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A year ago our country was in the midst of the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression. Our efforts to avert disaster required unprecedented intervention in the economy, both by Congress and the Federal Reserve. As a result of these actions, our economy stabilized, credit began to flow again and we staved off a repeat of the Great Depression. These measures were met with anger from Main Street, and rightfully so. Bailing out the banks offended our sense of fairness and had the appearance, and the consequence, of rewarding the very people who got us into this mess. However, we had to put out the fire on Wall Street to make sure they did not take the rest of us down with them. Do we bail out Wall Street, rewarding them for their recklessness, or do we let them get their comeuppance and take us down with them? Sometimes, in crises like these, there are no good options. My job, as your President, is to make sure the economy works for everyone, which is why we rescued the banks. Now, after a year of working to resuscitate the financial sector, our actions have stabilized the economy. Now is the time to begin the hard work of creating a real recovery for the Main Street.
How will we do that? We already took the first step with American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, or the stimulus. The Recovery Act was not, and is not, a part of bank bailout. A third of the spending in the Recovery Act went back to 95% of the American people as a taxcut. Another $140 billion went to state governments to help them plug holes in their budget deficits, thereby saving the jobs of firemen, policemen, teachers, and other members of our community. The rest of the spending in the Recovery Act is geared to do what consumers and the private sector, both of whom are hurting, can't do - pump money into the economy. Making investments in clean energy and infrastructure will not only create good-paying jobs, but will also pave the way for economic recovery. Make no mistake, the Recovery Act has saved over a million jobs and will save, or create, a million more jobs before the year's end. Unfortunately, a million new jobs is not enough to make up for the massive job losses in other sectors of the economy. Our high unemployment rate doesn't mean the stimulus didn't work, or that we needed less stimulus, its means we need more. A lot more. Now, I know what many of you are thinking - Mr. President, unemployment has gone up since the stimulus passed. But is there anyone that thinks the economy would be better off if 95% of American didn't get a taxcut last year? Or does anyone think the economy would be better off if your state had to layoff more firemen or more teachers? Or does anyone think the economy would be better off if we weren't building new highways in California, new railways in Midwest, or funding new clean research in the South?
I want all Americans to know that I share their concern for the deficit. It is something we need to tackle, but now is not that time. GDP has four sources - consumer spending, private investment, government spending and net exports. In today's climate, with consumers hurting, the private sector laying off workers, and the world economy in a recession, the government is the only institution that can inject enough money into the economy to boost the GDP and drive job growth. Its time to pick one America - jobs or the deficit. We can't solve both problems now. I choose jobs. If you're with me, here are my ideas for putting America back to work.
First, in a couple of months, we will be sending Congress an outline for a new stimulus bill. Putting this bill on America's credit is not my first choice, but it is the best way to get a real recovery, one that helps Main Street.
Second, we will institute new banks fees, with higher fees for the largest banks. Now that the American taxpayer made Wall Street whole, and then some, it is time they pay the country back. This fee will also help us insure that in the future no bank will be "too big to fail."
Third, we are going to pass comprehensive healthcare reform. Healthcare spending is projected to explode the deficit in coming years and putting the problem off to a later date does not do the country any good. Is now the time to pass healthcare reform, people ask? Shouldn't the government focus on jobs and the economy? I want to let Americans know that the government can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can continue to protect the homeland, continue to work on jobs, and also get real healthcare reform passed. This is what you hired us to do! However, the better reason to get this done has nothing to do with economics. Getting healthcare reform passed is a moral imperative with people losing their jobs and their healthcare in this time of crisis.Its time to fix a broken system that allows insurance companies to deny you coverage when you need it the most simply because you didn't dot your "i"s on an insurance form. Its time to fix a broken system that prevents you from buying insurance if you have a pre-existing medical condition. Its time to fix a broken system that creates half of all personal bankruptcies in the United States. How confident are you that your insurance will be there when you need it the most? Its time to fix this. Now is the time, America. Now is the time.
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Yeah.... If wishes were horses. All I need is a President with the balls to give this speech.