Barack Obama to Unveil $300 Billion Plan to Revive Economy

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama will attempt to relaunch his flagging presidency tonight by unveiling a $300 billion (£190 billion) plan to tackle America's unemployment crisis and revive its stagnant economy.

In a rare address to a joint session of Congress, Mr Obama is expected to propose a short-term stimulus package of tax cuts, infrastructure spending and federal handouts to state governments.

"I'm going to propose ways to put America back to work that both parties can agree to, because I still believe both parties can work together to solve our problems," the president said earlier this week.

However in a move bound to set up another fierce battle with Republicans, whose potential presidential candidates were preparing last night to pre-emptively denounce his plan in a televised debate in California, he is also expected to say tax revenues must increase in the coming years.

Mr Obama's speech, his opening gambit of the new political season and scheduled with prime-time television broadcasts in mind, comes amid fresh lows in public ratings of his presidency.

An ABC News/Washington Post poll found 53 per cent of Americans disapproved of his performance, while a Politico/George Washington University survey found three-quarters of voters now believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. » | Jon Swaine, Richard Blackden in New York | Wednesday, September 07, 2011

USA muß Sparen
In den USA geht die Angst vor einer neuen Rezession um. Grund dafür sind die schlechten Wirtschaftsnachrichten. In Washington ist deshalb Sparen angesagt. Präsident Obama versucht dem Land Mut zuzureden

This Week, Obama and Cameron Should Compare Notes – and Then Wake Up

THE SLOG: This is the last chance to put our banks back in the cage

For a few days starting tomorrow, President Obama will smile at the well-wishers in Britain, show deference to the Queen, and generally pretend to like us. While he’s around (and I’m not breaking any injunctions here) I understand he’s going to have an economics session with Prime Minister David Cameron.

If and when that meeting of barren minds takes place, they should be able to reach a simple conclusion: no matter how hard you try to get banks to behave like social animals, they will screw you and pump up their bonuses.

Obama tried to get help to the repossession sector of the US housing market, using Federal funds. The idea was ill-conceived (chucking good money after bad) but at least three major banks used the funds fraudulently, and are now the subject of SEC investigations. His man Bernanke has been pumping Fed funds into the banking sector, in an effort to increase liquidity into the economy, for nigh on two and a half years – depending on who you believe about when it stopped, or if it ever stopped. This ‘POMO’ (Permanent Open Market Operations) scheme’s main achievement has been to send the Dow through the roof: the banks used the money for two purposes – to underwrite multinational megamergers, and buy stocks on behalf of their clients. Jobs have been lost, not created, as a result of this double-cross.

Cameron and his Chancellor George Osborne first of all tried to get the banks to set an example, and forego bonuses for 2010. Bob Diamond explained that this item would not be on the agenda, and they ended up paying themselves more than ever. Almost no money has filtered through to the small business sector after QE, and the financial sector – that’s the banks, remember – is still the only bit of the economy holding its end up. Not hard when you consider they’ve been doing it mainly with taxpayers’ money. Manufacturing has grown, but much as the Government tries to hype this, growth on a base of 12% of all economic output is a spit at the tornado of problems we face. » | John Ward |Monday, May 23, 2011

Obama Warns of New Financial Crisis If US Defaults on Debt
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: America risks unravelling the world's financial system should the country fail to increase its legal borrowing limits, President Barack Obama has warned.

The warning from The White House comes as the US moves ever closer to a $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, which Congress needs to increase in a matter of weeks to prevent the government defaulting on its borrowings for the first time in history.

Given US government debt, or Treasuries as they are known, are considered the safest asset in financial markets and held by investors and central banks around the world, few want to imagine the consequences of a default.

"If investors around the world thought that the full faith and credit of the United States was not being backed up, if they thought that we might renege on our IOU's, it could unravel the entire financial system," President Obama said at a town hall meeting late yesterday.

"We could have a worse recession than we already had [have], a worse financial crisis than we already had [have]."

The US Treasury has projected that the debt limit will be reached this month, though Timothy Geithner, the Treasury Secretary, has said he can juggle accounts until early August to avoid a default. » | Richard Blackden, US Business Editor | Monday, May 16, 2011

My comment:

I find it rather interesting, yet very disturbing, troubling, that this president warns that the world’s financial system will be in trouble if the US doesn’t increase its legal borrowing limits. How perverse is that? That’s like a householder being in deep debt and coming to the end of his credit limit; but instead of paying off the debt, he goes to the bank manager to cajole him into increasing his credit limit to avert the crisis. That way he gets deeper into debt! Where the hell did this guy Obama learn his economics? Which Ivy League university was that now? As all sane, sensible people know, what he needs to do is start paying off the nation’s debts. America needs to learn to live within its means. That way the US will distance itself from its borrowing limits. Living within one’s means is sound economics. It was ever thus. – © Mark

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The Buck Stops Here
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: This week's warning about US debt is the wake-up call Obama needs – and the world needs him to act, says Martin Vander Weyer.

The good news is that America has not suddenly turned into the new Ireland. The bad news is that the Obama administration is only beginning to face up to its debt addiction, in the way that Ireland and other euro delinquents have been forced to do. And Washington's prolonged debt denial is one factor that has made the economic recovery so fragile and uncertain for all of us.

In that context, the announcement on Monday by the ratings agency Standard & Poor's that it had shifted its outlook on US government debt from "stable" to "negative", which sent markets into a tailspin, may actually turn out to be helpful, like the friend who says loudly to a incorrigible drunk at a party: "Another drink, George? Or is that a silly question?" The S&P analysis is not hugely significant – it is a first downward notch on a long scale of potential debt downgrades – but it is a timely warning that the world is aware America has a problem. Uncle Sam has been able to refill his glass time after time for the simple reason that Chinese investors – banks, state agencies and exporters – choose to store the wealth they gain in international trade largely in the form of US government paper. But as iconic as the greenback and the Treasury bill may be, they do not enjoy such a uniquely elevated status as to make them immune from the processes of risk assessment that have been applied so painfully elsewhere.

The IMF says America's fiscal deficit for 2011 will approach 11 per cent – similar to the UK's – and its net debt will exceed 70 per cent of gross domestic product, which is a worse position than ours if we exclude bank bail-outs from the equation. US debt has hitherto been regarded as virtually risk-free, but if the UK and other nations are seen to be making strenuous efforts to cut deficits while America's continues to balloon then, sooner or later, investors must begin to take a more cautious view. » | Martin Vander Weyer | Tuesday, April 19, 2011

My comment:

Obama is clueless! From the beginning, it was clear to me that the man was an “empty suit.” But the American electorate would hear none of it, and got carried away with his rhetoric. Nobody even bothered to find out what he meant by “hope and change.” Hope of what? And change to what? And the mantra, “yes, we can.” What was that supposed to mean? Yes, we can what? As a result, Americans became transfixed by a man who could speak (arguably), but nothing else. Words, words, words!

Meanwhile, all Obama has ever wanted to do is spend, spend, spend. The trouble is, he hasn’t learnt one simple lesson of economics: You have to have it to spend it. None of us can go out and spend like a drunken sailor, as if there weren’t a tomorrow. How foolish that is. Profligacy is never a good thing. It will always lead to disaster.

In fairness to Obama, it’s true that he inherited a huge deficit from George W. Bush. Another profligate president. He ruined America by spending vast sums on wars which America could ill-afford, on wars which could achieve nothing to boot. But that was all the more reason why Obama should have got to work on reducing the deficit straightaway upon getting into office. Instead of that, he embarked upon a spending spree.

The Americans, too, must shoulder part of the burden of responsibility. They don’t seem to understand the meaning of the word ‘saving.’ Saving has become an alien concept to Americans. Americans prefer to consume, consume, consume. They also like to be generous with foreign aid. They give foreign aid abroad in billions, trying to buy influence and popularity. We can all see where that has got them.

In addition, the nature of politics in America is far too ideological. The Republicans and Democrats are far away from each other in political terms, so that it is difficult to find any middle ground. As a result, they cannot move forward in a meaningful way.

The future for America is looking very bleak indeed. This is a seminal moment for the US, and a seminal moment for the rest of the West. One can ask oneself but one question: Is this the start of the decline of the West? It might sound melodramatic, but it isn’t. If the US cannot save itself from bankruptcy, its influence in the world will decline. If this happens, it will no longer be the beacon of freedom. This will have serious consequences for us all. One can only fear the consequences of the eclipse of the US. Its loss of influence may have just begun.

It is to be hoped that, somehow, America will wake up before it’s too late. Bernanke’s love of quantitative easing will not solve anything. Quantitative easing is a fancy term for printing money. Turning on the printing press won’t solve anything. In fact, it will make matters worse. – © Mark

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Obama's Bid to Beat the Deficit: Tax the Rich
THE AUSTRALIAN: BARACK Obama has set the scene for an ideological battle in next year's presidential election, announcing tax increases for the wealthy.

The proposed hike is part of his plan to reduce the federal budget deficit by $US4 trillion ($3.8 trillion) over 12 years.

In a break from his conciliatory style, Mr Obama has ripped into his Republican opponents for trying to put the burden of deficit reduction on the poor and elderly while continuing to cushion the wealthy.

The President announced a broad plan for reducing the US budget deficit yesterday, including cuts to government health programs and defence spending.

But he raised Republican hackles by refusing point blank to extend tax cuts introduced by the Bush administration for people earning more than $US250,000 a year.

Mr Obama said he had agreed to renew the tax cuts for high-income earners once, as part of a deal with Republicans to guarantee cuts for the middle class. "I refuse to renew them again," he said. » | Brad Norington, Washington Correspondent | The Australian | Friday, April 15, 2011

Barack Obama Locked in Last Minute Budget Talks
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama was locked in crisis budget talks with congressional leaders as the US faces the prospect of a costly government shutdown.


The shutdown would see 800,000 workers asked to stay at home and could cost taxpayers more than $100 million (£61 million) a day.

Mr Obama called for a “sense of urgency” as America sought to avoid the first shutdown since 1996 when Bill Clinton was president.

Failure to reach a deal by midnight on Friday would mean that Washington would essentially run out of money. » | Toby Harnden, Washington | Thursday, April 07, 2011

Mallory Factor: Nicole Gelinas

U.S., Brazil Push Investment, Trade Agendas
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: BRASILIA -- At the outset of a three-country tour of Latin America, President Barack Obama heaped huge praise on Brazil's remarkable economic rise, but received a tongue lashing in return from Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who criticized the U.S. loose monetary policy for contributing to "acute" global imbalances by artificially weakening the U.S. dollar.

A joint appearance by the two leaders in Brazil's futuristic presidential palace was perhaps most remarkable for the subject that barely came up: The near simultaneous launching of U.S.-backed military engagements in Libya. Near the end of his remarks, Mr. Obama said the United Nations coalition, led by France and the U.K., was ready to "act with urgency." More details weren't available from the president, since Brazil did not allow reporters to ask questions.

So, as French jets took to the air over Libya, Mr. Obama spoke mainly on economic cooperation with Brazil, joking once about his disappointment that Chicago lost the 2016 Olympics to Rio de Janeiro. Later, Mr. Obama gave more extensive statements on Libya to U.S. reporters travelling with him.

Indeed, Mr. Obama's Latin American trip, which also includes Chile and El Salvador, is certain to be overshadowed the escalating hostilities. The visit is meant to reestablish the U.S. presence as an economic partner as Brazil and other resource rich Latin nations forge closer ties with China. But even before departing, Mr. Obama was criticized for leaving the U.S. amid international turmoil and pressing domestic budget debates. » | Paulo Prada, Laura Meckler in Brasilia, Tom Murphy in San [São?] Paulo | Saturday, March 19, 2011

WIKI: Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil »

Obama Can Fix It!
MAIL ONLINE: President Barack Obama today set out an ambitious New Year's resolution for 2011 - repair the struggling U.S. economy.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, the president said recent data showed the economic recovery was gaining traction even though millions of Americans were still out of work.

'Our most important task now is to keep that recovery going,' said Mr Obama, who is currently enjoying a family vacation in Hawaii.

'As president, that's my commitment to you: to do everything I can to make sure our economy is growing, creating jobs, and strengthening our middle class. That's my resolution for the coming year.” 'I CAN fix the economy': Obama reveals his (very ambitious) New Year's resolution >>> Daily Mail Reporter | Saturday, January 1, 2011

Barack Obama to Sign Package Extending Tax Breaks for the Rich
THE GUARDIAN: Passage of bill reflects weakness of both the presidency and the Democratic party after Republican wins in November elections

Barack Obama was forced to sign the bill despite admitting that he opposed some of its provisions. Photograph: The Guardian
The US president, Barack Obama, will today sign into law measures approved by Congress extending tax cuts introduced by George Bush amid Democratic complaints that the breaks favour the rich.

Despite objections from many of Obama's fellow Democrats, the House of Representatives passed the $858bn (£548bn) package of renewed tax cuts last night. The package, which also extended benefits for the long-term unemployed for 13 months, was passed by 277 votes to 148. On Wednesday the Senate passed it by an overwhelming 83-15 margin.

Passage of the bill reflects the relative weakness of both the presidency and the Democratic party after the Republican sweep in November's congressional elections, giving them a majority in the House and big inroads into the Democratic majority in the Senate.

Obama has been forced to bend to the resurgent Republicans, his current position on taxes contrasting sharply with his stance earlier this year when he and his fellow Democrats fought against renewing tax reductions for the wealthiest Americans – those with household incomes above $250,000 – while supporting continued cuts for middle-class taxpayers. >>> Mark Tran | Friday, December 17, 2010

Barack Obama Gives Way to Republicans Over Bush Tax Cuts
THE GUARDIAN: Allies say president 'blackmailed' into extending tax cut for wealthier Americans which may cost $4tn in lost revenue

Barack Obama talks with the Republican whip Eric Cantor after a meeting with bipartisan congressional leadership. Photograph: The Guardian
Barack Obama is bowing to Republican demands to extend a deep tax cut for wealthier Americans, to the fury of some of the president's allies who say he has succumbed to "blackmail".

In a bruising political battle that appears to set the tone for Obama's dealings with the Republicans in Congress following their victories in last month's midterm elections, the president had sought to extend a tax cut for middle-class Americans introduced by the Bush administration seven years ago which expires at the end of this month. But he wanted to see a return to pre-cut rates for households with an income above $250,000 a year, on the grounds that wealthier Americans could afford to pay more. The move would generate trillions of dollars for the financially-strapped treasury over the next decade.

The Democratic leadership believed that provided the middle class was looked after, the Republicans would find it difficult to justify tax cuts for the wealthy. The House of Representatives, still controlled by Democrats until the new Congress is sworn in next month, passed Obama's plan by a clear majority last week. But Republicans blocked the legislation in the Senate at the weekend and said they would rather see everyone's taxes rise than agree to scrapping the cuts for the wealthy.

Some Democrats called on Obama to stand firm and let the Republicans carry the blame for the inevitable middle-class backlash. But leading Democrats say the president is backing down and has agreed to extend tax cuts for everyone. In return, the White House appears to have extracted an agreement to extend benefits for the long-term unemployed. >>> Chris McGreal in Washington | Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Obama will weitere Millionen für Kontrolle der Öl-Industrie: Bohrungen im offenen Meer sollen strenger überwacht werden
NZZ ONLINE: Die Aktivitäten der Öl- und Gasindustrie in den USA auf dem offenen Meer sollen nach dem Willen von Präsident Barack Obama wirkungsvoller überwacht werden. Bohranlagen will die Regierung besser auf ihre Umweltverträglichkeit überprüfen.

Obama beantragte für die besseren Kontrollen von Offshore-Bohrungen beim Kongress mehr als 90 Millionen Dollar. Der Antrag erfolgt, nachdem die Ölkatastrophe im Golf von Mexiko zahlreiche Missstände bei den Bohrungen vor der Küste gezeigt hat. Weiter lesen und einen Kommentar schreiben >>> sda/afp | Dienstag, 14. September 2010

America Will Need Another Ronald Reagan to Reverse President Obama’s Pitiful Legacy of US Decline
Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan on the White House lawn. Photo: The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOGS – NILE GARDINER: The Obama administration is bracing itself for more bad news this week with the release of stunning census figures which are projected to show the biggest increase in poverty in the United States since the 1960s. As Associated Press reports:

The number of people in the U.S. who are in poverty is on track for a record increase on President Barack Obama’s watch, with the ranks of working-age poor approaching 1960s levels that led to the national war on poverty. Census figures for 2009 — the recession-ravaged first year of the Democrat’s presidency — are to be released in the coming week, and demographers expect grim findings.

Interviews with six demographers who closely track poverty trends found wide consensus that 2009 figures are likely to show a significant rate increase to the range of 14.7 percent to 15 percent. Should those estimates hold true, some 45 million people in this country, or more than 1 in 7, were poor last year. It would be the highest single-year increase since the government began calculating poverty figures in 1959. The previous high was in 1980 when the rate jumped 1.3 percentage points to 13 percent during the energy crisis.

The new figures are an indictment of President Obama’s handling of the economy, and will add to the growing perception that his Big Government agenda has been a spectacular flop. Despite a huge $787 billion stimulus package (with another $50 billion in spending on the way), and a wave of public bailouts, unemployment continues to rise towards 10 percent, and the housing market remains on a downward trajectory.

Added to this grim picture is a spiraling budget deficit which threatens America’s long-term economic prosperity. As I’ve noted before, the United States is drowning under a mountain of debt, with a Greek-style financial crisis a strong possibility. Under its alternative fiscal scenario, the Congressional Budget Office projects that US debt could rise to a staggering 87 percent of GDP by 2020, to 109 percent of GDP by 2025, and to 185 percent of GDP in 2035. >>> Nile Gardiner | Tuesday, September 14, 2010

New Poll Shows Majority of Americans Disapprove of Obama

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

MAIL ONLINE: New poll shows majority of Americans disapprove of Obama as he announces $50bn infrastructure plan to rebuild U.S. >>> David Gardner and Daniel Bates | Tuesday, September 07, 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: US dollar falls to 15-year low against the Yen on recovery fears: The dollar fell to a 15-year low against the yen Tuesday, at one point slumping to ¥83.52, as investors took refuge in the Japanese currency amid global economic uncertainty. >>> AFP | Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Väterchen Staat als Unternehmer
NZZ am SONNTAG: Washington greift so stark in die US-Wirtschaft ein wie nie zuvor. Kaum ein Sektor, in dem das Weisse Haus nicht mitmischt. Damit will der Staat den Abstieg Amerikas verhindern. Von Felix Wadewitz, New York

Offiziell strebt General Motors (GM) an die Börse, um sich aus der Umarmung des Staats zu lösen. Kein Kritiker soll mehr über «Government Motors» spotten können. Seit Präsident Obama GM mit 50 Mrd. $ vor dem Untergang bewahrte, gehören 61% dem Staat. Für viele Amerikaner ist das ein Unding. Die Hälfte der Bevölkerung lehnt laut Umfragen die Rettung ab. Der schnelle Börsengang soll deshalb zeigen: Die Intervention des Weissen Hauses war erfolgreich; der Konzern steht nun wieder auf eigenen Beinen.

Staatskapitalismus pur

Ohne Einfluss wird das Weisse Haus aber auch in Zukunft nicht sein: Nach dem geplanten Börsengang bleibt Uncle Sam der grösste Anteilseigner. Und der neue Mann an der Spitze, Daniel Akenson, geniesst ohnehin das Vertrauen der Regierung. Das Finanzministerium entsandte ihn vor einem Jahr in den GM-Verwaltungsrat, um die Interessen der Steuerzahler zu wahren.

Das Klischee vom Kapitalismus in Reinform stimmt längst nicht mehr. Die Autoindustrie ist nur das prominenteste Beispiel in einer langen Reihe von staatlichen Eingriffen in die US-Wirtschaft. Die Rettung der Banken, die Ausweitung der Gesundheitsfürsorge, die Förderung von Exporten und neuen Technologien, Konjunkturspritzen und die Stabilisierung des Immobilienmarkts – all das resultiert in einer dramatisch steigenden Staatsquote. >>> Von Felix Wadewitz | Sonntag, 05. September 2010

Verbunden >>>

Hussein Obama Goes On Another Spending Spree On Taxpayers’ Dollars
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama yesterday unveiled a $50 billion plan to expand and renew roads, railways and airports in a late bid to boost confidence in the economy and prevent the Democratic Party from suffering a landslide defeat in forthcoming polls.

The plan was one of several economic initiatives Mr Obama was due to unveil this week, when campaigning begins in earnest for the Nov 2 midterm elections.

Speaking in Wisconsin on the Labour Day holiday, which marks the end of summer in the United States, President Obama proposed building 150,000 miles of roads, constructing and maintaining 4,000 miles of rail and rehabilitating 150 miles of runway, as well as modernising the air traffic control system.

He also proposed setting up an infrastructure bank to coordinate private, state and local capital to invest in projects.

A senior administration official said the American President's goal was to "create a substantial number of jobs in the short turn [sic] and lay the foundation for jobs growth in the long run".

The plan, which needs the approval of Congress, would spend $50 billion (£32 billion) in the first of its six years, and would be paid for by ending tax breaks for oil companies, the official said. Obama unveils $50 billion roads, rail and air plan to win votes >>> Alex Spillius in Washington | Monday, September 06, 2010

ZEIT ONLINE: Obama will mit weiteren Milliarden Aufschwung sichern: Die US-Wirtschaft kommt nicht auf die Beine. Präsident Obama plant daher erneut ein gigantisches Konjunkturprogramm – zumal seine Demokraten ein Wahldebakel fürchten. >>> Zeit Online, Reuters, AFP | Montag, 06. September 2010

Poor Jobs Report in August; Obama Blames Republicans

The Worst Publicity Stunt of the year? Putting President Obama on a Dollar Bill Is Simply Ridiculous
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOGS – NILE GARDINER: British graphic design firm Dowling Duncan has come up with a series of controversial ideas for the Dollar Redesign Project, an open competition run by New York designer Richard Smith (and not associated with the US government). According to their ambitious PR spiel: “we want to rebrand the US Dollar, rebuild financial confidence and revive our failing economy.”

The new garish multicolour notes conceived by the firm bear a striking stylistic resemblance to the Euro, and remove America’s Founding Fathers altogether. The company has proposed replacing George Washington with Barack Obama on the new dollar bill, and Benjamin Franklin with Franklin D. Roosevelt on the $100 dollar note.

Dowling Duncan, whose corporate clients include some big names such as Apple, Gap, Google, HP and Microsoft, obviously think this is a smart PR move, designed to win it global publicity and enhance its profile in the States where it has an office in San Francisco. But I very much doubt it will play well outside of diminishing left-wing circles on the East and West Coasts. If anything the publicity it gains with its Barack Obama stunt is highly likely to lose it business rather than bring in more revenue, especially in Middle America. Continue reading and comment >>> Nile Gardiner | Friday, August 27, 2010

Barack Obama Earns Lowest Marks on Handling of the Economy
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama has earned his lowest ever marks on his handling of the economy, as only 41 per cent said they approve of his performance, according to a new poll.

The poll, conducted by Associated Press-GfK, taken just 11 weeks before the Midterm elections, found his approval rating dropped from 44 per cent in April. It also found that 61 per cent say the economy has got worse or stayed the same under Mr Obama’s presidency. >>> | Wednesday, August 18, 2010