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Excerpts from President OBama's economic speech January 08, 2009

" 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."

" Now, this recovery plan alone will not solve all the problems that led us into this crisis. We must also work with the same sense of urgency to stabilize and repair the financial system we all depend on. That means using our full arsenal of tools to get credit flowing again to families and business, while restoring confidence in our markets. It means launching a sweeping effort to address the foreclosure crisis so that we can keep responsible families in their homes. It means preventing the catastrophic failure of financial institutions whose collapse could endanger the entire economy, but only with maximum protections for taxpayers and a clear understanding that government support for any company is an extraordinary action that must come with significant restrictions on the firms that receive support. And it means reforming a weak and outdated regulatory system so that we can better withstand financial shocks and better protect consumers, investors and businesses from the reckless greed and risk- taking that must never endanger our prosperity again".

" It will not come easy or happen overnight, and it is altogether likely that things may get worse before they get better."

" We have already tried the wait-and-see approach to our problems, and it is the same approach that helped lead us to this day of reckoning."

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If anything, I think Obama may be guilty of thinking he could get Congress to move at a pace that's just slightly faster than a disabled slug. Very little of the stimulus money has actually been spent so far, and even those monies aren't creating jobs. The constant partisanship and infighting, coupled with the inherent greed in Congress is a large part of the problem recovery is experiencing. But, since Congress had a huge hand in getting us to this point, why should we expect them to go out of their way to get us out of this mess.

well said Thomas and while I am not an expert....I would venture that is the truth ...fire the lot...if only we could...I heard Obama say the other day in speech that he expects to be measured on what he does; I like that man

Do you believe that the election of BO somehow magically changed them from ignorant toads into wise and handsome princes ?
Dirck

An individual who has not eaten in a week and also has cancer gets hit by a car that causes them several injuries and is being treated by an intern, and a doctor who has recently been sued for malpractice. Which ailment should be treated first, and by which doctor?

The answer to the first question is, which ever one is immediately life threating. The answer to the second question is, at the time none of that is important.

Nearly three months after President Obama approved a $787 billion economic stimulus package, intended to create or save jobs, the federal government has paid out less than 6 percent of the money, largely in the form of social service payments to states.

Central New York's food pantries are getting an extra 850,000 pounds of applesauce, ham, chicken, eggs, peanut butter, canned green beans and more, courtesy of the federal government.

Stimulus spending so far in New York: More 'cushion' than hardhats view link

It appears it has become a CARE PACKAGE rather than a JOB PACKAGE!

Some States have claimed to have shovel ready jobs programs ( which is a prerequisite to getting the stimulus money ). My State ( Missouri ) has already began hiring construction workers for these jobs. And some states ( Red States ) have instituted stall tactics.

I do not know if this is related or not but on the street where I live they have been doing road work for two years....what a mess but the road work come to a halt..mess and all...nothing was done for almost a year...all of a sudden, not only are they working again but they appear to be almost finished...thank goodness.....I do not know if this is related to the stimulus money or not

Charles , like you , if I end up being wrong about this , I too will admit it .I have thought since day 1 that this was a horrible and ineffective plan and I still do .I have no personal ax to grind against BO , I do not like like him any more or any less than I do any other lying, incompetent politician . It is very much in my interest , just as it is for all of us , that his policies are right . It would make me very happy to be proven wrong and to see all of this waste of my money somehow fix our economy , unfortunately logic tells me that it is not going to happen .

You make a good point Charles, many repubs have stalled the money being put to use in their states. The president warned us that things would get worse before they got better, many projects are undewary, and yes more need to start quickly. Perhaps, it would be a good project to take a look at how these stimulus dollars are being spent within our own states and put some pressure on local leaders.

the economy will continue to struggle as long as the credit markets are sluggish. the credit markets will remain sluggish as long as the Government keep sucking up all available capitol. the strength of our economy is the outcome of millions of individuals making choices on how to spend and invest money..not be some central planner or an appointed (Czar)..woulda thought someone would have learned this by now. I have no ill will toward our President but I think his understanding of the place of government in the lives of people is just plain wrong.