Don't forget to read my take at the end of this post...
Despite Standard & Poor's downgrading the United State's credit standing from Triple-A to AA+, President Obama said this morning, during a press address, that we did not need some credit agency to tell us that we need to resolve our deficit problems; and the United States always has been and always will be a triple-A country.
In speaking on the downgrade during the address, President Obama said that even the markets still believe the United States is a triple-A country and that Warren Buffet, an authority on investments, said he would have given the US a quadruple rating had such a rating existed. Adding to this, the President said that he and most of the world's investors agree with Buffet.
Despite the S&P downgrade; however, the President said the agency did not lower our rating because they doubted our ability to pay our debt when we make good decisions; but rather, they reduced our standing because "they doubted our political system's ability to act" as a result of the ruckus occurring in Congress during the month-long debt debate. President Obama referred to the prolonged debate as "a month of wrangling".
Despite the downgrade, however, President Obama said we did not need a credit agency to tell us that "we need a balanced long-term approach to deficit reduction"- that we knew this the day he took office. Likewise, went on the President, "we didn't need an agency to tell us that the gridlock in Washington, over the last several months, has not been constructive". President Obama stated that we knew that a long-term debate, in which the debt ceiling was used as a bargaining chip, could damage the U.S. economy as well as the world's economy; and that "that threat" ultimately caused the lowering of our credit rating.
President Obama went on to say that problems in the U.S. are imminently solvable and that we know what is necessary to solve them. Then the President laid out steps that would lead to solving our debt and deficit problems.
As far as debt goes, the President said the markets continue to reaffirm credit in the U.S. as among the world's safest, adding that our challenge is to tackle our deficits over the long-term. In order to reduce our deficits, the President said that we need to combine two additional steps that will work in conjunction with the historic cuts made in the debt ceiling agreement. These additional steps would involve tax reform that would ask those who can afford it to pay their fair share and modest adjustments to health care programs like Medicare. The President added that making these steps requires common sense and compromise as opposed to taking radical steps.
The President mentioned different ways in which our legislators can achieve deficit reduction and went on to offer examples such as his bipartisan fiscal commission coming up with good proposals, the gang of six proposals, as well as the good proposals he and Speaker Boehner arrived at when they came close to achieving a "grand bargain".
Plans and policies are not the problem with fixing the deficit, but rather, a lack of political will - "the insistence on drawing lines in the sand - a refusal to put what's best for the country ahead of self interest, or party, or ideology", said the President.
In touching on skepticism over the "Super Committee", which he referred to as a "joint committee", and its ability to come to a compromise on the second step of the deficit reduction plan that was included in the debt ceiling compromise, President Obama said that agreements should not be hard to reach and that all needed is a change in ideology. The President added that he will be presenting recommendations to the committee on how to
proceed and that he will stay on the case until the job is done. The President also said that his hope is that Friday's news regarding the country's downgrade will give legislators a renewed since of urgency.
The President also talked about the most immediate concern on American minds - jobs; and said that by coming together to deal with long-term debt we will be better able to deal with the jobs problem. Adding to this, the President said we should extend the payroll tax cuts as soon as possible in order for workers to have more money to spend next year so that business will have more customers to purchase their goods next year. The President also said that those looking for jobs should be able to receive unemployment benefits to which their tax dollars contributed while they were working. The President added that a failure of Congress to extend payroll taxes and unemployment benefits could result in one million fewer jobs as well as a loss of one-half-a-percent in economic growth. The President added that we can do these things immediately - as soon as Congress returns from their month-long recess.
President Obama said that we can also spur economic growth by helping companies to repair our roads, bridges, and airports so that construction workers can get back to work. The President said that the ideas he is putting forth are not Democratic nor are they big Government but rather they are the same types of proposals Republicans have agreed to countless times in the past.
The President said there will always be economic factors such as earth quakes, oil price spikes, and slowed economies in other parts of the world, but that it would always be the decision of the United States as to how we respond to those tests.
After stating that no matter what some agency may say, that we have always been and will always be a triple-A country, he went on to emphasize our good points such as having the best universities in the world, the most productive workers, innovative companies, and the adventurous entrepreneurs.
Prior to moving on to talk about the loss of 30 military lives over the weekend, the President said that what sets the United States apart from other countries is that in addition to capacity, we have always had "the will" to act and a determination to shape our future. The President added that we have also had the ability to work out our differences sensibly.
My Take: I truly appreciate President Obama's cool, calm, and collective outlook and attitude. Perhaps I understand him because I am rather a cool character myself. With that said, however, being cool and being a pushover are two completely different things; and I still say that President Obama should have used the 14th Amendment to increase our debt ceiling and then proceeded to let the chips fall where they may.
I mean... Look... What has he accomplished by not using the 14th Amendment?
1) He allowed the Tea Party to give Standard & Poor's reason to decrease our country's credit rating; and the other two credit agencies are contemplating lowering our standing as well... and... of course... the Republicans are going to blame the whole thing on the President. Since the GOP is going to blame him anyway, he might as well have simply DONE THE RIGHT THING! The fact is that by taking away his Executive Authority to utilize the 14th Amendment, the President offered his losing demands to the right wing radicals on a silver platter. He signed, sealed, and delivered the fate that he would not get what he needed most from the deal that never should have been debated in the first place. Debts and deficits should be discussed separately!
2) At the same time, the President has succeeded in helping the Tea Party to succeed in accomplishing their goal of reducing the country's spending ability. We DO NOT need to decrease our spending ability because this means taking money out of our fragile disabled economy! Thus, as we cut spending we increase our chances of further damaging an unstable environment.
3) The President DID NOT get anything from the Republican Party ---AGAIN! Sure there is the commission that will be set up that MAY produce some tax cuts for the wealthy... but this remains to be seen and considering the Republican Party's insistence that the rich do not need to pay higher taxes, I believe it is highly unlikely that any sufficient tax revenues will come from this committee's agreements.
During his address, the President spoke in diplomatic undertones in which he used psychology to cater to the GOP's sense of duty and responsibility. The problem is... the bulk of the Republican Congress does not possess the type of dutiful sense the President is trying to penetrate. YOU CAN'T SQUEEZE BLOOD FROM A STONE!
What does this all mean? We need President Obama to speak more directly to the Republican Party and to eliminate his diplomatic undertones. Call a dog a dog not a four-legged creature with the ability to find a child lost in the woods. Trainers do not tell dogs they know they can locate a child and suggest it would be nice if they did so. They sternly tell the dogs to GO FETCH!
Oh... and one more thing... Extending payroll tax credits as well as lengthening the period in which displaced workers can receive unemployment insurance benefits would obviously help to put money back into the economy faster than allowing these benefits to run out; however, the President referred to these extensions in the context of benefiting the country next year.... This statement certainly warranted, at least, a tad of embellishment since we need to increase our economic growth RIGHT NOW!
Is President Obama too nice?
1) He allowed the Tea Party to give Standard & Poor's reason to decrease our country's credit rating; and the other two credit agencies are contemplating lowering our standing as well... and... of course... the Republicans are going to blame the whole thing on the President. Since the GOP is going to blame him anyway, he might as well have simply DONE THE RIGHT THING! The fact is that by taking away his Executive Authority to utilize the 14th Amendment, the President offered his losing demands to the right wing radicals on a silver platter. He signed, sealed, and delivered the fate that he would not get what he needed most from the deal that never should have been debated in the first place. Debts and deficits should be discussed separately!
2) At the same time, the President has succeeded in helping the Tea Party to succeed in accomplishing their goal of reducing the country's spending ability. We DO NOT need to decrease our spending ability because this means taking money out of our fragile disabled economy! Thus, as we cut spending we increase our chances of further damaging an unstable environment.
3) The President DID NOT get anything from the Republican Party ---AGAIN! Sure there is the commission that will be set up that MAY produce some tax cuts for the wealthy... but this remains to be seen and considering the Republican Party's insistence that the rich do not need to pay higher taxes, I believe it is highly unlikely that any sufficient tax revenues will come from this committee's agreements.
During his address, the President spoke in diplomatic undertones in which he used psychology to cater to the GOP's sense of duty and responsibility. The problem is... the bulk of the Republican Congress does not possess the type of dutiful sense the President is trying to penetrate. YOU CAN'T SQUEEZE BLOOD FROM A STONE!
What does this all mean? We need President Obama to speak more directly to the Republican Party and to eliminate his diplomatic undertones. Call a dog a dog not a four-legged creature with the ability to find a child lost in the woods. Trainers do not tell dogs they know they can locate a child and suggest it would be nice if they did so. They sternly tell the dogs to GO FETCH!
Oh... and one more thing... Extending payroll tax credits as well as lengthening the period in which displaced workers can receive unemployment insurance benefits would obviously help to put money back into the economy faster than allowing these benefits to run out; however, the President referred to these extensions in the context of benefiting the country next year.... This statement certainly warranted, at least, a tad of embellishment since we need to increase our economic growth RIGHT NOW!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Insightful, respectful comments appreciated :}