system that covers every single American.

2) Reduces taxes for 95% of working Americans. And if your family makes less than $250,000, your taxes won't go up one dime.

3) Invests more than $100 billion in clean energy technology, creating millions of green jobs that can never be outsourced.

4) Brings our troops home from Iraq on a firm timetable, finally bringing the war to a close—and freeing up almost ten billion dollars a month for domestic priorities.

5) Reverses growing income inequality. The plan lets the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans expire and focuses on strengthening the middle class.

6) Closes multi-billion-dollar tax loopholes for big oil companies.

7) Increases grants to help families pay for college—the largest increase ever.

8) Halves the deficit by 2013. President Obama inherited a legacy of huge deficits and an economy in shambles, but his plan brings the deficit under control as soon as the economy begins to recover.

9) Dramatically increases funding for the SEC and the CFTC—the agencies that police Wall Street.

10) Tells it straight. For years, budgets have used accounting tricks to hide the real costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush tax cuts, and too many other programs. Obama's budget gets rid of the smokescreens and lays out what America's priorities are, what they cost, and how we're going to pay for them.

This is the change we voted for. President Obama has done his part, now we need to do ours.
















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Obama's Weekly Address: 2/7/09

Transcript:

"Yesterday began with some devastating news with regard to our economic crisis. But I'm pleased to say it ended on a more positive note.

In the morning, we received yet another round of alarming employment figures – the worst in more than 30 years. Another 600,000 jobs were lost in January. We've now lost more than 3.6 million jobs since this recession began.

But by the evening, Democrats and Republicans came together in the Senate and responded appropriately to the urgency this moment demands.

In the midst of our greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, the American people were hoping that Congress would begin to confront the great challenges we face. That was, after all, what last November's election was all about.

Legislation of such magnitude deserves the scrutiny that it's received over the last month, and it will receive more in the days to come. But we can't afford to make perfect the enemy of the absolutely necessary. The scale and scope of this plan is right. And the time for action is now.

Because if we don't move swiftly to put this plan in motion, our economic crisis could become a national catastrophe. Millions of Americans will lose their jobs, their homes, and their health care. Millions more will have to put their dreams on hold.

Let's be clear: We can't expect relief from the tired old theories that, in eight short years, doubled the national debt, threw our economy into a tailspin, and led us into this mess in the first place. We can't rely on a losing formula that offers only tax cuts as the answer to all our problems while ignoring our fundamental economic challenges – the crushing cost of health care or the inadequate state of so many schools; our addiction to foreign oil or our crumbling roads, bridges, and levees.

The American people know that our challenges are great. They don't expect Democratic solutions or Republican solutions – they expect American solutions.

From the beginning, this recovery plan has had at its core a simple idea: Let's put Americans to work doing the work America needs done. It will save or create more than 3 million jobs over the next two years, all across the country – 16,000 in Maine, nearly 80,000 in Indiana – almost all of them in the private sector, and all of them jobs that help us recover today, and prosper tomorrow.

Jobs that upgrade classrooms and laboratories in 10,000 schools nationwide – at least 485 in Florida alone – and train an army of teachers in math and science.

Jobs that modernize our health care system, not only saving us billions of dollars, but countless lives.

Jobs that construct a smart electric grid, connect every corner of the country to the information superhighway, double our capacity to generate renewable energy, and grow the economy of tomorrow.

Jobs that rebuild our crumbling roads, bridges and levees and dams, so that the tragedies of New Orleans and Minneapolis never happen again.

It includes immediate tax relief for our struggling middle class in places like Ohio, where 4.5 million workers will receive a tax cut of up to $1,000. It protects health insurance and provides unemployment insurance for those who've lost their jobs. And it helps our states and communities avoid painful tax hikes or layoffs for our teachers, nurses, and first responders.

That's what is at stake with this plan: putting Americans back to work, creating transformative economic change, and making a down payment on the American Dream that serves our children and our children's children for generations to come.

Americans across this country are struggling, and they are watching to see if we're equal to the task before us. Let's show them that we are. And let's do whatever it takes to keep the promise of America alive in our time.

Thank you."

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Obama Takes off the Gloves -- Fights Back

Last night in Williamsburg, Va., President Obama delivered a fiery message to make the case for his economic stimulus package and to say to Americans that Republican opponents are embracing a "losing formula" -- that only tax cuts will work. That strategy failed miserably for the Bush administration and Republicans are clinging to it like sailors to a sinking ship.

"If you're headed for a cliff, you've got to change direction," Obama said. Republicans didn't get it then, they don't get it now.

This comes at the same time that a new government watchdog study says The Bush administration overpaid tens of billions of dollars for stocks and other assets in its massive bailout last year of Wall Street banks and financial institutions. The Congressional Oversight Panel, in a report released today, said last year's overpayments amounted to a taxpayer-financed US$78 billion subsidy of the firms.



















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Obama Smarter and Tougher than Republican Foes

Obama Speaks, Boehner Listens

As Barack Obama made a supreme extra effort to bring Republicans into the fold for a true bi-partisan plan to plug the dike in this failing economy, the Republicans, under the "leadership" of the Emperor of Evil, John Boehner, and Rush "Oxycontin" Limbaugh, have accused the President of loading his Stimulus Package with programs that will remain for years and guarantee a Democratic majority for the future. They also accuse him of making subtle but huge policy changes, and say he is redistributing money to the poor. Well, it's about time someone did.

What did Obama really do? He simply formulated a plan to slowly dig us out of this mess the Republicans created and presented it to them. His intent was not to create further division, but to work together for the good of the American people. The only goal of the Republican Party is to play politics, protect corporate and wealthy interests, and to embarrass Obama. NOT ONE REPUBLICAN STOOGE VOTED FOR THE STIMULUS PLAN! NOT ONE! They played right into his hands.

So, Obama has tripled the Education budget, made significant changes to the tax code, and expanded unemployment insurance in only his first week in office. His commitment to change is real and making a lot of Repugs very uncomfortable. Obama's brilliant strategy of attempting to bring them into the fold has demonstrated to the media and the people that he means what he says. The NO VOTE comedy has resulted in the media praising Obama's bi-partisanship and the people scorning the non-cooperation of the Republicans. Boehner and Limburger have never looked worse.

Obama will now move forward with his agenda, knowing that he has the support of the people and the media, and that he has successfully demonstrated that the Democrats must go it alone to restore America's place in the world. He has completely outsmarted the Republican suits and now will move on with his agenda, having demonstrated that CHANGE is not a word, but a movement that has left the Republican Party in ashes. It couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of reprobates.

Brillliant, Mr. President.

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