Barack Obama On The Economy
By ThePresidentialCandidates.US on Sep 17, 2008 in Barack Obama
“In the past few weeks, Wall Street’s been rocked as banks closed and markets tumbled. But for many of you – the people I’ve met in town halls, backyards and diners across America – our troubled economy isn’t news. 600,000 Americans have lost their jobs since January. Paychecks are flat and home values are falling. It’s hard to pay for gas and groceries and if you put it on a credit card they’ve probably raised your rates. You’re paying more than ever for health insurance that covers less and less.
“This isn’t just a string of bad luck. The truth is that while you’ve been living up to your responsibilities Washington has not. That’s why we need change. Real change. This is no ordinary time and it shouldn’t be an ordinary election. But much of this campaign has been consumed by petty attacks and distractions that have nothing to do with you or how we get America back on track.
“Here’s what I believe we need to do. Reform our tax system to give a $1,000 tax break to the middle class instead of showering more on oil companies and corporations that outsource our jobs. End the ‘anything goes’ culture on Wall Street with real regulation that protects your investments and pensions. Fast track a plan for energy ‘made-in-America’ that will free us from our dependence on mid-east oil in 10 years and put millions of Americans to work. Crack down on lobbyists – once and for all — so their back-room deal-making no longer drowns out the voices of the middle class and undermines our common interests as Americans.
“And yes, bring a responsible end to this war in Iraq so we stop spending billions each month rebuilding their country when we should be rebuilding ours. Doing these things won’t be easy. But we’re Americans. We’ve met tough challenges before. And we can again. I’m Barack Obama. I hope you’ll read my economic plan. I approved this message because bitter, partisan fights and outworn ideas of the left and the right won’t solve the problems we face today. But a new spirit of unity and shared responsibility will.”
For those too young to know or remember. Change for the sake of change is seldom for the better. 1975-76 the U.S. was in turmoil, and people were demanding change. An obscure young man with good credentials(exceptional credentials compared to the aspirants today) championed the cause.1975 Carter sensed that the mood of the country was anti-Washington and that people were interested in a candidate offering change.On assuming office in 1977, President Carter inherited an economy that was slowly emerging from a recession. He had severely criticized former President Ford for his failures to control inflation and relieve unemployment, but after four years of the Carter presidency, both inflation and unemployment were considerably worse than at the time of his inauguration. The annual inflation rate rose from 4.8% in 1976 to 6.8% in 1977, 9% in 1978, 11% in 1979, and hovered around 12% at the time of the 1980 election campaign. Although Carter had pledged to eliminate federal deficits, the deficit for the fiscal year 1979 totaled $27.7 billion, and that for 1980 was nearly $59 billion. With approximately 8 million people out of work, the unemployment rate had leveled off to a nationwide average of about 7.7% by the time of the election campaign, but it was considerably higher in some industrial states.
Carter also faced a drastic erosion of the value of the U.S. dollar in the international money markets, and many analysts blamed the decline on a large and persistent trade deficit, much of it a result of U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
In July 1980, Carter received a favorable rating of only 21% in the Gallup Poll. That was the lowest rating any president, including Richard Nixon at the time of his resignation, had received since polling began in 1936.
When Jimmy Carter left the White House in 1981 and handed the presidency over to Ronald Reagan, he was widely viewed as a failure. Carter, and the nation, had been humiliated by the long ordeal of the Iranian hostage crisis, as well as the botched rescue attempt that left Americans dead in the desert. The Soviets had brazenly invaded Afghanistan, and Carter’s response (including boycotting the 1980 Moscow Olympics) was seen as ineffectual. Carter’s tenure also witnessed an energy crisis, soaring inflation(11-12 percent), and skyrocketing interest rates(21.5 percent). The smiling, confident, fresh-faced Carter of 1976 seemed long gone, replaced by a growing national malaise.
This not to mention the devastated military preparedness and income tax rates. Do we need to re-live this in 2008-2012?
Sean Michael | Sep 20, 2008 | Reply
Sean Michael the right is desperate to compare Obama to Carter, I realize. But it’s quite a stretch to compare Obama to a President from 32 years ago when McCain is exactly the same as our CURRENT failure of President: George W. Bush.
admin | Sep 20, 2008 | Reply