The bailout on Wall Street did not produce any results. AIG blew a chunk of its bailout money on a company vacation and spa retreat. The banks won't tell us how they used their bailout money. The "let the market handle the market approach" blew up in our faces and dug us a deep hole. The approach taken by the administration in the past 8 years took an almost naive approach to the economy.
More bailouts are not the solution. Throwing money and saying "Let it handle itself," is not the answer that the USA needs. Focusing on job creation is the answer we need. The plan needs to include measures to invest in infrastructure and energy technology. A major portion of his plan should address the lack of manufacturing jobs in the country. America has little to no manufacturing presence in the global market. How can we be expected to compete in the global market if we do not produce goods? Manufacturing provides stable job growth, and will also help reduce our trade deficit with other nations.
The main thing that the new President needs to address is long-term investment in things that will provide continuous and stable growth. A "quick fix" won't be effective in alleviating the blight on the economy.
To get the Republicans on board, Obama has added $150 billion in tax cuts. Tax cuts are pushed forward by those who believe that cutting taxes will cut spending. What happens when the government has to spend? Creating programs and putting forth new investments in building the nation aren’t free. Where's that money going to come from? Government ends up borrowing that money, further adding to the nation's debt. Conservatives still believe that government spending is the reason why the debt and the nation's money are being mismanaged. It's not simply spending- it's the fact that the money has been mismanaged in the past 8 years. Old inefficient ideas and piss-poor money managing skills are the reasons why some believe that government spending is the problem.
The warning here is that the President should not worry about doing too much, but his concern should be that his plan will do too little. The truth is that you need money to make money. Tax cuts and pandering to Republicans will get nothing done, and will further dig the American people further into the ground. The spending has to be there. The solution will be costly, and will definitely add to the debt, however, smart investments, hawk-like monitoring and set goals will no doubt get us out of the recession and on our way to becoming an economic powerhouse.
The solution to our economic woes is not frugality. The answer is to be smart and spend wisely. Do not let things ferment and rot like the past 8 years have done, throwing money at problems and not asking for accountability. That can only bring on more hardship.
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