Before the President's address, I said that he should do two things: defend the Administration's economic policies until today and talk about what will be done from this point forward, to solve the economic problems of the nation.
However, except for the bailout of the auto sector and a brief mention of a few other initiatives such as financial reform, the President has not said much of the past economic policies of his administration. In retrospect, that was probably wise. Trying to convince people that the policies of stimulus and bailout were more effective than they realize simply brings these issues to the fore. The policies were very unpopular, and arguing with the public about their success is a losing proposition. It is better to look forward. As Obama said in the speech:
I want to talk about how we move forward and roll out a project for an economy that is built to last-an economy built on American, American energy production, skills for American workers and a renewal of American values.
The President began the discussion of his economic initiatives that outlines a proposal to revive production in the United States. The plan is to use tax breaks to encourage businesses to locate in the United States, to keep jobs at home by eliminating the tax benefits for firms that move offshore to lower corporate taxes in the United States and to appeal to the goodwill of u.s. companies (which should do what they can do to bring back jobs in this country).
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Obama also wants to Boost exports. To this end, the President proposed more trade agreements (and praised those that the Administration has already put in place), and he highlighted the creation of a "Trade Enforcement Unit that will have the task of investigating unfair commercial practices in countries like China."
Finally, the plan to revive employment and economic growth also involved more support for small businesses. For example, tax cuts and reduced regulatory burden, support for research and development (in particular in energy related areas), mortgage refinancing for homeowners "responsible", an extension of the payroll tax cuts and a plan for repairing crumbling infrastructure.
The plan the President outlined okay as far as goes, but I wanted a work plan that was big and bold. I wanted a plan that puts the creation of immediate employment. However, the Obama plan is formed largely by tax cuts, is fragmentary and is primarily directed at our long-term problems. Bring home the business doesn't happen overnight. R & s takes time, and so does investment in infrastructure.
Millions of people need jobs now, not later. Don't have time to wait, for example, to move production from China back in the United States, and there is no certainty that it will happen anyway. Missing from the speech was a strong and coherent plan to create jobs immediately. Don't get me wrong--we must address our long-term problems. But we also need to get people to work as soon as possible.
Obama's education initiatives also address long-term rather than short-term problems. His call to improve education at all levels and to ensure that higher education is available to all, is certainly welcome and would in the long term, but did not create many jobs in the coming months. He called for improved job retraining programs and "a national commitment to train 2 million Americans with the skills that will lead directly to a work", but also those programs will take time to implement.
Obama also mentioned other issues in the speech, such as the budget deficit and the need to regulate the financial markets. The most important proposals are its plan to impose a minimum rate of 30 per cent tax for income over a million dollars a year and the surprisingly strong commitment to prosecute financial fraud. The Administration will create "financial crimes unit investigators altame
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