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REWRITE!
We can only hope Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke revised his speech Tuesday claiming the economy is showing “tentative signs” of improvement. At least President Obama in a major speech on the economy later in the day wasn’t caught with his pants on fire. More on that later.
In remarks prepared for students and faculty at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Bernanke mentioned improvements in recent data on home and auto sales, home building and consumer spending as flickering signs of encouragement.
In the newspaper business, an editor at this time would bark “Rewrite.”
It seems the Commerce and Labor departments scooped the fed chairman who should have known the reports were forthcoming.
Commerce reported a 1.1% retail sales drop in March with auto sales leading the slump.
The Labor Department followed with a report saying wholesale prices plunged 1.2% in March led by a 13.1% drop in the price of gasoline.
Bernanke did warn that any hope for a lasting recovery depends on the government’s success in stabilizing the financial markets and getting credit to flow more freely. That’s a familiar tune the Obama administration has played over and over.
The key economic indicators announced by Commerce and Labor were greeted with predictable thumbs down from the stock market. Stocks on the Dow Jones Industrial Averages dropped 85 points in early morning trading.
There’s more gloomy news. In a separate report, Commerce said business inventories fell 1.3%, the sixth straight month that’s occurred.
The overall economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, fell at an annual rate of 6.3 percent in the final quarter of last year, the biggest slide in a quarter-century led by the largest drop in consumer spending in 28 years.
The White House released an advanced text of Obama’s speech at Georgetown University in which he said “times are still tough” and warned that a culture of “instant gratification” had produced neglect of major national problems that wound up undermining the economy.
He chastised former President George Bush and the past and current Congress for failing to address the economic problems. He contended that the nation’s “day of reckoning” on the economy was caused partly by “a fundamental weakness in our political system.”
At least neither Bernanke nor Obama said what we’ve heard before — that the fundamentals of the economy are strong.
Here’s one excerpt from Obama’s prepared text:
I want every American to know that each action we take and each policy we pursue is driven by a larger vision of America’s future — a future where sustained economic growth creates good jobs and rising incomes; a future where prosperity is fueled not by excessive debt, reckless speculation and fleeing profit but is instead built by skilled, productive workers; by sound investments that will spread opportunity at home and allow this nation to lead the world in the technologies, innovations and discoveries that will shape the 21st century. That is the America I see.
Mr. President, we see that too. But the time has come to stop blaming the previous administration and the previous congress for all the ills passed on to your administration. We get that. The time has come to stop the talk and walk the walk.
Cross posted on The Remmers Report
9 Responses to “REWRITE!”
“…stabilizing the financial markets and getting credit to flow more freely. That’s a familiar tune the Obama administration has played over and over.”
And so did the Bush administration.
“predictable thumbs down from the stock markets”
So what? It was down yesterday too. And way up Friday, etc.
“The overall economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, fell at an annual rate of 6.3 percent in the final quarter of last year, the biggest slide in a quarter-century led by the largest drop in consumer spending in 28 years.”
And this is the biggest conundrum of them all. GDP is a measure of how fast we take resources, make something out of them and throw them away. We want the economy to be strong, but let's face it. We need to develop a less consumption-driven lifestyle if we are to have a sustainable culture. How exactly do we do that? The biggest solution I can see is what Obama has promoted, a green economy. On that front the news is very good. For example, all sectors of home building are down EXCEPT green building, which is way up.
And kudos to Obama for the fact that he IS walking the talk. He is doing exactly that in terms of opening up opportunities for the work ahead.
And he is not wrong to continue to point out that he inherited these problems, ESPECIALLY when the other side continues to imply they are HIS creation. Obama is a master at winning the publicity war, and I am glad he is not sucumbing to “moving on” while the Fox contingent tries to lay our troubles at his feet. That side is not giving up and Obama needs to keep reminding America how we got here, lest we go back there.
“At least President Obama in a major speech on the economy later in the day wasn’t caught with his pants on fire.”
Your bias is showing! Obama earned his BA credentials. “Glimmers of hope” (hyped by the media subsequently) = Britches Ablaze
When Roubini softens his stance (he may be the last well-known person to do it, admittedly), then we can be relieved.
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“Obama is a master at winning the publicity war”
To those who easily buy that stuff, perhaps; P.T. Barnum had such people identified long ago. The rest of us aren't fooled by feel-good stuff or, ahem, unrealistic visions of “green jobs” or any other miracles that Washington can somehow now, suddenly, produce for us. (We still await them; they haven't happened yet.) I doubt Washington (it is not limited to Obama and any personality cult, or at least should not be) knows truly what “needs to be done” and is experimenting. It can be argued that doing something is better than nothing provided the intention is to ameliorate our current economic state of affairs (the more ambitious goals the Left has wanted for nearly a decade or more constitute something else altogether, and rightly belong nowhere in the current picture, if for real, ever) and hopefully Washington won't accomplish a lot of harm in addition to bloating our debt and even making commonplace a world view that dwarfs the excesses of the post-1980 Republicans and their reputation (which is what appears to be “in progress” currently).
Just don't be surprised (for nobody should be) when people reject high-speed rail for air travel coast-to-coast (our nation and continent restrict high-speed rail to a regional or intra-mega-state scope) or when more “green jobs” (including the building of those beloved wind turbine towers and blades) materialize in Mexico or China (as a number of them have already) while we continue to build coal and gas-fired power plants that won't be possible to avoid. Otherwise, with what makes sense, good luck, for we could use it currently.
A good post, well thought out.
I am hopeful about the economy though I do have issues with Obama taking much credit for the good (such as it is) at this point. As I've said before, the first year is pretty much on the other guy, especially as to long term factors. This is why I do not feel it is proper to blame Obama for unemployment, economic growth, etc during this year. But by the same token I do not grant him credit for any positive changes.
However he does deserve credit (and as it may happen) blame for short term things. So in terms of consumer confidence that is a place where he deserves credit (or in the case of loss of confidence the blame). But for him to take too much credit now risks his taking full blame for anything bad.
“unrealistic visions of “green jobs” or any other miracles that Washington can somehow now, suddenly, produce for us.”
DLS, you're wrong about that. Federal funds are flowing to the states, like ours, that are making loans and grants for upgrading everything from insulation to windows and doors to solar and more efficient energy appliances (furnaces, refrigerators etc.) That directly supports a green economy, employs LOCAL businesses (installers) and national ones (manufacturers). Green building is booming, while conventional building is tanking. It's working, DLS, your dismissiveness aside. There are around 120 million homes to retrofit so lots of work to do. The payoff, in addition to new jobs and retained employees all over the country, is that we'll need less power, fewer new power plants and some breathing room while we ramp up production of renewable sources, which are also being stimulated, with new wind energy and centralized solar going up all over.
High speed rail is desirable but probably too expensive as the tracks now running freight won't suffice, and are jammed with freight traffic anyway.
Jerry
Why in the world should Obama not mention the hole that he was given? Isn't it the worst economic state any president has been handed since FDR?
I know you may wish that everyone forget the past 8 years, but you know, the neoconservative's actions have consequences.
Obama merely points out that the GOP is in denial even today. The party of NO still clings to the illusion removing regulations, starting an unfunded, unjust war, and providing tax breaks to companies shipping jobs overseas didn't bring about the mess we have.
Keep trying to persuade people of the Right's non-responsibility, you help Obama's image as someone aware of the economic, social, and military realities that the GOP ignores.
“The time has come to stop the talk and walk the walk.”
the idea that the financial sector is such a large — and rapidly expanding — part of the economy is a large part of the problem.
the entire financial system needs to be rethought, reorganized and eliminate the “too big to fail” model we're currently operating under.