In the President Elect's weekly youtube address this morning (video follows diary), Barack Obama made a strong case for his economic stimulus plan. He began his address by recognizing the ominous and dire economic landscape America faces in the wake of the Bush Disaster. He talked about the tragedy of two million jobs lost, the massive underemployment that plagues workers, the massing debt that's drowning consumers, and the opportunities that are slipping away from America's younger citizens.
Obama then cited the necessity of a bipartisan, swift and bold solution to the daunting economic challenges we face. (While I'd personally take issue with his contention that a solution must cross party lines, I'll be happy with an Olympia Snowe or Susan Collins defection if that's what he means.)
Obama went on to discuss "an American recovery and reinvestment plan that not only creates jobs in the short term, but spurs economic growth and competitiveness in the long term," and he decried the "old Washington habit of throwing money at the problem." Instead, he proposed "strategic investments as a down payment on our long-term economic futures." He also prescribed introducing those long-lost values of accountability and oversight. Brandishing the fiscal-conservative mantle that's now held by Democrats, Obama urged a return to the glorious 90s and a renewed focus on deficit reduction.
Obama's ultimate goal is "to create 3 million new jobs--80% of them in the private sector." Some specifics of how he intends to reach this goal include (but are not limited to) doubling renewable energy, rebuilding our crumbling national infrastructure and, yes, those G-d-blessed tax cuts he's peddling to the 95% of us on the bottom.
It's a start, and it sure sounds good on the heels of the eight years of inanity we've just endured.