President Barack Obama signed the landmark economic stimulus bill. But is the groundwork being laid for a second one? Obama’s spokesman Robert Gibbs wouldn’t rule out a Stimulus The Sequel.
Here are Obama’s comments in Denver today. A realist? Or a politician starting to cover his bases (or something else of his)? We embed. You decide:
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Meanwhile, Wall Street doesn’t seem hugely reassured:
Stocks tumbled Tuesday on fears that the government’s efforts to slow the recession won’t be enough – even as President Obama signed the $787 billion economic stimulus bill into law.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) fell 297 points, or about 3.8% according to early tallies, ending just above the bear market closing low of Nov. 20, 2008.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 (SPX) index lost 37 points, or about 4.6% and also touched its lowest point since Nov. 21st. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) lost 63 points, or about 4.1%. The Nasdaq has performed better than the rest of the market and has held above its bear-market lows.
President Obama signed into law the $787 billion stimulus bill Tuesday afternoon. Both chambers of Congress approved the bill last week, largely along party lines. The stimulus package includes at least $290 billion in tax provisions, as well as billions in aid and spending.
On Wednesday, the president is expected to announce a plan to modify home loans – a move seen as critical to stemming foreclosures and helping to limit the pace of the housing slowdown.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.