In reviewing the things that President-elect Obama said in his economic speech today, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out the good and the bad.
This quote from the beginning of the speech is true and timely:
This crisis did not happen solely by some accident of history or normal turn of the business cycle, and we won’t get out of it by simply waiting for a better day to come, or relying on the worn-out dogmas of the past. We arrived at this point due to an era of profound irresponsibility that stretched from corporate boardrooms to the halls of power in Washington, DC. For years, too many Wall Street executives made imprudent and dangerous decisions, seeking profits with too little regard for risk, too little regulatory scrutiny, and too little accountability. Banks made loans without concern for whether borrowers could repay them, and some borrowers took advantage of cheap credit to take on debt they couldn’t afford. Politicians spent taxpayer money without wisdom or discipline, and too often focused on scoring political points instead of the problems they were sent here to solve. The result has been a devastating loss of trust and confidence in our economy, our financial markets, and our government.
Now, the very fact that this crisis is largely of our own making means that it is not beyond our ability to solve. Our problems are rooted in past mistakes, not our capacity for future greatness. It will take time, perhaps many years, but we can rebuild that lost trust and confidence. We can restore opportunity and prosperity. We should never forget that our workers are still more productive than any on Earth. Our universities are still the envy of the world. We are still home to the most brilliant minds, the most creative entrepreneurs, and the most advanced technology and innovation that history has ever known. And we are still the nation that has overcome great fears and improbable odds. If we act with the urgency and seriousness that this moment requires, I know that we can do it again.
This is powerful rhetoric. Obama lays blame for the current crisis where it belongs: at the feet of corporate America, Capitol Hill, Wall Street, the banking industry, and the borrowing public. It was encouraging to hear Barack Obama include the public in his list of culpable parties. He follows with acknowledging that America can overcome this crisis.
Unfortunately, in his next breath he begins his pitch for ARRP (American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.) What follows is a bizarre combination of promises to spend unprecedented amounts of government money and promises of governmental “belt-tightening.” Paradox?
Obama allows that the government has already spent a lot of money trying to stimulate the economy and it hasn’t worked. His prescription: spend lots and lots more and see if that will do it. And, by the way, what makes his plan different is that he’ll “invest in what works.” I’m sold.
Towards the end of his speech, Obama treated us to a snortworthy reprise of an old familiar refrain: “That is not the country I know.”
While listening to this speech and reading it again afterward, I felt a strange mixture of scorn for what I believe to be bad policy, and hope that somehow, against my expectations, this bold crazy plan might work. No doubt Obama has some of the best speech writers in the business. And if this speech inspired some strange version of hope in this hard-core skeptic, imagine the swooning of the Obamania crowd.
Read Michelle Malkin’s post on the speech here.
Read Ed Morrissey’s post on the speech here.
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