 Barack Obama holds his first news conference as president-elect
Completing his total immolation of the U.S. economy, George W. Bush prepares to leave office, and to leave behind for his successor, the following list of economic challenges:
An undeclared, but very real, recession.
Unemployment at a 14-year high of 6.5 percent and layoffs everywhere you turn. (1.2 million jobs lost so far this year...)
An automobile industry in nuclear meltdown, with General Motors, once America's largest employer, bleeding cash and preparing for more layoffs (although Michigan's governor, Jennifer Granholm, declared herself heartened after meeting with Pres. Elect Obama today.)
A GDP that's rapidly contracting.
A dismal dollar and financial markets mired in bearishness.
So, what to do?
Obama addressed that very subject in his first press conference, as president-elect today:
"We are facing the greatest economic challenge of our lifetime and we're going to have to act swiftly to resolve it," Obama said, as his team of economic advisers, who include top businessmen and well-regarded former government officials, stood in a line behind him.
Obama was speaking after two days in which Wall Street has plunged around 10 percent. The market, which has fallen because of negative economic news and poor corporate results, recovered a bit on Friday and finished the day nearly 3 percent higher.
The brief news conference in Chicago followed a meeting with his 17-member transition economic advisory board on how to tackle the worst economic crisis confronting the United States since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
The economic advisory board includes former Treasury secretaries Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers, former Labor secretary Robert Reich, former chair of the National Economy Council Laura Tyson, former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker and billionaire investor Warren Buffett.
SECOND STIMULUS SOON
Obama said he wanted the Democrat-controlled U.S. Congress to pass a second stimulus package as soon as possible to stabilize the economy, which analysts say may be in deep recession by the time he is inaugurated on January 20.
"We are going to need to see a stimulus package passed either before or after the inauguration. I want to see a stimulus package sooner rather than later."
Obama is getting high marks for the confidence and quickness of his response so far. Let's see how things develop.Labels: President Barack Obama, the Bush recession, the economy |
